BANGOR, Maine — The sturm und drang of Beethoven matched the wet, gloomy weather that hung over the Bangor Waterfront on Wednesday night as the Trans-Siberian Orchestra brought its unique fusion of metal, prog rock and classical to the waterfront concert stage. It was the first concert of 2012 and it brought a technically advanced, dramatic flair to this year’s lineup.
Founded by producer Paul O’Neill in 1993, TSO is almost as famous for its over-the-top light show as its music. With lasers, HD projections, pyrotechnics, fog and countless racks of stage lights, TSO does not disappoint when it comes to technical wow factor. Nor does it disappoint with its theatricality, from its entertainingly melodramatic narrator to its long-haired, headbanging guitarists.
TSO has scored legions of fans over its nearly 20-year existence; two of them, Chad Bizeau of Augusta and his mother, Trudy Bizeau of Hartland, have seen them more than 10 times over the years.
“They’re great with their fans, they’re extremely professional, their shows aren’t expensive and they’re incredible musicians,” said Chad Bizeau, who saw TSO just a few weeks ago at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. “Every show they do is as good as the first one I saw. They’re really phenomenal.”
Several large groups were in attendance at the concert; among them were National Guard service members affiliated with Operation Community Support, a military support group founded in the Bangor area by Skip Chappelle. Waterfront Concerts donated 150 tickets to the show for military service members.
“TSO is very appreciative of what the military does for all of us Americans,” said Alex Gray, Waterfront Concerts organizer. “So we reached out to Skip Chapelle’s group.”
Additionally, nearly the entire student body of Greenville Middle School bused to Bangor to attend the concert. School band director Josh Guthrie and his wife, Tera, had the idea to try to bring the school band — which almost the entire school is a part of — to the concert. After a few months and the efforts of some highly motivated band boosters, 60 middle-schoolers, 17 high-schoolers and a handful of chaperones were on their way to see TSO.
“The bus ride down was pretty wild. Everyone’s really pumped,” said Guthrie. “We’re always trying to get the kids into classical music, and this is a really great way to bridge the gap between rock and pop and classical. I hope they come away from it with a greater appreciation for how skilled these musicians are.”
Trans-Siberian Orchestra has often been a teaching tool for music educators seeking to make classical music easier to understand for students. Kevin Smith, a Bangor resident who attended the concert with a large group of friends, recalled first hearing TSO in grade school.
“I remember my teacher playing it for us, as an example of music that bridged gaps between genres. I’ve been a fan every since,” said Smith. “I remember thinking that it was really cool that it was both classical and rock. I think it makes a lot of people pay more attention to classical music. I’m really excited for the show.”
Awesome Show TSO!!!
It looks like its going to be another summer of fantastic waterfront shows and this was a great kick off!
Awesome show tonight TSO and Waterfront Concerts. All Class ! This was a great opening concert! The games have started!!! Score: ( 6,000) Positives ( 0 ) Negs.
I am not a TSO fan, but I’m glad the concerts have started up. They are great for the economy.
Hopefully people won’t complain about the noise too much this year. I live within earshot and, even though I don’t care for all of the music that’s played there, I am thankful for it. It means people are here, buying gas, eating out and staying in hotel rooms.
We are seniors and are not very fond of hard metal however, we do enjoy rocking country , Blues and old time rock and roll. We look at what Alex Gray has done and is trying to do, as wondeful. He is putting Bangor, Maine back on the map. We still are hoping that someday he will bring in someone or some group from our Doo-Wop days. Recently heard that The Folk Festival is bringing in Larry Chance and the Earls of ‘ Remember then ” fame. Can’t wait to see them. Keep up the good work, everyone.
I wish I’d been able to go.Two things that would’ve been nice to see in the article-total sales and I think this was TSO’s first ever outdoor show under challenging conditions?
We are oldsters (50’s) and the show was amazing, TSO’s talent is just staggering (the entire cast/crew/musicians/tech’s, etc.) and the audience was great. We sat right behind the Greenville folks- what a great bunch of kids! We enjoyed them nearly as much as TSO. ;-) The laser lights looked all sparkly in the drizzle- like it was meant to be that way.
I was there last night. I am still in awe of that incredible performance.
this was my first TSO concert & my first Waterfront concert. even with the rain it was great! I will only add one thing- the article talks about understanding music….the best way to “understand ” music is to just feel it & what it says to you.
I think we need a $5 tax per ticket at concerts in Bangor to help feed the homeless and hungry children in the area. If you can afford to go to concerts and vist the local businesses here in Bangor then you can afford to pay the $5 tax for poor and disadvantaged children.
As a Bangor taxpayer, we pay enough. Please let me decide where my donations go. I don’t understand the mentality of “well, if you can afford THIS then you might as well have to pay for something else.”
In the showdows of our world is the fact that poor hungry children are there. I will enjoy some of the concerts this summer and would gladly give $5 towards helping young children. It was just a suggestion anyways. no need to go on about it. I just figured that since the city of Bangor spent 27 millon on the waterfront and another 70 millon on the arena which would be concider corporate welfare of $100,000.000.00 on corporate welfare that charging $5 per head wouldn’t be any trouble at all.. I am sorry that you have to pay for corporate welfare and don’t have enough to throw $5 in a fund for kids.
First, the Legislature would have to approve such a tax.
Second, how does building a new arena and civic center constitute “corporate welfare”?
at $60+ a pop and $10 service fee waterfront concerts can keep the majority of their tickets.
except zac brown and moe/gov’t mule
Nothing says conviction like exceptions.
Leave it to some people to turn this into a debate over money and rich/poor…
These concerts bring people outside of Bangor in. It brings in an audience, and the acts. Many of these people who come here either from the audience or the bands buy stuff. They visit the casino, the restaurants, the shops, the stores. This money goes into the local economy, where it is spent, invested, and saved both in bangor and out. Also, when they buy something, they get taxed. This tax money goes to help fund various local and state government programs, many of which are designed to help children.
Without these concerts, or events like these, less money comes into the city. Events like these will help drive business to the region, bringing in even more money. Small industries surrounding the area will start to grow, and in doing so potentially hire more pople. This is good for the area as a whole, not just a specific group.
If they want to set up a donations for various charities, by all means. This is done at various local shops as well. Also, TSO is known for donating a dollar of each ticket sale to a local charity. Usually they announce this, but they didnt at the bangor show, probably due to time constraints with rain and possibly curfew. But every other show I have seen them do they have done this, so I would be surprised if they didnt do it here.
Bangor PD needs to stop people from jumping out in front of traffic to try and park people in their lots. I wasn’t going to the concert, just driving along Main St. yesterday around 5:00pm or so. That distraction is going to get someone killed!
Why is it that so many drivers characterize pedestrians, bicyclists, etc as “distractions”? Automobiles do not and should not always have the right of way. The onus for pedestrian safety is on the operator of the thousand-pound piece of machinery that can instantly become a lethal weapon. I see many more drivers ignoring the pedestrian right-of-way in downtown crosswalks, for example, than I do pedestrians “jumping out in front of traffic.”
I feel these concerts are too loud for the bangor waterfront…it disturbs the fine people of bangor…lol