12-08-2015, 01:29 AM
I saw them in L'ville KY a few nights ago and I've gotta agree with MOST of Dan's comments... :-)
Lisa Lavie is a great singer but not on Music Box Blues (and I think she did one other song as well). She's got the attitude & the talent but seems like she REALLY has to struggle for the big notes.
Rob Evan only doing one song was a surprise indeed but I had to wonder if he wasn't feeling well in L'ville? He's noted for his amazing STRENGTH as a vocalist & seemed like he was "out of breath" and having to cut some of the long phrases short. Not like him at all!!
Was disappointed that Zak didn't get to sing more. My husband wasn't familiar with him & after he sang, leaned over & said "that guy from Savatage is tiny but he's gotta helluva big voice!!!" I was like "NO DUH!!!!!!" LOL!
Russell Allen... Oh my gosh... My whole family loved James Lewis & were just broken-hearted when he stopped touring a few years ago but Russell Allen has filled those shoes nicely indeed! (Still prefer James on "This Christmas Day" but Russell owns "Christmas Nights in Blue"!)
Bill Hudson did a nice job but we honestly missed Joel & his over-the-top theatrics. Maybe he'll loosen up if he stays with TSO in future years but I missed a lot of the interaction & byplay between Chris, Joel, Dave Z. and Roddy.
Robin Borneman did a great job on Forget About the Blame and I really like the song but, as Dan said, it just doesn't sound like TSO... And my husband didn't like the song at all. Said that, for him, that was the weakest part of the show.
We all liked more Christmas music in the 2nd half but at the same time missed more or a story line with Bryan Hicks in the 1st half. Missed Carmina Burana as well. And Believe.
Time and Distance just doesn't cut it as the opener for me. Don't care for the song. Makes for a boring opener in my opinion.
Kayla Reeves' voice has finally matured. The little 17 year old we originally saw with TSO years ago is definitely all woman now, lol! And her voice and performance show it. The whole guitar thing on The Mountain was weird though.
As for the crowd, it was in the KFC Yum Center and it looked pretty full. The check was for $6000 something. I noticed a few empty seats in front of us but not many. The couple to our right left after only 3 or 4 songs after coming in late to the show. (And I was thankful to see them leave because the guy had a serious BO problem & was making my life MISERABLE as I tried to ignore it!) The crowd was more sedate than I've seen in the past but I've noticed that at shows in L'vile - we're used to a rough & rowdy crowd of all ages in Lexington. L'ville crowds tend towards the older, more sedate end of the spectrum...
Overall, it was a good show. Not their "best" but a good solid show overall. My whole family finds ourselves missing Christmas Eve and Other Stories though. It was, by far, our favorite since we began going to TSO concerts back in 2008 and we'd all love to hear those songs (An Angel Came Down, Prince of Peace, Mad Russian's Christmas, etc.) again.
Lisa Lavie is a great singer but not on Music Box Blues (and I think she did one other song as well). She's got the attitude & the talent but seems like she REALLY has to struggle for the big notes.
Rob Evan only doing one song was a surprise indeed but I had to wonder if he wasn't feeling well in L'ville? He's noted for his amazing STRENGTH as a vocalist & seemed like he was "out of breath" and having to cut some of the long phrases short. Not like him at all!!
Was disappointed that Zak didn't get to sing more. My husband wasn't familiar with him & after he sang, leaned over & said "that guy from Savatage is tiny but he's gotta helluva big voice!!!" I was like "NO DUH!!!!!!" LOL!
Russell Allen... Oh my gosh... My whole family loved James Lewis & were just broken-hearted when he stopped touring a few years ago but Russell Allen has filled those shoes nicely indeed! (Still prefer James on "This Christmas Day" but Russell owns "Christmas Nights in Blue"!)
Bill Hudson did a nice job but we honestly missed Joel & his over-the-top theatrics. Maybe he'll loosen up if he stays with TSO in future years but I missed a lot of the interaction & byplay between Chris, Joel, Dave Z. and Roddy.
Robin Borneman did a great job on Forget About the Blame and I really like the song but, as Dan said, it just doesn't sound like TSO... And my husband didn't like the song at all. Said that, for him, that was the weakest part of the show.
We all liked more Christmas music in the 2nd half but at the same time missed more or a story line with Bryan Hicks in the 1st half. Missed Carmina Burana as well. And Believe.
Time and Distance just doesn't cut it as the opener for me. Don't care for the song. Makes for a boring opener in my opinion.
Kayla Reeves' voice has finally matured. The little 17 year old we originally saw with TSO years ago is definitely all woman now, lol! And her voice and performance show it. The whole guitar thing on The Mountain was weird though.
As for the crowd, it was in the KFC Yum Center and it looked pretty full. The check was for $6000 something. I noticed a few empty seats in front of us but not many. The couple to our right left after only 3 or 4 songs after coming in late to the show. (And I was thankful to see them leave because the guy had a serious BO problem & was making my life MISERABLE as I tried to ignore it!) The crowd was more sedate than I've seen in the past but I've noticed that at shows in L'vile - we're used to a rough & rowdy crowd of all ages in Lexington. L'ville crowds tend towards the older, more sedate end of the spectrum...
Overall, it was a good show. Not their "best" but a good solid show overall. My whole family finds ourselves missing Christmas Eve and Other Stories though. It was, by far, our favorite since we began going to TSO concerts back in 2008 and we'd all love to hear those songs (An Angel Came Down, Prince of Peace, Mad Russian's Christmas, etc.) again.