Old Savatage Tour Memorabilia

Trans-Siberian Orchestra hits Minneapolis tomorrow night, so here's some vintage Savatage tour memorabilia to get pumped up. First is a ticket stub from the first time I saw Savatage soon after the release of Gutter Ballet in 1990 while supporting Testament with Nuclear Assault at First Avenue in Minneapolis. A couple friends and I arrived from Iowa City in the early afternoon only to find the show sold out! The club had a sign posted at the door that 100 extra tickets would go on sale when the doors opened, so we stood outside all afternoon waiting. By the time the doors opened, a massive crowd stretched around the block and the front doors were nearly ripped off their hinges as we got crushed through the doorway. Savatage opened their set with "Sirens" and played a lot from Gutter Ballet including "Of Rage And War", "Gutter Ballet", and "Hounds" from what I remember.

Savatage must have come through Chicago at least six times in 1990, and I caught this show (flyer below) with Trouble and locals Mortar. I remember this show because Savatage played a lot of the more obscure tracks from Hall Of The Mountain King such as "Devastation" (absolutely crushing live), "Strange Wings", and "White Witch".

Last for this post is the set list from Savatage on January 29, 1992 at the Runway Club in Des Moines, Iowa on the Streets tour. My friend and I chatted a little bit with Jon Oliva when he came to the bar to do shots before the opening band played. This was my all-time favorite show from Savatage that I've seen - a very well-rounded set with some raging classics like "Power Of The Night", "Beyond The Doors Of The Dark", and "The Dungeons Are Calling". What's listed as Ballads on the set list was "Somewhere In Time" and "Believe", which has now been redone by Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Opening the show was Minneapolis band Mad Atchu playing a set of all originals (they usually played covers with some originals thrown in).

Trans-Siberian Orchestra plays at the State Theatre in Minneapolis tomorrow, April 23.