As one might expect in the era of dwindling CD sales, the top dogs are making money based on other endeavors. This year’s list “[comprises], among other variables, monies earned from CD and digital sales, publishing royalties and all forms of streaming,” according to the article. And of course tours. The top earner last year (it’s not even close, folks) was U2. With a whopping $108,601,283 made, U2′s figures reached almost twice as much as number two guy Bruce Springsteen. Bono and co. can thank — or pat themselves on the back for — the huge 360° tour for making them (and Africa) so wealthy. Other tours bringing in the dough: Madonna’s record-setting “Sticky & Sweet” tour, the Jonas Brothers’ world tour, Kenny Chesney’s tour (1 million tickets sold for seven consecutive years), and Metallica’s arena tour, which drew close to a million fans in 2009 (Guitar Hero: Metallica was good for some loose change, too). Metallica’s only 10th on the list but earned $25.5 million. Major labels may be irrelevant, but you can’t argue with these figures. Sheesh.

Other artists making the list include the late Michael Jackson, who sold truckloads of CD’s and ringtones; dutch violinst Andre Rieu on his 30th-anniversary tour; Trans-Siberian Orchestra, which has found a genius niche that is not likely to abandon the band anytime soon; and Leonard Cohen, who needed the money and apparently chose a reliable way to make it. The list also includes the names you expect to see there: Nickelback, Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, and Beyonce. Not among 2009′s biggest earners: Lady GaGa, Black Eyed Peas, and Kanye West, despite being everywhere all the time.

Check out the full list here.

It appears that the holidays really are a time for joy, as two of the world’s greatest classic rock frontmen team up with a symphonic bombast, simply known as Trans-Siberian Orchestra. TSO’s annual fall tour means a double serving of conceptual rock operatics — comprised mostly of the band’s Christmas Eve record — and a side of “Orff meets electric” with much applause and fake snow for all. A treat this year stems from the recent news that Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and The Who’s Roger Daltrey (alongside Cheap Trick’s Robin Zander) would be guesting on the TSO Fall Tour 2009, which kicks off November 1st.

Due to a shoulder injury, however, Tyler’s summer touring stint with TSO had been pushed onto the winter scene giving us quite the spectacle to behold. Considering how stellar the 2008 performance looked from even the nosebleeds, we have no doubts that the added benefit of Tyler, Daltrey, and Zander will prove a mighty force in the land of fall/winter spectacles. Don ye now thy gay apparel, the three wise men are coming — in style, with choral singers and tux tails galore.

Find the complete and exhaustive list of Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s upcoming tour dates here. Then, get your tickets here.

Here’s to the upcoming holiday season!

311:

What: Tour dates for North American tour

When: November – December

Tixs: Price varies depending on location

Buy: Ticketmaster.com at 10:00 am EDT

The Flaming Lips:

What: New Years Eve show in Oklahoma City, OK

When: December 31, 2009

Tixs: Price not listed

Buy: Ticketmaster.com at 10:00 am CDT

Goodie Mob:

What: Tour dates for Denver, CO & New Orleans, LA

When: October

Tixs: Price varies depending on location

Buy: Ticketmaster.com at 10:00 am CDT

Jay-Z:

What: Tour dates for Cleveland, OH & Fresno, CA

When: October – November

Tixs: $32.00 – $72.00

Buy: Ticketmaster.com at 10:00 am EDT

LA Weekly’s LA 101:

What: LA Weekly event in Universal City, CA featuring Silversun Pickups,  Dandy Warhols, and Matt & Kim

When: November 3rd

Tixs: $29.75 – $37.75

Buy: Ticketmaster.com at 1:00 pm PDT

Puscifer:

What: West coast tour

When: October – December

Tixs: Price varies depending on location

Buy: Ticketmaster.com at 10:00 am PDT

Taking Back Sunday:

What: Tour dates for Dallas, TX & Miami, FL

When: November – December

Tixs: Price varies depending on location

Buy: Ticketmaster.com at 10:00 am EDT

Trans-Siberian Orchestra:

What: North American winter tour

When: November – December

Tixs: Price varies depending on location

Buy: Ticketmaster.com at 10:00 am EDT

Wolfmother:

What: Tour dates for Boston, MA & Denver, CO

When: November

Tixs: Price varies depending on location

Buy: Ticketmaster.com at 10:00 am EDT

The Black Crowes:

What: Five night residency in San Francisco, CA

When: December 1-6

Tixs: Prices not listed

Buy: Ticketmaster.com on Sunday, September 13th at 10:00 am PDT

Dashboard Confessional:

What: Tour dates for North American tour

When: November – December

Tixs: Price varies depending on location

Buy: Ticketmaster.com on Thursday, September 17th at 10:00 am EST

Kanye West & Lady Gaga:

What: Tour dates for “Fame Kills” North American tour (Pre-sale)

When: December – January

Tixs: Price varies depending on location

Buy: Ticketmaster.com on Tuesday, September 15th at 10:00 am EST

Trans-Siberian Orchestra:

What: Tour dates for North American tour

When: November – December

Tixs: Price varies depending on location

Buy: Ticketmaster.com on Monday, September 14th at 10:00 am EST

Are we missing something? Let us know below!

