Joe gave Dayna and I our tickets for the nights show. Kris, Kath, Elizabeth, was given theirs when we met up before the show. Time is counting down. We get through the doors, and head to the merch booth. I was not impressed by the new shirts – kind of seems like they put it all together the night before. But, I got each of the new ones, just to have memorabilia. Hayley and Miranda went off to go find their seats, and so did the rest of us. Once we entered the main part of the theatre, my breath was taken away. The stage was gorgeous, although lots going on. As Elizabeth stated, it reminds me of The Little Mermaid. Being partially blind is full of disadvantages. I cannot concentrate on many things, more to one thing and study it. What I did take in was the craftsmanship of the decorations on the stage, the beautiful lighting scenario, and seeing how close to the stage, it was almost overwhelming! I could just reach over to my right, and I could touch the center of the stage. I loved my seat.
The second show, Joe, Dayna, Elizabeth and I were in the lower part of the balcony… Not my favorite view, but it was different. Got to see more of what is going on, on stage.
It was great to see Scott Porter and David Downes in person, right in front of me. My excitement rose. Chuck (I believe that was the directors name?) came out onto the stage and explained all of the legal stuff. And then, made a funny, “If you do not want to be recorded or be photographed, please leave the theatre.” Haha, Good one, I am fine with my seat thank you very much!
As the clapping begun with a seven… six… five… the lights grow dim (We heard this many a time each night, oh the joys of directing
). *Side note the Orchestra was a local orchestra from Atlanta. How neat that they chose to do that!*
The first song was called “Awakening”. It is an original piece composed by David. Genius guy, I tell you! That was such a great selection for an opening piece. It fits so well for them, showing their voices off from the start, and of course Máiréad’s fiddling skills! Their dresses were so beautiful. Lisa Kelly’s was a Red-Violet color. Stunningly beautiful! Chloë had her famous Carnation Pink. Lisa Lambe’s dress was a Regalia Violet color. Máiréad’s dress happened to be a lot like her A New Journey dress. Upon their dresses, they also had an embossed design in the shape of a heart on the chest of their dresses. They were all beautiful!
Lisa Kelly then appeared on stage and the crowd goes wild. She sang the song, “Follow On.” This song I had heard of, but it has been a while. David always picks out the best solos for the girls. This one, definitely made me love Lisa’s voice even more. So lovely!
Máiréad came out on stage and the crowd cheered. Unfortunately, as of now, no one knows the name of the song Máiréad had performed, but it had a pleasantly upbeat melody to it. Practically the whole house was giving a standing ovation. Got us pumped!
Chloë appeared on stage and the crowd up-roared in applause. She thanked us all for coming to Atlanta for the taping(s) and then asked if we were ready to have a good time. You know we all were, the crowd grows with applause again. She then begun to sing a beautiful song called “Nocturne.” I love any musical piece of that name… seriously. My first love was actually from my first cell phone, which had a ringtone called, Nocturne. I played that everyday. To hear different musical composition of a Nocturne brings a smile to my face. So beautiful and dream-like!
The next song you hear Mr. Anthony Byrne playing his lovely bagpipes. He was located in the center front rows of the balcony. I knew the melody. The ladies came down the center staircase. They looked beautiful… I did not hit me right away, so I kept listening to the lyrics the ladies sung. I finally realized it was a song I did know, “Sailing.” Good ‘ol Rod Stewart was the one who I remember making this song a hit in my book. Anthony and all the other bagpipers (at least ten of them) came on stage playing the pipes as the girls swayed back and forth. I got chills watching it all unfold in front of m eyes. The girls did a beautiful job singing this song, and so did Anthony and the other pipers. Beautiful. Simply, beautiful.
The next song, a group of children - The Gwinnett Young Singers of Georgia, came on the stage. This was one of the surprises that had in store. They all sat on the staircase and the others around the top of the staircase. Lisa Kelly and Chloë came on stage and sat amongst the kids. Lisa Lambe cam out and introduced us to the little choir, and then took her own seat amongst the kids on the stairs. They sang such a beautiful rendition, “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” another classic song that I love. I heard this one originally by Simon and Garfunkel. The girls and the kids were so great. Kris, Kath, Dayna, Elizabeth and I noticed that there were twins in the bunch of kids. Could not take my eyes off them and the ladies. I am not going to lie, I did start tearing up during this song. Lip-syncing to the lyrics, and I am sure Dayna was quite annoyed at me because I have been to all of the ones I knew. I can’t help it. I love my music!
