Hi, guys! On Saturday I went to the Celtic Woman concert in Wallingford, CT, and after LOTS of planning on what I was going to write, I am going to write a review!! This is my first review, so forgive me if it's not perfect.
First of all, when I found out I was going to the CW concert with a M&G, I was soooooo excited, and to make me even more excited was the fact that the Oakdale Theater was planning a special pre-arranged M&G for us! It was supposed to be right after the show before the PBS M&G, so I was supposed to be the first one to meet them!! I had four concert and M&G tickets, VIP parking, and VIP seating, and I was very, very bummed that my parents couldn't come because they had to go to a wedding in Boston, so I was staying at my Auntie Z's house that day, and I invited my Auntie D, cousin, L, and my best friend, M. Throughout all of yesterday, I was very restless and antsy, and was just WISHING for the night to come, so I can go to the concert, but FINALLY the time came, and M's mom dropped her off, and Auntie D, and L picked us up. when we pulled up in front of the Oakdale, I noticed that the VIP entrance had a looped fence and a red carpet! As M and I were walking in, we pretended to be celebrities walking and posing for pictures.
When we got inside we were trying to find the entrance to the dome, but the beauty of the theater was breathtaking! There were different colored decorations on the ceiling, many stairways, and two cars on display INSIDE! We went inside and found our VIP seats, which were not in the front, but near the middle, and they're slightly higher than the other seats, so no big heads were in the way!
The stage was gorgeous!! It had all the percussion set up, and "Celtic Woman X" was lit on the stage. After a few minutes the announcer welcomed us to the performance, and the lights went down.
The ShowThe room went dark, the percussion sounded, and Mairead Nesbitt walked on stage playing the first notes of "The Sky and the Dawn and the Sun", then the girls came out one by one, Meav, Mairead C, and Susan. Their harmonies and stage presence were all the most amazing I had ever seen, and it definitely gave me goosebumps throughout the whole thing. Next was Mairead C with "Newgrange". She NAILED that song, and the harmonies from the choir members were so haunting and beautiful! Next is Mairead N with "The Butterfly". How does she not get exhausted from all that head bopping, and running?! Lots and lots of coffee?
We may never know! She did that song SO well!!! I also noticed this version was a little different from the original version from the first Celtic Woman show. There were a few extra verses, and I secretly like this new version a little better than the original
I think next was "The New Ground" leading into "Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears". Susan sang it all by herself, and that finale gave me such goosebumps! I don't know what to say about the other songs, just pure AWESOMENESS!!! But all too soon it ended and it was time for the Meet and Greet!
The M&GWe were told that we needed to immediately go to the stage door to the left (inside) and meet someone there. There was a woman standing there who told us to sit down and wait, until the person we were looking for (J) came and explained to the lady that he was in charge of us. He said there had been a slight change of plans, and it wasn't going to be immediate that we were going to meet them, but we were. He handed us two Guest stickers and I asked why there was only two. He said that they were only allowing two of us to meet them according to the rules. That would be me, and Auntie D. WHAT?? NOOOOOO!!
I wanted M and L to meet them too, but even though they seemed okay with it, I pleaded with J to let all four of us meet them, but he wasn't in charge, so it was no use.
I felt so bad leaving behind L and M, but they kepy telling me to go so I had no other choice. A woman led us to another room where we were going to meet the girls, and a little before we went inside, J came back, and told us he talked to the person in charge and after a lot of convincing and probably begging, he was able to get all four of us in to meet the girls! THANK GOD!!! And thanks to J for probably bending over backwards for us!! So he led us to the room for the PBS Meet and Greet, and the way it was going to work was everyone at the PBS Meet and Greet would go first, and we would be last, so we would spend a little more time with them! Yay! Everything worked out fine! The room had lots of tables, chairs, beverages, and desserts, so I grabbed a brownie, and a mini tiramisu cup, and sat at the table with Auntie D, L, and M. As we were eating and waiting, one of the men joked, "Aren't you one of the stand-ins?" I said, "No, I'm just a guest."
Then M proceded to tell him that I was a harpist, which everyone seemed hugely interested in, so I told them M is a harpist too. (That's how she and I met)
We were all talking about our interests and random things until it was our turn! We got in line, and L had the video camera, Auntie D had the picture camera, and I had my gifts for the girls. (By the way, if you've seen the pictures of the clay figurines I've made on the forum, you'd know I wanted to give them to the girls, so I made some new and improved ones, and wrapped them up. I forgot to take a picture of them! So sorry!
) It was finally our turn, and I'm pretty sure they remembered me from the previous year I met them because they all greeted me and M with big hugs, along with a kiss on the cheek from Meav! We all posed for the picture, and I said, "I have a little something." I asked them to open it right there, and as Susan was unwrapping, she said, "Nothing is going to pop out, is it?" Of course not!
When Susan opened the box, she let out this high-pitched squeal, which sent me into a giggle fit. All the girls, and even some other people were crowding around to see the figurines, and they were saying, "Is that me?" "Is that Meav?" Mairead C picked up her figurine, and held it up for PBS to take a picture of it, then said, "You're amazing! I have to give you a hug!" I then received another hug from Mairead C, and Susan, and another peck on the cheek from Meav. Susan said, "She's so talented!" and Mairead C told me that she will put them somewhere in their tour bus. Before I had to leave, I asked to get a picture with just Meav, as she was only going to be with Celtic Woman for a short time. Once we walked out, I had a spring in my step, and I couldn't stop smiling!
THAT was the best night of my life!! I got home around midnight, and I couldn't sleep because of all the excitement, but I'm still running on energy, and happiness in knowing what I was lucky enough to experience. <3
The stage:
M and me:
I had to include this photo. Someone was talking to us, and we turned at the last minute. For some reason that photo cracks me up.
Selfie!
Picture with the lovely ladies! <3
Picture of me with the lovely Meav!
And last but not least, a link to the video L took of the Meet and Greet! Enjoy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYz7JvKrZxE