12-21-2016, 08:37 AM
(12-21-2016, 12:58 AM)wickfam Wrote: I just couldn't come up with anything to say about this year's show that wasn't already said about last year's. Yeah, there were some different effects but.... everything else was about the same (at least for the East group) except that Joel was back instead of Bill Hudson. It was a good show, altho they should just call it TSO's Greatest Hits & be done with it. The "story" is weak, weak, weak... gotta be embarrassing for their narrators.
That's a fair assesment.
Some of what I liked:
- The snow machines were on full blast this year - to the point that my daughter leaned over and jokingly said "Should have brought my umbrella". And then Bryan Hicks opened up his umbrella on stage. Pretty fun and cool moment.
- Most of the vocalists were again just top notch and really delivered - it is a pleasure to hear them sing anywhere, any time
- Caffery and Dave Z were fun to watch, as usual
- The setlist for the most part was pretty great, imho. Happy to hear "March of the Kings" once again at the beginning of the Show and a portion of "A Last Illusion" thrown in there. I was surprised that they dropped "Forget About the Blame" after finally getting some non-Christmas radio play with it.
Some of what I didn't care for:
- Joel Hoekstra's over-the-top rock-star posing. The funny thing is that he is awesome at it. It's just not a good thing to be awesome at. It's like being your own caricature. That being said, I enjoy his playing; I listen to his solo albums often.
- The pyramid - just found it pointless and in the way.
- The cheerleader-meets-stripper dance moves. This is nothing new. Just still disliking it as I do every year. I get that some people dig it. I feel it devalues the Show. Thankfully there is lots of other stuff to concentrate on when the choreography begins.
- Not a fan of Lisa Lavie's vibrato. Feel that she is over-singing and artificially coloring her voice in "Music Box Blues". I could listen to Chloe Lowery and Erika Jerry sing that song all day long, Lisa not so much.
- I wish that Rob, Robin and Zak were given more than one song to sing .