Concert Review: The Trans-Siberian Orchestra

As part of our anniversary present to each other, my husband and I headed into the Seattle WA Key Arena last night to attend the 8 pm concert of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. If I had to use one phrase to describe this event, it would be a Christmas feast of the senses.

From the first moment before the concert when we learned that the orchestra had donated one dollar from every ticket to be given to The Northwest Harvest group, I was impressed. Northwest Harvest provides food and assistance to various food banks through the Pacific Northwest. This gesture indicated that the message running through the music and lyrics of the Trans-Siberian orchestra was much more than words to them.

So what are they and what do they play? This is as hard to describe as the band is complex. For though there is strong rock, they actually play their own versions of such classics as Waltz of the Sugar Plum Fairy by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Flight of the Bumblebee by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov in addition to a little boogie woogie on the keyboards. These are artists--genuine musicians. They play everything from rock to classical to blues to R&B, all skillfully blended and tied in with theatrics and narration. They provide you with marvelous stories for the holidays in music and lights.

And speaking of lights, the musicians are not the only ones who deserve standing ovations. The technical crew that mans their enormous synchronized light show and accompanying pyrotechnics rhythmically pulses and moves to the music on stage. Those in that crew are virtuosos in their own right. In one evening's performance we had snow, fog, lasers, moving stages, steam, pillars of fire, fire crackers, sparklers, moving pictures, neon lights, fanning spotlights, sprays of fire and backdrop screens of various colors, lights and pictures. All synchronized perfectly to the music we watched them play.

The energy of this group was unbelievable. For three solid hours they entertained us with music that left us weeping or cheering, unable to sit still for a moment. There are no slackers in this orchestra, no prima donnas grabbing all of the limelight. Each pulls their own weight contributing their own energy into a combined flawless performance.

I could not take pictures at this event, but please do check out the multimedia section on their website and check the schedule to see when they are playing in your area. Whether you are a Christmas music fan, a classical music fan, a rock and roll fan, a fan of technical light shows or a theatre major, you can not go wrong with an evening listening to this orchestra. Every one of your senses will thank you.