BSO Christmas Rocks Tour 2013

Gibson Amphitheater Sat 12/21/13


Ooby Dooby!
Scatman's Assistant

Wow, a date announced already! I'll be interested to see if they play in my neck of the woods this year.

Another Xmas Tour??? Oh no... please, no!!

They do good business here and are a lot of fun. I've seen two of them and would love to see another, if he plays within striking distance!

Don't take me wrong. Having Brian Setzer on tour in any of his ways is always fantastic, but...
it's the same old thing over and over again... a bit of variation would be fantastic too ;-)

Rockin' By Myself on tour, please!

Finally he must pay his bills as well.
And if the US crowd like the X-mas show and it`s becoming a season tradition go for it.

Ill see whatever he is doing Christmas, rockabilly, whatever. And will travel to see it

I got an email today with some pre-sale info for a few of the shows. The email includes a link to see all of the tour dates, but when clicked, shows no dates. Interesting.

If you cannot see them on bs.com, you always have Stray Cats Collector's!

http://straycatscollectors.net84.net/BrianSetzerTour.html

Last years show was a great mix of both Christmas and non-Christmas BSO tunes. I'm looking forward to what this year may bring. Yeah, it'd be great to see the BSO perform a totally non-Christmas show, but I'm thrilled to see them when I can. They're such a talented group of musicians, and they bring a lot of joy when they perform. It takes a ton of coordination to pull this off, especially when most of the guys have another job on the side. We're lucky to have the opportunity to see them on an (almost) yearly basis. And...it's the 10th anniversary!!!! Surely there's something amazing in store for the fans this year!

I can't believe that some "fans" are complaining over a Christmas show. I do understand your view, but really...count your blessings. I'll take a Christmas show over no show at all. Life is too short!

Seeing Brian perform live, no matter what the venue...it's an amazing thing. If he were to read the phone book and play guitar, I'd probably go to see it.


hrg

I agree HRG!

Andi wrote:

Looks like the Christmas tour is going to have to find another home.

Oh dear....progress...all in the name of "progress". Sad.

HRG,
Being a fan, in my case, doesn't mean I cannot be critic.

Of course I do prefer a Xmas Tour over a non-tour as it means more music by our fav artists,
but Xmas Tour, despite being a tradition, seems to be a bit boring... pretty much the same stuff
over and over again. Same versions, same songs... A bit of variation from time to time wouldn't
do any harm.

In any case, congratulations to all the fans who can witness a BSO show!

Hot Rod Girl wrote:

. Life is too short!hrg

So true.

Hot Rod Girl wrote:

. Seeing Brian perform live, no matter what the venue... If he were to read the phone book and play guitar, I'd probably go to see it.


hrg

10  years of almost nothing but Christmas tours for the BSO?  I wonder if there is a fairly large contingent of fans who have never seen a non-Xmas BSO show, and may not even know there used to be such a thing.  The BSO has such a rich repertoire of non-holiday music, that it would be nice to let fans see just how great this band can be.  I know sales from Wolfgang and Lonely Ave can't compare with the 1994-2000 era, but it doesn't mean that people don't enjoy the high-quality of musicianship from this rockin' big band.

In a non-holiday set, you have to play Rock This Town, Stray Cat Strut, Jump, Jive, and Wail.  Great songs to be sure, but that leaves a lot of room to rotate some strong material from previous albums, and maybe some new big band arrangements of classic or original songs that have yet to appear on an album.  But when you add the Xmas songs, then you're required to play Jingle Bells, Gettin' In the Christmas Mood, Boogie Woogie Santa Claus, and the opportunity for variety in the setlist shrinks drastically.

For avid collectors who archive recordings of the various tours, a Christmas tour is not that thrilling.  That's especially true for collectors/fans in Europe, where the BSO never tours.  I love coming across recordings where surprises like The James Bond Theme or Route 66 or Brand New Cadillac show up in the setlist.  Imagine a new setlist every year with 10-12 surprises.  And it might be different if the setlists varied from show-to-show.  But with all the moving parts of a Big Band, and limited rehearsal time, it's probably best to keep it the same.  This also assures that no one attending the tour misses out.  I would not like to read that I went to 2 or 3 shows and missed the next one where the band broke out "Got to Get You Into My Life."  At least the trio/small group set might provide some opportunities to mix it up, even in a Christmas context.  

