Christmas and Kayla

Kayla Reeves, TSO East

TSO Evening – Manchester 2016

Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Ghosts of Christmas Eve Winter Tour 2016.

Evening Show, SNHU Arena, November 26, 2016.

Not The Same

Sometimes I forget to stop, and take a good look around. But when I remember to do so, I am hoping to gain depth of perspective, so that I can see more than what I have already seen for myself. And most of the time, it reveals a whole other side, or sides, to the scene, completing a picture in context.

So, last night, at my second Trans-Siberian Orchestra show of the day, I took a clue from the person beside me, and took a picture that I wouldn’t normally think of taking. The result was very cool, I thought. I can only imagine what the scene looks like from atop the massive stage where the band performs.

The packed house in Manchester participates with Kayla Reeves, singing “Not The Same” at the November 26th evening show. (c) 1inawesomewonder 2016.

I have quite a few pictures from the Manchester shows, and I plan to share them over the next week or two. Look for more Trans-Siberian Orchestra content coming soon, right here! Thank you.

Advertisement

Someday, From This Debt, I Hope I’m Never Free

Are you a parent? Did you have parents? Did someone ever give of themselves toward your betterment in such a way as to change your life? Do you owe anyone for the piece of them they gave, just for you? Have you even thought about this? Should you do something about it? Do you need a push in the right direction?

Well this is what I have come up with, so far.

As time rolls on, the memories start to fade, with their edges frayed, the vibrant colors wash out some, and the family unit bends but doesn’t break. Time removes me from the places where we once went about our daily life knowing only what was there, sheltered in our little world. Distance puts time in between us, even if we want otherwise. What was once just down the hall, now requires a plan, accounting for all. The sweet, trusted security only separated by a flight of stairs, is somewhere in the past, or at least not so easily found, or fast. The supported now strain to support, and one longs for it all, again to be the other way around. Examples ran across our view whether we watched or not, and it seems so many times now, the lesson I forgot. I recall the good, and the things I suppose I want to see, and how much love did it take for it, that way, to be. Then the age added up but the character never changed, just the love and lessons somehow rearranged. No one kept track, as it should be, but from this debt, I hope I never feel free.

We live. Hopefully we love. We wander but never lose center. We look back, I hope, more than we look down. We look ahead, I hope, never disconnected from the past. We help, I hope, remembering from where we came. We make time, I hope, because minutes are fleeting. We linger, I hope, how much has been vested in us. We leave, better than we found, I hope, for that’s how we were taught.

I think on this matter a lot. I wonder at times how much is left in the well. When I take stock I am always astounded at how much more there is to give. It is then that I know how it once felt for those who have come before me. Then if there’s a push I need, a shove I crave; I play this song (Kayla Reeves, TSO) and listen to the emotion that is impossible to keep from spilling over all within earshot. I stir in the message shared amid the words that roll into my own personal movie playing just behind the portals I use to see. And I am reminded that, from this debt, I hope never to be free.

SOMEDAY

He won the war, in a foreign land
That was no hero, that was my old man
And he came back home, where he met his wife
And he raised his kids, while he made a life
Now he never preached, though he always knew
And we watched him close, just to pick up clues
And sometimes late, in the dead of night
I can see him there, in the pale moon light
I am trying
And I don’t know how
And I don’t know when
But I’ll have to tell him someday

And as for this woman, my father wed
We knew we were loved, with the words unsaid
And when we were young she taught us all to read
And then one by one, she would watch us leave
Never saw her cry, for she hid her tears
As one by one, we would disappear
But of course we’d write, and of course we’d call
Just to hear her voice, whenever we would fall

I am trying
And I don’t know how
And I don’t know when
But I’ll have to tell her someday

So I wrote these words, and I hope they last
For the years have come, and the years have passed
Think of all they gave, think of all the debt
But can’t find a way, to repay them yet
For the days still come, and the debt still mount
And do words unsaid, ever really count
But sometimes still, in the dead of night
I can see them there, in the pale moon light

I am trying
And I don’t know how
And I don’t know when
But I’ll have to tell them someday

Kayla Reeves with Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Boston 2015

TSO – Symmetry and Chemistry

I went to see them for the first time in December 2000. I went to hear one song. 16 years later, and every year between, I have seen them, listened to all of their songs, seen all of their lights, embraced all of the emotions they stimulate, and I’ve had the pleasure to meet most of them.

Still every year, the show is absolutely incredible. The lights, the lasers, the sounds, all in perfect symmetry. The performers, the voices, the skills, the personalities, oh the chemistry. The depth of performance is simply unmatched in my experience. So, weeks after seeing them two different times in 2015, I am posting these final pictures from my experience with the music, the show, the band in 2015. I apologize for the inclusion of the big guy with a flannel or a sweatshirt and beard in some of these photos. Enjoy!

 

Trans-Siberian Orchestra East 2015 II

Here are 10 more photos from the Manchester, NH show on November 28th.

This year, I was fortunate enough to get to the Boston show too. I haven’t even looked at those photos yet. Every time I go back to these pictures from Manchester, I just can’t wait to see these folks again, and to get lost in each and every spectacular moment found in each show.

If you know me, you know that TSO, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, has become synonymous with my Christmas season over the years. Maybe you have read one, several, or even, all, of the posts I have shared here regarding TSO over the last 4+ years. There have been many. Maybe this is the first time you’ve seen anything from here. Either way, the group and I go way back; more than 16 years back.

Here’s a little something that I shared from the past There in Every Show. Check it out.

In this post I share some photos from the evening show in Manchester, NH on November 28, 2015. I was 9 rows from the stage with my three oldest kids, ages 23, 22, and 19. These shows are a constant for me, and for my family. Once again, we waited with anticipation and were thrilled with the experience. Enjoy my attempt at photography with a cell phone from the general population.

If you are still with me here, check out this post from last year. TSO 2014.

I will be adding more posts with pictures from the TSO concert in Manchester, NH throughout the month of December. Merry Christmas. Enjoy.

TSO – Chris Caffery Friday

I heard that today is Chris Caffery Friday. It just so happens that I have a few photos of Chris from this year’s show. Here are a few pictures of Chris from the Manchester, NH show on November 28th.

Chris first became known to me in December of 2000, at my very first TSO show in Albany, NY. I enjoyed his interaction with the band as well as with the crowd. I loved listening to him play, while watching his noticeable enthusiasm to be there on stage, and all of these things are still true, 16 years later. It has truly been my pleasure.

Here’s a little something that I shared from the way, way back. The first time. Please have a look.

In this post I share some photos from the evening show in Manchester, NH on November 28, 2015. I was 9 rows from the stage with my three oldest kids, ages 23, 22, and 19. These shows are a constant for me, and for my family. Once again, we waited with anticipation and were thrilled with the experience. Enjoy my attempt at photography with a cell phone from the general population.

1inawesomewonder (C)

1inawesomewonder (C)

1inawesomewonder (C)

1inawesomewonder (C)

1inawesomewonder (C)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you are still with me here, check out this post from last year. TSO 2014.

I will be adding more posts with pictures from the TSO concert in Manchester, NH throughout the month of December. Merry Christmas. Enjoy.