Tonight - TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA (2 Shows) and CHURCH OF MISERY with VULGAARI in Minneapolis

Chris Caffery performing with Trans-Siberian Orchestra at the State Theatre in Minneapolis on April 24, 2010. For a review of this concert, click here.

The seemingly unstoppable Tran-Siberian Orchestra plays two shows in Minneapolis today at the Target Center, one at 3:00 and the other at 8:00. Before dismissing this as rock-lite Christmas fare, keep in mind that Jon Oliva himself has stated that TSO, for all intents and purposes, is Savatage. Most of the Savatage principles are usually on the tours - Chris Caffery, Johnny Lee Middleton, Jeff Plate, Al Pitrelli, Alex Skolnick, and Zak Stevens alongside prominent metal vocalists such as Jeff Scott Soto and Kelly Keeling. Close your eyes, imagine Jon Oliva singing the songs, and it's not much of a stretch to hear Savatage as the foundation of TSO. If you long for the days of metal bands touring arenas with elaborate stages, TSO beats 'em all with hands-down the best, most dramatic stage and light show you'll ever see. This is also the last tour on which the band will play the The Lost Christmas Eve album. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster; it's all ages and tickets are $32–70.

Jeff Scott Soto performing as the Devil with Trans-Siberian Orchestra at the State Theatre in Minneapolis on April 24, 2010. For a review of this concert, click here.

TIP: Arenas almost always release choice, extra tickets on or near the sides of the stage once they see exactly how the stage fits in the arena - even if they show is sold out. I've gotten awesome seats to previous TSO concerts by buying them the day of the show!

BONUS TIP: Kurdt Vanderhoof, guitarist for Metal Church, can usually be seen running the soundboard for TSO! I don't know if he is this year, but if you see him, shout out "Metal Church!" and he'll give you a smile and a wave.

If slow, intense doom is your thing, don't miss out on seeing Japan's Church Of Misery together with local sludge/doom masters Vulgaari and Lungs at the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis. This is an 18+ show that starts around 9:00, and tickets are $18 at the door.

Concert Announcements - August 13, 2012

There’s been some lineup changes to Knotfest this Saturday, August 18 at Somerset Amphitheater in Somerset, Wisconsin. I’ll have more details about this in a separate post.

Station 4 in St. Paul is hosting a night of local metal with Face Of Oblivion, Micawber, Ominous Conception, Australis, and Vessels For Our Ghost on Wednesday, August 21 for a cheap ($5) all ages show.

Poison frontman Bret Michaels will headline the Breathe Easy Music Fest II with a special solo acoustic show on Sunday, August 26 at The Pourhouse in Minneapolis. This solo is a benefit for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and also features performances from the Tim Mahoney Band, Cole Allen Band, Crankshaft And The Gear Grinders, Saving Starz, BKS, and Clifton Wales.

Hard rock gods Boston return for a show on Saturday, September 1 at Treasure Island in Welch.

Offbeat metalcore band Blessed By A Broken Heart performs with local heroes Write This Down (their new album Lost Weekend is reviewed here) play Station 4 in St. Paul on Saturday, September 8. This is super-early (4:00 doors) all ages show with massive support from Children 18:3, My My Misfire, Rob Mahlum, City Of The Weak, and October Fades To Black.

Fresh off a show last month at the North Star Room, hard rockers 12 Stones play Minneapolis at First Avenue on Wednesday, September 12 with local support from 3 Pill Morning.

Rochester’s own rising metalcore band and Facedown Records recording artist Your Memorial blast into Station 4 in St. Paul for an all ages show on Saturday, September 15 with For All I Am, Erra, With Life In Mind, Revival, In The Line Of Duty, and Couriers.

Faribault Harley-Davidson in Faribault is celebrating their 35th anniversary with performances by Skid Row, L.A. Guns, and Annex on Saturday, September 22, along with a bike show, burnout pit, and other activites.

The original lineup of Taking Back Sunday has reunited, and they’re out on the road to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of their seminal Tell All Your Friends album. First Avenue in Minneapolis will be hosting them on Thursday, October 11 with Bayside and Mansions for an all ages show.

John Lydon’s (Sex Pistols) Public Image Limited have released their first album, This Is PiL, in 20 years and are supporting it with a tour that hits Mill City Nights in Minneapolis on Monday, October 22. An old friend of mine had recorded a PiL show at First Avenue back in the late 80s, and I remember it being a really cool show.

Old school Canadian punk band Propagandhi are back on tour, and play the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis on Wednesday, November 7 with Off With Their Heads and The Menzingers.

Electronic/industrial act Assemblage 23 plays Ground Zero in Minneapolis on Thursday, November 8 with Espermachine and Thought Thieves.

Pierce The Veil plays on all ages show on Saturday, November 10 at The Cabooze in Minneapolis with Sleeping With Sirens, Tonight Alive, and Hands Like Houses.

The AP-sponsored tour of metal band Miss May I lands at Station 4 in St. Paul on Thursday, November 15. Support for this all ages show will come from The Ghost Inside, Like Moths To Flames, The Amity Affliction, Glass Cloud, Peter Says Denim.

