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« on: March 18, 2013, 07:35AM » |
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For my last show on this Northeast swing, my day actually started with Celtic Woman; they appeared on local TV with drummer Ray for an Irish-American breakfast that was televised (while Mike and I talked on the phone as it played out). The live audience in South Boston who they appeared for applauded pretty enthusiastically, even if they were not as crazily excited as forum people get. But the craziness was to happen later that evening, for sure.
Near midday Mike and Scott M. picked me up and we were joined by Mark from Maryland, who I had not been officially introduced to yet. Mark is a great guy to talk to. He and I reserved a long table at Murphy's Diner across from the venue. Normally doing this on a Sunday wouldn't be a big deal, but this was St.Patrick's Day in an Irish diner and the place was a madhouse. I was wearing my white CW St.Patrick's Day shirt. The young hostess at the diner, recognizing the shirt, started talking about how she loved Celtic Woman and had all the DVDs; I made sure she got a fiddler crossing sign and got a huge thank you and a hug. More people began to congregrate for our dinner: we had ten attendees, and I had a long and very enjoyable conversation with Bob H., who I never get to talk to often enough. We also celebrated Annie's 50th show with a small cake and candles. At that table, just between Annie, Kelly, Mike, Moscapoet, Mark, and myself we had over 300 shows attended. We went to the venue to get tickets and M&G passes; there was a paperwork snafu at the box office that delayed us momentarily, but it all worked out and we headed into the venue. Just before doing so I met Don (dbbii) for the first time.
The Verizon Arena is arguably the best arena I have seen in the United States. Still new and in excellent condition, it is well laid out with plenty of concourse space and many different bathroom areas and watering facilities. The stage has a single set of steps that lead down to the floor, at direct center. Although the stage is a bit high, the first row is set back enough that you can see across the stage pretty well, and the performers can come all the way almost to the foot of the stage to stand. One variation this year that Mike noticed was that the side curtains were closed, to help keep the sound inside the performance area; he recalled that this had not been done last year, though I did not so recall. The lighting has always been amazing at this venue and the sound stands out as excellent as arenas go. My seat was second row center section, seat 5.
But before the show we had our M&G. It was super-quick, and if you blinked, you pretty much missed it. I was happy just having the girls greet me by name again, so it didn't bother me. My only real regret was that I didn't have a chance to tell the girls hello from three different forum fans who could not be there that day.
We made our way to the floor, got to our seats... mine was direct, absolute center. I liked it. I would also be watching for seat upgrades for Kelly and Annie, so that Annie could have a better place to enjoy her landmark show. But suddenly... "AWAKENING!!!!" Oh my gosh, Lisa Lambe stood with her hands coming upwards, her hands caught the yellowish spotlight that shined straight down, making it look like she had golden balls of light in her hands; the effect was DAZZLING, and for a split second it totally tricked my brain until I realized how the effect had been accomplished, which made the effect none the less a WOW moment!!... "Dulaman" was fun, as it always is... "NOCTURNE!!!" Chloe always succeeds in amazing me with this song... "Coast of Galicia" was a flurry of pixie, energy, and shredded bow hairs; for the third straight day, the forum contingent led the audience into involvement... I'll never get tired of hearing the girls do their little solo parts in "Orinoco Flow"... this performance of TAR was incredible as Lisa Lambe walked along the piano-side aisle, took a little 6-or-so-year-old girl from an aisle seat, danced with her in the aisle, and promptly lifted her back into her seat! So, so precious... this was of course St.Paddy's Day and that would not be complete without the unofficial Irish-American anthem, "Danny Boy."
The crowd was into it at times, but had so far been largely disappointing. Still, some of the people in our vicinity had been engaging and were eager to clap along like we did, so inroads were being made and the night was far from over. We in the second row had noticed two seat in front row piano-side, and as soon as intermission began I made sure that Annie and Kelly got those seats; mission accomplished, Mike and I noticed that the seats in front row directly before us had been abandoned, and just as the house lights began to dim, Mike, Moscapoet and myself jumped the fence and landed in front. I was now in front row dead center - best seat in the house.
