The hunter who is home, of course, is me. I am back for a while, not counting a few very quick excursions I will be engaged in related to the Christmas and the New Year holidays. The photograph is one from the internet of two musicians from the Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) performing high above the audience. Interaction between performers and audience members is more and more becoming part of concerts, it would seem, and this is one technique to achieve it. Looks like fun to me .... and, by the way, the title of this post is the last line of the poem, "Requiem," the first draft of which was written by Robert Louis Stevenson in 1880.
Use it or lose it ....
In the past, I have praised David Bowie and his 1987
Glass Spider Tour as being the ultimate rock concert. For whatever reason, I
never have seen or even thought about the Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) and
its series of annual Christmas concerts -- which consistently draw rave reviews
for its music, its lighting displays, its overall performances. This crew might
well replace Bowie as the top concert event on my list.
The orchestra will stage two concerts in Saint
Paul on Saturday, December 30, and I have a ticket for the evening performance.
No way do I intend to miss it.
While I believe I have attended more concerts than
the typical guy, among my greatest complaints about myself is the number of
great bands/great musicians/great performances I have not seen live on stage --
usually because I felt I was "too busy" to attend -- and now, due to fate and
circumstances, never will have the opportunity to see and to hear.
The band Boston, with front man Brad Delp, is
among the "losses" I feel in that sense. Delp killed himself in 2007. No way to
see him and to hear him on stage now. Already death is cutting into the TSO
legacy: Founder Paul O'Neill died of a drug overdose in April and bass player
David Z was killed in a traffic accident in July.
How much their absences will
affect the show is something I cannot gauge, since I never have been to a TSO
concert and since cast members frequently change anyway. David Z, incidentally,
and his two brothers grew up here in the Twin Cities and have collaborated with
Prince over the years.
I will note that one of the songs played here is,
"Christmas Canon Rock," which is the music of Johann Pachelbel's, "Canon in D
Major," with lyrics for it written by O'Neill. I absolutely love this rendition
of the song, and I believe Pachelbel would have approved of it, as well. The show this year is a repeat of, "The Ghosts of Christmas Eve," but includes some new music.
The long and the short of it is that I no longer will
skip those concerts which I very much would enjoy attending using an artificial
excuse such as there will be other times to see the act in the future .... there
may be, but this particular time might be the one and the only time it is here
for me .... use it or lose it, baby ....
12 comments:
Its nice to see you home?again Fram.You have been missed.Beautiful concerts you are attending.Specially the classical ones.Please more of those❤Wish you a happy weekend and...soon Christmasđ€¶x (Will there be a winther holiday post from you)
Yes, both the hunter and the sailor mentioned in Robert Louis Stevenson's poem are home .... in this instance, I am both of them in one: I am he .... or, as mythologist and philosopher Joseph Campbell put it: The man with a thousand masks ....
The Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert/show/performance will be the next I attend. I have watched several videos of the group and am hoping the event I attend will be just as spectacular as those in the videos. In the words of the poet, these guys put on a hell of a program.
I would not be surprised if I did another post or two before the end of the year .... but, neither would I be surprised if I did not. It depends upon my mood.
Thank you, Anita, for coming here and for writing a note to me. I truly appreciate your presence ....
For a concert on-site, the atmosphere is definitely more powerful than watching the video.
It is also impressive to watch the concert with the video as well.
The use of great light in a video, goes with music just fine.
A great light show in another video is great for music.
Celebration mood.
There is plenty of audience.
There is no traditional Christmas music for this concert.
Nice to have you back, Fram.
How was your break? Did you do something special and memorable.
Once I head an opportunity to watch the performance of this orchestra but missed it. I hope you will have a good time at the concerts and enjoy them.
The Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) show is noted for its superb lighting effects and, in that regard, I think it probably is beyond all others. I also think, to make a very fine point, "show" perhaps is the better word to describe the event than is "concert." I watched an interview of Paul O'Neill, founder of TSO, in which the interviewer described O'Neill as sort of a pyromaniac. O'Neill laughed and more-or-less replied that he agreed with the description.
My impression is that the orchestra does perform some traditional Christmas music (at least, I have heard some on its albums), but that the songs most-often are done with a rock variation to them. To go off into the ethereal side of things for a moment and using the Russian national anthem as an example, it generally is performed in a traditional manner, but it is not unusual to hear it in a "rock version." I think it sounds great either way.