Finally, the Savatage-led Trans-Siberian Orchestra brings their annual Christmas extravaganza to the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul for two shows (3:00 and 8:00) on Saturday, December 29 to perform The Lost Christmas Eve for the first time. Ticket information has not yet been released.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra Concert Review

Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Saturday, April 24, 2010

State Theatre, Minneapolis, MN

Despite plans to arrive at downtown Minneapolis’ grand State Theatre early, car troubles ensued and made me a few minutes late to my great annoyance. All anger faded away as I was escorted to my front row pit orchestra seat which had me seated directly in front of guitarist Chris Caffery and bassist Johnny Lee Middleton. Information about who was playing in the Beethoven’s Last Night touring company was scant, so it was awesome to see four members of Savatage onstage. In addition to Chris Caffery and Johnny Lee Middleton, guitarist Al Pitrelli was also musical director for the evening, and Jeff Plate sat back behind the drum kit. Nearly all of the two and a half show was devoted to turning the Beethoven’s Last Night album into a full-blown musical show. TSO followed their usual Christmas show format, playing the album with addition of their interpretation of classical music standards and an on-stage narrator who walked the audience through the story of Beethoven’s deafness, pleadings with the devil, and a mysterious musical manuscript. The stage production was over the top for a theater performance (impressive lighting, massive arched windows with light screens) but scaled back from their arena shows (no pyro, fewer props). Musically things were stripped down a bit, too, as two touring violinists were only accompanied by six local string musicians and there were fewer singers. Nevertheless, TSO puts on a stage spectacle like no other band, and the entire performance was nothing short of impressive. I let out a cheer when none other than vocalist extraordinaire Jeff Scott Soto (Yngwie Malmsteen, Talisman, Journey, others) strutted out on stage in his role as the devil to sing three or four throughout the evening. Following Beethoven’s Last Night the band rolled through their versions of Savatage classics “Prelude To Madness” and “Believe”. Although tonight’s show was the entire last lineup of Savatage with different singers and additional musicians, most of the audience of families, theater-types, and grandmothers would never know. A few in the know metalheads were present, so the concert was a special treat for Savatage fans that can live with the commercialization of the Savatage legacy. Aside from some of the between-song narrations being far too long, it was a treat seeing TSO in a theater setting and hopefully more non-Christmas tour outings are in the works.

Click picture for more photos of Trans-Siberian Orchestra (16).

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.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra Fan Club Only Theater Tour

Symphonic hard rock icons Trans-Siberian Orchestra has announced a special non-Christmas tour that will have the touring machine playing theaters. TSO will be only be playing material from their two non-Christmas albums, Beethoven's Last Night in its entirety and alongside selections from 2009's Night Castle. Tickets will only be available to members of the TSO fanclub, and you must currently be a member or register (free) by February 1 to be eligible to purchase tickets for this tour. The trek will be bring TSO to The State Theatre in Minneapolis on Saturday, April 24. To sign up for the TSO fan club, visit www.trans-siberianexpress.com.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra Album Review

Trans-Siberian Orchestra – Night Castle

Atlantic, 2009

7/10

If you aren’t aware by now, Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) is for all intents and purposes the latest evolution of Savatage. The Mountain King, Jon Oliva, says so himself. TSO has perfected a successful formula of performing pompous arena rock and classical standards with a revolving cast of musicians and classically-trained singers. They are certainly more accessible to the world of pop music than Savatage ever was. Some hard rock fans can’t stomach this, so if you’re expecting a Savatage record you’d be better off sticking with the solo albums from Jon Oliva’s Pain and Chris Caffery. Taking TSO for what it’s worth, Night Castle is a worthy continuation of the TSO formula. Night Castle is a dense, hefty 2CD affair, and it can be a bit much to absorb in one or two sittings. All Savatage principals perform here: Jon Oliva, Chris Caffery, Johnny Lee Middleton, Alex Skolnick, Al Pitrelli, and Jeff Plate, including some names metal fans will recognize: Jeff Scott Soto, Paul O’Neill, and Robert Kinkel. Somewhat surprisingly, Jeff Scott Solo sings a plurality (5) of the non-instrumental tracks. A massive booklet explains the storyline alongside the lyrics. Musically, Night Castle runs the gamut of grand, symphonic rockers and sentimental ballads to soaring instrumentals and quiet interludes. The song writing is excellent, and the performances flawless. Standout tracks are the galloping rocker “Another Way You Can Die”, ballad “Father, Son & Holy Ghost” and epic instrumental “Tracers”. Many songs will be recognizable to  fans since many have already been performed on recent tours, and the Savatage ballad “Believe” (from Streets) is also reworked here. On whole, Night Castle succeeds as an entertaining, yet thoughtful release. TSO is best known for their holiday-themed annual tours at the end of each year, and their massive arena show is a spectacle worth experience (even think you’d see Savatage members dressed in tuxedos, headlining sold-out arenas?). TSO fans should readily embrace Night Castle, but devout Savatage fans are likely to left feeling like this is Sava-lite.

Trans–Siberian Orchestra will be appearing at the Target Center in Minneapolis on Saturday, November 14 for two shows at 3:00 and 8:00.