Steve goes symphonic

My son Steve plays a lot of gigs in Las Vegas, many of them jazz, but also the Symphonic Rockshow.

Here’s the explanation from the show’s web site: www.symphonicrockshow.com

Rock and classical music collide to form a unique concert experience

Symphonic Rockshow is the vision of producer and primary vocalist Brody Dolyniuk. After a 14 year tenure with the Las Vegas group Yellow Brick Road, which he founded in 1997, Brody closed one chapter and opened another simultaneously with a symphonic performance on June 18, 2011 at the Henderson Pavilion. For his farewell show with YBR, Brody recruited veteran trumpeter Lon Bronson to help assemble a 21 piece orchestra and assist with new arrangements of popular classic rock anthems. A quartet of backing vocalists, a 30 foot video screen and full rock concert lighting, laser and sound system completed the presentation. The result was nothing short of a spectacle, performed before a beyond capacity crowd of 3600 Las Vegans.

The bittersweet ending was the beginning of a new era for Brody and his production, which went on to sell out subsequent shows.

Symphonic Rockshow pays homage to the rock music generation in the same respect as a symphony paying respect to Classical greats such as Mozart, Beethoven, or Bach. SRS feels that the names Page, Townsend and Taupin/John are deserving of the same honor.

The SRS mission first and foremost is to recreate these signature songs with the utmost respect and attention to detail. You will hear every nuance of the original studio recordings performed live, even down to the vocal inflections and the mix out front. Then with the added arsenal of strings, horns, wind and percussion instruments we augment signature lines or riffs, sometimes having the entire string section follow the guitar solo, or in other cases coloring outside the lines to add something new. In any case, the music is presented in a whole new dimension.

Still not satisfied, Brody wanted to add visuals that were equally stimulating to the senses. That begins with a 30 foot wide video screen which really is the focal point, bringing a close up view of the band and orchestra mixed with HD animations and graphics. Add to that a full concert laser light show, fog and pyrotechnics, and you have a show that is unique, sonically and visually exciting.

Symphonic Rockshow brings two distinct genres of music and music lovers together, young and old to experience something neither group really expects or appreciates fully until they’ve seen it live.

Here’s a YouTube video of their Aug. 24 performance at The Smith Center in Las Vegas. It’s nearly two hours long, but it’s worth it.