New TSO

[Mustang]

Hey,

I hear that there is a new TSO album in the works. Anyone know if this is a Christmas album or not? I have heard it's not from a few people that attended the show in Peoria IL this year. But I just want to check my facts.

Thanks!

 

[Cheiron]

Yeah its a concept album ala the Beethoven one. Its called Nightcastle. You can wiki it to learn some about it.

 

[Kenneth R.]

it's been "new" for 3 years.

 

[Nightmare1z]

And according to a recent Paul O'Neil interview, they have the next 7 albums written (I am not joking).

Seven albums! They can't even release one on time!

 

[BABS]

I saw TSO play last Thursday in Rochester, NY. Show was absolutely amazing. I recommend anyone to catch this year's tour.

 

[manowarfan1]

Yah, they've been talking about Nightcastle for years - apparently it is recorded already- may lead to a non-Christmas Tour combined with the oft promised Beethoven Tour - I can see them doing a set of each for that.

I broke down and bought the scalper tix for the 13th in Colorado Springs, I didnt really like the selection for the pre-sale, didnt like my options when they went onsale to the general public, and finally broke down and bought some 2nd row center from e-bay (my heinie still hurts from that by the way, cheap - I think not) but it''' be worth it - even though no Jill or Michael (or Carmine either apparently).

Now - all I need is a date for that night - oh well, maybe this woman i went out with last weekend will be a future ex

jeff

 

[Kenneth R.]

someone tell Paul O'Neil to get off his ass and stop being a perfectionist

i'm beginning to think there will never be a Beethoven tour or a Nightcastle release until sales from the annual (and now very beaten-to-death) christmas show are low enough to warrant them making a fuss about something new. They spent enough money on lasers and fire and lights to produce and press several of those seven albums, so unless Paul lets them out the door and they stop worrying about being the biggest spectacle and get back to playing music, it's only down from here.

 

[ashaman7122]

Yes...Paul O'Neill is a perfectionist...

Yes...Nightcastle has been in the works for at least 3 years...

Yes...they've been promising to do a "rock opera" tour of Beethoven's Night since Summer 2004 (which hasn't materialized)...

Yes...Paul (and those around him) have visions of grandeur firmly plugged up their asses...

Bottom line is...TSO is a collaboration that has mucho ideas, but a limited means of "distribution." Therefore, from a business standpoint, you can't blame them for holding "close-to-the-vest" and and letting everything happen in baby-steps. Any little thing that helps them milk their 15 minutes of fame only increases their success.

The one thing that does piss me off is the fact that they continually feel the fucking need to announce their future plans when they have no logistical chance in hell of pulling all the things on their "list" off within the given timeframe. That just totally strips away the credibility of any given project.

Alright, I'm lazy...without going back and re-reading all of the Oliva and O'Neill interviews...we're supposed to believe that they're going to wrap up their existing X-mas tour, do some sort of Beethoven rock opera tour, then do some touring for Nightcastle...and somehow manage to fit all that shit in between now and next X-mas...? I don't think so...

I cannot tell you how happy I am for all the successful involved parties of TSO. It's not a mystery why Savatage has fallen by the way-side, although it fucking sucks. TSO has brought happiness and success to its creators and performers...and much fulfillment to a very broad audience base...

But hey...let's stop jerking off the fans with bullshit empty promises of well-intentioned commitments, eh?

Always a fan...no matter what...

Rock on!

 

[SkiBumMSP]

Yes...Paul O'Neill is a perfectionist...

I cannot tell you how happy I am for all the successful involved parties of TSO. It's not a mystery why Savatage has fallen by the way-side, although it fucking sucks. TSO has brought happiness and success to its creators and performers...and much fulfillment to a very broad audience base...

But hey...let's stop jerking off the fans with bullshit empty promises of well-intentioned commitments, eh?

Always a fan...no matter what...

Rock on!

According to this (Top 100 tours accourding to Pollstar Online), last year, Trans-Siberian Orchestra pulled in $21.5 Million dollars (Number 21 in the list - just above Hillary Duff (#22) and just below Anger Management Tour with 50-cent and Eminem (#20). The average ticket price was $38.82, with average sales of 6,838 tickets/show grossing at $265, 432 per show. Performing 94 shows in 81 cities - that totals to 553,838 tickets sold!