Lisa Lambe came out for her first solo. She sang, “Black is the Color.” When I first heard this song sung by Ryan Kelly of Celtic Thunder, I was so entranced. I was kind of bothered by her singing the song at first only because she is a woman, singing about a woman true love… but yet, I got over it because it IS only a song and she definitely can sell it. Listening to Lisa sing and watching her, I was so impressed. She played the role well. Having been an actress definitely sells the song. She was so seductive and flirtatious.
I believe Scott and the others heard our plea of wanting the SftH (Songs from the Heart) songs, “Give Me Your Hand,” “My Heart Was Home Again,” and “Walking the Night” (I guess you could think this as a surprise, haha). Anyways, “Give me Your Hand” was much like it was on tour. I remember looking over at everyone in my row, and all our faces were lit up as we were squealing with excitement. Now, to hopefully be on the CD
Chloë sang the next song, “Tears of Heaven.” She was accompanied on stage with a solo cellist. I love this song but never knew whom it was originally sung by before. This song is so incredible. I started bawling during this one, just thinking about my gramps. It was tough, but I kept the smile on my face.
The next song was My Heart Was Home Again. Just like it was on tour, Lisa Kelly started solo, and then Lisa Lambe came out for a duet. Still so lovely, and so glad to finally capture it for a DVD and possible CD.
Lisa Kelly came on stage at the top of the staircase and mentioned about how much Broadway had means to them, so they wanted to sing a few of their favorite songs. I was so excited at this point. I love Broadway and musicals for that matter! I was so curious to which ones they chose for this segment. How would they sing it? Will it be one right after another or as a Medley? They chose to do a medley of two songs. “I Dreamed A Dream,” from Les Misérables - sung by Lisa Kelly and accompanied by Chloë. Lisa Lambe comes and joins them at the base of the stairs as they finish their song up, and she starts to sing “Circle of Life,” from The Lion King. Oh the chills! I was so excited! Lisa Kelly and Chloë joined in and so did the whole choir. It was INCREDIBLE! I felt as if I were at a Broadway show!
The crew was bringing out black boards onto the stage. Got me a tad bit curious of what will be taking place on them. The girls came out in cute Céili dresses. They were a Minty Green color. Very lovely! They sang an upbeat song called “Teidhir Abhaile Riú”, which means, “Go Home My Love.” I unfortunately could not understand them the night of the tapings, but I know I heard it from somewhere. I was searching some old Clannad CDs and I found a version like it. This song they made into a faster tempo than what Clannad had done, and I do like it a lot. There was another special guest, Irish Dancer and Riverdance lead, Michael Gallagher! I knew he looked familiar! The girls were barefoot, and were a dancing the whole time. Michael was dancing away, and a moment, Lisa Kelly, Lisa Lambe and Chloë were flyin’! They were lifted off their feet and spun in a huge circle by three of the male choir leads. Too cool!
As Intermission came, we had twenty minutes to either talk amongst ourselves or go out into the lobby to by merch or drinks if we haven’t already. The girls and I were talking, and could not believe what we just witnessed. Kris and Kath went off to talk to Hayley and Miranda, and Mikey came over for a tiny chat with me. That was fun. Before the show was going to start up again, I was contemplating on putting on my spare glasses because when I keep looking up at the ladies, my glasses fall slightly! I also noticed that my neck would probably hurt by the end of the second half, haha! I decided not to exchange glasses. Everyone returned to his or her seats.
Their dresses were of course, beautiful. Expecting the corset-type dresses, they each wore a golden corset-type dress, and Máiréad wore a very soft pale blue dress.
Chloë and Lisa Kelly came out on stage. They were joking around on the stage and having a great time. I wish it could be included into bonus material… Anyways, they wanted us to learn the main chorus for an upcoming song that they were going to sing. “Green Grown the Rushes.” They decided to make a game of it! Chloë started with her half; we were loud, but not loud enough… Lisa’s side won on a fair note. The second night, they did the same thing but the crowd was so good they did not make a game of it
. I would have been on Lisa’s side that time too! Oh well.
