Last month, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra stopped at the Verizon Center for the annual Christmas concert tour of rock and Christmas music. The band played two concerts, one at four o'clock and one at eight o'clock on the same day. Both of the concerts lived up to their high expectations.
Trans-Siberian Orchestra is a rock and roll band, with a local string orchestra backing them up. The show is much the same every year; during the first hour a story is told of a Christmas miracle by a narrator who speaks between songs. Then there is a five-minute intermission during which the lead singer introduces each band member. Then the final hour features music from the band's newest album released this year titled, "Night Castle."
One thing that makes this band so enjoyable is that most of their music was composed by others. They play songs that were originally written by composers such as Bach and Beethoven but tweak it into a rock song. This is a very original concept despite the fact that most of the music they write is not there's originally.
Beyond the music, incredible stage components throughout the entire show make the concerts much more enjoyable. The stage features scissor lifts, hoisting the rockers high above the crowd at various times during the show. It also features scaffolding that rises and falls and warps to create any number of shapes to fit the music.
During the song "First Snow" there is a light snowfall from the arena rafters; as the concert goes on, flames shoot from the stage and sparks rain down upon the stage. During the finale, the two lead rockers run through the crowd to the rear of the arena, where they are hoisted up toward the rafters on a smaller stage.
Although the band visits every year, and features many of the same stunts and music, the performance almost never ceases to amaze fans.
