Oh my heavens, where do I even begin?? This was my third CW concert and my very first M&G. The other two concerts I have been to were when I was younger and I honestly don't remember them all that much, and I was certainly able to appreciate this one!!
I got the M&G tickets on my birthday, and I was just freaking out and really shocked that I got them because seriously, my family doesn't have that kind of money! I asked my mom how she got them and she told me this:
So we ordered our regular tickets from PBS in December during the pledge drive, but they still hadn't come by the middle of April. My mom called PBS and asked about where are tickets were, and she was told that they were super busy with their spring pledge drive or something like that and we would get them shortly. Apparently the lady my mom was talking to was super nice and so my mom decided to add, almost as a joke, "So if you have any control over what seats we can get for the price we paid, can you try to get us the very best seats possible?" The lady didn't laugh, but instead replied, "Actually, I can do better than that! We have an unclaimed Meet and Greet package that I'll just throw in!"
So we ended up getting M&G tickets...FOR FREE!!!! WOW!!!
We got to the Morrison Center at about 6:30 and claimed our M&G tickets. By this point I was already freaking out in a major sort of way...seeing the tour buses outside and just knowing I was in the same building as Celtic Woman was making me giddy! The concert was supposed to start at 7:30, but we had to wait around a long time before we went back and met the girls. I bought a program and a really fantastic t-shirt during this time and my mom and I chatted with the other people waiting to meet the girls.
I had seriously never been so excited for anything in my life!!!!!! We were taken into the auditorium and just seeing the stage took my breath away. The Morrison Center doesn't have a very big stage, but the set was absolutely beautiful and just seeing it was like better than being in DisneyLand. I was smiling from ear to ear already and I was just SO excited, much to the amusement of the eight or so other people that were there also. At about 7:15 we were taken back into this hallway where we were told what was going to happen. My mom and I were second in line to go in.
The first two people were taken behind a curtain and that's when I first heard their voices. I was just overwhelmed! THIS WAS ACTUALLY HAPPENING!!! In a few minutes the other people left and it was my turn to go in. I hesitated for a second. I didn't know what I was going to say to them or what I should expect and I was nervous. But I went in there and there they all were. They were all smiling and genuinely happy to see me. Susan was first and she held out her hand and said "So nice to see you, I'm Susan!" I said something stupid like "I know."
I walked down the line of them. Next was Chloe. "Hello, you beautiful girl, so nice to meet you!" I just lit up. Mairead and Lisa complimented my dress and all of the sudden I just felt so comfortable. We posed for a picture and they put my arms around me and I was so excited that I was trembling. Mairead laughed a little bit after the picture. "You're shaking, love!" she said.
My mom came down the line and posed for a picture as well. When that was over, my mom started chatting with Chloe and Susan and I turned to Lisa and Mairead. And then it hit me again. They were RIGHT THERE!! I was looking into their faces and they were just as beautiful in person as they were on the screen. And I just could NOT stop smiling and shaking. I had never smiled so wide in my life! The girls kept giggling amongst themselves about me, because I was just positively GIDDY!!! Lisa asked me what my name was and then my age, and I told her 16. "You're very mature for a 16 year old!" Mairead said, and I laughed because I was so giddy I just felt like a six year old at Disneyland, not a 16 year old!
At first I was nervous because I hadn't thought of anything I was going to say to them, but they made me feel instantly at ease. They just made me feel so comfortable it was like I could tell them anything! Lisa went on to ask me if I played any musical instruments, because "I look like a musical person" apparently. I told them I play the guitar and that Mairead was my inspiration for playing the fiddle, and that I sing. Mairead seemed flattered when I told her that, like she had never heard anyone tell her that before. She squeezed my arm and told me that was wonderful.
I turned around to grab my camera from the guy who took the picture, and faced all of them. "I heard you sayin that you sing, we'll be watchin for you singin all the songs during the show!" Chloe said. I laughed. "Oh, I definitely will be!" I said. "Here, give me a hug," Chloe said, and we hugged. I never got a Lambe hug but Chloe was a great hugger. Susan gave me a hug next, and then it was time to go. I thanked them and started to leave. "See you in the audience, beautiful girl!" One of them called as I left; I think it was Lisa.
And that was it. I got back into the hallway and just started freaking out! I was smiling so wide it probably looked like half my head was my mouth, and I was crying. I literally couldn't believe that had just happened! My mom and I waited out in the hall for the other nice people that we had been talking with, and when they came out we showed each other the pictures and everyone was laughing at me because I was still so hysterical!
