Any Trans-Siberian Orchestra fans here?

For those who don't know TSO is basically a really freakin' cool x-mas music band with a metal twist being that 3/4 of the founding members are from the metal band Savatage!


Anywho ... you have to listen to some of their stuff. There are quite a few vids on youtube with people playing their x-mas lights to some of their music. It's really funny.

So ... all this to say that they have just announced their tour dates in North America (Canada and US).

http://www.trans-siberian.com/ontour/index.php

They have to bands touring at the same time (East and West) so don't be too confused about looking at the same dates in different cities

Thu. 1 Nov. Youngstown, OH Chevrolet Centre 7:30PM
Fri. 2 Nov. Lakeland, FL Lakeland Civic Center 8:00PM
Fri. 2 Nov. Youngstown, OH Chevrolet Centre 8:00PM
Sat. 3 Nov. Lakeland, FL Lakeland Civic Center 8:00PM
Sat. 3 Nov. Youngstown, OH Chevrolet Centre 3:00PM
Sat. 3 Nov. Youngstown, OH Chevrolet Centre 8:00PM
Sun. 4 Nov. Hershey, PA Giant Center 3:00PM
Sun. 4 Nov. Hershey, PA Giant Center 7:30PM
Sun. 4 Nov. Sunrise, FL Bankatlantic Center 7:30PM
Mon. 5 Nov. Jacksonville, FL Jacksonville Veterans Memorial 7:30PM
Wed. 7 Nov. Knoxville, TN Thompson Bolling Arena 7:30PM
Wed. 7 Nov. Manchester, NH Verizon Wireless Arena 7:30PM
Thu. 8 Nov. Atlanta, GA Philips Arena 7:30PM
Thu. 8 Nov. Manchester, NH Verizon Wireless Arena 7:30PM
Fri. 9 Nov. Biloxi, MS Mississippi Coast Coliseum 8:00PM
Fri. 9 Nov. Portland, ME Cumberland Country Civic Center 8:00PM
Sat. 10 Nov. New Orleans, LA New Orleans Arena 8:00PM
Sat. 10 Nov. Worcester, MA DCU Center 3:00PM
Sat. 10 Nov. Worcester, MA DCU Center 8:00PM
Sun. 11 Nov. Jackson, MS Mississippi Coliseum 3:00PM
Sun. 11 Nov. Jackson, MS Mississippi Coliseum 7:30PM
Sun. 11 Nov. Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun Arena 2:30PM
Sun. 11 Nov. Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun Arena 7:30PM
Wed. 14 Nov. Dayton, OH EJ Nutter Center 7:30PM
Wed. 14 Nov. Lubbock, TX United Spirit Arena 7:30PM
Thu. 15 Nov. Dayton, OH EJ Nutter Center 7:30PM
Fri. 16 Nov. El Paso, TX Don Haskins Center 8:00PM
Fri. 16 Nov. Ft. Wayne, IN Allen County War Memorial 8:00PM
Sat. 17 Nov. Lexington, KY Rupp Arena 8:00PM
Sun. 17 Nov. Phoenix, AZ US Airways Arena 3:00PM
Sat. 17 Nov. Phoenix, AZ US Airways Arena 8:00PM
Sun. 18 Nov. Las Vegas, NV Mandalay Bay Events Center 7:30PM
Sun. 18 Nov. Pittsburgh, PA Mellon Arena 3:00PM
Sun. 18 Nov. Pittsburgh, PA Mellon Arena 7:30PM
