Since its founding in 1996, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra has made a name for itself through symphonic rock renditions of Christmas classics. (Indeed, there are far too few orchestras so ready to rock.) The concert welcomed the holiday season with flashing neon lasers and jaw-dropping pyrotechnics.
Thanksgiving in Spokane and a Black Friday matinee at AMC River Park Square 20 have been a tradition for years for guitarist Al Pitrelli. The musical director of Trans-Siberian Orchestra prefaces the bandâs annual Black Friday night show with some quality time in the Inland Northwest.
âFor the last five or six years, what Iâm accustomed to, and the same goes for the rest of Trans-Siberian Orchestra, is that we celebrate Thanksgiving in Spokane and then we go to the movies the following day before we perform at the Spokane Arena,â Pitrelli said from his Milford, Pennsylvania, home.
âI remember seeing the premiere of the film âCreedâ in Spokane (in 2015), and we go back to that theater every year. I love Spokane, but things are obviously a little different this year.â
The band’s name itself, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, evokes visions that are grand and epic.
Over the years, the group, which was founded by the late Paul O’Neill, has lived up to the epic nature of its name with awe-inspiring concert productions that have filled the expanse of arenas across the country.
Fans know and love TSO for its show. The sheer spectacle of its pyrotechnics, lasers and its sheer volume takes the breath away as the band’s “Christmas Eve and Other Stories” storms the ears of fans.
Usually at this time of the year, the east side and west side of TSO would have been making their march across the country, accompanied by a platoon of semitrucks, as the group was welcomed with open arms by fans in the thousands.
9 Things to Do This Week in DC (and Beyond)
Enjoy a bevy of virtual concerts and socially distanced outdoor events in our editor-selected picks.
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Awesome Con Short Film Fest At Home
While the full celebration of geekdom that is D.C.’s annual comic-con may have been canceled for 2020, one popular aspect of the three-day extravaganza has moved online where it is currently underway. Fans have all this weekend to watch more than 50 short films selected for this year’s festival, along with select interviews and bonus material. The schedule includes a two-hour program of Comedy & Drama shorts on Friday, Dec. 11, at 8 p.m., a two-hour “Docs & Awesome Films” collection on Saturday, Dec. 12, at 8 p.m., and a six-hour Marathon screening of all shorts starting at noon on Saturday, Dec. 13. The festival draws to a close that same evening with a ceremony starting at 8 p.m. honoring and screening the year’s best shorts, as determined by a Judging Committee led by Joe Ca