'Tis the Season for Shows :)

So with the holidays coming around, there's a plentiful bounty of shows to watch :D  This weekend pretty busy for me -- I went to a Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert and the Nutcracker ballet.

But before I go any further, I just wanted to mention this weekend was ALSO very special for our dear friends Jordan and Daniel.  This past Saturday was their commencement ceremony.  Congratulations on graduating, you guys!! v(^w^)v  (Now they just have to make it through finals >__<) yessss congrats guys! i wish i could've been there to celebrate with you all :)

So, if you haven't heard of TSO before, they are this interesting metal rock band in their own style of music.  They combine electric guitars and drums with classical vocals and string instruments.  I really, really like their Christmas music!  Here's a sample of one of my favorites (timed to Christmas lights!):

My top two other favorites are "A Mad Russian's Christmas" and "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo." 

The music is great, and the show itself was pretty amazing.  The tickets are a little expensive (~$100 each), but it's completely worth it.  The show combines the live music with lights, pyrotechnics, and the lead members running around on stage playing their instruments.  The Christmas show also had a narrated story that linked many of the songs together. 

Afterwards, they had an autograph signing.  I got a booklet from the night, but they sell other things -- posters, CDs, and even playing cards (I got a set of those, also).  They also gave us some fancy TSO guitar picks as we went down the line, and the band members are really nice.  If you ever get a chance, I would definitely recommend going to watch them :D

Ooooo i've always wanted to see TSO :P perhaps next year? did you go with anyone?

The Nutcracker Ballet was also fun but less impressive. (It's a more elegant show, without the fancy lights). If you've never heard of the Nutcracker and/or the ballet, you should watch the Nutcracker movie.  The ballet (and movie) are both renditions based on Tchaikovsky's song set that he wrote for the original Nutcracker story.

A sampler of the music (and ballet dances):