Mon. 19 Nov. San Diego, CA Cox Arena 7:30PM
Tue. 20 Nov. Anaheim, CA The Pond 7:30PM
Tue. 20 Nov. Providence, RI Dunkin Donuts Center 7:30PM
Wed. 21 Nov. San Jose, CA HP Pavillion 7:30PM
Thu. 22 Nov. Montreal, Can Bell Centre 7:30PM
Fri. 23 Nov. Fresno, CA Save Mart Center 8:00PM
Fri. 23 Nov. Ottawa, Can Scottbank Place 8:00PM
Sat. 24 Nov. Hamilton, Can Copps Coliseum 8:00PM
Sat. 24 Nov. Reno, NV Reno Events Center 8:00PM
Sun. 25 Nov. Buffalo, NY HSBC Arena 3:00PM
Sun. 25 Nov. Buffalo, NY HSBC Arena 7:30PM
Sun. 25 Nov. Sacramento, CA Arco Arena 3:00PM
Sun. 25 Nov. Sacramento, CA Arco Arena 7:30PM
Mon. 26 Nov. Toronto, Can Air Canada Centre 7:30PM
Tue. 27 Nov. Salt Lake City, UT Energysolutions Arena 7:30PM
Wed. 28 Nov. Nampa, ID Idaho Center 7:30PM
Wed. 28 Nov. Toledo, OH Seagate Convention Ctr. 7:30PM
Thu. 29 Nov. Toledo, OH Seagate Convention Ctr. 7:30PM
Fri. 30 Nov. Lansing, MI Breslin Student Center 8:00PM
Fri. 30 Nov. Vancouver, Can GM Palace 8:00PM
Sat. 1 Dec. Grand Rapids, MI Van Andel Arena 3:00PM
Sat. 1 Dec. Grand Rapids, MI Van Andel Arena 8:00PM
Sat. 1 Dec. Seattle, WA Key Arena 3:00PM
Sat. 1 Dec. Seattle, WA Key Arena 8:00PM
Sun. 2 Dec. Chicago, IL Allstate Arena 3:00PM
Sun. 2 Dec. Chicago, IL Allstate Arena 7:30PM
Sun. 2 Dec. Portland, OR Rose Garden 3:00PM
Sun. 2 Dec. Portland, OR Rose Garden 7:30PM
Wed. 5 Dec. Albany, NY Times Union Arena 7:30PM
Wed. 5 Dec. Colorado Springs, CO World Arena 8:00PM
Thu. 6 Dec. Albany, NY Times Union Arena 7:30PM
Thu. 6 Dec. Denver, CO Pepsi Center 7:30PM
Fri. 7 Dec. Atlantic City, NJ Boardwalk Hall 8:00PM
Fri. 7 Dec. Wichita, KS Kansas Coliseum 8:00PM
Sat. 8 Dec. Kansas City, MO Sprint Center 3:00PM
Sat. 8 Dec. Kansas City, MO Sprint Center 8:00PM
Sat. 8 Dec. Philadelphia, PA Wachovia Center 3:00PM
Sat. 8 Dec. Philadelphia, PA Wachovia Center 8:00PM
Sun. 9 Dec. Hartford, CT Hartford Civic Center 2:30PM
Sun. 9 Dec. Hartford, CT Hartford Civic Center 7:30PM
Sun. 9 Dec. St. Louis, MO Scottrade Center 3:00PM
Sun. 9 Dec. St. Louis, MO Scottrade Center 7:30PM
Wed. 12 Dec. Greenville, SC Bi Lo Center 7:30PM
Wed. 12 Dec. Omaha, NE Qwest Center 7:30PM
Thu. 13 Dec. Des Moines, IA Wells Fargo Arena 7:30PM
Thu. 13 Dec. Hampton, VA Hampton Coliseum 7:30PM
Fri. 14 Dec. Grand Forks, ND Alerus Center 8:00PM
Fri. 14 Dec. Uniondale, NY Nassau Coliseum 8:00PM
Sat. 15 Dec. East Rutherford, NJ Continental Airlines Arena 3:00PM
Sat. 15 Dec. East Rutherford, NJ Continental Airlines Arena 8:00PM
