OK, so Sunday night was finally the night of my very LONG awaited Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert and, holy frickin' crap, words can't even begin to DESCRIBE how much fun I had and how amazing it was!!!!! I still get all giddy inside when I think about it! ^___^ I say "LONG awaited" because pretty much since I left the arena after last years show, I was already looking forward to coming back for this year's concert, lol! They are just *that* epic. At least, I sure as hell think they are!

That morning I had to work at 8, which I was *not* enthused about at all because all I could think of was "Omg, in _____ hours I'll be at the Rose Garden!!"...because, I'm a nerd like that. LOL. I had asked clear back in September to leave early that day so I'd have time to go home, get out of my gross uniform and take a breather for a bit before heading out. I *was* planning on staying until 2 or so, but it was dead, soooo when Casey said that she would be leaving at noon (she was going with her hubby to the afternoon show and *had* to leave then), I figured - hell, I might as well too! I groomed the whopping one dog I had on my book (WOOOO $20-something in commissions, BIG MONEY!! XD;; ), and after that I was pretty much in the mindset of 'screw all y'all and this popsicle stand!!' Come noon I made a beline to punch out and got out of there as fast as I could.

Kerrie got to the house a little after 5. By that time I had already put on my TSO t-shirt, done my makeup and had my camera, tickets and songbook out and was ready to go! We left aroud 5:45-ish, and made a stop by KFC on the way since neither of us had really had anything for dinner prior to getting together. No, not the healthiest of choices by far, but hey, it was damn tasty...and they have a value menu! XD 'Nuff said.

Got inside the arena and made it to our seats a little after 7. OH MY GOD. We were 2nd row and SO CLOSE to the stage!!! It was literally like, 6 feet away from me. I could walk over and touch it. I was SO excited! Kerrie was all: "Maybe they'll jump on you, Stacey! That would be your dream come true!" LOL. The stage seemed frickin' ginormous compared to the one last year. Now, rather that was because of it *actually* being bigger, or because last year I was sitting in row 29 instead of row 2, I dunno. But still, it was insane. A few minutes before the show started, I could see Al on the stage, and me being oober excited let my fangirl side get the better of me; I turned to Kerrie and was all: "OMFG look it's Al!!!!" She just looked at me and replied with: "Creeper." LOL. XD;;

7:30 rolled around, the arena went black, the music started, and 3+ hours of magic, musical epic-ness then followed. It was great to see Al back on his feet and fully recovered after the injury to his leg that he suffered during last year's tour. Sitting 2nd row and being able to watch him play his guitars like he does was, well, pretty much indescribable. If I can ever play my guitar even 1/4 as well as he does then I'll be happy. Tommy and Jeff Scott Soto were, once again, amazing with their vocals. Roddy and Caitlin had SO much energy and are incredible violinists - it was so much fun watching them run around the stage like they did!

...Have you ever been so engrossed in something, so caught up in the moment of all that's going on around you, that by the time it's over and you're back home it's hard to even remember what all you just experienced?? THAT'S how I feel about the show. It's so overwhelming (in a good way) both musically and visually that seeing them only once a tour season makes it seem almost impossible to take it all in! Like, I feel like I'm jumping around in writing this because I don't even know how to write down what I saw and have it make *any* sense whatsoever. All I know is that I wish time travel were possible...I would go back and re-live Sunday night in a heartbeat!!! That sounds like a much better idea than going to day 8 of work tomorrow. *grumblemoanbitch* XP But, seeing as time travel sadly is *not* possible, I was very happy to see a clip from the show up on YouTube!!! =D


And, just for the hell of it, a couple of my favorite pictures from the show...









After the show, Kerrie and I went straight to looking for the Meet-&-Greet line. I had missed it last year because we all had to work the next morning, so this year I was determined to make it!! As we were weaving our way through the mass crowds that were either trying to leave or trying to find the M&G line like we were, I ended up being my classic, graceful self and did a complete wipeout in the middle of the floor while walking in my heels. Kerrie at first didn't even notice I had fallen and just kept on walking for a minute, lol! A complete stranger helped me up, with a worried look on her face and was asking if I was alright. I'm sure my face was beet-red with embarrassment by then as I wobbled to my feet and let her know I indeed hadn't broken or dislocated anything. After that, the first thought that ran through my mind was: 'Well, thank GOD that didn't happen in front of the band!' ...I never would've lived that down. XD;

We waited in the loooong line for probably 45 minutes or so before we got up to the tables where the band was sitting. Al was the first one in the line, and I could feel my heart pound more the closer I got. There were things I had been wanting to say for *months,* and I was worried that, as what typically happens, my rediculous shyness would get the better of me and I'd end up going mute. >.< Luckily though I somehow managed to open my mouth and at least say a small portion of what I'd wanted to. As he autographed my songbook I told him how it was TSO and seeing them live last year for the first time that inspired me to want to play music again, and thanked him. He asked what instruments I liked, and he gave me a big smile when I said that I'd just started guitar lessons a few months ago. .....He might've said something afterwards, but I honestly can't remember after that, LOL! *sigh* ^^; Anyways, on down the line we went! Everybody was SO kind and sincere with all us fans, even though I'm sure they were exhausted after just doing two 3+ hour long shows in one day. That's one of the many reasons why I love TSO so much - they truly care and try to give back to their fans. So many musicians today charge bukoo-bucks to join a fan club that comes with a *chance* to meet him/her/them. TSO does it willingly after pretty much every single show, time allowing, for free. And *anybody* who wants to come and is willing to wait in the line is allowed to.

I got my songbook autographed by the entire TSO West troupe, and Kerrie got her program signed. Happy and exhausted, we headed back home. It was a night I *won't* soon forget, and all I can say is...CAN'T WAIT TO DO IT AGAIN NEXT YEAR!! ^__^