Review: Red Rocks June 12th

Long after I am gone from this earth, in fact long after all of us are gone, there will still be Red Rocks. Beautiful though they may be, most performance venues are ephemeral, existing as performance venues for decades; a few, for centuries. Red Rocks will endure for geological ages. One million years from now, Red Rocks will probably look much like it does today. Compared to human time scales, Red Rocks is timeless.

Magic is also timeless. At Red Rocks, if you listen, you might still hear the faint, long-ago echo of Chloe Agnew's high note from "When You Believe" or the ghost of the lumbering, overwhelming orchestral finish from "Non C'est Piu". Perhaps you'll hear the whisper of a thunderclap in the wind from when "O America" bounced off the canyon walls. These were elements of the magic of performances past. At Red Rocks, you are not limited to just listening, seeing, or even feeling the magic. At Red Rocks, you live the magic and become a part of it. Here, nature and art become one.

Now the magic was beginning again. The newest incarnation of Celtic Woman was coming to my favorite place in this world, so of course I would need to be there. It would be my only time seeing this exact lineup of the girls, and it would be Mairead Carlin's first time experiencing the glory and majesty of Red Rocks: Mairead Nesbitt had been here for CW's first visit in 2006, Alex Sharpe in 2009, and Susan McFadden in 2013.

I scheduled myself for a late afternoon flight departure. Normally I try to leave in the mornings, but I found a bargain flight with a 5:39pm departure time. I would also be trying Spirit Airlines for the first time. Going through security I received a comment on my Celtic Woman t-shirt from one of the TSA agents; this has happened a few times over the years. My plan was to arrive at Denver International early Thursday evening, pick up my rental car, meet Daniel for an early dinner, and then pick up Mike at the airport when he arrived at almost midnight. None of that happened; the weather caused Spirit Air to cancel my flight due to delays thanks to Denver thunderstorms, forcing me to scramble to get another flight. United came through but it was a morning flight. I didn't get everything sorted out until past 11pm Thursday night. Due to the late hour without use of transportation, I opted to stay at the airport through the night. I've done this quite a few times when returning home from shows but never before a show. The hardest part was that all the airport restaurants were closed and I hadn't eaten since before noon, but I knew I'd have a choice of breakfasts in the morning. In the observation lounge area I pushed two plush chairs together to make a bed; I finally closed my eyes while Enya's "Only Time" was piped in through the airport loudspeakers.

Waking, my United flight boarded, took off, and landed without incident, arriving around noon Friday in a Denver International Airport that was cloudy and rapidly becoming sunny. Mike had already arrived and rented a car to pick me up; due to my later arrival, we reversed roles and now he would be the chauffer. Also with us was Moscapoet. After stopping briefly for me to check in at the hotel and get reasonably cleaned up (including attiring myself in a Fiddler Crossing t-shirt), we headed immediately to the fan dinner at Macaroni Grill. I got to see Vicki, who I hadn't seen in more than a year, along with the Sidepockets, the Maloneys, Daniel, Dee, Mark Sterrett, and Clifford. The conversations were happy and some were very humorous. Shortly Amy, Rachel, and one of Amy's friends made an appearance, but soon enough we needed to head over to the venue for will-call pick-up of M&G passes in what was by now full, beautiful sunshine.

Red Rocks Amphitheater is the crown jewel of venues in the United States, and perhaps the world. It's a mostly natural formation consisting of two massive rocks, with a smaller but curved rock wall between them that forms the back of the stage of the venue. Red Rocks rises back many dozens of rows back, with the flanking rocks still rising far above the sides of the venue. Behind the venue is Mount Morrison. This year we parked down below the Trading Post, which means the walk just to get inside the venue is a formidible hike including about 100 feet of following a dirt path between the parking lot and the venue's main lower entrance. Even the paved walkways and ramps are a challenge, as the venue sits several hundred feet up from even the most accessible parking lots, so that the trip is uphill all the way. It is almost as if you have to earn your way inside to get the privilege to participate in the wonders that follow.

