TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA FRANCK CARDUCCI AND THE FANTASTIC SQUAD
Trans-Siberian Orchestra have been a Christmas staple for more than 25 years. Formed as a Savatage spin-off, their Christian-themed fusion of neoclassical prog metal and stagey imagery/showmanship is equally heartwarming and exhilarating. That’s certainly the case with their current The Ghosts Of Christmas Eve: The Best Of TSO And More tour. Full of sophisticated musicianship, endearing songwriting and immersive visuals, it’s a wonderful evening for spiritual and secular attendees alike.
Following a prelude comprising Fate, Prometheus and The Lost Christmas Eve, they expectedly begin with a The Ghosts Of Christmas Eve set. Originally a made-for-TV short film, it’s recreated faultlessly alongside selected clips and live narration from TSO regular Bryan Hicks. The highlight is fan favourite Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24, with additional standouts including the rousing instrumental O Come All Ye Faithful/O Holy Night, the vocally intricate Christmas Canon Rock, and the Russell Allen-sung This Christmas Day.
From there, TSO launch into a similarly riveting second set of careerspanning classics. They represent their whole studio catalogue, too, with selections ranging from the wildly multifaceted A Mad Russian’s Christmas (from 1996’s Christmas Eve And Other Stories) to the gorgeously ominous Madness Of Men (from 2015’s Letters From The Labyrinth). Viral sensation Wizards In Winter makes an appearance, of course, and a few other tunes – including For The Sake Of Our Brother and Christmas In The Air – further demonstrate the wide-ranging talents of numerous male and female vocalists.
Aside from a stunning array of lasers, lights and the like (plus charming projections of cathedrals, snowy towns and stained-glass windows), songs are accompanied by heavy smoke and/or explosive beams of fire. First Snow is enhanced by ‘real’ snow raining down on the fans, and at points musicians appear on pillars behind and above the crowd thanks to rising scaffolds and production trickery. It’s amazing.
Guitarist Chris Caffery provides many a touching moment outside of the performance, too, such as when he dedicates a cover of Savatage’s If I Go Away to late TSO founder Paul O’Neill. Caffrey introduces each singer and instrumentalist with gratitude, just as he speaks at length about the band’s history in Philadelphia. He prefaces the concert by revealing that the audience’s patronage allowed the band to make a sizable donation to the Salvation Army.
Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s roughly two-hour performance is an absolute treat for the eyes, ears and heart, illustrating why their show remains an essential Christmas tradition.
Bone-chilling sub-zero temperatures and a blanket of snow present a suitably seasonal backdrop for the festive finale of Franck Carducci And
The Fantastic Squad’s mini tour. Having attracted respectable audiences on their travels, a cohort of die-hard fans braves the cold for bassist Carducci’s prog cabaret in which he plays dual roles of MC and entertainer-in-chief.
His Squad members – all accomplished performers – meld prog, rock and West Coast psychedelia with dazzling theatricals. The show’s overriding strength is its diversity, but with the restless, sinewy presence of guitarist Barth Sky and wild-haired keyboard player Cédric Selzer, the current emphasis is towards turbocharged rock’n’roll.
The show opens with the gloriously mellifluous, vocally harmonious (Love
Is) The Answer, a song that instantly emits a megawatt glow. Betrayal Of
Blue is their eco-aware song, a plea from Earth to its human destroyers, bringing Carducci’s impassioned vocals to the fore while Mary Reynaud, the band’s co-vocalist, instrumentalist and dancer, redefines the physical possibilities for theremin manipulation. A Brief Tale Of Time is elevated to a higher dimension when Reynaud returns sporting laser light-beaming gloves as part of her dance, ending the song with an octave-defying vocal passage from Ennio Morricone’s The Ecstasy Of Gold.
Carducci makes a point of featuring songs by artists local to each venue and says he’s disappointed that Robert Plant isn’t in the building, but pays homage with a full-throated solo rendition of
Led Zeppelin’s Rock And Roll.
For visual drama, there’s nothing more mesmerising than Reynaud’s bluesy ballad The Angel, for which she dons her “wings”, an LED-lit cape which spectacularly swirls and spirals as she dances. Mr Hyde And Dr Jekyll and
Torn Apart allow Sky, Selzer and Carducci to fully flex their rock-god alter-egos. Alice’s Eerie Dream, always a crowd pleaser, is pure rock burlesque.
Drummer Léa Fernandez unleashes a huge, roistering solo during The Asylum, her ecstatic facial expression encapsulating the sheer joy this troupe radiates both on and offstage. In another typical twist, they close the main set with The Beatles’ The End.
Encore Slave To Rock’n’Roll ignites the festive party, props including antlers, LED-lit hats, tinsel, baubles, candy canes and a Mary Christmas outfit. They finish with the exquisite, a cappella West Coast harmonies of On The Road To Nowhere.
Franck’s feelgood factor should be put on prescription to beat the blues. Further dates are scheduled for August, so clear the diary for a summer of love.