My mom and I found our seats (Row A, front and center!) and I sat there looking at the pictures, still just absolutely incredulous that had actually happened! I felt like a dream, and I'm still not exactly sure it actually happened or not! Haha. The concert started in a few minutes with "Awakening", and I started bawling the moment Mairead stepped out into the spotlight and started playing. I could not believe this was actually happening. Next Lisa sang Dulaman. The intro to it was great - it was something I hadn't heard before in Gaelic that she sang before the bodhrans started playing. Also I LOVED watching her "seaweed arms" and her playing the spoons. Also I was surprised that Ray was the one who did the male call back in that song, I've never heard him sing before. What a multi-talented man.
The first act continued on and I was still smiling ear to ear through every song. And I was crying the whole time. It was just so incredible. Susan did a FABULOUS job with "Caledonia". Usually it sounds all "wrong" to me when someone other than Lisa K sings it, but Susan sang it FLAWLESSLY! It left me absolutely breathless.
The audience was reacting fantastically. I think most everyone was on their feet by the end of the second song. At the other concerts I'd been to, I hadn't seen the audience be that into it. The girls and the other people on stage were able to interact with the audience more and got a great reaction from it. However, one of my favorite parts of the show came when Teir Abhaile Riu began. I believe it was right after Mairead played either Coast of Galacia or Granuaile's Dance. Lisa began at the back left corner of the auditorium and started singing and Chloe was on the other side and they were having like a "sing off". Again, the audience's reaction to it was great! Lisa sat right on the edge of this guy's seat, and Chloe even ended up picking up some little girl and danced with her briefly. Then they both got on the stage and Susan joined the competition. And whoever they had tap dancing for them was EXCELLENT!
Then intermission came and I was still freaking out. The next act started and the audience was on their feet after almost every song. Amazing Grace was beautiful and Ave Maria gave me chills. Susan's version of "The Voice" was amazing. I think my absolute favorite part was Nil Se'n La. I was in the front row and the lights were pointed at the crowd so I must have been fairly visible to the girls, and I was just totally jamming out and clapping enthusiastically and singing every word. It was then that Lisa looked right at me, smiled and mouthed like a "yeah!!' This made me absolutely giddy once again - they told me they'd look for me singing in the audience and they totally did!!
Later on Ray played a bodhran solo and he made it really funny and was able to interact with the audience and the reaction was great. I can't remember what Mairead's next fiddle solo was, but she was just FLYING across that stage! She was just really on fire tonight. She did all these twists and twirls and jumps and definitely made the most of that relatively small stage! Mairead seemed to be REALLY into it and the crowd was getting really into it as well.
The show ended with "You Raise Me Up", and everyone lept to their feet. The encore went on for a little bit, then they began to sing "The Parting Glass". This is always a song that gets me, and I was totally crying through the whole thing and singing every word. I was still smiling from ear to ear - in fact I hadn't stopped smiling since the show began! The girls were right up to the edge of the stage. I smiled huge and Chloe looked right at me and smiled! I wasn't sure that had actually happened, but my mom leaned over and was like "Chloe just looked right at you!" So it must have happened. When the song reached its crescendo, and my crying/smiling had reached its crescendo as well, I was still singing all the words. I looked up at Chloe as I wiped the tears from my eyes and she looked right at me again, with kind of an "awww.." look.
When that song got over, the audience lept to their feet again. It was by far the loudest audience I had ever heard in the relatively tiny Morrison Center! The girls and the choir people and the drummers kept bowing over and over again, and the cheering just got louder. The ended up playing another song, then the encore continued and they played three whole songs before Chloe finally addressed the audience. They kept bowing and seemed amazed when when we just kept cheering, but then Chloe told us that we had been one of the absolute best audiences on the tour so far. She looked so happy and it almost looked like she was even crying a little bit. The girls seemed absolutely flattered and amazed that an audience that was so relatively small could make so much noise!! They finally left the stage and everybody was still cheering, but all the lights turned on and everybody got up to go.
And that was it. The other cool thing that happened after the concert was we ended up running into the nice lady from PBS who had given us our M&G tickets for free. We thanked her incredibly much and talked with her as we walked back to our car.
And yep, that was it!! It was absolutely hands down the best thing I've ever done in my life. The Meet & Greet was a complete success. Even though I didn't share anything remarkable with them or any tear-jerking story or whatever, I think I adequately expressed my sincere appreciation for them and I think they definitely recognized that. Sorry for that crazy long review of this one night, but I wanted to write down all of it while it's still fresh in my memory. What a fantastic evening.
As you can see, the girls just made me feel so comfortable and at ease! I could not get over how they interacted with me and my mom. They talked with us on such a personal level that they made it seem like we were the only fans in the world. It's true guys, they are just as sweet as they look.
