Rock Out With Your Bach Out

Tea: White Grapefruit.

Music: Mark Wood, backed by student musicians, various selections.

Time: Night.

My son, a cellist among other things, played in his first rock concert tonight, at his high school. His strings group and several others (one of which came all the way from Hays, Kan.) backed up violinist Mark Wood, co-founder of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

I went not really knowing what to expect. I wound up in the fourth row. I came away having done a fair amount of head-bobbing (especially during "Kashmir," when I had to fight just the tiniest bit of temptation to put up the two-fingered "RAWK!" salute) and with a good deal of respect for the the star.

Musically, the guy has serious chops. I've long been a fan of rock involving violins -- especially David Cross-era King Crimson and Eddie Jobson's work with U.K. and as a solo artist -- and I have to say, Wood is an amazing player.

He has his own line of electric violins and cellos (and soon, double basses), and when he lays into his six-string Viper, it's anything but sedate chamber music. (A couple of times, when he hit the effects rack, I could have closed my eyes and sworn I was hearing an electric guitar.)

And Wood's no prima donna, either. When he's not on tour with Trans-Siberian Orchestra, he's on the road encouraging high school music students to pursue their passions. He singled out as many kids as possible by name tonight, and stayed afterward to sign autographs and pose for pictures.

I also loved seeing kids whose instruments are considered -- well, less than rocking -- get to play Led Zeppelin and Queen selections (as well as amped-up material by Bach, Vivaldi, Grieg and Copeland). It was plain to see that they got a charge out of it, too.

So, in short: Mark Wood deserves every fan he has, and more. The guitar solo from "Stairway to Heaven" and Vivaldi's "Summer" both sound great on amplified electric violin.

And these kids are more than all right. They rock.