Another great show from TSO this year. Such a nice tradition for the family every year, we all enjoy the show and music so much. This year was a new show entitled The Ghosts of Christmas Eve with a bunch of different and incredible stage sets, performances, an immense amount of pyrotechnics and of course new music as well as a ton of their traditional songs. The entire cast is just so talented and they all get to show off their talents through the songs they sing, the solos they play and their dancing….simply amazing!

It was a great evening with all of us together again at a concert, it seems like forever since we have all been to a show together. it seems I have been going to more and more shows solo and a few with Toni, but to have all four of us together enjoying the music was a perfect way to end 2016. Can’t wait to see the show next year.

What an absolutely wonderful show at the Key Arena in Seattle last night.

The show opened with CeeLo Green, who had a very colorful, energetic and sexy stage show with amazing musicians including a horn section. Kind of hate to admit it, but both Toni and I were not at all familiar with his music, and both had different conceptions and expectations of what to expect. We were both very pleasantly surprised. He performed a great mix of both his music and covers. I am now a fan. He is now my favorite contemporary, R&B pop artist (Ok, my only favorite contemporary, R&B pop artist). Beguiling performer and great singer who really got the crowd set for the rest of the night.

Lionel Richie came on the stage around 8:45 and just absolutely hit a home run performance. He is so charismatic, such an incredible song writer, entertainer and still has one of the most wonderfully captivating voices in music. His song library is just absolutely magnificent. He performed tunes that I hadn’t heard in years such as Truly, You Are, Dancing on the Ceiling, Say You Say Me, All Night Long, Stuck on You, Hello, Ballerina Girl, Endless Love (where he psyched the audience out that he had Dianna Ross in to help him sign it…he didn’t)…and the list just went on and on. By far my favorite part of the show were the flash back performances of the great Commodores classics such as Three Times a Lady, Easy, Sweet Love, Just to be Close to You, Lady, Brick House and my all time favorite Commodores song Sail On. He ended the show with a single encore of (believe it or not) We Are the World from the 1985.

We almost didn’t make it to the show tonight, and would have never known what an absolutely incredible show we would have missed. We both left the show saying how much we enjoyed it which seemed to be the sentiment of the rest of the audience, as while walking out I overheard many people totally raving about how this was one of the best shows they have seen in a long time.

Another great show tonight at Studio Seven in Seattle. The last time we were at this Venue it was to see Black Veil Brides and had a terrible experience with the venue staff… this time was MUCH better. We did the VIP meet and greet with Blood on the Dance Floor so were able to get in a little early and before the masses. We had a great time meeting both the guys (Dahvie Vanity  and Jayy Von Monroe). They were both very nice and polite with Toni and I, and Nicki absolutely loved hugging them and having a short chat. It’s always refreshing to meet members of bands you listen to so much. You get very nervous and anxious only to find that they are just people too, and are usually very approachable and personable. These guys were certainly no different…what a treat. (Oh and Dahvie – if your reading my Blog – Thanks).

The show started out with a band we saw open up for the Bryan Stars show a few months ago. They are called Beneath the Spin Light and are local (from Camano Island WA). It is great to see these guys playing as much and as often as they seem to do. This kind of dedication will take them far. They seemed improved from just a few months when we saw them..

Next up was Lionfight. It’s awesome how you come and see these types of shows where bands you have never heard of before and they just blow you away. These guys had just an absolute, ton of energy and pounded out massive sounds.. What a great set they did.

I think Farewell My Love were supposed to be on next, but unfortunately the lead singer ended up getting sick during the tour and had to cancel out. Too bad, as we were really looking forward to seeing them. About 6 months ago, we donated to their funds to get a new van, and felt like we kind of knew them.. oh well, they’ll be around again I’m sure.

Haley Rose came on next and did a very nice solo acoustic set. She was very inspiring to Nicki and made her want to practice guitar even more. I liked her rendition of Johnny Cash’s Hurt. What a sobering, heavy bunch of lyrics, but Haley did a great job performing it. She has a great voice.

On next was another band that just blew us away. They were Relapse Symphony. These were five guys who were dressed for ROCK!. They reminded me of the earlier Motley Crue with a dash of Guns and Roses. The lead singer (Bret Von Dehl) had moves reminiscent of Jim Morrison and Axl Rose. These guys absolutely tore it up. The stage was too small for them both figuratively and literally (were kind of tripping over each other)..they need to tour some bigger venues with their immense sound and performance. These guys are going far.. They were also very down to earth and seemed to really appreciate their fan base.. Bret was hanging out at the merch table for a long time…it seemed as though he was there until there were no more fans to meet.. We met him, had a short conversation and got a picture of him with Nicki. We also bought some of their music – I want to hear more!

The final act before BOTDF was Davey Suicide. It was clear why these guys were the last opening act. They were so polished and perfect in their sound, performance and presence that they could carry a show as a lead act without any problems. Davey has the looks that would scare anyone in any dark alley, with his music being as shock inspiring as his stage presence. It has a power that hits you inside and makes you want to bang your head and pound your fists then leaves you wanting more.. He was another one who Nicki and I went to visit after the set, but unfortunately he wasn’t doing pictures at te time, so Nicki settled for a hug and I followed up a handshake and a thanks.

Finally, what we had all been waiting for was the arrival of Blood On The Dance Floor. One of Nicki’s all-time favorite bands, but I haven’t really heard too much of their stuff before tonight. I had no idea what I was missing! What a refreshing sound these guys have. The beat, lyrics, incredibly powerful percussion all wrapped up in an electric blanket. I have never been to a Rave, but if this was anything like one..it was the spray of soapsuds mixed with lasers and techno that put it over the top. I want to go! Their music had everyone in the crowd jumping and absolutely loving every second of it. Some of the most memorable songs they performed were; I Refuse to Sink, Fake is the New Trend and Damaged. The end of their set was an acoustic encore with Dahvie sitting, playing his acoustic guitar playing the song Don’t Want to be Like You in the crowd.. what a great ending to a great night of music. Although many of their songs are racy and provocative to a point where the lyrics don’t necessarily resonate with me personally (although I venture guess that their target audience is not someone of my generation) their message of tolerance, equality, fairness and love for one another transcends all generations and their music reflects something that everyone who loves music would enjoy listening to.

All in all, this had to be one of the highlight shows of the year.. and was a fitting end to the 2013 concert season for us. Hopefully we can see many of these great bands again next year as well as discover new bands who we can add to our favorites list..