Just saw TSO for the first time tonight in philly with my husband and our friends and I really don't seem to understand why everyone is hating on them so bad! It's a ROCK. CONCERT. That's CHRISTMAS themed. They played an abundance of Christmas songs, so I'm not understanding people saying it had nothing to do with Christmas? Maybe these people just don't know these are Christmas songs??? Who knows. But it is a rock band. And it's a rock concert. Yes it's going to be loud. Yes there is going to be guitars and lasers and pyrotechnics. If you're not into that then don't go? Go see a Michael buble Christmas show or something instead? I feel like the people writing these reviews either are superrrrr old uppity yuppy people OR millennials who think Little Uzi Vert is considered good music.... but anyways, the performance was stellar, they sounded great, the lasers and lights and fire were spectacular, it was an awesome loud rock concert. Would definitely go again! The crowd loved it too, they got a standing ovation at the end! read more

Thank goodness we won these tickets and didn't actually spend our hard earned money on them! This was one of the worst performances I have ever attended. It was like a cheesy, overdone 80's rock concert complete with LOTS of hair flipping! I was expecting a nice Christmas type show but that quickly faded when the red demonic lights and dragons showed up. The whole performance was strange and poorly done. I can safely say I wouldn't attend again even if I had free tickets, it was just a waste of my evening. read more

I'm a little torn. The tech for this concert was stellar. I was totally mesmerized by the 7 circles above the stage. World class lasers, graphics and other tech. As for the music itself.............. meh. We have better bands in clubs locally. I could have done without the standing ovation for the military as I had hoped to attend an performance without political connotations. Overall, tech gets an A+. The rest of it, maybe a D as I thought it was under average. I thought it was overpriced for the experience. read more

I love Trans-Siberian Orchestra. It was a bucket list item for me to see one of their shows. In most ways I loved it, the performers were great and so was the light show. One thing spoiled it for me though. The amplifiers were simply too loud. I love classic rock but I'm not sure I'll go to another rock concert in an indoor venue. After the concert, my ears hurt all night long and are still bothering me today. I would have given it 5 stars if it just wasn't so loud. People were there with young children and I was concerned about their hearing safety. If I were ever to go again, I'd bring ear plugs. I'm sure I could still hear perfectly fine with ear plugs in. That being said, my 22 year old son loved it. read more

Saw them in Sacramento a few nights ago, at least part of it before I left. Very clear this is not the TSO people have come to know and love. There was no orchestra, these are actors fake playing instruments over a recorded track for the most part. The Christmas narration is awful and being read by a guy who sounds like James earl Jones doing Darth Vader lines. They were playing 2 shows in 2 different cities at the same time, so it's not the real band. Ever since Paul o'Neil died, they've gone downhill majorly. Anybody that has seen real musicians play can tell they are not really playing. Especially the keyboard "player." Perfect grand piano track playing, and somehow he is playing bass piano notes with both hands on the far right side of the keyboard. Very disappointing. Left after 30 minutes. Luckily they were free tickets someone won on a radio show. They were probably just giving them away to anyone that called in I would imagine. Dont spend the $50-$80 these tickets cost, and if someone gives them to you as a gift..sell them to some sucker and go have a nice dinner. read more

Went to see trans Siberian Orchestra for the first time and the first half of the show was great but the second half was in my opinion way off I couldn't believe that they were chanting Lyrics about satin which absolutely frightening. This show is not for children and I was appalled and angry that they would stoop to that level. read more