We entered the Coliseum’s top level and after a brief interlude with will call, slackened security, crowds of families in holiday attire and a line for over-priced refreshments, we managed to be seated on the upper level of the auditorium. Overall, entering this concert was not nearly as hectic as other rock concert excursions. No blending in with mosh pit groupies and metal-head security detail here. The atmosphere felt that of a Broadway musical opening which lots of semi-formal wear and Christmas sweaters galore cemented the event’s all ages demographic.

As my wife Coleen and I got comfortable on the Upper Level of an overhauled basketball arena (Pepsi-sponsored Mega screen included), we waited about a half an hour before the lights went down and a booming PA announced New York City’s very own Trans-Siberian Orchestra. The electric group consisted of an eight piece string accompaniment, two keyboardists, two guitarists, a bassist, various members trading vocal duties, a drummer, two electric violinists, nine choral singers, and a narrator. Talk about a Christmas army! To top out this extremely festive group of musicians, the lineup also includes Savatage and TSO founders Jon Olivia and Bob Kinkel.

For those of you who have never seen TSO concerts, a worthy description just doesn’t do it justice in words; given that, I shall do my best to please. Enjoy.

The entire show is split into two sections:

Section I – A Lost Christmas Eve

With brief narrated interludes before and in between, the set began with “March of the Kings” and “An Angel Came Down” (from their 1996 debut, Christmas Eve and Other Stories).

The story told of an angel soaring around the world, observing different cultures celebrate the season in their own way while witnessing disturbing events such as war and famine. The story in this context came provided by an old homeless man (later assumed the angel itself) in an “old city bar” on Christmas Eve to a random stranger. One of the wonders of an evening like this was that no matter what religion was celebrated, everyone could gather together and enjoy a night of real festivity and joy despite the differences.  Christmas based its roots in Christianity, but its true message like music itself, spans the boundaries of any belief structure. The messages of peace, hope, and goodwill to thy neighbors sang joyfully throughout the night at the coliseum.

The entirety of Section One essentially presented a musical Christmas story.  Curtains of LED lights, lasers, imitation falling snow and the works befell us at the arena for our enjoyment. Electric violinist Anna Phoebe highlighted every string accompaniment with her own brand of well executed stage presence. Everything in the room felt electrifying and soothing, with shades of blue shining from scattered spotlights around the auditorium. During the song “The Prince of Peace” (from Other Stories), vocalist Jay Pierce (subtly resembling the demeanor of the narrator) entered center stage, boasting an operatic voice akin to true church echo as he sung and spoke to the audience. Everyone turned in awe of his power over the overall mood in the room, and I’m sure random church-goers who attented the show felt the thrills of his talented display.

Here we entered into “A Mad Russian’s Christmas”, a real dance extravaganza which featured music familiar to anyone who has ever played the original Tetris in their lifetime and seen Fantasia at some point as well.  Occurring afterward came the radio staple “Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24″ which plays ubiqutiously anywhere this time of year, but is truly better live.

This section being easily embraced by every age and musical taste, I rank it as one of the best holiday shows ever. The only downsides included crappy seating and lack of artificial snow for anyone not in front of the stage at ground level.

Section II – A Catalog Revue

It was sad to say that a few cheerful families began exiting during this portion of the show. It came not as a reflection on the quality of the concert, but as a departure from the venue after realizing that the Christmas portion ended. A broad introduction of individual players from TSO segued into a performance of various other songs not attributed to winter celebration.

This began an onslaught of theatrical marvels, featuring my personal favorite: a rendition of “O Fortuna” from Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, some anthem-based Beethoven, and other classical hits featuring pyrotechnics of all kinds and smokescreen effects. This was not at all overshadowed by Jennifer Cella’s brilliant operatic vocals as she and electric violinist Anna Phoebe eventually ran through the ground level crowds onto a platform that was hoisted gingerly into the air during the final number.

I’ll be perfectly honest at this point. My taste in music leaned more toward this moment in the show since I enjoyed greatly classical music and rock.  Despite the minor corniness watching players with ’80s hair perform on guitars vigorously while donning tailed tuxedos, it actually added to the atmosphere that this was a symphony orchestra on acid.  More lasers, more explosions and more lighting effects became more prevalent during this section of the show.

More than likely the main reason for such grandiose performances lay in the fact that this was their 10th anniversary of touring around the world. This carnival of classical music turned rabid spectacle never ceased to amaze the public, primarily during another staple set list contender, “Wizards of Winter” from The Lost Christmas Eve (the only yuletide inclusion on this section of the show).

Overall, the hype surrounding Trans-Siberian Orchestra nevertheless was dead-on. Whether you took your family for a night out or got some nostalgic feeling hearing 80s metal fusing with Mozart and Pachelbel, it never gets old regardless whether it was your first time, or one time too many. I couldn’t get enough of these Savatage members flaunting their prowess on stage turning what was originally perceived as novelty into an annual event equivalent to Barnum & Bailey (minus the lions and tigers and bears).

I seriously recommend this, no matter what music you’re into.

Special thanks to JR Thompson for photo support.