One of the primary elements which separates great musicians and great bands from the rest of the herd is to have fun when appearing on stage and to show it to the audience. TSO certainly accomplishes that task. Often, one person can make a crucial difference. Brad Delp was the key member of Boston, for instance, and I would argue that Tarja Turunen's departure from Nightwish lessened both the quality of the performances and the atmosphere of the concerts -- I know that occurred for me when she left.
So, thank you, Liplatus, for your presence and your comment. I enjoy the time you spend here with me ....
Well, thank you, Kaya. It is "sort of" nice to be back and "for sure" nice to be missed.
There was nothing extraordinary about my time away. Thanksgiving offered a feast of food which I seldom have the opportunity to eat and it presented my first chance in a number of months to see some family members and a few friends from the "olden days" .... hmmmm ....
So, you once had an opportunity to attend a Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) concert, did you .... but, you missed it ???? You might check the airline schedules and find a flight from near your home to Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport. I live literally ten minutes from the airport and could pick you up so you could accompany me to the performance next Saturday. I do not have a date for the show and it would be a pleasure to have you accompany me.
In the meanwhile, I enjoy your company here on the blogs, Kaya. Thank you, for being here today ....
It's very nice of you, Fram to reply on my comment this way. I appreciate it.
Writing/thinking as someone who regrets having missed a number of concerts in past years, I do not like to think someone else might have the same regrets in future years. Just remember, Kaya, what I wrote is true.
EntĂŁo Fram, estamos sumidos em? Eu fiquei um pouco ausente, andei desanimada, sem inspiração pra escrita, mais sempre eu volto. Risos. Espero que no prĂłximo ano eu atualize mais meu blog. VocĂȘ tambĂ©m estĂĄ andando sumido, mais atualizando seu blog com mais frequĂȘncia que o meu. Passei aqui algumas vezes pra ler sua postagem mais acabei nem comentando porque estava lendo pelo meu smartphone.
Eu não conheço essa banda musical, mas pelo jeito parece muito boa.
Espero que vocĂȘ aproveite bem Ă noite e curta o show da banda. Christmas Canon Rock Ă© uma linda canção, Gosto muito. Essa semana eu estava a ouvir e quase que coloquei no meu blog como fundo musical para o Natal. Esta Ă© minha canção verdadeiramente de chrismas favorita, Christmas Canon Rock. Trans-Siberian Orchestra muito boa.
Enfim mais ano esta se despedindo, e, eu quero te agradecer por ter estado sempre presente no meu blog, e porque nĂŁo dizer tambĂ©m na minha vida. Fram, que nesse Natal nossas esperanças estejam sempre vivas, e que o amor, a fĂ© e a alegria estejam presentes em cada um de nĂłs, que a cada novo dia do ano que estĂĄ para começar esteja iluminado. Que Papai do CĂ©u lhe traga tudo de bom que vocĂȘ pediu e mais alguma coisa boa que vocĂȘ esqueceu. Feliz Natal e um Ano Novo cheio de esperança.
Que Deus, em sua infinita bondade, abençoe e encha de paz e alegria seu coração da noite de Natal. Boas Festas!
Vou te escrever uma nota.
Uma boa semana!
Muitos sorrisos e alegria pra vocĂȘ.
Sometime during the past two or three years, my interest in the blogs began to wane/to ebb/to sort of disintegrate. I am not sure why, Smareis. All I know is that I no longer have much interest in being here and, one of these times, I will say goodbye for the last time and disappear completely. All I hope is that I write, in effect, a farewell post rather than simply walk away without a word. I have been known to handle matters both ways. I enjoy mysteries, but do not like them unsolved or unresolved -- which means I probably will/would write a final post .... and, I only like happy endings, especially to things I write. I suppose, like Peter Pan, I never have grown up. I know I never want to ....
Johann Pachelbel created one of the most beautiful melodies in existence when he composed his Canon sometime around 1680. I think most would agree about that. Paul O'Neill did a fine job writing words to accompany the music and, by that means, created "Christmas Canon Rock." The Trans-Siberian Orchestra has added the piece to its show in a manner which is no less than artistic elegance. So, it would seem we both love it, Smareis, if that is the appropriate word to use to describe our feelings for the song.
It is amazing to me how quickly years come and go. Some are mostly good years; occasionally there are bad or difficult years; most, I think, simply come and go with nothing particularly remarkable about them and easily blend together or fade from memory. Every year, though, since our paths crossed here on the sea of blogs, Smareis, your presence in my life has given me a degree of happiness I would not otherwise know. I am not sure if I should thank you for that or thank fate for that or thank the unknowable forces of the universe for that .... in any case, I am thankful for our encounter.
