Christmas.
Hustle, bustle, spend too much, EAT too much, worry lots, even more so if you have bipolar disorder like my wife. There's also the pleasure of watching a child's face light up from receiving a gift, or spending time with friends and family you might not often get a chance to. Or, as I recently did, take in a show.
And that brings me to my point.
Most of the time when we think of show business, celebrities, and performers, we think of arrogant, self-centered, egotistical, or even narcissistic gas bags that are little more than talented blights on society with too much money and influence for their social and intellectual value.
And then there's a group like Trans-Siberian Orchestra, or TSO for short.
TSO puts on a yearly, seasonal concert tour, with TWO traveling troupes, north and south. In areas where they sell out and sell out fast, they do more than one show, on the SAME DAY. Do they make money? Probably...someone has to pay for the most amazing pyrotechnic, laser, and light show I'VE ever seen. But what sets them apart?
I'm glad you asked.
TSO donates one dollar from every ticket sold to a LOCAL charity; at the recent New Orleans performance that meant over eleven THOUSAND, seven hundred dollars ($11,700+) went to a local charity that feeds families without funds of their own. Additionally, unlike many other performers, their show is clean...you can take your 10 year old, or your uptight and religious grandmother and have no risk of them being offended or shocked.
And the message? Well...yes, there's a message. The first half of the show is Christmas themed (they make it SNOW at one part!), and tells the tale of an angel that is traveling the world, looking for...something. It tells of hope, of helping your fellow man, and, as the lyric in "Old City Bar" says:
If you want to arrange it
This world you can change it
If we could somehow make this
Christmas thing last
By helping a neighbor
Or even a stranger
And to know who needs help
You need only just ask
They don't ram home any particular religious view; granted, since it's Christmas oriented and themed, there's a heavy Judeo-Christian influence, but it's not shoved down anyone's throat, nor is it ever sappy; anyone that's seen this group can attest, they ROCK. And that's not even taking into account the SECOND half of their three hour set which is just pure visual and aural bliss, and allows them all to show off just how damned GOOD they are at what they do.
And they do it during the Christmas holidays when they COULD just be sitting at home with their money and families.
Hats off to you, Trans-Siberian Orchestra; may you rock your message and talent out for many years to come...when it comes to the meaning of Christmas, YOU'VE GOT IT DOWN COLD!