Sat. 15 Dec. Minneapolis, MN Target Center 3:00PM
Sat. 15 Dec. Minneapolis, MN Target Center 8:00PM
Sun. 16 Dec. Milwaukee, WI Bradley Center 3:00PM
Sun. 16 Dec. Milwaukee, WI Bradley Center 7:30PM
Sun. 16 Dec. Washington, DC Verizon Center 3:00PM
Sun. 16 Dec. Washington, DC Verizon Center 7:30PM
Mon. 17 Dec. Indianapolis, IN Conseco Fieldhouse 7:30PM
Wed. 19 Dec. Greensboro, NC Greensboro Coliseum 7:30PM
Thu. 20 Dec. Memphis, TN Fed Ex Forum 7:30PM
Thu. 20 Dec. Raleigh, NC RBC Center 7:30PM
Fri. 21 Dec. Bossier City, LA CenturyTel Center 8:00PM
Fri. 21 Dec. Charlotte, NC Cricket Arena 8:00PM
Sat. 22 Dec. Oklahoma City, OK Ford Center 3:00PM
Sat. 22 Dec. Oklahoma City, OK Ford Center 8:00PM
Sat. 22 Dec. Richmond, VA Richmond Coliseum 3:00PM
Sat. 22 Dec. Richmond, VA Richmond Coliseum 8:00PM
Sun. 23 Dec. Columbia, SC Colonial Center 3:00PM
Sun. 23 Dec. Columbia, SC Colonial Center 7:30PM
Sun. 23 Dec. San Antonio, TX AT&T Center 3:00PM
Sun. 23 Dec. San Antonio, TX AT&T Center 8:00PM
Wed. 26 Dec. Austin, TX Frank Erwin Center 7:30PM
Wed. 26 Dec. Detroit, MI Palace of Auburn Hills 3:00PM
Wed. 26 Dec. Detroit, MI Palace of Auburn Hills 8:00PM
Thu. 27 Dec. Columbus, OH Nationwide Arena 3:00PM
Thu. 27 Dec. Columbus, OH Nationwide Arena 7:30PM
Thu. 27 Dec. Houston, TX Toyota Center 3:00PM
Thu. 27 Dec. Houston, TX Toyota Center 7:30PM
Fri. 28 Dec. Cincinnati, OH US Bank Arena 8:00PM
Fri. 28 Dec. Dallas, TX American Airlines Center 3:00PM
Fri. 28 Dec. Dallas, TX American Airlines Center 8:00PM
Sat. 29 Dec. Little Rock, AR Alltel Arena 3:00PM
Sat. 29 Dec. Little Rock, AR Alltel Arena 8:00PM
Sat. 29 Dec. Rochester, NY Blue Cross Arena 8:00PM
Sun. 30 Dec. Cleveland, OH Quicken Loans Arena 3:00PM
Sun. 30 Dec. Cleveland, OH Quicken Loans Arena 7:30PM
Sun. 30 Dec. Nashville, TN Gaylord Entertainment Center 7:30PM
Mon. 31 Dec. Birmingham, AL BJCC Arena 9:30PM
Mon. 31 Dec. Cleveland, OH Quicken Loans Arena 3:00PM
Mon. 31 Dec. Cleveland, OH Quicken Loans Arena 9:30PM
Thu. 3 Jan. Erie, PA Erie Civic 7:30PM
Thu. 3 Jan. Peoria, IL Peoria Civic Center 7:30PM
Fri. 4 Jan. Moline, IL Mark Of The Quad 8:00PM
Fri. 4 Jan. Syracuse, NY OnCenter 8:00PM
Sat. 5 Jan. Madison, WI Alliant Energy Center 3:00PM
Sat. 5 Jan. Madison, WI Alliant Energy Center 8:00PM
Sat. 5 Jan. Wilkes Barre, PA Wachovia Arena 3:00PM
Sat. 5 Jan. Wilkes Barre, PA Wachovia Arena 8:00PM
Sun. 6 Jan. Baltimore, MD 1st Mariner Arena 7:30PM
Sun. 6 Jan. Green Bay, WI Resch Center 3:00PM
Sun. 6 Jan. Green Bay, WI Resch Center 7:30PM

