Lindsey Stirling / Alexander Jean

Ignatius Feb 23, 2019

Fun show, very theatrical and choreographed. Meant to put me in the holiday spirit, I'm not quite so impressionable, (I guess I count as one of the people she dedicated You're a Mean One Mr. Grinch to) but I did enjoy myself.

Alexander Jean was a married couple with a guitar. Mark Ballas has been on Dancing with the Stars, most recently as Lindsey's partner, and it's great that he's so musical as well and has been able to go on this tour. Great voices, great songwriting, just pure talent and you can tell they love what they do. Nice arrangement of We Three Kings, with lovely vocal melodies, which was actually just released a few days ago and hit #1 on the iTunes singer/songwriter chart. Mark hit us with a gem from his time on broadway, singing Sherry from Jersey Boys. And I actually really liked Roses and Violets, they reached over and held hands at "I'm so sick of goodbye", and then looped the acoustic guitar and traded it out for an extended solo on the electric. I hadn't seen a loop pedal used without it being a huge gimmick before, it was effective.

Lindsey Stirling's set was fantastic. They didn't take themselves too seriously, but put a lot of effort into the show. Crystallize was a treat, the orchestral percussion added a lot to that song. Elements was one of the first of the "ballet choreography" songs, and, just, it's so impressive that she can move like that and play like that at the same time. (Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies and Carol of the Bells were also magical experiences) I Saw Three Ships/God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen was fun, they pulled a guy named Michael onstage and made him dance a jig, he killed it. Other fun moments were Eric Jackson and Aaron singing Baby It's Cold Outside, Chris as a Christmas tree, Luna in her sweater, and the toy instrument set. Notably the Harry Potter theme, Linus and Lucy and the Devil Went Down to Georgia. The wardrobe changes were all on point. Lindsey is just a wholly attractive person. Also, they had a local orchestra from Grand Prairie Fine Arts Academy onstage for a few songs.