Okay, time to pass along something really neet from the Trans-Siberian Orchestra gig here in Atlanta on November 16th.
Firstly, the performance was, as has become almost a tradition, pretty damned amazing, with the usual excellent level of talent we've come to expect from this touring company (TSO West, in our case). Scuttlebutt says we're getting the better of the two touring companies this year, due to some sudden changes, and one sudden death, within TSO East.
In any event, the show here did not disappoint.....although it would be really nice if they could play here right before Christmas. Instead of after Christmas (the last four years) or five weeks before it (this year). The audience was about 2,500 or so, about half-filling the Gwinnett Arena in half-house mode. Outstanding lighting, some really hot pyro, and some snowfall...and of course the vocalists and musicians were top-notch as always.
Then, to our surprise, after the vocalists and musicians had all been introduced, Tommy Farese, acting as emcee for the introductions, called a surprise guest up on stage: TSO's founder and composer, Paul O'Neill!
This was quite a bonus, since it was Paul's first appearance with TSO in Atlanta. He was, to put it mildly, not caparisoned for the show: everyone else was decked out in the usual dress or tuxedo, and Paul looked like....one of us. Black leather motorcycle jacket, black jeans, long hair...hey! What's that longhair doing up there during a Christmas show! There are kids out in that audience!
But the best was yet to come.
After the show was over -- it lasted over two hours, and well-worth the $50 or so for ticket and fees -- the entire touring cast came out to autograph for any fans who wanted autographs, as is the custom at TSO's gigs. Paul O'Neill did not sit behind the tables, but stood innocuously elsewhere in the lobby, flanked by some staffers holding program books, t-shirts and guitar picks. Periodically he'd have someone check the autograph line for any young kids waiting, so they could be bumped up -- after all, tomorrow is a school day! We thought that was pretty cool of him.
For fans who asked for Paul's autograph, he'd typically have his assistants give them a TSO t-shirt, or a program book. Yes, the same items that had been sold at the merch table about 25 feet behind him! We thought that was also quite cool of him. (!)
Like all of the TSO touring cast, which for us included Al Pitrelli and Johnny Lee Middleton of Savatage, Paul was affable and courteous, bestowing my friend Phil and I with guitar picks, since I'd already purchased a shirt and a program, and telling me to "never cut that hair!"
...And then it happened.
A lady in front of us was chatting with Paul and getting his autograph, and praised the fact that $1 of each ticket sold had been donated to the Atlanta Community Food Bank. She mentioned that she was involved with a toys-for-children campaign with her church.
Paul asked her to repeat what she'd said, and then produced a one-hundred dollar bill from his wallet on the spot. "This is for the kids," he told her earnestly. "Anything leftover can go to your church."
We were, all of us, flabbergasted...including the woman to whom he'd given the hundred.
Much has been said about Paul O'Neill vis a vis Savatage, but he grew about ten feet in that moment. My hat's off to him for showing the true soul of Christmas giving. Kudos to you, Paul!
Firstly, the performance was, as has become almost a tradition, pretty damned amazing, with the usual excellent level of talent we've come to expect from this touring company (TSO West, in our case). Scuttlebutt says we're getting the better of the two touring companies this year, due to some sudden changes, and one sudden death, within TSO East.
In any event, the show here did not disappoint.....although it would be really nice if they could play here right before Christmas. Instead of after Christmas (the last four years) or five weeks before it (this year). The audience was about 2,500 or so, about half-filling the Gwinnett Arena in half-house mode. Outstanding lighting, some really hot pyro, and some snowfall...and of course the vocalists and musicians were top-notch as always.Then, to our surprise, after the vocalists and musicians had all been introduced, Tommy Farese, acting as emcee for the introductions, called a surprise guest up on stage: TSO's founder and composer, Paul O'Neill!
This was quite a bonus, since it was Paul's first appearance with TSO in Atlanta. He was, to put it mildly, not caparisoned for the show: everyone else was decked out in the usual dress or tuxedo, and Paul looked like....one of us. Black leather motorcycle jacket, black jeans, long hair...hey! What's that longhair doing up there during a Christmas show! There are kids out in that audience!
But the best was yet to come.
After the show was over -- it lasted over two hours, and well-worth the $50 or so for ticket and fees -- the entire touring cast came out to autograph for any fans who wanted autographs, as is the custom at TSO's gigs. Paul O'Neill did not sit behind the tables, but stood innocuously elsewhere in the lobby, flanked by some staffers holding program books, t-shirts and guitar picks. Periodically he'd have someone check the autograph line for any young kids waiting, so they could be bumped up -- after all, tomorrow is a school day! We thought that was pretty cool of him.
For fans who asked for Paul's autograph, he'd typically have his assistants give them a TSO t-shirt, or a program book. Yes, the same items that had been sold at the merch table about 25 feet behind him! We thought that was also quite cool of him. (!)
Like all of the TSO touring cast, which for us included Al Pitrelli and Johnny Lee Middleton of Savatage, Paul was affable and courteous, bestowing my friend Phil and I with guitar picks, since I'd already purchased a shirt and a program, and telling me to "never cut that hair!"
...And then it happened.
A lady in front of us was chatting with Paul and getting his autograph, and praised the fact that $1 of each ticket sold had been donated to the Atlanta Community Food Bank. She mentioned that she was involved with a toys-for-children campaign with her church.
Paul asked her to repeat what she'd said, and then produced a one-hundred dollar bill from his wallet on the spot. "This is for the kids," he told her earnestly. "Anything leftover can go to your church."
We were, all of us, flabbergasted...including the woman to whom he'd given the hundred.
Much has been said about Paul O'Neill vis a vis Savatage, but he grew about ten feet in that moment. My hat's off to him for showing the true soul of Christmas giving. Kudos to you, Paul!
