My trip to the venue was an interesting one. I caught cab and ended up with a driver who has no business being behind the wheel of a cab. I told him the address and had to argue with him on what the address meant. I told him I am going to 1776 North Broad Street. Well, Broad Street was irrelevant. He wanted to look for this place on 17th Ave. Why you ask? Because it started with 17. I finally had enough and told him to get off of 17 and get to Broad Street. In the end he received no tip. Some try to take advantage from visitors to get a higher fair, but that does not work with me.
It was really not a venue but a small arena on Temple University. They divided it in half for the show and I was disappointed that there were still some empty seats, including the front row. I had some gifts to give to Máiréad and did not want it sitting on the floor. I will tell more on this at the end of my review but I gave them to Bubba so he could take it back stage. I was in the front row about 12 feet from the stage which was about four feet high. The depth of the stage was small but Máiréad had no problem making the best of it. She was just as energetic as always.
I am not going to cover all the songs or am I going to stay in order for the ones I do cover.
The lights went down and I could see the silhouette of Máiréad moving out onto the stage. In an instant she was engulfed from a spotlight shinning down from above her. This was picture perfect. We have all seen this picture and I even have it on my current shirt for the spring tour. Máiréad opened the show with “Awakening” that was quickly followed by the entrance of Chloë, Lisa and Susan.
Ray came out with a solo where the audience got to be involved. He played the Bodham on stage and then moved down to the floor where he energized the audience by getting us to cheer and yell. It was fun and I could tell that Ray had a blast doing it.
This was my first chance to really hear Susan live. Watching on media devices will not give us the reality of how they really sound. From the start I could see a very close resemblance of Alex. Both are from a theatre background and that is evident in how they performed with Celtic Woman. Susan expressed a lot with her eyes, hands and facial expressions. I really do not want to compare her to Alex because she is Susan. She was unique on stage in her individual way. I was very impressed with her and consider her to be a valuable asset to Celtic Woman.
I have to say that Máiréad rocked with “Granuaile's Dance,” Hence my review title “Rocking in Philly.” I do not see how she does it. It goes to show how talented she really is. The way she moves about the stage and never misses a beat. At one moment she was playing while rocking back and forth with hair flying. I can say that Hendrix gave her thumbs up because when I watched her with these moves, Hendix was my first thought. Máiréad can roll right along with the world’s best artists. Jimi Hendrix would be proud of Máiréad.
Lisa does an excellent job on “Spaceman Came Traveling.” I have heard this song before but never really listened to it until Lisa brought it to us. This may be my favorite song by Lisa. She has a lovely voice and anyone can tell that she puts herself right into rthis songs as she sings.
Chloë took the stage for “Green Grow the Rushes.” Just as Lisa Kelly did for the Christmas tour, Chloë also got the audience involved. I loved it. Thank you Chloë. She helped everyone along so they would know the words to the chorus and then she brought out Lisa and the choir. Now our test began. We were to sing the chorus along with her. The song began and after our first part, Lisa gave us the thumbs up. So I guess we were doing alright. I could not sing a note if my life depended on it but I still sang along because it was fun.
One song I am pleased to have remained is “Mo Ghile Mear.” I love the regular version and the finale. Every time I hear it, I think back to A New Journey when Máiréad comes running out on stage after Ray and Nick’s drum solo. And that has continued today. The tour stage may not be as big, but she makes it work. Her Hendrix rendition makes anyone speechless.
Anthony is awesome on the pipes. I plan to learn the pipes because I love its sound. I am doing a bit of research before I run out and buy some pipes. On top of that, one of my favorite songs is ”Amazing Grace” on the pipes. Many have already experienced this but for those who have not, I will try my best to paint this picture for you. The lights go down and standing at the back of the venue flooded in a spotlight is Anthony. He opens up with “Amazing Grace” as he slowly walks down the aisle and hits each note with perfection. When he finally is on stage, he turns and faces us as he continues to play. About this time Chloë, Susan and Lisa are on stage. Susan opens up just as Lisa Kelly has done in the past. With the mix of their beautiful voices and Anthony on the pipes, I could never tire of listening to this song.
I have heard other artists sing “The Parting Glass” but very few do it in acappella. The ladies voices work in perfect unison as each note comes out with a harmony compared to none other. You have to hear it to really enjoy the full magnitude of their sound.
Meet and Greet
My fingers were crossed and I was just hoping for Máiréad at the meet and greet. We have an Irish store in Columbus that has many items made in Ireland. The Máiréad Nesbitt Fan Club presented Jim and Máiréad with a crystal hurricane lamp for a wedding gift. This was the item I did not want sitting on the floor during the show. I did not want it to get broke. So I waited and soon saw Máiréad moving in the hall so I knew right than that she was at the M&G. YES!!
I snapped a few pictures while I was waiting for my turn. I finally made it to the table and had so much I wanted to talk with her about but only got about half of it done. I had some items such as programs, magazines and a flyer from points of her career before Celtic Woman. I knew she would be shocked when she saw them and I was right. We chatted a bit about some other things including another magazine from 2002 that I have tried to locate. I got a few pics with her and chatted some more about the site I run for her. Though I run the site, it is really her site. She has the say in all content. We talked about the change in the name which she is pleased and she also shared that she loves the site and thanked me.
I next moved over to Chloë where I chatted with her for a minute and snapped a photo of her. But after I left I was upset at myself. I did not get a picture taken with Chloë. I am really pissed off at myself. I have a few more M&G this tour and hope I have that chance again.
The day was over and it was time to move on. Upon leaving I told Máiréad that I have some more items that I bet she has not seen for a awhile. Now onto Albany next week.
This is her commenting about one of the magazines I brought in
Here she is signing one of my items
Máiréad and myself
