Two days ago I made my way to Vancouver for a Tea Party concert. Not just any Tea Party concert though. They were playing with an orchestra. Actually, I was a whole lote more than just that. They had a dancer, a cellist, an opera soprano, indian drummers, and more.

By far this was the best concert I have ever been to, simply for the music. I still get goosbumps thinking about it. Read on for a recap.

I knew this was going to be a good concert, but really I had no idea how good. I got on the 3pm ferry,Erin picked me up, and after fighting a bit of traffic we got downtown. He had a errand to run, so I walked around downtotn Vancouver for a bit, then made my way to the Lennox for a pre-concert beer. Mmmm, Kilkenny.

7:45 rolls by, and we walk a block up Granville to the Orpheum, get in line, and begin to wonder about the upcoming spectacle.

Now, I have seen the Tea Party in concert a few times now. A couple times in Victoria, and once in Vancouver (I think). I know they are an excellent live band. They thrive on the energy from the crowd, which in turn thrives on the outpouring offered up by these three amazing musicians. It is a synergy that must be experienced, and cannot be fully conveyed by words.

With this in mind, we made our way to our seats. Somehow, Erins friend Evan had managed to snag 4th row seats. I was expecting to be eye level with the stage. Was I in for a treat. The seats were 4th row on the balcony! Even better. We had an amazing view of the whole stage. We could see the whoel band, the orchestra, and the drummers.

The show started pretty much right on time. This is one thing I really like about theatre concerts. As soon as the first song started, I knew that this was going to be the concert of a lifetime. The blend of sounds emanating from the stage was all enveloping. It surrounded me, uplifted me, and took me to a new plane. For me it was a surreal experience. The orchestra filled in the spaces of a sound that was completely full to begin with.

Not only did the Tea Party have an orchestra behind them, they had an Indian drummer ensemble, a dancer, a cellist, and an opera soprano, each for various songs. To further enhance the visual aspect, they had a woman from the Cirque EOS who worked acrobatics with fabric that hung from the ceiling. She brought in the second half of the show.

The highlights (as far as the songs go) were Save Me, Temptation, Transmission, and .

It was amazing to see the band interact musically with the orchestra. During solo’s, the band was ripping and snarling, but just as the orchestra came back in to the mix, their sound went back to a level that complemented the orchestra, and not overpower them.

I quite literally had goose bumps through most of the show. This wasn’t because I was cold, but rather because the music was so exciting. I sang along with every song I could, clapped when I could, cheered, whistled, hooted, hollered, and ogled. This was something I wish I could have preserved forever, so I could rewatch it when I felt the need, but alas they were checking for recording devices upon entry. Originally I was thinking about bringing a disposable camera, but as soon as I saw our seat I knew that it wouldn’t have turned out any good pictures anyway, since the stage was too far away (perfect for the group, bad for cameras).