i wanted music, but got cheese instead

Mr. Baseball and I bought tickets to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) several weeks ago and this past Thursday was the big night.

I must say that I was looking forward to the concert. I have really liked all the TSO songs that I've heard on the radio at Christmas time and this gave Mr. Baseball and I a good excuse for a date night/late birthday celebration for him.

The concert was half an hour late getting started which wasn't really a big deal since we weren't paying for babysitting. The people watching was really good, so I didn't have much to complain about...yet.

Our row quickly filled up and I was astonished that the couple several seats down from us had brought their 6 month old baby, complete with his very own set of (big) headphones to drown out the eardrum-shattering decibels that we were certain to encounter. I guess they weren't completely clueless to the fact that TSO is not your run-of-the-mill orchestra. Take an 80's big hair rock band with their flashy guitars, add 4 scantily clad females who can actually sing (but not dance - we'll discuss this later), lots of lasers and lights, and then throw in a small, yet highly talented section of violinists and cellists and there you have it.

Here's my summation:

The music - Excellent, however it DID start to all sound the same after a while.
The show - well, let me break it down like this...

• If we're talking about lighting/lasers/technical elements then it was good albeit for the lights that were so bright and strobing that I seriously thought I was going to seize. There were moments where I had to look away.
• If we're talking about the dancing (if you want to call it that) - I felt like I was watching an advertisement for Velveeta. See for yourself (you only need to watch about 30 seconds to see what I mean)...
  
  

See what I mean? Yep...total cheese.

I also felt uncomfortable with all the head banging/hair slinging escapades that were happening onstage. I really thought someone might snap a vertebrae - and seriously...head banging to Christmas music really doesn't look all that cool. I mean, I know their serious musicians and stuff, but it was a little over the top.

Mr. Baseball and I decided that it wasn't worth the money we paid (over $100 for tickets, gas, and parking) and that we wouldn't be seeing TSO anywhere live again. Amen.