who went last night?


I went to the second show last night, it was AWESOME!! It was also my first time seeing TSO as well.

12/6/2010 8:12:04 AM

I went to the afternoon show. My mother is a fanatic and buys us tickets to every holiday show for the past 5 years now. Always a good way to kill a Sunday afternoon. The first 1/2 is always the same and drags on a bit now, but the second 1/2 is alot more entertaining.

12/6/2010 9:18:10 AM

I went last night for the first time and was severely disappointed.

I didn't realize that:

A) It was 3 hours.

B) It was 1.5 hours of singing between an R&B singer, two guys who sang like christian rock singers, and a another girl who sang like someone off of American Idol (which is fine is you like that sort of thing but I don't). These parts really dragged on. Especially when some guy dresses like a bum and tries to sing a ballad/poem type song like the lead singer from Dropkick Murphys but fails at it.

C) There is a story teller (who sounds like Count Dracula) introducing each segment of music with some bizarre and extremely long story about a guy in a bar who has a conversation with an old man (who may or may not be an angel, I don't know, it was hard to follow the whole damn thing because I was so bored) and remembers what Christmas is about.

D) Women above the age of 40 flock to this event by the thousands and literally lose their mind over every segment. I swear, I was sitting next to 5 of em and they might as well have been have an orgasm after every segment. It was both highly annoying and hilarious.


On a positive note, the instrumental music was awesome (WHEN THEY ACTUALLY PLAYED IT) and the pyrotechnics and light show were quit awesome.

They are all very talented but it is just not my thing. Too much Christian Rock-style singing, the show is too long, and there wasn't enough rock/metal xmas music.


Actually, here's the story:

On a snow blessed Christmas Eve a young man found himself alone in the back of an old city bar in the rundown section of town. Using his solitary drink as something of a moat between himself and the rest of the world, he was surprised when an elderly gentleman asked to join him at his table. Reluctantly, he nodded his permission but within minutes he found himself engrossed in a story that the old man related to him; a story about another Christmas Eve when the Lord looked down from above at all his children. It had been nearly two thousand years since the birth of His son and turning to His youngest Angel the Lord said, “Go down to the Earth and bring back to me the one thing that best represents everything good that has been done in the name of this day.”

The Angel bowed to the Lord and spreading his wings, descended from heaven to the world of man, all the while contemplating his mission. So much had been done in the name of honoring the birth of the Christ Child. For this day wars had temporarily ceased, cathedrals had been built and great novels had been written. With so little time, what could he possibly find to represent all this?

As he soared above the Earth, he suddenly heard the sound of church bells below. Their tone was so beautiful that it reminded him of the voice of God.

Looking down, he saw a small church whose bells were ringing out the carol, “Silent Night.” As the final note died away, it was replaced by one lone voice singing inside the church. It was shortly joined by a second voice that embraced the first in perfect harmony, and then another and another until a choir of voices rose through the night. Enchanted by the magic of what he was hearing, the Angel found himself listening until the song was finished. As he resumed his flight through the night, he was delighted to hear these sounds everywhere, from the largest cities to the smallest villages. He heard melodies from massive orchestras and in the voices of single soldiers alone at their posts. And any place where he heard these songs, he found hope in the hearts of men. Grasping a song out of the air, he held it in his hand (angels are able to do this) and thought that maybe, these songs could be the one thing that best represented Christmas. They seemed to give voice to man's greatest joys as well as hope to those deepest in despair.

But, though at first glance it appeared to be the answer he sought, his heart told him that this music was not enough. There had to be something more. So he continued his flight through the night until he suddenly felt the touch of a father's prayer on its way to heaven. Once again looking downward, he saw a man who was praying for his child; a child whom he had not heard from in a long time and who would not be home that Christmas. Seizing upon the prayer, the Angel followed it until it reached the lost child.

She was standing on a corner, in a quiet snowfall, looking very small in a very large city. Across from her was an old city bar, the kind that only the lost seemed to know how to find.

The patrons of this establishment rarely looked up from their drinks and so seemed not to notice the young girl. Now, the bartender in this bar had been working in there longer than anyone could remember. He believed in nothing except his bar and his cash register. He had never married, never took a vacation and as a matter of fact, had never been seen out from behind his counter by most of his patrons. He was there when they arrived and he was still there when they left. He gave no credit and for seventy-five cents, served shots of un-watered whiskey to people who used their drinks like a wall around their lives. For them, he provided a safe, unchanging world. Suddenly, the door opened wide and into this world walked a small child. The bartender could not remember the last time that a child had been in this place, but before he could ask the child what he was doing there, the child asked him if he knew that there was a girl outside their door who could not get home. Glancing out the window, he saw the girl standing across the street. Turning back to the child, the bartender asked him how he knew this. The child replied: "On this night of all nights, if one could be home, they'd be already there.” The bartender looked back toward the young girl as he reflected on what the child had said. After several seconds of thought, he slowly went over to the cash register and removing most of the money, came out from behind the bar and followed the child across the street.

Everyone in the bar watched as he spoke with the girl. After a few moments, he called over a cab, put the girl inside and told the driver, "J.F.K. Airport." As the cab pulled away, he looked around for the child, but the child was gone. And what was stranger still, even though his own tracks leading from the bar were still clearly marked in the snow, the child's were nowhere to be found. Returning back inside, he asked if anyone had seen where the child had gone, but like himself, no one had, for they also had been watching the departing cab. And then, some would later say that the most miraculous thing of all happened, when for the rest of the night, no one
paid for a drink. Later that night the Angel returned back to heaven and placed in the Lord's hand, the wish of a soul for the happiness of another. And as the
heavenly host looked on, the Lord smiled.