I love both those girls!
The first song in the second act was, “A Woman’s Heart.” I have heard this song sung by many different artists. I was very excited to hear Celtic Woman’s version. I’d say that it was a great choice for them to sing. Beautiful song.
Lisa Kelly came on stage and started to sing, “The Water is Wide.” I always liked this song. Not exactly my favorite, but if Lisa sings it, I will learn to love it!
Here is the song that we had to prepare for (the audience). We were going to help sing the chorus to “Green Grow the Rushes.” First time they ever done that type scenario at a taping, but I rather liked it.
(Then and only then..)… So, as mentioned before, Chloë and Lisa Kelly sang this song. I cannot wait to hear what the final version sounds like on the DVD!
The song, “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” was next. Great song. It started out with just Lisa Kelly, Lisa Lambe and Chloë. Then they were accompanied by The Gwinnett Young Singers and the Aontas choir. It was a really sweet moment. Each child had a grown up to walk to the front of the stage with, and hold their hand. I get chills every time, just thinking about it… At the very end, you could see that Chloë had started crying, followed by Lisa Lambe. I never saw if Lisa Kelly shed a tear or not, but it was quite emotional. I did wipe my eyes a few times.
An a capella was arranged for the four of them. A song called, “Smile.” This song made me bawl. I was et again reminded of my gramps. He is always one to have a smile on his face in almost any situation. I love that man. It was so beautiful, and I am so glad they had chosen it. It was to replace the a capella song, Danny Boy. Lovely choice.
Chloë and Lisa Lambe came on stage to perform the song, “Walking the Night.” I love this song.. I so wish they put all three songs together. Or have them arranged how they were on this last year’s tour, put together with “Give Me Your Hand.” It just sounds so funny with hem spread apart like they are. A slower paced song cut off from a fun faster paced song. But anyways, Of course this is a lovely song. Beautiful harmonizing voices; just lovely.
It was time for Lisa Lambe’s solo. I was curious to what she was going to sing. But, it hit me. She had a line of choir members standing on the steps and I got chills. The first hit of the drum, my skin crawled in excitement. It was, “A Spaceman Came Traveling, ”found on the German version of SftH! I love, love, LOVE this song! It makes me so, happy!
It is so upbeat and I have always imaged to what Lisa looked like if she sang this song at a concert. It was like déjà vu! She was spinning, twisting her hands mysteriously; it was just too much like my vision! I must be psychic… or psycho? …
Chloë came out once again with The Gwinnett Young Singers, and the Aontas choir. It was beautiful! Although, I don’t recall whom, one of the male Aontas choir members was having trouble getting to a lower octave. So he fluctuated his voice for a while. The other choir members were trying not to laugh about it, and I think I saw one of the children crack a smile. On the other side of the stage, I believe Dermot was laughing about the incident! Luckily, Chloë was not fazed by this mishap at all, and kept on target.
The crew brought out the dance boards once more. More of Michael Gallagher! Máiréad popped out on stage and introduced the next song that she was going to play. “Mná na hÉireann” which she said meant, “Women of Ireland.” It was a gorgeous song.
After that song was “over” or if that song does change tempo to a faster paced tempo, Mr. Gallagher appeared on the stage on the left hand side, and Máiréad on the right. Since it was a fast paced tune, it had the crowd clapping along. They had a fun teaser type duel between him dancing and Máiréad fiddlin’. They were both amazing! My neck hurt from trying to see Mr. Gallagher beyond Dayna’s head, so I put my attention onto Máiréad.
The finale to the show is a song also sung by The High Kings, The Parting Glass. Those lads sing it amazingly, and the “lasses” even more so! They brought back all of the bagpipers, and Anthony! (Yes, Anthony is counted separate because he is that cool!
They shot of canons of silver confetti, and the crowds were going wild both nights. It was truly a sight to see! Of course they do the little famous Mo Ghile Mear finale ending as the ladies run off stage.
After the show was over the first night, I collected my share of confetti. I shoved a bunch into my purse from the floor, chairs, and from the stage. I was helping them clean up!
We also had a chance to meet up with other forum members. I am so glad that I had this opportunity to make it down for the shows