As I always do when I come here, I climbed "Mount Red Rocks", going from the very bottom at stage-level all the way to the further back row, this time with the two Marks, Sterrett and Sidepocket, to bring them to the music museum located within the bowels of the venue but reachable only from the top. As always happens when I come to Red Rocks, there wasn't enough time to do everything that I wanted; maybe someday I will. The natural surroundsound of this place is very much a part of the magic. My seat was third row, pretty close to center, with Mike to my right and Daniel to my left, with Amy, Rachel, BobH, and Dee along our row, and Tink, Coren, the Sidepockets, and the Maloneys closeby, and Scott and Mark Sterrett further down to my left. I spent a short time talking with Bob, Tink and Coren, and the couple seated ahead of us; the man said it was their seventh show, to which I smiled and said evenly that it's a good number of shows. Before I sat down I recalled some of the veteran fans of Red Rocks concerts, people not here today but very much here in spirit: Roy, Kelly Mann, Hannahelizabeth, Cindy, Abby, Dalton, Sandy, the Brilliante Twins, Christi. And, of course, Glenn.

Then the show began: "The Sky and the Dawn and the Sun" still stands as one of my favorite songs; I glanced up at the projection screen which showed a truly excellent view of the action without the yellowish pigments found in other big screens, though being in third row I wouldn't be needing the screen tonight; the crowd was VERY into the show from the moment Mairead walked out, and I sighed with satisfaction as Mairead Carlin came out as she had been the subject of a very well-received graphic creation of mine only days before... "NEWGRANGE!!!!" Now THIS is a display of what Red Rocks can do!! From the mighty blasts of percussion starting the song until Mairead Carlin's high note the echoed slightly across the canyon, this was an awesome performance; yet also consider the lyrics of this song: "There is a place, on the east/A mysterious ring, a magical ring, of stones" and this could be describing a certain "ring" of stones on the east side of Mt. Morrison that make Red Rocks perhaps the Newgrange of America... There was plenty of cheering and clapping during "The Butterfly"... As often happens when "The New Ground/Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears" plays out, I recalled briefly a now long-ago journey that Mike and I made to said new ground and island of hope; thank you, Tommy and Susan... tonight's rendering of the guy's percussion/dance thing was the best that I'd seen from them, the surroundsound may have had something to do with that... "TAR!!!!!" Oh gosh Mairead Carlin is soooo hilarious, but Alex and Susan aren't far behind.

The lighting was nothing to write home about. Sound was legendary, and you should expect nothing less at this venue. The crowd was awesome, with Scott and I deciding that it trailed only the '09 edition of shows here for crowd involvement. However, one slight downer had been some talking that could be heard behind our seats; I recalled that the same thing happened before here in 2013. Another issue was the continual late seating, with shades of a certain Connecticut casino venue coming to mind. I asked Mark Sterrett his opinion of the show, as this was his first show here, which was probably the most no-brainer question anyone has ever asked him. I also briefly spoke to Don, who I didn't know was going to be here. But soon it was time to sit again.

As I said in my Texas reviews, one of my favorite aspects of having Alex back in the fold takes place during "Orinoco Flow", a lot of it has to do with the way she harmonizes and part of it is her pronunciation... OH MY GOSH... "AMAZING GRACE!!!!!!" Not only the finest performance of the song I have ever heard (and that is saying something if you've ever seen them do this song at San Antonio), but perhaps the finest performance of ANY song that I've ever heard here at Red Rocks; the part when Anthony walks out onto the stage as the song begins to build to it's climax created such a smash of powerful yet undistorted sound that the air almost seemed to vibrate, as you could feel the music coursing through you in the air; with tears in my eyes, I was on my feet for the standing ovation before Anthony had even finished; wow, and I mean, WOW!!!... During Ray's bodhran bit, when he normally looks up to the typical venue balcony, this time he took a deep breath, pointed, and said: "Can you hear me way, way, way up.... THERRRRRE?!?" and soon led into the stage frolicing that segues into "Nil Se'n La"; excellent as always, even if the cast cannot dance down the aisles as the stage access makes this impossible.... Mairead's helicopter twirl leading into "Granuaile's Dance" was louder than ever; the crowd involvement on this song was incredible, and it seemed half the venue was screaming themselves hoarse as Mairead blew the entire Red Rocks crowd a massive kiss... I wasn't bracing myself, although people probably thought that I was, as Mairead Carlin came out for what I knew would be "Nella Fantasia"; I had been waiting a long, long time for this song, even foregoing exposure to youtube bootlegs of it so I could experience Mairead bringing it to life for tonight; I gave a standing ovation as I nodded my head in total, heartfelt approval as I mused that this may be the only time that I ever hear this singer performing this song live; but Mairead, you did awesome in what I know was one of the biggest moments of your life.