I had always wanted to see the TSO and finding out late of their performance left me lucky to obtain tickets so what I had were lousy limited view seats and I am glad they were limited view! The TSO is a gimmick and way overpriced for what you see. First off we coud hardly understand what was said from being seated behind the majority of the sound equipment. What was presented is a hobbed together cliched performance of predictable guitar rifts, choreographed rockstar poses and a story of an angel, a bar, rain drops and a flight around the world to make an attempt to cohesively piece together the Christmas classic songs TSO is known for. Nice effort but the story made zero sense and was presented by a discount James Earl Jones. The performance didn't stop at this. Along the way some other songs, written by the creators of TSO were thrown into the mix as misplaced filler. The entire show however had zero christmas theme. Sure, there were a few images of this festive season but what it truly looked like was a black mass performed by a satanic metal band and if you do not know what you are looking at you would be just be staring bemused and puzzled at the nonsense in front of you. What this show is, is just that, a satanic mass with all of the colors of the church of satan, black, red and white. The fire, the lasers and the senseless Van de Graf generator were vessels in this ritual. Do not waste your time or money on this trash. A second rate group of musicians and broadway wannabes playing to canned noise performing a ritual to a clueless mass. I should have left at the start. It's apparent what this show is from the first chord to the last. TSO is a just another medium of satan at the extreme and just a rotten and poorly produced show at the surface! read more

Went to the Dec 27 performance in Pittsburgh, and wow it was not what I expected at all. I was hoping for fun and exciting music with some cool effects. What I got was some guy playing piano while flinging his arms all over the place, 3 old guys doing awkward choreography while holding guitars, and some very loud and out of tune singers. A significant part of the concert was some random guy telling a story and there was a long break for them to "introduce" some of the performers right in the middle of the show! We left after 1 1/2 hours, the concert was still going on. DO NOT ATTEND! It's a waste of money. read more

Ah, the reviews on this site are great. I can just picture people picking up grandma wearing their "keep Christ in Christmas" t shirts discussing about how great "that one song" by TSO is. If you haven't guessed by the reviews, this is 99% of the negative reviews are, which can be summed up with "Im dumb with money and purchased tickets for something I did zero research on and now I want my money back" . It is a rock concert. There are electric guitars, drums, and singing by people that are not choir boys holding a candle in their hands. The members also, gasp, have long hair. There are lights, a laser show, and graphics behind the band. This may be very disturbing to those that are used to living in a bubble and want to see a little Christmas tree and sing about Rudolph. Also, beware, there is FIRE! OMG right? Fire and pyrotechnics are something for the devil, not good wholesome Christian entertainment. So, if you're in to rock with a little Christmas spin, this concert is great and you will love it. But if you're looking for something a little different than the nutcracker on ice for your new holiday tradition, you may want to do alittle more research and goto something other than TSO. read more

If you like watching long, dyed haired, middle aged men play air guitar and lip sync, this is for you!! Throw in a few women playing air violin and it's a sensory overload!! I cannot get over how absolutely pathetic this so called "Orchestra" was. Christmas show? This was an 80's heavy metal show. Like sitting through a Dokken show. Only difference, there was a black man narrating some nonsense between a few songs. I can't get my arms around how absolutely stupid this was!!! Merry Christmas everyone and save your money for a real Christmas show!!!! read more

Went to the concert last night in Gwinnett (Atlanta) show 12/14/2016. I had never attended was really excited but was utterly disappointed. The Christmas music was great but over 1/2 of the concert was dark heavy metal noise. It was very dark with war, anger, demons. Totally not appropriate for a holiday concert or family entertainment. My brother in-law and son had attended previous years and said none of this was there. I will not recommend or attend again. Felt very mislead. read more

Was disappointed in the Seattle show. Was expecting more of a Christmas show, there was no intermission, way to loud, and nauseating lights....don't go if you expect to hear something like the holiday albums. read more

This was a 'Christmas Story' with a great story teller! We are a family of three who attended, phenomenal laser show, light show and enjoyed how the band interacted with the audience. If I had to make one small, very small change, it would be to end the show at the end of the Christmas story - only because after 2 hours it seemed like a good ending point to me, but we enjoyed it completely and glad we went. Yes it is a louder than normal rock n roll, but they did such a great work in designing and delivering a great performance! They are true artists in the rock and roll music world! Last but not least, is that $1.00 from every ticket sold went fo FeedMore charity! Now that is a benefit we can all live with! read more