So, at over quarter million dollars per show (and that is just counting tickets - wonder how much they pull in on T-shirts and such), no friggan wonder they spend so much tim with the Christmas shit. I do wonder how many albums they've sold - but would not be surprised if they make more money off the tour than they do selling records. And how much did Savatage make as well? I'd be willing to bet not anywhere near the $21+ million that TSO made on just that one tour!

However, just like everybody else, I really like to see the new album, as well as I'd like to see them do something other than their Christmas shows. Admittedly, I do have tickets for this years show on December 15th in Richmond, VA. From what I am hearing, this show is just like the last two years that I've seen them (including playing that "O Fortuna" piece that is to be featured on the new Night Castle album).

As for people quit going to thier shows, nearly eveybody that I know that has gone to thier shows pretty much made it a tradition to go every year. That pretty much gurantees them an audience for as along as they chose to do this (or they do something utterly stupid and end up chasing away their audience, such as jack up the price of tickets to some ridulous amount (say over $100/ticket) ).

As much as I love TSO, I to, agree the Christmas stuff is getting old and would like to see some new, fresh material from them - both in records as well as in shows.

 

[ashaman7122]

Um...I didn't say anything about quitting going to their shows...

I can't remember how many years we've been going, cuz I saw them the 1st year they played San Antonio, TX, and we're there again this year (5th row, I think...I don't know for the 5th, 6th. 7th year...who knows?). The problem is that our party keeps growing...and we're paying more than $38 per tix...haha!

The X-mas stuff is NOT getting old...on the contrary, it's the one thing that gets us in the mood for the holiday season (although our show this year is on 12/23...sigh)...

What I do get tired of is endless promises of progression...both on TSO's part (and even Savatage)...which I just don't choose to believe anymore...

Totally not willing to be chastised...cuz...like I said...always a fan...

Rock on!

 

[SkiBumMSP]

Um...I didn't say anything about quitting going to their shows...

Sorry, that bit about quitting going to shows was meant to be in reference to a line in a post above yours. Should've quoted that part:

i'm beginning to think there will never be a Beethoven tour or a Nightcastle release until sales from the annual (and now very beaten-to-death) christmas show are low enough to warrant them making a fuss about something new.

It is unlikely that ain't going to happen anytime soon, as I mentioned before, to many people year after year as a tradition.

I can't remember how many years we've been going, cuz I saw them the 1st year they played San Antonio, TX, and we're there again this year (5th row, I think...I don't know for the 5th, 6th. 7th year...who knows?). The problem is that our party keeps growing...and we're paying more than $38 per tix...haha!

Cool, this will be third year going for me. This year, I managed to score fifth-row seats. Two years ago, I was 3rd row, center stage - it was friggan awesome! Anyway, FYI, Trans-Siberan Orchestra started in 1996, which is when they released thier first Christmas album. Don't know when they started touring though - but obviously, it has been for a little while now.

The X-mas stuff is NOT getting old...on the contrary, it's the one thing that gets us in the mood for the holiday season (although our show this year is on 12/23...sigh)...

Okay, I'll admit the Christmas stuff is cool, and I still spin those records every year. But still, I'd like to see somthing else beside just the Christmas stuff! (And yes, I do have Beethoven's Last Night)

What I do get tired of is endless promises of progression...both on TSO's part (and even Savatage)...which I just don't choose to believe anymore...

I do agree with you with this. As far as Savatage is concerned, I gave up on them a long time ago. As far as I am concerned, they are done. Maybe I'll be surprised in the future, but I am not holding my breath.

Totally not willing to be chastised...cuz...like I said...always a fan...

Rock on!

No need to chastize anyone. I am also a fellow fan of TSO and eagerly awaiting a new album as well as hopefully a tour to go along with it - as I mentioned before, would be nice to see something other than the Christmas stuff. But like you said - how the hell could they possibly fit all that in between Christmases? As I already shown above - that is were the real money is being made - the Christmas shows! They are not going to give up that cash cow anytime soon!

