Reviews: Sia, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Wilco & More

Scott Legato / RockStarProPhotography.com – Sia with Maddie Ziegler
The Palace Of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Mich.

This week, for your reading enjoyment, we have compiled critical reviews of live performances from Sia in Melbourne, Australia; Trans-Siberian Orchestra in Lexington, Ky.; Wilco in St. Louis; Kasabian in Dublin; Stone Temple Pilots in West Hollywood, Calif.; Enter Shikari in London.

Sia @ AAMI Park in Melbourne, Australia, Nov. 29 – “Without facial or physical expressions, her uncanny stillness makes her look marginalised in her own music. She’s a generous ringmaster – her dancers are always impressive – but unlike a singer, they can’t project intimacy all the way to the back row. You get the sense that they perform an identical show every night. All pop shows are choreographed, but they shouldn’t feel like they’re on rails.” – Richard S. He / The Guardian

Trans-Siberian Orchestra @ Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky., Nov. 30 – “Overblown? That doesn’t begin to describe it. Like past Rupp outings, this TSO show was spectacle for spectacle’s sake; a presentation that tied an anchor as well as a bow around conventional holiday cheer and tossed the whole gaudy package out to sea.” – Walter Tunis / Lexington Herald-Leader

Wilco @ Pageant in St. Louis, Mo., Nov. 13 – “[M]ostly the band reached back for classics and fan favorites from throughout its more than 20-year career. Some of the songs were selected in an online poll.” – Daniel Durchholz / St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Jason Moore – Kasabian
Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, Empire Polo Field, Indio, Calif.

Kasabian @ 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland, Nov. 28 – “Visually, this was a stripped down show, featuring the band dressed all in white but with none of the big-screen adornments standard for gigs at this level. It hardly mattered, as Meighan, Pizzorno and company pummelled their way though the gloriously lurching ‘Club Foot’ and the hedonistic ‘Treat.’” – Ed Power / Independent

Stone Temple Pilots @ Troubadour in West Hollywood, Calif., Nov. 28 – “The band took the time to formally introduce [new frontman Jeff Gutt] to the audience to a raucous applause, prompting him to finally take off his sunglasses and name-tag, before going into ‘Coma.’ Things got eerie from there with the inclusion of hit songs ‘Interstate Love Song’ and ‘Plush.’ Eerie only because Gutt sounded so much like original frontman, the late, great Scott Weiland who passed away tragically in 2015. If you closed your eyes you couldn’t tell the difference, and that is not a slight to either artist in any capacity.” – Arthur Shtern / MXDWN

Enter Shikari @ Alexandra Palace in London, England, Nov. 25 — “The use of surround sound might seem a gimmick to the cynics but just like so much technology, it’s not the tech itself but the way that it’s used that really makes the difference. … Hearing electronic pulses move and vibrate around you enhances the experience exponentially and is all the more reason to venture out into the freezing cold and see music performed live rather than sit at home nonchalantly flicking through a Spotify account.“ – Remfry Dedman / The Independent