In Eckleburg's Eyes - 12/23/2008, Part 2

On Monday night, JTH, ALK, and I attended the Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) concert at Thompson-Boling Arena. JTH took me for Christmas.

On the way, JTH drove my vehicle. He asked if I had ever used the horn before. I am generally opposed. My theory is that if you honk to alert someone that they are doing something stupid, they will stop and then continue the action compounding their error. If you honk to alert someone you know of your presence that alarms them for no reason. If you see me on the road, just call me on my cell phone. If you do not have my cell phone number then I probably do not care that you have just seen me. As such, I see little reason to use the horn. Sorry. Just felt like sharing.

This is the second year in a row I have attended the TSO concert. TSO is a rock orchestra that specializes in Christmas music accompanied by flashing lights and pyrotechnics. Each holiday season they tour the country. They had just completed two performances the previous day in Nashville and were headed to Memphis the following day for two more performances.

We sat by JTH’s brother CEH, his-in-laws, and MLM and his wife. ALK took the photos in this blog. She was able to smuggle in a camera. She advised that if you open your purse before security asks, they tend not to check it. She also suggested placing a tampon on top of the other items. I will take her word for it.

The performance this year was very similar to last year’s. The first half of the show was narrated by the “Voice of Voices” Tony Gaynor. It is a concept album that tells a story. In the second half of the show, the band cut loose. This is my favorite portion of the show but it is all worth seeing. I especially liked the duel between the band’s two pianists. I also like the word pianist.

Knoxville native Andrew Ross is on his second national tour with the group.

The show lasted for three hours. The tickets are expensive but it is well worth the money. Besides, I didn’t pay.

After the show, we met TJK and JBT at Applebees. We also ran into MJ again. Amy was our waitress and as attentive as usual. Thankfully, the store manager Jeff Luengen (JWL) picked up her slack. To spare trips to tables, she just left us with pitchers, as seen in this photo. TJK and I also had bad wings that were smothered in two conflicting sauces. It was not out best meal at the Bees.

TJK and JBT had just come from a shift at MoFoS. The news there was that Lady Vols basketball player Glory Johnson visited the store earlier in the day. She had been injured the previous night and was on crutches. Customers with her credentials seldom enter MoFoS so it was newsworthy. And by that, I mean she can spell.