 

[kellsco]

Now - all I need is a date for that night - oh well, maybe this woman i went out with last weekend will be a future ex

jeff

Ya know.....I'm just a short drive away in Albuquerque.....:blink blink:


Too bad it's a school night.

 

[Trans-Siberian Outcast]

Like many have stated, TSO's Christmas tours are their cash cow and you can't blame them for milking it for all it's worth. That cow is gonna keep on producing milk for many years to come, too.

The Beethoven and Mozart tours aren't going to draw nearly the audience as their Christmas tour does and Paul is well aware of that fact. They will probably be performing mini-tours of Beethoven's Last Nightcastle during the summer months (although I seriously doubt if that will happen this summer) and it will always play second fiddle to the Christmas tours. We, as fans, might as well accept that right now.

On another note, I have a theory why we haven't seen any live DVD shows from the band. The show isn't really much different from year-to-year and likely won't change much in the forseeable future. Paul knows that and is reluctant to release a DVD because right now people MUST ATTEND their shows to get the full TSO experience (and it's the show that's their cash cow, not the cd sales). If they do a DVD, then people are more likely to just play it in the comfort of their home and skip the live performance since it doesn't change much from year to year.

 

[Ruthven]

I want to see TSO include a "crunk" element in all of their future Christmas projects. That would be so awesome.

 

[SkiBumMSP]

On another note, I have a theory why we haven't seen any live DVD shows from the band. The show isn't really much different from year-to-year and likely won't change much in the forseeable future. Paul knows that and is reluctant to release a DVD because right now people MUST ATTEND their shows to get the full TSO experience (and it's the show that's their cash cow, not the cd sales). If they do a DVD, then people are more likely to just play it in the comfort of their home and skip the live performance since it doesn't change much from year to year.

I don't know - there is just something about actually going to a show instead of just seeing it on a DVD! I have a couple of concert DVD's (including of one that I actually attended - you could actually see me in it!) but it is just not the same as actully going to show, and this is after watching the DVD on a very nice high-end home-theater setup with a sound system that would probably rival, if not blow away, most of what I experienced at some of these venues!

But I definitly could see where you are coming from, though. People would probably go to the actual show at least once, to say they actually experienced it, then just watch the DVD afterwards, since it does not seem to change much from year to year. That one show I went to that I have the DVD for was a one-off deal, so the only time I could relive the experience is to watch the DVD.

 

[SkiBumMSP]

I want to see TSO include a "crunk" element in all of their future Christmas projects. That would be so awesome.

Oh hell no! For the love of God and everything Metal, that would be the last thing we need is for them to ruin thier shows with that gawd-awful rap/hip-hop shit (those that don't know what "crunk" is - see this Wikipedia article - it is a form of rap/hip-hop, although I don't know what the difference from one form or another is as it all sounds like shit to me anyways.). That would definitly fall into that "doing something utterly stupid and chase away thier audience" thing that I mentioned in an earlier post. If they started doing that kind of shit - that would be the last show of thiers I'd go to!

 

[Kenneth R.]

i seriously think they need to stop buying lasers/pyro/light rigs and spend money making music.

 

[Pellaz]

Oh hell no! For the love of God and everything Metal, that would be the last thing we need is for them to ruin thier shows with that gawd-awful rap/hip-hop shit (those that don't know what "crunk" is - see this Wikipedia article - it is a form of rap/hip-hop, although I don't know what the difference from one form or another is as it all sounds like shit to me anyways.). That would definitly fall into that "doing something utterly stupid and chase away thier audience" thing that I mentioned in an earlier post. If they started doing that kind of shit - that would be the last show of thiers I'd go to!

Dude, you need to top off the fluid in your joke detector. It's a bit low. Good time to winterize, too.....

 

[BenMech]

'Tage may be deader than a doornail, but does anyone remember plans for a big bloated Broadway mess called Romanov about the last days of the Russian monarchy before the Communist Revolution?

 

[Kenneth R.]

dead you say? dead winter dead