2021 Reviews?

[DarkMacek]

I was also at Elmont. I agree on most of that, especially Welcome as an opener.
My issue with the second half wasn't the length - I just thought that doing that many _half_ songs was kinda lame. It did seem as though they were in a rush to get out of there but with skyrocketing insurance costs for tours, I would reckon that a clause in the contract is "keep the show under 2.5 hours" or something.

[fraroc]

I was also at Elmont. I agree on most of that, especially Welcome as an opener.
My issue with the second half wasn't the length - I just thought that doing that many _half_ songs was kinda lame. It did seem as though they were in a rush to get out of there but with skyrocketing insurance costs for tours, I would reckon that a clause in the contract is "keep the show under 2.5 hours" or something.

I remember some of the TGOCE tours being almost three hours long. This one was probably about a little bit over two hours. It was overall a very solid TSO show with a great stage, but I do hope that next year they really go all-out setlist wise and really bring out the heavy tunes, like they did in 2016 where we got Madness of Men, Mountain Labrynth, and The Mountain in one setlist \m/

[TheBigTBone]

Quick Raleigh review:

- I loved Welcome to the Show as an opener.  Zack needs to sing more songs though. 
- Not a fan of the light balls or moving screens.  Just distractions. 
- Criss Oliva's white guitar is very prominent on most of their merchandise but they don't show it on the projections anymore.  They also did not do the first part of The Mountain which I always thought of as a tribute to him.
- Savatage and Jon Oliva were mentioned during the introductions.  Sometimes they seem like "bad words" so it was lovely to get a nod.
- "A Little too Far" was pretty good and the crowd really seemed to enjoy it.
- Oh Holy Night is usually the highlight for me but it was nothing special this round.
- T-shirts were $40, pretty typical concert prices.
- The spinning cube at the back of the floor was weak compared to the Tesla ball.  I was expecting it to do more.
- Caffery did not run to the back of the arena for the final song like he usually does. 
- Great use of lifts throughout the show.
- The sound is just TOO low and there is no punch at all.  I had the same complaint when I last saw them 2 years ago.  Is this just a Raleigh thing? 
- All in all an entertaining show but it all feels so Disnified and corporate.  I am starving for new material and really just want a 10 hour Savatage show. 
- I kept reading about all these projects Paul was working on.  Where are they?  Nobody is getting any younger.  I don't know who is in charge of bringing them to life but Jon Oliva is a mess and I am not sure if he has the discipline to get things done.  Who is steering the ship?
- The Christmas thing has become a tradition but they always leave me wanting more...

Signed,

A spoiled fan

They are not allowed to go into the crowd or to throw out guitar picks or drum sticks.

I was at the Raleigh show as well and was overall pleased with the it.
 
The screens at the opener blocked the performers but the opening song was perfect.
 
The change of singers for "Good King Joy" was ok but I believe that Caleb should be the one to sing "Music Box Blues", he just seems to have the voice to match Daryl Pedifords rendition, and I really do not like Erika Jerry on that one. I truly believe Caleb would do it so much justice. Why will they not allow a man to perform it?

I also thought Robin Borneman did a fantastic job on OCB. It hasn't sounded that good since I first heard Steve Broderick perform it in at a theater in Raleigh in 2004.

I wish Joel would do the solo for "Oh Holy Night" like Al does for the west group. Watch Al and then watch Joel and you'll see what I am talking about...adding his own (Joel) flavor to it does not work in my opinion and I know some really like it. 

The cello for Christmas Sarajevo being done by a violin or being sinked to the actual cello sound was strange, especially after Brian speaks of the cello in the narration. It would be cool to have the actual local cello player to step out just for that particular moment...but who am I to critique? Great show over all and I'll be back in Raleigh in 2022.

[fraroc]

Quick Raleigh review:

- I loved Welcome to the Show as an opener.  Zack needs to sing more songs though. 
- Not a fan of the light balls or moving screens.  Just distractions. 
- Criss Oliva's white guitar is very prominent on most of their merchandise but they don't show it on the projections anymore.  They also did not do the first part of The Mountain which I always thought of as a tribute to him.
- Savatage and Jon Oliva were mentioned during the introductions.  Sometimes they seem like "bad words" so it was lovely to get a nod.
- "A Little too Far" was pretty good and the crowd really seemed to enjoy it.
- Oh Holy Night is usually the highlight for me but it was nothing special this round.
- T-shirts were $40, pretty typical concert prices.
- The spinning cube at the back of the floor was weak compared to the Tesla ball.  I was expecting it to do more.
- Caffery did not run to the back of the arena for the final song like he usually does. 
- Great use of lifts throughout the show.
- The sound is just TOO low and there is no punch at all.  I had the same complaint when I last saw them 2 years ago.  Is this just a Raleigh thing? 
- All in all an entertaining show but it all feels so Disnified and corporate.  I am starving for new material and really just want a 10 hour Savatage show. 
- I kept reading about all these projects Paul was working on.  Where are they?  Nobody is getting any younger.  I don't know who is in charge of bringing them to life but Jon Oliva is a mess and I am not sure if he has the discipline to get things done.  Who is steering the ship?
- The Christmas thing has become a tradition but they always leave me wanting more...

Signed,

A spoiled fan

They are not allowed to go into the crowd or to throw out guitar picks or drum sticks.

I was at the Raleigh show as well and was overall pleased with the it.
 
The screens at the opener blocked the performers but the opening song was perfect.
 
The change of singers for "Good King Joy" was ok but I believe that Caleb should be the one to sing "Music Box Blues", he just seems to have the voice to match Daryl Pedifords rendition, and I really do not like Erika Jerry on that one. I truly believe Caleb would do it so much justice. Why will they not allow a man to perform it?

I also thought Robin Borneman did a fantastic job on OCB. It hasn't sounded that good since I first heard Steve Broderick perform it in at a theater in Raleigh in 2004.

I wish Joel would do the solo for "Oh Holy Night" like Al does for the west group. Watch Al and then watch Joel and you'll see what I am talking about...adding his own (Joel) flavor to it does not work in my opinion and I know some really like it. 

The cello for Christmas Sarajevo being done by a violin or being sinked to the actual cello sound was strange, especially after Brian speaks of the cello in the narration. It would be cool to have the actual local cello player to step out just for that particular moment...but who am I to critique? Great show over all and I'll be back in Raleigh in 2022.

I always found that with For The Sake Of Our Brother and Prince of Peace, you gotta have a woman singing it, it just doesn't sound the same with a guy. 

If you see some older TSO footage, they used to have one of the cellists in the local string ensemble do the Sarajevo cello intro. But for some reason, ever since 2012 they've had Roddy or Asha do it with the 5 string violin.