Yes, Smareis, I, too, wish you a very Merry Christmas and hope your coming year will good and beneficial in every way for you and for those you love. I send you love-luck, weather-luck, money-luck and a large measure of whatever-you-want-it-to-be luck.
Thank you, for the smiles and cheers .... take care and stay safe .... I think of you every day ....
Ah Fram, acho difĂcil deixar o mar de blogs, mesmo estando desanimada e sem nenhuma inspiração pra blogs. Parece que isso Ă© um imĂŁ, a gente tenta sair mais nĂŁo consegue. Sempre volta! SĂŁo raĂzes difĂceis de ser cortada. JĂĄ me arrependi certa vez em ter excluĂdo um blog que era a menina dos meus olhos. Isso faz muito tempo e me arrependo atĂ© hoje. Tinha os registros de meus amigos, comentĂĄrio de pessoas que eu gostava muito, e que nunca mais soube noticia. Eu ainda prefiro fechar o blog a excluĂ. Ă uma parte da gente escrita ali, uma casa virtual que se mistura com o real.
Eu espero que vocĂȘ nĂŁo exclua seu blog Fram. Talvez se o fizer pode se arrepender. VocĂȘ poderia abrir um novo blog. O começar de novo sempre trĂĄs coisas boas. Em 2005 eu fechei vĂĄrios blogs e depois em 2010 eu abri esse meu blog atual e estou atĂ© hoje. Tenho outros blogs mais gosto de estar mais nesse.
Digo o mesmo a vocĂȘ Fram, sua presença na minha vida me alegrou muito. Ă sempre bom saber que temos alguĂ©m que nos quer bem.
Ăs vezes o destino coloca pessoas na nossa vida sem muita explicação, apenas diz: "esse Ă© seu anjo em forma de amigo".
O blog tem esse poder de trazer pessoas pra fazer parte da gente. Obrigada por ter estado comigo nesse mar de blogs. Sua presença me fez muito feliz.
Que Deus, em sua infinita bondade, abençoe e encha de paz nossos coraçÔes da noite de Natal. Boas Festas.
Um punhado de sorrisos!
SĂł estarei atualizando meu blog em janeiro, ainda nĂŁo sei a data mais deve ser lĂĄ pelo dia 10 .
Até Fram, e mais uma vez obrigada!
I know what you mean, Smareis.
Quite often I am on the verge of leaving the sea of blogs, but something stops me from doing it -- at least, that is what has happened whenever I approach what I think will be the end of it.
In my case, for the most part I like uniformity and I am more than a little superstitious. If I were to quit here, I would want to do it on a particular date which has meaning to me or during a particular sequence of meaningful events. I am not sure how many times I have set out to write three or four related posts leading to a "finale," but then pause and think about it and move on with still another post.
One thing is near certain, though. If I quit the blogs, I will not delete mine. I will leave it drifting in the blogosphere for as long as it exists. Maybe, in a sense, that is immortality.
I hope you understand, it is not only the sea of blogs in which I have become bored and disinterested. It is with my entire life as it exists today. My life history has been one of frequent change: Changes in where I live, changes in jobs/careers, changes in reading interests, changes in recreational activities, changes in almost literally everything ....
I have had two primary careers and a number of jobs before, between and after them; have two college degrees obtained at different times; have been in the Marine Corps and engaged in military-type contract operations .... on and on ad infinitum ....
I constantly am looking for something new which interests me, but without success .... so far, at this point in time. Usually after a year or two -- or even less -- I am ready to move on to somewhere or to something new. This time, I have been sort of "parked in neutral" for six years. Time and life are catching up with me and, actually, are beginning to pass me by ....
I sometimes say I am like Perceval and Gawain and Galahad, forever seeking my own version of a holy grail, but chasing an invisible myth within a legend generally ends in futility. That is what I am expecting my life to have been when it reaches an end .... an exercise in futility .... but, for the most part, it has been fun ....
I know I truly appreciate your presence in my life, Smareis, and you appear to appreciate my role in your life, as well.
Yes, happy holidays, Smareis. I think I will have another post or two before 2017 has forever fled. Beyond that, there is no certainty. I will look for you in January .... take care and stay safe .... I think of you ....
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