But this is Brian's job.  He's not touring to appease the bootleggers/collectors.  He's touring for the people who can get to the shows and pay their $100/ticket or whatever, $25 t-shirts, bobbleheads, etc.  The holiday tours are a near-annual event, and they don't have to compete with the endless supply of summer tours.  Other artists might stay away from touring so close to the holidays so as not to compete with the various family activities and traditions.  For many families, a BSO holiday concert is counted among those family activities/traditions. When you consider the cost of hauling around a big band, the BSO has to go with the touring concept that will sell the most tickets.  Sucking in that fringe fan who wants to bring their entire family to a holiday show may be more lucrative than securing the ticket of the long-time fan and their +1 who would attend any Brian-related tour and would shell out for another BSO show even if it were Arbor-Day themed.

I would prefer a non-holiday BSO tour as well.  But maybe I'm just another Setzer fan spoiled by his prolific output and versatility.  Remember the years when non-Christmas BSO tours were the ONLY live Setzer experience available?  Look at it this way:  In the 10-year time span of the Christmas Tours, there have been 2 European, 1 US, and 1 Australian Stray Cats tours, European and Japanese Nashvillains tours, European and US Riot Squad tours, a 2009 Japanese non-holiday BSO tour, and more than half a dozen other public non-Xmas BSO shows scattered throughout the globe (Belly Up, Pori Jazz, Aspen Jazz Fest, Hollywood Bowl, and Montreal - simulcast, recorded and filmed for the fans.)  Plus the Christmas tours.  The man keeps busy.  Christmas tour or not, I hope he stays that way.

Outside the Yuletide-billy

Well said as always Rick! The announced dates are now up on the other site. I wonder how many more will be added?

I may be in the minority but, I'll take whatever Brian brings. Makes going that much sweeter. Of course, I would love to one day see a regular BSO concert (missed the Hollywood Bowl) but I still really enjoy his Christmas shows

Just got tix for the Houston show

Caesar's in A/C on Nov. 30th??  An A/C weekend!???  Just like the olden days...

Brings teers to my eye holes.

Budgie wrote:

Caesar's in A/C on Nov. 30th??  An A/C weekend!???  Just like the olden days...

Brings teers to my eye holes.

whats it cost to fly to atlantic city from So cal?? where's a safe place to get a hotel? (as if its any safer here)

With American Airlines:
Dep, Thurs 28 Nov, LAX-Newark
Ret, Mon 2 Dic, Newark-LAX

Cheapest flight: 315 Euros (some 350 USD)

tvthewiredturtle wrote:

Budgie wrote:

Caesar's in A/C on Nov. 30th??  An A/C weekend!???  Just like the olden days...

Brings teers to my eye holes.

whats it cost to fly to atlantic city from So cal?? where's a safe place to get a hotel?  (as if its any safer here)

For the most part, any hotel along the boardwalk is pretty safe...  You may not want to stray too far off the boardwalk, though!  LOL!!  Optimally, the best place to stay would be Caesar's itself...  it's pretty much right in the middle of all the action.  I used to stay there back in the day, but they've priced me out the last time I looked for a room.  I've stayed in a Econo-Lodge or whatever in Absecon (a few miles outside of A/C) and rented a house for a weekend up in Brigantine with was actually an excellent deal and lot more comfortable than any hotel room.    Also, if you plan on renting a car, check out flights into Philadelphia...  It's maybe an hour or so drive to A/C, but there are a lot more flights going in and out of there and might be a little less expensive.  I'm still trying to decide it I wanna go...  That IS my b-day weekend and all.

Slim Jon Phantom wrote:

With American Airlines:
Dep, Thurs 28 Nov, LAX-Newark
Ret, Mon 2 Dic, Newark-LAX

Cheapest flight: 315 Euros (some 350 USD)

Newark is a good two hourse from A/C, Jon. Philadelphia would be the next closest airport outside of Atlantic City.

the big 5-0 ?