Review: Austin, TX May 13th

The shows we go to are only part of the story of Celtic Woman. Sometimes something happens, something that perhaps you only happen to witness, and something which shows you the beauty in people. Such was the case in Austin, Texas, at the most recent Celtic Woman show.

It all began in the early afternoon when Lester arrived to drive us the three hours from our homes in suburban Houston to the show in Austin. We had just spent the previous Sunday in each other's company at the San Antonio show yet still found much to talk about. Arriving in town about rush hour, after being washed in by incessant rain, we stopped near the venue for a burger and wings, and I had my first-ever blackberry ice tea... which was delicious, by the way. After securing the vehicle in the parking garage, the rain had let up enough for us to walk around the venue. I had been to this same place a little over two years earlier for a show with another group, and I showed Lester the unofficial Austin Music "Hall of Fame" - plaques embedded into the sidewalk memorializing the names and accomplishments of many of the great musicians of Austin's music scene. We also walked around the parkland and artifical lake of the venue and shortly headed inside when the lobby opened.

The Long Center is a new venue, nestled into several acres of said parkland but close enough to the downtown of the city for many of the amenities that you would hope for in a new venue. The lobby is incredibly spacious, with marble and glass for the motifs. Watering facilities are placed very close to the egress areas, which always makes for a better experience. The theater itself has two small balconies with several side-positioned opera boxes. The orchestra floor section has perhaps twenty-five rows of seats... not a large venue at all. The stage is about average depth and width, and rather short, at most three feet tall, with steps flanking the stage. For once, there was plenty of room between rows so that you are not stepping on people. I would be sitting with Lester in second row, slightly to piano-side from center; in many ways, quite superior to my previous show by placing us closer to the girls whose stage "stop line" was further to the edge. Once we sat down, we looked at the other end of the row and saw Charlie and Norma Brock! I hadn't seen them since Red Rocks in 2009 and we talked to them, soon joined by Dee who was seated beside them. This was a summit of fan community old-timers if ever there was one. But soon enough we all had to take our seats, only to meet up again for intermission, of course.

Ahhhhh.... "The Sky And the Dawn And the Sun," which has always held an exalted place in my heart, found some new places to entwine itself; I will always love this song... "Newgrange" felt somehow more dramatic tonight, perhaps because the sound seemed to be improved, but Alex did her lovely interpretation and now I have to wonder what they will do when Mairead Carlin returns for my Red Rocks show: I love BOTH Mairead's and Alex's versions!... "THE BUTTERFLY!!!" Mairead tore through this song and I noticed that not only does she give each musician a segment to do solo but then every one of them does the final part; in the last show I wasn't certain it was all of them but now I know it is... Tommy's "The New Ground" was followed by "Isle Of Hope, Isle Of Tears" by Susan, and I didn't give proper recognition to this song in my last review; she did a swelling, heartfelt delivery of a song that I have heard quite a few good versions of, and hers stands as a truly beautiful one... the fine blending of harmonies that are now possible with the return of Alex made "Danny Boy" a masterpiece; kudos especially to Lynn, whose part had an special richness I'd never noticed in her songs before... one of the cutest sights ever with Celtic Woman is in "Teir Abhaile Riu" when Alex sticks her tongue out at Susan on stage; oh, and I noticed that it was Edel playing the spoons.

An interesting crowd: a mixture of decently participatory folks alongside some immobile statues posing as people. This happens at some shows, usually with a section of this and a section of that; but at this show each type was randomly interspersed throughout the entire audience, with slightly more of the unparticipatory ones. But the sound was VASTLY improved from San Antonio; the drum parts on "Newgrange" sounded louder and less muffled, with the other songs correspondingly (and appropriately) louder. Lighting seemed about the same as at the previous show. I passed the time at intermission talking more with Dee and Norma but soon enough it was time for part two.

"Orinoco Flow" yeah!!! Now the sweet harmony that I had always loved in the earlier Alex days when the girls sing "We can sail, we can sail" had returned!!! If you wonder what I mean, Alex's pronunciation of "sail" sounds like "SAY-yawl" and I've loved hearing her do it since back in 2008 when I first heard her do it; for some reason it wasn't as noticeable in San Antonio but I picked up on it right off during tonight's show; it's among my favorite Alex harmonic contributions, little thing though it may be... "Amazing Grace" got at least a partial standing ovation from the crowd, and really deserved more, but then Austin isn't San Antonio; it's so funny how two cities, separated by less than 100 miles, can have such different responses to the same song... "Nil Se'n La": lively, sassy, fun!!!!... Mairead got a rousing standing ovation for "Granuaile's Dance" which was totally deserved; I love when she twirls her bow over her head as the song begins, I never knew a bow would make that noise so clearly... Lester and I both gave a standing O to Lynn for "Scarborough Fair", which I thought was one of her best solo performances ever, she was an excellent choice to sing this song... as Mairead began "You Raise Me Up" I focused entirely on her; generally the first strains of this song, no matter when I hear them, bring a surging feeling of nostalgia within me because certain fan friends have made helped make the song almost an anthem to me; though this time I just felt a gentle contendedness, followed at the end of the song by, during our standing ovation, Mairead locking eyes with me and a "thank you" crossing her lips, which I returned with a smile... I stopped in my tracks as the first lyrics of "The Parting Glass" finally, truly hit me: "O of all the money 'er I had/I spent it in good company" and realized that this is so very true for me in this year of shows, as all the remaining money I have really IS being spent in good company... after more than a year, I must concede that Rachel was right, that yes I really do love the new finale and I look forward to it now; it's not that I love the old, favorite "Encore Finale" less but that I have found room in my heart for the new.

Lester and I said our goodbyes to Charlie, Norma, and Dee, though I will see Dee again in a few days at Peachtree City when he and I will see "a couple other Irish girls" perform haha. A positive moment happened as we stepped out of our row to enter the aisle, as a patron stepped over to me and said "You were a great audience!" I realized what he meant, smiled, and thanked him as he headed to the side door. I wistfully reflected that we of the fan community truly had been just that, giving generous standing ovations and showing love for these performers.

But tonight, truly, the best was saved for last. Lester and I started to walk up the aisle towards the back of the theater, and as we passed a small knot of people in the aisle I became witness to one of the finest and most beautiful things I have ever seen with Celtic Woman. There was a Meet & Greet that evening, though Lester and I had no part of that. But the PBS woman was corraling her patrons, and a middle-aged couple handed their M&G passes to a teenage girl and the girl's mother. The girl had been enthusiastically cheering all night long, and the couple wanted this girl to get a chance to meet the performers that she loved so much. With tears in her eyes, the girl hugged them both, and the couple turned and started walking away. I asked Lester to wait a moment, and I walked over to the couple, who now were out of earshot of the M&G group. "Excuse me... did you just give your Meet & Greet to that girl?" The lady said that yes they did, that they wanted to do something for this girl who had never attended a Meet & Greet and who had been so excited just to be here at a Celtic Woman show. I smiled and said that "these shows engender these feelings that bring out the best in people." They shook my hand, and the lady looked at my fan-shirt and said "I love your shirt, by the way!" After they had turned away to leave, I whispered "God bless you both."

You will hear from me soon enough from central Georgia, when those "couple other Irish girls" create some magic of their own, along with the magic that comes from many friends gathering together from near and far to create our own community of love and caring for a short moment in time. May your journey be as blessed as mine.