At the end of his story the old man then told the youth that he had enjoyed their time together but that it was time for him to leave. After the old man had left,
the youth found himself rushing out the door only seconds behind the elderly gentleman's exit so that he might ask his name, but not only was there no one in sight but there wasn't even a single track in the snow. The young man stood there for a moment perplexed but then he suddenly felt a sense of gentle peace and contentment flow through his body. Buttoning his coat the youth slowly walked home where for the first time since his childhood he dreamed a Christmas dream.

That ENTIRE STORY is spaced between Christian rock ballads, Whitney Houston, a laser light show, fireballs, heavy metal rock, the storm squad dancers, smoke and fog bombs, subliminal imagery of ships at sea, lightning, and thunder clouds, acoustic rock, a homeless guy rant/ballad, and Count Dracula. It hurts my brain...

[Edited on December 6, 2010 at 11:04 AM. Reason : .]

12/6/2010 10:59:53 AM

yeah I thought the dude sounded like count dracula, but it was all good considering the rest of the show flipping ROCKED MY FUCKING FACE OFF!!

12/6/2010 11:19:52 AM

The second half was good but the first half was awful in my opinion.

12/6/2010 11:33:12 AM

Quote :

"gay pirates playing fake metal christmas songs on a spaceship"

12/6/2010 11:38:39 AM

lmao

[Edited on December 6, 2010 at 11:50 AM. Reason : pretty much]

12/6/2010 11:50:27 AM

Quote :

"There is a story teller (who sounds like Count Dracula) introducing each segment of music with some bizarre and extremely long story about a guy in a bar who has a conversation with an old man (who may or may not be an angel, I don't know, it was hard to follow the whole damn thing because I was so bored) and remembers what Christmas is about."

Wow.

12/6/2010 11:51:07 AM

yeah I honestly was so bored with the story telling that I didn't follow it. I know I murdered the storyline but honestly, look at all that crap I posted above and tell me how you can follow all that through 3 hours.

Quote :

"That ENTIRE STORY is spaced between Christian rock ballads, Whitney Houston, a laser light show, fireballs, heavy metal rock, the storm squad dancers, smoke and fog bombs, subliminal imagery of ships at sea, lightning, and thunder clouds, acoustic rock, a homeless guy rant/ballad, and Count Dracula. It hurts my brain..."

[Edited on December 6, 2010 at 12:03 PM. Reason : .]

12/6/2010 12:02:49 PM

Just out of morbid curiosity, what does a Christian rock singer sound like? I mean, what do they do that separates them from your standard rock singer?

12/6/2010 8:08:31 PM

gayer, obviously

12/6/2010 8:19:52 PM

I had to work both shows, and all I have to say is that it was disappointingly soft. I would occasionally pop in, and couldn't stand to listen for more than 30 seconds, because I wanted it cranked up. It was like listening to someone mumble.

From what I saw, though, all of the lights and stuff were pretty cool.

12/6/2010 9:28:08 PM

going weds, wife got box tickets from work. thanks for pumping me up

12/6/2010 10:00:29 PM

Quote :

"Just out of morbid curiosity, what does a Christian rock singer sound like? "

Quote :

"gayer, obviously"

lol



Maybe I should have said soft lame rock instead of Christian rock.... I don't know. If you've ever seen the commercial for the Christian music CDs (Songs for Worship... I think) that have all those Christian rock bands, that's what I meant. Too many songs sounded like that (at least to me). I'm not knocking Christian music, it's just not my thing. I'm just saying most of it sounded pretty tame and I had no idea that TSO would have THAT style heavily mixed in with their rock/metal style. It was just weird. On top of that, add an R&B singer who sings like Whitney Houston, a country/pop female singer (who sounds like someone off American Idol) combined with a synchronized dance team and the rest was just ruined for me.

Quote :

"I had to work both shows, and all I have to say is that it was disappointingly soft."

That's about right. It was just soft and I didn't expect it to be so I personally thought most of it sucked. The parts where they actually did play what they are famous for was cool but from a music standpoint, it was just disappointing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMYfroFkFbo
Here's an example of some of the Christian rock I was referring to.

12/7/2010 11:09:22 AM

My problem with this stuff is that it's advertised as an instrumental metal band that plays Christmas music, and it's not that at all. They're not a band; it's a traveling Broadway show that has some Christmas metal as its centerpiece.

12/7/2010 2:51:14 PM

you said it perfectly

12/7/2010 2:57:16 PM

i thought it was great, except:

- the black chick that got all soulful and shit (very out of place)
- the white chick that growled the whole time (also out of place)
- the 'dancing' of the backup singers. i did not come to see poorly choreographed cheerleader moves
- the 'song' by the hobo...took forever

the actual instrumental songs, as said before, were awesome. The lights and hi-tech setup were great. Something I've always wanted to see, and now, probably will not see it again for many years.

12/7/2010 6:12:29 PM

lol thats what i said

Quote :

"That ENTIRE STORY is spaced between Christian rock ballads, Whitney Houston, a laser light show, fireballs, heavy metal rock, the storm squad dancers, smoke and fog bombs, subliminal imagery of ships at sea, lightning, and thunder clouds, acoustic rock, a homeless guy rant/ballad, and Count Dracula. It hurts my brain..."

12/8/2010 10:35:42 AM