The River Walk being adorned with Christmas lights and the presence of the city’s tree in Alamo Plaza or Travis Park aren’t the only rites of passage this time of year in San Antonio. The Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s annual visits to tell The Ghosts of Christmas Eve can be added to the list whether one has been naughty or nice.
Sunday’s annual double dosage of extravagant heavy metal story telling marked TSO’s 20th anniversary celebration as well. And it came with its own stocking stuffers for a captive audience that filled the AT&T Center:
Rows of flames dotting the main stage
Dual guitarists rising in the back of the venue
Pyro shooting diagonally across the stage
A Texas chapter of the TSO serving as backing instrumentalists
A charitable donation of $1 for every ticket sold resulting in a pre-show presentation of a check for $20,607 to Project Angel Fare of San Antonio (see 84-photo slideshow below)
A bassist and electronic violinist soaring above the center of the Center, performing as high as the Spurs’ five championship banners hanging from the rafters
TSO’s logo spewing flames from the back of the venue that could be felt on the back of the necks of many patrons sitting on the floor
Did we mention the pyro?
Narrated by Phillip Brandon and told in musical form by a who’s-who cast of supremely talented musicians, TSO even made it snow inside the venue in a city that rarely sees the white stuff. Talk about pulling out all the stops.
Add it up, and families and metalheads alike were equally entertained by a 2-hour, 24-minute afternoon set that preceded the group’s 8 p.m. showing.
TSO has forged on since the 2017 death of its founder, guitarist Paul O’Neill. Adorned with two factions that tour the East and West coasts, Sunday’s group featured the leadership of original guitarist Al Pitrelli, a former member of Megadeth and Savatage. TSO, of course, was spawned from Florida metallers Savatage in 1996 and continues to employ the services of that band’s bassist Johnny Lee Middleton and guitarist Chris Caffery. Middleton was on hand at the AT&T Center, joining violinist Asha Mevlana and guitarist Angus Clark as performing a bulk of the program above the stage. Middleton made his mark throughout Savatage’s catalog from 1986-2001 on albums such as Fight for the Rock, Hall of the Mountain King, Gutter Ballet and arguably the record that led to TSO’s existence, 1991’s Streets: A Rock Opera.
The first half of the set was TSO’s rendition of the Christmas Eve story which included “Night Enchanted,” “Oh Holy Night” and Savatage’s 1995 instrumental “Christmas Eve Sarajevo (12/24)” (setlist in slideshow). Though hailing from the Sunshine State, TSO may as well have taken a page out of Texas’ book by doing things bigger and better. A whopping 10 vocalists were highlighted by the soaring yet soothing voices of Chloe Lowery and John Brink, both of whom unofficially competed for longest held note at more than 20 seconds. Jeff Scott Soto, no stranger to most in the audience after bursting onto the metal scene as the lead vocalist on Yngwie Malmsteen’s 1985 Marching Out album as well as being an accomplished solo artist, also had his moments to shine.
Those seeing TSO for the first time, which was about a quarter of the audience after being asked by Pitrelli, likely also were familiar with drummer Blas Elias, known for his early ‘90s work in Slaughter. But some of the lesser-known musicians weren’t exactly slouches. Clark, vocalists Andrew Ross, Mats Leven, Jodi Katz, Ashley Hollister and April Berry and keyboardists Vitalij Kuprij and Jane Mangini (Pitrelli’s ex-wife) helped bring a thunderous joy to the festive occasion dotted with supreme musicianship. Although, the female singers swinging their heads from side to side seemed out of place with Christmas story telling.
Pitrelli saved the final band introduction for his lost cohort O’Neill, saying, “I miss you, my friend” while pointing to the heavens and dedicating “Someday” to him. Curiously, though, no mention was made of another TSO musician who died in the same area of Florida in 2017 — Adrenaline Mob bassist David Zablidowski, who lost his life when A-Mob’s RV was struck by a tractor-trailer reportedly after having pulled to the side of the road to change a flat tire, with the RV catching fire. Adrenaline Mob and TSO East Coast vocalist Russell Allen survived along with A-Mob guitarist Mike Orlando.
The last half of the show was a collection of non-story telling TSO tunes, with an additional highlight coming in the form of “Chance” from Savatage’s 1994 Handful of Rain album (something Testament and former TSO guitarist Alex Skolnick discussed with ATM in October regarding his participation on it (watch here). Although that song’s original vocalist Zak Stevens is on TSO’s East Coast faction, the AT&T Center’s group played and sang it splendidly.
And how’s this for a fun fact? Yours truly was first-chair violin in 7th grade at the same junior high school as TSO violinist Roddy Chong, who was first chair at the same time in his 8th grade class. Alas, Chong is also touring with TSO’s East Coast faction.
Much like taking a cruise or seeing the Grand Canyon, an investment in a TSO Christmas concert should be on one’s family holiday bucket list. You’ll rarely see another collection of well-known and lesser-known multi-cultural musicians with their unique brand of talent unified in celebrating the holidays and heavy metal simultaneously.
Start buttering up Santa for tickets to next year’s show. Perhaps the effort will result in a Christmas Eve story of your own to tell the children someday.