This "concert" was so bad that I actually felt the need to write a review. If you are looking for a nice "Christmasy" show then this is not for you. If you are looking for a bunch of washed up wanna be 80's hair band rockers who weren't good enough to make it in the 80's so they found a niche convincing people that they did good Christmas music then YOU ARE IN LUCK!! Like everyone else my wife and I know the two TSO songs that you hear every year on the radio. They are nice Christmas songs so we thought this may be a good holiday experience. Boy were we wrong!! I wish I had done more research and realized that this was nothing more than a corny rock opera by people with decent electric guitar skills and below average vocals. I don't think one of the singers of this POS could turn a chair on the voice. Even my wife, who is in love with crappy 80's hair bands wanted to leave after the first 15 minutes. Complete trash. Even the 2 decent songs you hear of theirs on the radio are butchered in the live performance. There is more hair flipping in this show then in a Poison concert!! The costumes resemble that of Transylvania style with the narrator taking the role of Dracula. Its basically Twilight meets This is Spinal Tap minus the awesomeness of Spinal Tap and overload the crappiness of Twilight. All in all, its shit. Don't waste your money on this!! read more

I saw the show a couple years ado. It was awful. Slow and dragged on and on. Most boring "Christmas" show ever! I wanted to walk out.

I love, love, love this show! TSO is a rock band having fun with some 80's throwback looks and sound while taking advantage of current technology in sound, video and special effects. Outstanding videos mixed with a great light show and pyrotechnics for some songs but not to the point where it was non-stop, overwhelming lights and explosions! It was a nice mix of up and down tempo songs. For all the old folks who leave the show early because they thought it was an orchestra, perhaps you should listen to their music before buying tickets. We had floor tickets, 10 rows from the stage and the sound was great. I'm in my 50's and I didn't find it too loud or overwhelming as some folks have reported. The performers seemed to be having fun, there was a ton of energy and enthusiasm coming from the stage. The first 90 minutes was songs off the Ghosts of Christmas Eve album interspersed with a video, narrated by the wonderful Bryan Hicks. The second half left the Christmas theme and included a range of their other work. Our group included people from 18 to 62 years old and everyone loved it. read more

My family attended TSO in Cleveland last Friday and to quote another yelp review, it was our first and will be our last one. We enjoyed the majority of the instrumental pieces but felt that the vocals were mediocre at best. My teenagers pointed out that the story told in the first half of the show and the songs that were sung had NOTHING to do with each other. And I felt that some of the show was more theatrical than musical and would have been better served in a much smaller venue and did not belong in the show. Also the show was entirely too long. It seemed like quantity over quality. read more

Holy '80's Metal throwback-long hair mandatory! First of all, THANK YOU to TSO for donating money to a charity, that is what Christmas is really about. But now the juice.Every year, as a family, we try to catch a Christmas Show, Radio City, Nutcracker,etc...you get the picture. We went to see what I thought, was a Christmas show but buyer beware. The first half was really a narration of an unimaginative Christmas story with music interspersed at key moments. The lighting and special effects were entertaining but it's really just "showmanship" and kind of corny. I noticed many people left when it was over. I didn't realize the TSO would be playing their non-Christmas music and that's what the second half involves. Yawn! Instead of enjoying the show I found my self running through the laundry list of things I needed to get done before Christmas. In my younger years I would have enjoyed the metal mania, a la David Lee Roth, but having my Gen Y'er teens with me propelled us for the door. Sorry but unless you like the hair thrashing and manic running around the stage and over dramatic dancing, seek your Christmas spirit elsewhere. BTW. Although my husband enjoyed the dancers, he questioned if they were the Devil's Cheerleaders moonlighting? read more

I have attended TSO concerts since their second year in existence. My family and I have always loved the shows. Being a musician myself, I loved their presentation and it really made our Christmas "special". However, just like anything else, after years of the "same ol -same ol", it has gotten stale. It was 2014 (I believe) when I saw them at the Pepsi Center in Denver. We were sitting in row 2 - seats 6-7-8. I nearly fell asleep. Additionally, when they fired several of their musicians and vocalists (Tommy Farese, Anna Phoebe, Michael Lanning, Etc) It sort of left me a little "betrayed". As much as I hate to say this - and I honestly hate saying this - it's time to put Trans-Siberian Orchestra to bed. read more

