Trans-Siberian Orchestra holiday concert tour is ‘biggest, best one ever’
People celebrate the holidays in many different ways.
Yet, those who prefer to mark the season with face-melting electric guitar solos, symphonic rock music arrangements, laser light shows, towering special effects and an abundance of pyro are most likely very much into the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
Indeed, they might even be what TSO’s Al Pitrelli calls “repeat offenders” — i.e., the die-hard fans who turn out each year to see the Orchestra’s annual over-the-top touring extravaganza.
This year’s road show, “The Ghosts of Christmas Eve — the Best of TSO & More,” will be performed on Nov. 29 at SAP Center in San Jose, Nov. 30 at Save Mart Center in Fresno, Dec. 1 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento and Dec. 2 at Toyota Arena in Ontario. (See trans-siberian.com for all show info.)
The Orchestra — which was founded by the visionary producer-composer-lyricist Paul O’Neill in 1996 — will be revisiting its popular TV special/album/rock opera “The Ghosts of Christmas Eve,” which follows the journey of a runaway teen on Christmas Eve. The performance will also include a second set filled with more TSO fan favorites from the imagination of O’Neill (who died in 2017).
I recently had the chance to catch up with Pitrelli, the TSO music director and outstanding lead guitarist who has been a core member of the band right from the very start.
Q: Good to talk with you, Al. I’m looking forward to seeing you and the TSO crew in concert again this year — especially after receiving an email blast from the band promising no less than your “biggest tour ever!”
A: We pride ourselves on making the show bigger and better every year. In 1999, our first show, we had one 24-foot box truck. We rolled out of Dodge last year, I think I had 22 tractor trailers and 12 buses. So this thing has grown up like my children have grown up — like exceeded every one of my expectations.
It’s our job to make sure that the folks get a better show than last year. Because I have got a bunch of people in the audience that I consider the repeat offenders. They come back year after year and they just can’t get enough of it. They want their holiday tradition.
Q: So, we’re not just talking the regular rock ‘n’ roll marketing hyperbole. You’re saying the tour is going to top what fans have seen before.
A: I would say the biggest, best one ever — absolutely. And I say that year after year and I don’t think I have ever disappointed or let anybody down. I think what would break my heart would be if somebody came up to me after a show and said, “You know, dude? It was better last year.” That means I failed. And that’s not going to happen. Not on my watch.
Q: What do you think Paul O’Neill would’ve thought of this show?
A: I think he would be pretty happy. I think he would always go like, “Hey — more pyro.” Paul was my favorite pyromaniac ever. He just loved pyro. He loved laser. He loved big rock productions. He put everything — his heart and soul — back into the show. I would like to think we are carrying on his legacy and we are doing a good job.
Q: There is certainly no shortage of people who would agree with that assessment.
A: You’ve got everybody in the organization — management, myself and a bunch of the other people who have been there since this thing opened its eyes 28 years ago, not to mention his wife and his daughter. So, if everybody is kind of in agreement that “this is what Paul would do” or “Paul would be cool with this” — if we are all saying the same thing — I am pretty comfortable in the fact that, yeah, man, he would be proud of us.
Q: You often talk about Paul onstage. Not every organization does that — mention the founder, years after they have passed.
A: What other organizations do is none of my business. A lot of them just go out and do their thing. And good for them. Me? Over my dead body will we go through a show without acknowledging where this thing came from.
A lot of the folks — the repeat offenders in the audience — know exactly who Paul O’Neill is. But maybe there are 40 or 50 percent of the folks in the arena who don’t know — they are just enjoying the show. And rightfully so. They are there to enjoy a great show. But I want to kind of put the breaks on the momentum for a moment and bring to their attention the gentleman behind the scenes.
Without him, none of this is a possibility. So, I won’t ever do a show without acknowledging him and what he created and how he changed so many lives.
Q: Talk to me about “The Ghosts of Christmas Eve,” the 1999 TV movie that TSO is choosing to once again spotlight on tour.
A: We do this movie and PBS picks it up and it’s an overnight sensation. It becomes this thing that everybody just starts watching and enjoying — like when I was kid and I was watching “Miracle on 34th Street” or “It’s a Wonderful Life.” And that’s become part of people’s holiday tradition — watching that movie during the holidays.
And it’s fantastic. It’s a great story. It’s got a great message. Of course, at the end — very Paul O’Neill — it’s got a happy ending. So, we are going to bring that to life this year.
Q: Why do you think “The Ghosts of Christmas Eve” remains so popular with fans?
A: A lot of people love the story. A lot of people relate to the story.
Everybody misses somebody around the holidays. That’s how life goes. And I’ve said a thousand times that I would rather miss somebody terribly than never have had them in my life.
That’s what the story is kind of about. I think what bonds everybody in the audience together is knowing that everybody is going through this now.
And that’s an important part of this — to kind of come together and celebrate the people that we can miss. To hold them in reverence and celebrate their life and their memory, like we do every time I put a guitar around my neck with Paul O’Neill.
I miss that brother every second of every day. But I would rather miss him than to never have had him.