{"id":115231,"date":"2022-12-17T09:15:06","date_gmt":"2022-12-17T14:15:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=115231"},"modified":"2022-12-19T05:21:33","modified_gmt":"2022-12-19T10:21:33","slug":"ghosts-of-christmas-eve-trans-siberian-orchestra-best-of-tso-more-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=115231","title":{"rendered":"GHOSTS OF CHRISTMAS EVE  | Trans-Siberian Orchestra Best of TSO &#038; MORE 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Photos by: Diane Fleischman<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>Review by: Janel Spiegel<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">95.1 ZZO &amp; Y102 PRESENTS:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>GHOSTS OF CHRISTMAS EVE<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Trans-Siberian Orchestra Best of TSO &amp; MORE 2022<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">PPL CENTER<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">FRIDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2022.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">An Unforgettable Night<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>ALLENTOWN!!! ARE YOU OUT THERE? WE ARE INDEED HERE! That was echoed by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra to make sure we were all having fun.<\/p>\n<div class=\"su-image-carousel  su-image-carousel-columns-4 su-image-carousel-has-spacing su-image-carousel-has-lightbox su-image-carousel-has-outline su-image-carousel-adaptive su-image-carousel-slides-style-default su-image-carousel-controls-style-dark su-image-carousel-align-none\" style=\"max-width:500px\" data-flickity-options='{\"groupCells\":true,\"cellSelector\":\".su-image-carousel-item\",\"adaptiveHeight\":true,\"cellAlign\":\"left\",\"prevNextButtons\":true,\"pageDots\":true,\"autoPlay\":3000,\"imagesLoaded\":true,\"contain\":false,\"selectedAttraction\":0.007000000000000000145716771982051795930601656436920166015625,\"friction\":0.25}' id=\"su_image_carousel_69f3edf629614\"><div class=\"su-image-carousel-item\"><div class=\"su-image-carousel-item-content\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/TSO-12-22-3.jpg\" data-caption=\"\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-0\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\" title=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"617\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/TSO-12-22-3.jpg\" class=\"\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/TSO-12-22-3.jpg 617w, https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/TSO-12-22-3-241x300.jpg 241w, https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/TSO-12-22-3-300x373.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 617px) 100vw, 617px\" \/><\/a><\/div><\/div><div class=\"su-image-carousel-item\"><div class=\"su-image-carousel-item-content\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/TSO-12-22-4.jpg\" data-caption=\"\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-1\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\" title=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"572\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/TSO-12-22-4.jpg\" class=\"\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/TSO-12-22-4.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/TSO-12-22-4-300x168.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/TSO-12-22-4-768x429.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/div><\/div><div class=\"su-image-carousel-item\"><div class=\"su-image-carousel-item-content\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/TSO-12-22-5.jpg\" data-caption=\"\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-2\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\" title=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"792\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/TSO-12-22-5.jpg\" class=\"\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/TSO-12-22-5.jpg 792w, https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/TSO-12-22-5-300x291.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/TSO-12-22-5-768x745.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 792px) 100vw, 792px\" \/><\/a><\/div><\/div><div class=\"su-image-carousel-item\"><div class=\"su-image-carousel-item-content\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/TSO-12-22-6.jpg\" data-caption=\"\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-3\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\" title=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"841\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/TSO-12-22-6.jpg\" class=\"\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/TSO-12-22-6.jpg 841w, https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/TSO-12-22-6-300x274.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/TSO-12-22-6-768x701.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 841px) 100vw, 841px\" \/><\/a><\/div><\/div><div class=\"su-image-carousel-item\"><div class=\"su-image-carousel-item-content\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/TSO-12-22-7.jpg\" data-caption=\"\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-4\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\" title=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/TSO-12-22-7.jpg\" class=\"\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/TSO-12-22-7.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/TSO-12-22-7-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/TSO-12-22-7-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/div><\/div><div class=\"su-image-carousel-item\"><div class=\"su-image-carousel-item-content\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/TSO-12-22-8.jpg\" data-caption=\"\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-5\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\" title=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/TSO-12-22-8.jpg\" class=\"\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/TSO-12-22-8.