It’s hard to believe Christmas is only weeks away.
While Winnipegger’s bask in unusually warm weather, the only telltale sign of Christmas are the lights strung around lampposts on Main Street. But snow or not, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) put Winnipeggers in the Christmas spirit Monday night bringing the world’s biggest light show back to town.
As the temperature reached a surprising 10 C, the crowd of over 8,500 at the MTS centre got their first taste of the approaching season. After 11 years on the road performing its winter tour, TSO still rocked its enormous holiday repertoire with help from a killer light extravaganza.
Pyrotechnics heated up the place. Green lasers descended from the stage, engulfing the crowd with light. And just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, hundreds of coloured lights danced to the wail of instruments and voices. If Pink Floyd were there, they’d have been on their knees shouting, ‘we’re not worthy’.
For almost three hours, beer lines were empty. Not even a lineup for the bathroom. Instead the crowd stared unblinking, mouths open on the sight before them.
The show began just after 7:30 under a shroud of darkness. The only sound came from lone violinist, Roddy Chong, dressed in a black tuxedo adorned with coat tails. His white violin wailed. As he jumped around the stage hammering out Christmas tunes, like Oh Come All Ye Faithfull and God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, the traditional stillness of the music was blown away.
It was easy to forget Silent Night is a holiday favorite among carolers. Instead of a group of tuque-clad singers, headbanging guitarists took their place. But behind the longhaired guitarists, a string section from Winnipeg’s own Symphony Orchestra kept the outright rock flavor from spinning out of control.
These musicians regularly pay homage to classical music. But on this night, they accompanied the erratic commotion of rock music with a peacefully soft tone creating an electrifying genre.
While the music exploded from the stage, two male vocalists occasionally took over hypnotizing the audience. Former Journey vocalist, Jeff Scott Soto’s, leaped between octaves like a kid playing hopscotch. The other, husky baritone Tommy Farese guided the crowd through the Christmas tale.
The first half of the show was dedicated to TSO’s holiday albums Christmas Tales and Other Stories and The Christmas Attic. A single narrator led the audience through the holiday selection by regaling the crowd with stories of angels. The story was difficult to follow because it came between songs leaving the audience struggling to remember what had happened before.
While the music reminded the listeners of the nearing holiday season, over 90 minutes of Christmas tunes left the crowd itching for something new.
After playing for an hour and a half straight, TSO took a quick break as New York vocalist Farese introduced the more than 20-member band.
Finally, without missing a beat, TSO gave the people in the stands what they came to see. They pounced into renditions of classical symphonies from their new album Night Castle. With tickets ranging from a mere $25 to $66, TSO left the audience with their hard earned money for the holiday season.
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