You are dating yourself, Karinne...

because I said Savatage?

No....trans siberian....

Hmmm ... TSO isn't that old ... they formed in '96

Thanks for the tour dates...I'm a big fan and try to catch them when they come to St. Louis. I didn't think they were that old either, went to see the Moody Blues last month - now we're talking old! Me & them!

I'd rather see Lordi or Bullet for my Valentine...

Mick Jaggar is 64... And Peter Blair Denis Bernard Noone (herman of herman's hermits) is going to be 60 on Nov. 5, 2007. Talk about old.....even Spinal Tap is getting old....

Mick Jagger looks old but doesn't act it! I think we'll all getting old!

Oh and Karinne.. I love TSO too!

Well, it would be nice to have Mick Jagger's energy level - maybe I'd get up from in front of this computer more often . But it's good to see so many of these "old" singers/groups are still going strong.

Hi Karinne, I have some of their music. Shame there's no dates in the UK Surprising to see anyone mention them here

Their music is a popular choice for some of the folks at planetchristmas.com. I've fully computerised lighting in my house that can be controlled from the web and other means, even from a telephone, and I've developed DMX control software for home automation and various hardware controllers for LEDs. The next step is to computerise the garden, and TSO music will definitely be one of the choices for a lighting show.

Maybe they'll come to the UK some time.

Post a gig review and photos if you go.

^ Sweeeeet!

Review ... yes ... pic ... not really. They search you before getting in so ... that's a nono. Unless I get a better phone with a better cam on it before then

Ioncube your lighting sounds amazing. I wish I could see it for myself.

Yes, I think he should have a party and invite us all to see it! hehe

I wouldn't say it's amazing, but it is it is quite cool to be able to press speed-dial 0 on the cordless phone by the bed and have the whole house "shutdown" at night

I first used something called X10, which is great if you want to turn a few table lamps into remote control, but it's really old technology and useless for whole house control as it's far too unreliable and slow. DMX is an uncommon choice for home automation, but my g/f bought me a DMX controller at xmas as she was told in forums that it's what I needed to control the garden, so I had to make use of it and the first thing was to rip out the X10 and implement something that worked properly. Some bits such as light switches and motion sensors are still X10 at the moment, but they ultimately control the DMX system. I gave the DMX server a control language so you can send it commands such as "set K_zone1,K_zone2 @ 75% over 3 seconds,K_zone3 @ 0 over 5 seconds in 2 minutes" for scene setting, and then devices such as Asterisk (for the phone control) or remote controls send the server commands to set different scenes and make stuff happen.

It's fun, but guarantees that I can't sell my property at the moment as if the computer fails then the lights don't work, and that's not a good selling point

Getting the garden decent with lights controlled by DMX is the ultimate aim, but the garden needs to be ripped up first because of the state that the previous owners left it in (much like the house was) and I'm a way off getting that done yet.

I wonder what kind of light show the TSO will have. Some of their tracks are just perfect for lots of dancing lights or lasers.

And the total cost was...?
I'd love something like that.
you should set up a business!

Not as much as you might expect and actually less than X10 costs for the dimmers.

Enttec USB to DMX controller: ~£100, but you can get controllers for much less
Chinese 4 channel DMX dimmer packs: ~£56 from CPC (http://cpc.farnell.com/jsp/Audio,+Vi...sp?sku=DP27530)
Sundry items such as cable, plugs, XLR connectors etc.: ~£50 to £100
X10 bits still in use: ~£150

I use about 6 dimmer packs at the moment, so ignoring computer costs, core components are maybe £500 to £600 to control most rooms, hallway and porch. I need to get a few more packs fitted to complete the job and get the last of the X10 dimmers out.

There was also the cost of rewiring the building plus new lights everywhere, which made it more easily achievable and multiplies the cost a few times, but this had to be done anyway as the whole place was being renovated.

Ignoring X10, there are other ways to retrofit remote control lights such as Rako controls, and although not cheap, you can do it one room at a time without needing a computer or rewiring the whole house, and get a reliable and professional solution. There are many players in the home automation market, but it is fun to do a DIY solution and ultimately more flexible.

Automated lights in homes are nowhere near mainstream yet, and I think this is a shame. But over time it's going to become more common. The advantages include the convenience of automatic scene setting, smarter lighting control to turn off lights in unoccupied rooms and on when you enter, operation when away from the home to simulate occupancy, easier building wiring as you don't have to run mains to wall switches, and over time there may be reduced running costs too. We will also see more use of LED lighting for much lower power usage and increased safety over the popular choice of halogen lights (one cause of house fires), and 100,000 hour lifetimes instead of 1/10th of that or less with halogen and other choices.