Seattle Times concert review

[melle mel]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/artsentertainment/2003705510_webceltic13.html

Warning: Political content inside. 

[m.k.c.]

at first i was like  then i was like  Some people are dumb.

[jsharp]

That was breathtakingly bad. Since everything he knows about music could fit on a matchbook, he had to find other things to discuss - like politics! I certainly love how he made the leap to their being right-wing, warmongering, subservient Stepford women with a fundamentalist Christian agenda. All because they're beautiful, wear classical gowns, sing family-friendly lyrics, and have rousing drumbeats on a few songs. He obviously knows nothing AT ALL about them. Their politics are their business but, heck, Hayley planned on bending Bush's ear about the environment once! Methinks he hath a king-sized chip on his shoulder. His left shoulder.

Please avail yourselves of his e-mail address at the bottom of the review.

[Celeste]

Predictably shallow, criticism-by-numbers review from a doctrinaire Leftist -- grading the performance according to the degree to which it aligns itself with his own political ideology, and failing it when it doesn't.

And people wonder why something so wonderful as Celtic Woman and Chloe Agnew are such rarities in so-called "mainstream" culture -- it's because individuals like this "professional" Seattle reviewer have had a stranglehold on cultural discourse for the last century.

[jsharp]

Predictably shallow, criticism-by-numbers review from a doctrinaire Leftist -- grading the performance according to the degree to which it aligns itself with his own political ideology, and failing it when it doesn't.

And people wonder why something so wonderful as Celtic Woman and Chloe Agnew are such rarities in so-called "mainstream" culture -- it's because individuals like this "professional" Seattle reviewer have had a stranglehold on cultural discourse for the last century.

To be fair, there are knee-jerk reviews of pop singers by Rightist doctrinaires, too. But I agree, this guy is regurgitating the "hip, progressive" dogma that any entertainment that features female purity and innocence (his words) is not only cheesy and outdated but "alarming." Let that sink in. He finds it frightening that young women might want to emulate these ladies' stage personas. I will concede that - from a certain perspective - part of CW's appeal to tweens could be the Disney Princess-like aspect of their image: Bright, strong, gorgeous women in beautiful gowns singing showstopping songs perfectly. Growing from Ariel and Belle to Chloe and Lisa seems a logical step. But what, may I ask, is so bad about that?! Would he prefer they want to be Fergie or the Pussycat Dolls?

[Celtic_Kit]

I think that a lot of reviewers just don't know what to make of Celtic Woman. I have not been thrilled with most of the reviews. I think what I like so much about the group and their music is the variety and the scope of their talent. I think the reviewers go in with some preconceived notion of what they think Celtic Woman should be and when the performance doesn't meet that expectation, they feel justified in criticizing the act. Personally, I find it frustrating in an amusing sort of way. No matter what the reviewers think, the world has spoken with their dollars. CD sales such as what CW has seen would make most music distributers swoon. The truth is most media reviewers are simply doing the reporting job that they could get. It isn't their fault that they have no real taste.

-Kit

I tried not to be negative. Really I did.

[willow-jeeves]

Hmm...sounds like he has some strong political views that got into a music review, eh?
This review was like riding a roller coaster, I was reading along, and while there were some bumps in the road, it was like the typical pop reviewer.

Then the drop, he stopped reviewing and made a biased judgment because of "You Raise Me Up?" 

I agree with Kit, a lot of reviewers don't know what to make of Celtic Woman.  That's the beauty of it.  They appeal to people from lots of different generations and musical tastes.

[Trouble]

I can see Mairead fiddling upsdie down though! That part made me laugh!

[melle mel]

I know music and politics go hand-in-hand and it always been that way since. But people do take it too seriously about corresponding to the messages the music and how they should make them feel. CW won't please a few, but to condemn them as "pushing the Christian Right-Wing agenda" is ignorant and closed-minded. We just need to step back with an open mind, taking politics out of the equation, and just appreciate things we have and for what they are. If not for CW, who then would set a better example and who has the same scale of talent? Name one. Paris Hilton, perhaps?

As for the critic, he felt the need to use CW as his soapbox to further his own agenda and political beliefs and shove them down people's throats like he is an important figure. He is entitled to his opinion, but the whole review is really half-hearted especially criticizing on Chloe's performance. Don't get the wrong impression that we the general public of Seattle are all like that guy and we're all a bunch of vegan soy milk double shot latte drinkers on a rainy day, wearing Birkenstocks with organic socks made from recycled plastic pop bottles, march on every peace protests, and driving Subarus and hybrids with Kerry '04 bumper stickers still affixed. Seattle loves CW as much as everyone elsewhere, and it was a big turnout on that night's show. Shame about the venue, as if they and the fans were treated third-rate, but the performance itself overcame that.