TSO in 2022

[fraroc]

In terms of setlist, I'm glad that this time around they did a slightly longer second set of music unlike last year's which was WAY too short. However I feel like they REALLY went overboard with the bathroom break songs on this tour. You already have enough ballads in the first set, doing both For The Sake of Our Brother AND having Kayla Reeves singing her ballad just seemed really redundant. I love the fact they did Siberian Sleigh Ride, A Last Illusion (in its entirety no less) , and Madness of Men, but I seriously would have swapped out Christmas In The Air with a song like Handful of Rain or Chance and squeezed in The Mountain or Tracers somewhere in the set. Other than the Kayla Reeves ballad and Sarajevo 12/24, there wasn't really that much Savatage representation in the set at all this year unlike 2019 when they did both The Storm AND Handful of Rain and 2021 when they opened the show and the second set with Savatage songs.

For a couple of reasons, I would expect less Savatage in the Show at this point.  We were lucky to get "Not What You See" and "If I Go Away".

I also really dug Christmas Carousels, the entirely new song that opened the second set. If the long-rumored new TSO Christmas album comes out, I hope the new song is on it!

Desi O'Neill wanted a new song in the set, so Jon Oliva came up with this "Carousels of Christmas" instrumental based on a bunch of his older riffs.  The song hasn't been recorded yet, and no telling if it will be.  If at some point, Desi decides she wants TSO to have a new Christmas song or album, then it may happen.  Other than that, there is no other plan to do so.

Music wise, the band was top notch as always. John Brink is an absolutley incredible bass/baritone and I'm SO glad we got him on the East now. However not having Dustin playing the third guitar during some of the instrumentals was kind of a missing element.

Many fans have focused in on the fact that TSO East is missing that person with the third guitar.  I tend to think that is more of a visual element that is missing.

Paul dying so unexpectedly in 2017 most likely screwed a lot of plans up.

Paul was the only one who had plans.

As much as I love TSO, it just seems like especially now without Paul, they're just completely adrift, not knowing what to do or where to go next other than tour every holiday season...I love Jon Oliva but he either needs to get his shit together or somoene in the ex-Savatage camp needs to assume leadership. If its true that they have all these amazing ideas for new albums and stories both Christmas and non Christmas, I'd like to see them eventually come to fruitition. They hit such a snag creatively after Night Castle and I'd love to see them finally put something new out. (I don't count Letters from the Labrynth because that was basically their cutting room floor)