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/TSO-12-22-8-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/TSO-12-22-8-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/div><\/div><div class=\"su-image-carousel-item\"><div class=\"su-image-carousel-item-content\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/TSO-12-22-1.jpg\" data-caption=\"\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-6\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\" title=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"762\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/TSO-12-22-1.jpg\" class=\"\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/TSO-12-22-1.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/TSO-12-22-1-300x223.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/TSO-12-22-1-768x572.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/div><\/div><div class=\"su-image-carousel-item\"><div class=\"su-image-carousel-item-content\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/TSO-12-22-2.jpg\" data-caption=\"\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-7\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\" title=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"983\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/TSO-12-22-2.jpg\" class=\"\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/TSO-12-22-2.jpg 983w, https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/TSO-12-22-2-300x234.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/TSO-12-22-2-768x600.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 983px) 100vw, 983px\" \/><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><script id=\"su_image_carousel_69f3edf629614_script\">if(window.SUImageCarousel){setTimeout(function() {window.SUImageCarousel.initGallery(document.getElementById(\"su_image_carousel_69f3edf629614\"))}, 0);}var su_image_carousel_69f3edf629614_script=document.getElementById(\"su_image_carousel_69f3edf629614_script\");if(su_image_carousel_69f3edf629614_script){su_image_carousel_69f3edf629614_script.parentNode.removeChild(su_image_carousel_69f3edf629614_script);}<\/script>\n<p>The Trans-Siberian Orchestra felt otherworldly\u2026 It was breathtaking, mesmerizing. They utilized every part of the PPL Center. The stages moved, the sets were captivating with beautiful pyrotechnics, lasers, and sound that was perfect. They played everything from \u201cThe Lost Christmas Eve\u201d, \u201cMusic Box Blues\u201d, \u201cFirst Snow\u201d (it did indeed snow inside the PPL Center, thanks to some magic.), \u201cPromises to Keep\u201d, \u201cChild of the Night\/A Last Illusion\u201d, \u201cMadness of Men\u201d, \u201cMad Russian\u2019s Christmas\u201d, \u201cThe Snow Came Down\u201d, \u201cRequiem (The Fifth), \u201cIf I Go Away\u201d, a Savatage cover, and dedicated to Paul O\u2019Neill sang by Kayla Reeves, gosh it was beautiful. Paul O\u2019Neill was the founder, the O.G., if you will.<\/p>\n<p>The Lehigh Valley Phantoms ice rink was covered for Trans-Siberian concert today, and tonight. They played two, yes, TWO SOLD-OUT shows for a memorized, enthusiastic crowd. Chris Caffery started the show and asked the veterans to stand up. He was also rocking a Phantoms jersey. My section had quite a few veterans, and several of us wound up thanking the gentleman that sat next to me for his service. Thank you again for your service. Also, Mike Portnoy was in attendance tonight.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m sitting in the parking deck right as I type some of this out. I\u2019m listening to the familiar sounds of the city, the cars leaving the parking deck, horns honking, and Trans-Siberian Orchestra weaving in and out as cars pass by to exit the parking deck.\u00a0 I talked to so many people tonight. People were so in awe of what they saw, and heard. Not only are they talented, each one of them was so into every song, and playing together in synch.<\/p>\n<p>The storyteller, Bryan Hicks came out onstage, and he is captivating. He shares the first part of the show, and tells the story for the music.<\/p>\n<p>This SHOW. THIS SHOW. I&#8217;ve NEVER in my life seen a show that was so interactive, and alive. They made use of the entire PPL CENTER. The band was in the back of the PPL Center, they were ABOVE US. YES, I said, ABOVE. Trans-Siberian Orchestra is magic. They are dedicated, passionate, intense, and you can head bang to Christmas music. If you\u2019re a music fan and a concert fan, this is above and beyond incredible.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s discuss the band, the musicians, and singers. So much talent on one stage. Caleb Johnson singing, it was beyond breathtaking. The musical director, Derek Wieland, Erika Jerry singing, I was moved to tears. Gabbie Rae, Georgia Napolitano.<\/p>\n<p>Jeff Plate on drums. The incomparable, Mr. Joel Hoekstra on Guitar, John Brink on vocals, Mee Eun Kim on Keyboards, Robin Borneman singing, his voice was incredible.<\/p>\n<p>Roddy Chong was leading strings and all over the PPL Center along with the Bass player, Tony Dickinson who was just so into each song. The entire band just flowed so well together. Russell Allen, may we take a moment to talk about Russell Allen, Oh my GOSH! The vocals\u2026 it was like Meatloaf and Neil Diamond said, let\u2019s let this gentleman sing, and he did. He sang. Russell Allen, thank you for singing.<\/p>\n<p>The Trans-Siberian Orchestra crew did such a good job. I met one of their crew members\u2019 moms, shout out to Joseph who will be working on the West Coast show. Joseph\u2019s mom was so excited and screaming just as loud as the rest of us.<\/p>\n<p>A beautiful moment came when they performed \u201cIf I Go Away\u201d, It was a &#8220;lighter moment\u201d or now, a cell phone flashlight moment. A bunch of us echoed, \u201cthis is a lighter moment.\u201d When you looked around, the entire PPL Center was glowing from cell phone flashlights. It was a beautiful concert moment, a sea of lights and people just having an amazing experience together. People from all walks of life enjoyed this music. There was so much joy and happy energy. You could feel the intensity from people, the happiness, and the lifelong fans, the new fans, those of us that never saw them live before. I was in awe.