Ok, second half... a good hand was given to Anthony as he made his way down... I gave a lone standing ovation for "Circle Of Life", as I almost always do; it may not be a Lil' Lambe solo song but her role is the central one in this song and she will always have my admiration for it... Ray's bodhran solo and "NIL SE'N LA!!!!" Being in front row center I could clearly see the expressions on the girls' faces as they booted the truant supporting cast up the steps and gave us more hilarity; the combination of humor, energy, sass, and fun makes this song virtually the PERFECT Celtic Woman song!!!! "Shenendoah" was poignant, and during it's follow-up (I still don't know the name of that piece) the audience did get into Craig's dancing with some catcalls... "AVE MARIA!!!" Chloe got a very heartwarming standing O from most of the crowd, and was clearly moved by it... "The Voice." Truly, literally, 'nuff said (from me, anyway)... it's time for "You Raise Me Up" so soon?? Are these three days really coming to an end??? My standing ovation was for the girls who HAD raised me up to more than I can be... during "The Parting Glass" while one of the other girls was singing Chloe looked over at me and gave me perhaps the most serene smile I've ever seen; thank you Chloe, thank you.
The last song is, as many of you know, my favorite song in all of Celtic Woman's repertoire: "Encore Medley." If you've ever seen the SFTH dvd, this song is a high energy piece that in this tour plays out like a rock concert set to an electric violin, which I think is why it's always been the song I love the most. This Manchester venue is my old home venue, as many of you may also recall; I have a lot of incredible memories here and this place was and always will be a part of me. And finally, keep in mind that I had ISUed with the other guys to front row. After Ray's smashing percussion Mairead came back out, stepped almost to the foot of the stage, pointed her bow right at me, and locked eyes with me and gave me the hugest grin I think I've ever seen. I let out the sharpest scream of my Celtic Woman fan-career. The crowd remained on it's feet, clapping hard; Mairead swung into action and was dazzling, running back over to me with her glaring stare as I screamed back, followed by more yells from the audience. The song played out with the enthusiasm worthy of a St.Patrick's Day in America. Later, Mike did tell me that yes Mairead always points down at that center seat; so yes, it was really just business as usual... but she knows me, she knows that I've been a fan of hers for a long time now, how much I love that piece, and how pivotal her performance of it is to me. The combination of those several moments of truly personal interaction, during my favorite song, at the place I used to call home and where I have so many heartfelt memories, with a crowd that came to life at just the right time, has now made this one song performance into my all-time favorite single performance of anything they have ever done. Encore Medley Manchester 2013 I think will always be my favorite, from now on; it has surpassed the ones at Red Rocks Second Night 2009 and Wallingford just two nights before, because of what it personally meant to me. Mairead, sweet dear Mairead, thank you from the bottom of my heart. THIS is how a Celtic Woman concert is supposed to end. And so it did.
Dinner was at Longhorn's on South Willow Street, which has become yet another of our little forum traditions. The time came finally to head out, and Mike dropped me off at my sister's house. I thanked him, but... Mike, my words here can never properly articulate how truly I thank you for being there with me these three days. You made this possible for me, and for that I am blessed. I'll see you again at Chattanooga, which will have a special meaning all it's own. But again, thanks for making possible my participation in this little round of shows.
Thank you also to dear friends, far and near, who went on this adventure with me; some for just one show, or two, or three, or in some cases all four. We made some incredible memories, and some wounds they were healed. 'Til we meet again, may the road rise to meet you!
And also, thanks to those that made the production what it was: thank you to the stage cast, especially Dermot and Ewan for coming over and greeting us in Boston; thank you to production head Bubba for also taking the time to see us. Thank you to new choir girls Edel and Sarah for stepping into some surprisingly large shoes and filling them nicely. Thank you to Susan, for helping me to understand something that had eluded me for six solid years with "The Voice", and thank you for sharing a part of yourself with me personally with "Caledonia"; thank you to the caring, wonderful Lisa Lambe: your blown kiss at the end of the Manchester concert meant the world to me, and your hug in Wallingford was like that of an old friend; thank you to Mairead, sweet dear Mairead, for giving me my supreme song; and thank you dear Chloe, for always having welcoming open arms, and a welcoming open heart. You are and always will be an inspiration to me.
And thank you, as always, to those who take the time to read my reviews. Just think: this tour isn't even a month old yet. There is more to come, and I hope you make your own tour memories, as we did here; we of these fan communities will be glad to be there with you when our paths cross. All you have to do is Believe.
Celtic Woman Forever!
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