Stay Away! These are not the musicians that in earlier years graced the world with angelic children singing Christmas prayers to Pachelbel's Canon in D. This is a show in which the musicians spend more time turning their heads to throw their hair over their shoulder than listening to the balance between the limited orchestra and their instruments and voices. Even the light show could not make up for the sophomoric performance. We fled midway through the performance when it was clear that a grade school concert would have more musical value. What a waste of time and money. read more

We have always loved the Christmas Cannon song and when you hear it...it sounds like a true orchestra song. Well that is what we were expecting and it isn't that at all. It's super cheesy and corny. We walked out on $100 seats. We were extremely disappointed. read more

If one were to dissect the name of this group one will find two parts; trans-Siberian and orchestra. While I fail to see any relevance to trans-Siberian anything here given that it has not a thing in common with Siberia let alone going across such a place, it being formed in NYC, the orchestra bit is the most sound. It even sounds wonderful but drowned out by poor quality vocals and unnecessary use of guitars and drums, even orchestra is an unfit descriptor of this group. read more

The "new show" with giant toy box set design and new music was a disappointment. In previous years the music has gotten one in the Christmas spirit. Not so this year. Music was a disappointment, storyline was not interesting. They do not showcase the talent in the new show. The women appear to be objects to view. In past years their talented voices were shared.Will not attend in the future. Save your money. read more

I did not like it. I had seen TSO play Carol of the Bells on YouTube and thought the concert would be similar. There was a lot more singing than I expected. The songs they sang were unfamiliar and very drawn out. I went in December and thought it to be mostly Christmas carols which it was not. There were about 2 songs worth seeing. I wouldn't recommend it. read more

Change name to TSRBOOO. Transiberian Rock Band with Occasional Orchestral Overtones. The tour of 2015 was disappointing. 5-6 years ago TSO gave a great concert with the right mix of rock and strings (orchestra) I think TS? has lost their way and now treading down the path of mass demographic style form genre (throw that in the mix) appeal. I left the concert of 2015 early and felt betrayed and how the music I loved is probably gone forever. Would not go again unless reform would occur from TSO. read more

Not an Orchestra, an 80's rock band. It is more dark and depressing than uplifting and Christmassy. On a good point, the women can sing really well. That is the ONLY good point. The guys are comically stuck in the 80's (really? A wallet chain? Is that necessary on stage?) The hair flipping is just absurd. The woman playing the violin repeatedly flips her hair up and down which is just unnecessary. My two biggest annoyances were that they kept coming up to the front of the stage and bowing and lifting their arms like there was some big "tah dah" moment, of which there was none. The second is the "storyline" with the narrator awkwardly sitting on stage tapping his foot during songs. I didn't understand the story, the film was shown on some tiny screen, they should have played it on the entire screen. This show could be great if they updated their look (pull back the hair and ditch the 80's rock garb) and shortened it by about an hour. After the "story" was over, we were under the impression it was over and got up to leave. We were told by the usher there was still an hour left, and we fled. I was not going to sit through another hour of guitar solos, hair whipping and weird flashing pictures of dragons, canons and eyeballs. As of child of the 80's and a fan of hair bands, I still didn't care for this at all. There is a reason their hits are all the instrumentals - the guys voices are terrible. read more

Ditto what the other reviewers said about the boring storyline and crazy 80's metal music. It was so cheesy that it felt more like a comedy show. We left after the first hour. read more

Now I know what Christmas sounds like in a stoners head....the show was an hour too long and all sounded the same at the end. Light show was good, too loud and distorted. Dont spend your Christmas money on this one. read more