As Alex began "The Voice" I looked at Alex and thought back for a couple seconds to a long-ago performance, not of "The Voice", but of the last time I had seen Alex here in this venue, when she had sung "True Colors" in a Celtic Woman show from another time, when Alex had spoken to my heart in that song and had reduced me to tears as I found a new strength that I had needed at the time, the feeling of which I still remembered even now, almost six years later; back into the present, I listened as Alex breathed an essence, best described later by Mike as "eagerness", into one of CW's finest solo songs; the crowd gave a massive standing ovation... before Mairead Nesbitt introduced "You Raise Me Up" she called Red Rocks the finest outside venue in the world; the cheering was almost deafening, lending point to her opinion... YES!!! Time again for the new "Finale"; a fantastic display of the percussion section, augmented by the tricks that Red Rocks plays, interacting with Anto's bagpipe... for just a moment, as Mairead Carlin mentioned how wonderful it was for them to perform at Red Rocks, I almost detected a tremble in her voice; still, the magic of Red Rocks does strange things sometimes even with the spoken word.

But this night was not even close to being finished. There was still the matter of a Meet & Greet, my first official one in over two years. I was entrusted with a gift bag from a fan who wanted me to pass it on to the girls, and I love doing this for my dear fan friends. We were led into the designated area, and met the girls. Alex hadn't seen me at a M&G since her first stint with Celtic Woman; much water had flown under that bridge, for sure. I thanked them for the show and made sure to ask Mairead Carlin how she liked Red Rocks; I asked it to make sure she knew that WE knew how much this show meant to her. I asked that the two Maireads be by my side for the picture.

We went back outside to wait with Scott, Dee, and Rachel, all of whom had not attended the M&G, to at least wave as the performers went into their buses from the shuttle van used by the venue. We were rewarded (along with a young family with two of the cutest little daughters ever) with some time with drummer Ray Fean, who always seems to make time for the fans. Mairead Carlin also came over and spent 10 minutes very casually chatting with us; I made sure to tell her how much I loved her "Daisy" video, and how I was glad to have her back on the tour.. She also posed for pics with those who hadn't had M&G, and gave every one of us a great, generous hug. As she walked away each of us sighed and nodded to each other; this seemed like a great way to bring Red Rocks to a close, and we began to walk towards our parking lot.

But as we walked down the hill in the dark, talking about how awesome this little "street & greet" had been, there came the moment that I will never forget, that truly says everything that ever needs to be said about what the ladies of Celtic Woman are all about. As we got about a hundred feet from the buses on this unlit country lane, we all heard from behind us: "WAIT GUYS!!!" We turned to see Mairead Nesbitt running down the hill to us, telling us she had just put her bags onto the bus and came out to find us all gone from the bus area and wanted to see us before they left. We had some incredible quality time with her for about five minutes, and she posed for a pic with Rachel that definitely required the use of a flash on that dark road. She thanked us for being so loud! Even now as I type this, the encounter still has a quality both real and unreal, as if it couldn't have happened the way that I remember it. And yet... there can be miracles, if I believe.

Some of us adjourned to Denny's (on Wadsworth Blvd) in Lakewood. Scott, Dee, Mike, Daniel, Mark Sterrett, and myself talked with much laughter; the hour grew late, and in stages the "til I see you again"s were said until I was back in my hotel room, to get a few precious hours of sleep before flying out early Saturday morning. At the airport the next morning, I talked near my gate with Rachel, who was also awaiting a flight, until I had to board.