<\/p>\n<p>If you have never seen Trans-Siberian Orchestra live, YOU MUST go to a show. Go see them. Each song was a story, a beautiful story to go along with the most elaborate, beautiful music ever. They paid homage to the beloved Paul O&#8217; Neill, the founder and O. G., if you will. Chris Caffery is full of energy; his voice is soothing, and I could listen to him talk all day and night. Joel Hoekstra (Guitar) had a smile the entire night. He was interacting with the fans and completely in-tune with the music. The entire band was just awesome. Tony Dickinson leading the \u201cMad Russian\u2019s Christmas\u201d. He was all over the stage, and full of energy, head-banging like he was just chilling at a SLAYER concert with the rest of us.<\/p>\n<p>It was more than just a performance. It was a production, an elaborate, delicate, booming production, with beautiful lighting. Musicians, bands, singers, take notes&#8230; Seriously. I&#8217;ve never seen Trans-Siberian Orchestra live before, and it kind of makes me sad. This past year has been difficult, hectic, chaotic, crazy, grateful, happy, fun, wild. It was all sorts of things. The PPL Center and music played a big role as usual. The Allentown Police Department looking out for everyone, making sure people get across the streets. The PPL Center crew, and all the people that work so hard to make all of this magic happen.<\/p>\n<p>I can\u2019t wait for next year, I\u2019m beyond excited to see what comes next. To see who else visits us in the Lehigh Valley. I sure hope the Trans-Siberian Orchestra comes back. Chris Caffery truly, TRULY made this show wonderful. I realize that there is an entire team, a crew that has to set up such an elaborate stage, bring instruments inside and take them back outside. They must load and unload from state to state. It\u2019s a lot of work. I\u2019ve been going to concerts since I\u2019m a kid, I\u2019ve watched the biggest bands in the world load and unload equipment and help their crews, I\u2019ve watched the smallest happily carry everything outside to a van and still rock.<\/p>\n<p>The variety of music from this past was unreal. The 90\u2019s concert, MusikFest, The MELVINS (They made the whole Arts Quest building vibrate.)<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s what music does, it brings people together, it makes you feel things that you can\u2019t even describe in words, it makes you think of people that you love. Family, friends, friends at those special places that frequent. The one thing I noticed is the joy and how grateful each person seemed. They could have performed and just left, they could have done anything, and it would been incredible, but they went ABOVE and beyond. They lifted the barrier so high; I think it\u2019s up in space now.<\/p>\n<p>Christmas is so much more than just gifts and trying to fight the hustle and bustle. It\u2019s being together, its finding peace, listening to music, inviting Krampus to visit sometimes or Santa? The singers also put everything into the performance. They sang and you could feel every note and word in your soul. It was as if they were singing to each one of us individually yet collectively, we all knew.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m FOREVER grateful to The Valley Ledger, PPL Center, Kayla, and Trans-Siberian Orchestra for this opportunity. I\u2019m grateful that writing has been a part of my life for what seems like a lifetime. I\u2019m grateful to the Lehigh Valley and the music fans out there that love a concert just as much as I do. I could turn and talk to any person and I could turn and start singing with anyone. They knew the words; they were conducting right along with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. That was an experience of a lifetime. I know I had family attend the earlier show. (Also, a Veteran, so thank you for your service always.)<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.trans-siberian.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.trans-siberian.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.trans-siberian.com\/about\/band\">https:\/\/www.trans-siberian.com\/about\/band<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TSO\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TSO<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.joelhoekstra.com\/\">http:\/\/www.joelhoekstra.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>AND SHOUT OUT TO SOUND MAN BRYAN HARTLEY FOR HIS AMAZING JOB!!!<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.chriscaffery.com\/\">https:\/\/www.chriscaffery.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>@chriscafferyofficial<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/tonydickinsonmusic\/\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/tonydickinsonmusic\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The ICONIC MIKE PORTNOY also attended the show tonight.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pplcenter.com\/\">https:\/\/www.pplcenter.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>JANET JACKSON IS COMING TO THE PPL CENTER ON MAY 18, 2023<\/p>\n<p>JOURNEY \u2013 FREEDOM TOUR IS FEBRUARY 4, 2023<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Photos by: Diane Fleischman Review by: Janel Spiegel &nbsp; 95.1 ZZO &amp; Y102 PRESENTS: GHOSTS OF CHRISTMAS EVE Trans-Siberian Orchestra Best of TSO &amp; MORE 2022 PPL CENTER FRIDAY, DECEMBER &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=115231\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">GHOSTS OF CHRISTMAS EVE  | Trans-Siberian Orchestra Best of TSO &#038; MORE 2022<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":115240,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5716,2290,69,2575,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-115231","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-allentown","category-diane-fleischman","category-in-the-valley","category-janel-spiegel","category-photography"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/TSO-Allentown-22.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115231"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=115231"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115231\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/115240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=115231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=115231"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=115231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}