Sad. Was so looking forward to this. I love their music on the radio...in person it was good for about 30 minutes. I had to leave after 2 hours and 15 minutes. The second half of the show is all about dragons and scary images. I feel bad for the family with kids next to us. I'm so sad that I spent money on this show. Would have been so much better served to stay home and listen to my favorites at my decibel level, without an army of 80s wannabes flipping their hair. Enough already, the hair flip and begging for applause added to the horror of this show. Really Sad, my opinion of TSO is ruined. read more

My wife and I saw the Milwaukee show last night, and it fell well-short of my expectations. The story made no sense and the songs didn't match the intent. The vocals were just okay; certainly nothing that set them apart from most cover bands. My wife and I left with the impression that the musicians performed rather than played. While the light show was cool in the beginning, it's repetitiveness became more of a distraction as the show wore on and on! We both agreed seeing TSO once was more than enough. read more

I have heard them here and there on the radio for years and always wanted to see them. I finally went with my family and was terribly disappointed. There was an announcer who sounded like the man in the Arby's commercials ("We have the meat!). I could not understand what he said. There was a lot of theatrical singing with Janice Joplin type gravelly voices. The Christmas Cannon was terrible. Hair flipping went on to the point of embarrassment. Really bad. We left early. A lot of my co-workers asked me how it was. I voiced my opinion and all of them said "Well....I didn't want to spoil it because you already bought your tickets....but we were not wild about it either." I feel robbed. Not at all what you hear on the radio. We did have a wonderful day eating and shopping in Pittsburgh though. read more

This was my first time seeing TSO and I was super excited because I love their music! I had heard so many great things from friends who had religiously attended this show as part of their Christmas tradition. I was quite underwhelmed with the overall Christmas "story" (if you want to call it that) that was told; there was no plot and it seemed very lazy. The girl kept having "dreams" and 3-4 songs were played and then it would cut back to a very cheesy video that added nothing to the show. Also, the back-up dancers were quite tacky and distracting. Although the show was not what I was hoping for and did not put me in a Christmas spirit whatsoever, it would be a disservice to not mention how much talent there was. Maybe years down the road I'll give it another shot in hopes that there is a more cohesive show. read more

Christmas show? Not really. We didn't realize the TSO would be playing their 80's Metallica rock disguised as a poorly written and terribly boring Christmas story. Musicians are talented, the Czech singer is a Maria Carey knockoff - she was talented as we'll but eventually we got tired of hearing her scream the high notes -- the second half was so boring we couldn't wait to leave. Supremely disappointed. Save yourself some $$ and go to another REAL Christmas show. read more

Amazing as always. Family tradition we all look forward to attending. After reading reviews I was concerned but was thankfully surprised by the end of the show that everyone seem to love the concert. Don't really get the gargoyles and dragons and some of the story is a bit strange, but the Christmas message and some of the songs clearly present the true reason for the season. Thankful... read more

I saw this show at the SNHU on 11/25/2017. It was the biggest disappointment. It was so bad that I even apologized to my girlfriend for taking her. The first TSO show I attended was in 2009. I remembered how classic and talented it was. It was a sensational experience with pure talent. I could hear each main instrument, I could see and hear the latent. I was so excited to take my Girlfriend there to share that experience with her. But what we got on 11/25/2017 was nightmare of an Orchestra. They should take the "Orchestra" out o their name. Years ago, they were an Orchestra, what they are now is a Heavy Rock Band. The sound is loud with the bass digital guitars. That's all I could hear throughout the whole show. The light show was ludicrous. How much light can you through at an audience?? it was irritating an sickening. The theme was so dark. Dark and lots flame/fire. The dragons were out of place, what a terrible theme!!. They were forcing the crowd to applause and to stand up lol. I could not believe this was same orchestra i saw years prior, OMG. This was the worst concert experience ever. I left 3/4 way through it. I could not handled it anymore. Unless you want to go see a heavy Rock band with crazy loud mashed instruments sounds,don't waist your time and your money, go see a real Orchestra read more

