« Jamiroquai - 70's Funk for the New Age | Main | Bayville Haunted FireHouse »
October 29, 2005
Van Helsing's Curse
This eve Tricia and I went to see Van Helsing's Curse. Tricia had suggested it about a week ago thinking I would like it.
I navigated over to Van Helsing's Curse website and after a painful "flash splash" page got to the core.. The music. After first it sounded good, then It sounded great. it seemed more progressive then a normal halloween type music event. Interesting violin overlays and symphonic sound. It intrigued me.
I went to J&R music world thereafter to pick up a CD, they did not have any. Instead I picked up Mike and the Mechanics Greatest Hits and Disturbed Ten Thousand Fists. Eh the prices were right.
I bought tickets at the last possible minute online from clicknprinttickets.com. I've noticed there are a number of ticket alternatives recently. This is a good thing. Someone's gotta combat Ticket Raper. This site had a unique method of allowing you to pinpoint a seat. The service charge was only $3.00 a ticket. Seemed fair enough.
The show was at The Patchogue Theatre For the Performing Arts in Long Island. It's out there, but not totally inaccessible if you drive. It reminds me a bit of the Wintergarden & The Beacon. We had seats all the way in the back in the balcony (by choice) and it was still good enough.
So this is a Dee Snider sponsored event, I thought, Must have some level of quality. Upon starting up I see what I thought was a familiar face.. I lean over to Tricia.. "Key... Is that Mark Wood?" My Excitement grew. After l realized this. This just made the experience 100 times better. Not to put the rest of the excellent musicans down, It's just that I love Mark Wood's playing. (by the way, click on over to Mark Wood's site, you have to see the opening flash presentation. it's a gas).
The intention behind Oculus Infernum is a story (which was is narrated by Snider) with words, sound effects and music. Intentions are to have a traveling stage show complete with live musicians, costumes and special effects. ALA TSO. The basic premise of Oculus Infernum entails some sort of entity that has touched down and is wreaking havoc, a descendant of Van Helsing (of Dracula fame, as if you didn't know) is then brought forth to help put an end to the bloodshed. Frankly, the narration was the weakest part. While I sug Snider's narration and I feel that it lends a thematic feel to the show, it was hard to follow, probably due to the volume of narration compared to the music. We found ourselves paying more attention to the music. I bet if there were some form of acting or play on the stage it would fill out the storyline better. There is always room for growth.
So as the show progressed I switched from observant to participant. The music is Rocking moving metal intermixed with violins, keys, errie chorus and Dee Snider as MC telling a story. Tricia leaned over and said, "Hey, it's like a Halloween version of Trans Siberian Orchestra!" She was right. We missed a bunch of the story, However I picked up a CD and will check it out in more detail. The music itself is wonderful. There are elements of familiarity that seemed to be borrowed yet redone with flair. I heard pieces of Tubular Bells and Black Sabbath's "Black Sabbath" number. The choral arrangements during this number were wonderful.
The CD itself features 10 tracks and as the press release states, features an 18-piece orchestra. Featured tracks include a reworking of such horror classics as the theme to The Omen and the too often reworked Tubular Bells from The Exorcist. In addition,there are quite a few spooky classical pieces on display that have been reworked as well along with Black Sabbath's self titled song, Black Sabbath. Each of the ten tracks blend beautifully together with smooth transitions, and like any well-developed concept album, each track works independently or as a whole.
Posted by Me on October 29, 2005 11:45 PM