I flew out of Denver and the plane gained altitude. I always take window seats when I have a choice, and I usually go with the seat on the starboard side of the plane, which is where I was today. Looking out the window, I could see in the clear sky the Rocky Mountains to the west. Searching along the base of the range, I found it, since I knew exactly what I was looking for: I could see Red Rocks, even here from thirty miles away, with the huge rocks now looking like small pebbles of yellowish-red against a sea of green grass. I watched as the Park drifted further to the rear of my window, then smiled as I turned away. A piece of that place is etched permanently into my heart and will be carried with me forever.

2015 TOUR RETROSPECTIVE

I only had three shows on this tour, and with the soloist switches there were a couple configurations that I did not get to see. For me this Celtic Woman tour was very much charted territory; I was already experienced with the three venues that I attended. In much the same way, I had already seen and met all the girls who were on this tour. Indeed the only really new thing for me was Mairead Carlin's Nella Fantasia.

Does this dullen the luster of the jewel that was my 2015 Tour experience? No, and far from it. I found much to like about this year's show... but then, every year I find things to like. I could behold "The Sky And the Dawn And the Sun," "TAR," and "Nil Se'n La" forever as they are presently constituted, with no changes; they would never grow old to me. "Orinoco Flow", "Mo Ghile Mear", and "Granuaile's Dance" still excite me even after all these years. The new finale has taken it's rightful place in my heart as a fitting end to the shows, with no feeling of regret for the past "Encore Finale", perhaps with only the wish that both could co-exist in a world with room for just one.

Not much structurally was changed from 2014, but putting the Meet & Greet on the back end of the show was, in my opinion, a good idea; or, should I say, having the M&Gs right before showtime was not as good of an idea and was one that needed some sort of correction. This may not be a perfect solution, but I think it's better.

I give thanks to the ladies of Celtic Woman. Lynn, thank you for that unbelievable rendition of "Scarborough Fair"; your voice truly is a gift to the world and perhaps someday the world can be a fitting gift to you. Susan, thank you for being the interacting performer that you have developed into that I have watched emerge like a butterfly from the body of a caterpillar. Alex, thank you for bringing an incandescence that Celtic Woman needed, with your beaming face and your vocal range. M.C., thank you for giving so much of your off-duty time to your fans; I totally consider myself one of your fans now, as you have won not just my acceptance, nor just my admiration, but also my spirit.

And Mairead of the Fiddle, thank you this year for helping to make Celtic Woman so special to me all over again. You gave me much more than you'll ever know. 'Til we see each other again, take care.

This era of Celtic Woman has it tough. The economy is not making this easier for many of us; consequently, traveling to shows is becoming harder. Also, there are more "splinter" former Celtic Woman performers now than ever. I even used a word when talking to one of my dear fan friends, a word which carries so many negative connotations that I hesitate to employ it but no other word describes the situation better: Celtic Woman is "competing" with the splinter performers Lisa Kelly, Chloe Agnew, and Lisa Lambe for fan dollars; in fact, those three girls, much though they certainly adore each other, are likewise competing with each other. When the resources are limited, choices have to be made by fans - and sometimes those choices are hard. But the friendships endure: as I told Daniel at the pre-show dinner for Red Rocks, it's so wonderful to know that each of us has friends all over the country, people who would give each other the shirts off their backs. So in that spirit, thank you to the fans that I talked to at my CW shows this year, especially Lester, Edd, Hubert, Norma, Dee, Mark Sidepocket, Mike, Scott, Daniel, Mark Sterrett, BobH, Tink, Coren, and Rachel.

And, as always, thank you for reading any of my reviews over the years. This is a journey of the spirit that happens to also involve a journey of distances. The journey continues, and there's always next Tour.

CONCLUSION

The phenomenon created by these people from Ireland was never just the fine performers. It was never just those in past or present employ of Celtic Woman Ltd. To me it doesn't even stop with the inclusion of the usual suspects of the fan community of which I am a part. Even the attendees who do not choose to associate closely with other fans or with the artists are part of the spectacle. Everyone has a part to play, whether this is their first show, their seventh show, their ninety-ninth show, or, in the case of Mairead Nesbitt, their thousandth-plus show. The magic continues because of the people who love the magic, whether they stand on the stage or they face it. In this way, we ALL are Celtic Woman. "Of all the money 'ere I had/I spent it in good company..."

Celtic Woman. FOREVER!!!!