The TSO experience is like watching two different shows. I just recently had my first TSO experience on 12/28/2015 in Chicago. I can only describe the first half as watching an SNL satirical version of 90's hair bands meets 70's dance moves, complete with flashing images of eyeballs and helicopters and a laser show. Add this bizarre narrated tale of what I have interpreted to be a teenage runaway trying to get home for Christmas and is hopping in and out of others' dreams. I really had no idea what was going on and could only equate it as this must be what it is like to trip on acid. That aside, the "rock opera" music and the singing were outstanding, and with the removal of the story-telling, the second half of the show was astounding. read more

I actually created a Yelp log-in for myself just so that I could post a comment on the mess that calls themselves TSO! If I could give them "0" stars, I would! I wish I had read the reviews before wasting money on tickets, that's for sure! We went to see them Friday night in Sunrise (FL) and walked out after an excruciating hour - we just couldn't take one more second of it. We were thinking that maybe if we got drunk really quick, we could somehow find something worthwhile about it, but since a mixed drink was $11, we realized we'd just be wasting even more money than we already had, so we decided to cut our losses and just leave! We were in disbelief at how laughably AWFUL the "concert" was! Undoubtedly the WORST thing we EVER spent money on! If there was a way to get a refund, we'd demand one! We will never forget it though, that's for sure (but for all the wrong reasons)! We've been laughing about it ever since! read more

My husband bought us great tickets. He really wanted to go because he likes one of their Christmas songs based on Canon in D. I've heard the song and it's a great Christmas song. So, I thought I was going to an alternative orchestra experience. Nope. Went to a 2.5 hour Christian rock concert, with 1/2 the songs either Christmas songs or hymns, on December 26th, peppered with lasers and pyrotechnics and men. The women of the orchestra were the backup singers, with guest performances. The women were better singers than the men and i wish they were featured more. The videos were either of a creepy Christmas story featuring a young girl ("child"), whose doppelgänger was in the last video but instead looked like a virgin dressed in a night slip during their metal version of Beethoven's 5th, or of images to supplement the lasers or pyrotechnics. I didn't like it. Maybe I could've gotten I to it if the crowd was really rowdy but this crowd seemed like they just well-mannered folk that don't want to make a fuss and that only stand up or cheer on command from the band. Maybe I could've gotten into it if it was 1/2 the time and we went before Christmas. Maybe I could've gotten into it if the stories were better or the female "child" story was less creepy and she didn't look like she was dressed as an enticing virgin during the metal Beethoven's 5th. All over, I didn't know what I was getting into, and even though i love a good adventure, I thought it was super meh and I wasted 4 hours total, with travel, that I could've spent reading my new book. I still like that Christmas song based on canon in D, though, and I'll still put it on my Christmas music playlist next year. But, nope, never going to this concert again and wouldn't recommend it to anyone unless their taste specifically fits within this genre and they could potentially withstand this 2.5 hour concert. Smooth production and transitions though, you can tell they were a well-oiled performance and the musicians care about their craft. Mad respect, they are experts and I'll never come close to their level of expertise. I'm happy for them, but not my thing. Nope, not my thing. read more

I attended the TSO show on December 29, 2016 at the Nationwide arena. I must say the show was absolutely horrible. The first hour consisted of people trying to find their seats and constantly walking in front of you. After everyone was finally settled in and I could focus on the show I realized it sucks. They hardly qualifie as an orchestra , more like an 80s hair band with a violin. The lights are pretty cool but there's only so much you can do with lights. If I had it to do over again I wouldn't show up until the second half. Though I didn't stay for the second half I can't imagine it would be any worse than the first. They should've just picked the three best songs played them right in a row and I could've been in and out in a half an hour. read more

Overpriced for a hokey back story and many boring parts. The rock Christmas music is of course awesome but when they slow it down with singing it kills the vibe and is down right boring. It is so expensive to go to and a bit of a let down! The lights and pyrotechnics are neat but don't make up for all the boring parts. The girl singing slow songs and the cheesy weird back story were a bore. read more