Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com

Published - Thursday, December 02, 2004

TSO carolizes the crowd

By GERI PARLIN / La Crosse Tribune

Twenty-five hundred people got carolized Wednesday night in the La Crosse Center.

With the help of lasers, pyrotechnics and big, bold orchestral arrangements, Trans-Siberian Orchestra knocked the audience on its ears.

There is nothing understated about this group. They don't just go over the top — they leave it a mile behind. And if you like light shows, move over hard rock, because TSO has likely got you beat. When they cranked up the pyro at the end of the show, you could feel the heat and smell the sulfur at the back of the arena.

Forget Andy Williams in a reindeer sweater crooning "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year." If you want to jump start your yuletide season, you need TSO's jazzy "Christmas Nights in Blue," in which the singer promises to carolize us.

He certainly delivered. Whether it was snippets of "O, Come All Ye Faithful" or "O Holy Night," the orchestra, aided by a group of

La Crosse string musicians, kicked these traditional carols up a notch or two. And they sent "Joy to the World" into the stratosphere.

The first part of the show has a narrator who tells the long-winded tale of an angel looking for a good person. We hear tales of mysterious strangers who do good deeds and bars full of people feeling the joy of the holiday. And in between there's all that amazing music, fake snow and lasers.

Now, that's what I call decking the halls.

Geri Parlin can be reached at gparlin@lacrossetribune.com or (608) 791-8225.