I want to begin by saying that I have been truly lucky and blessed with my experiences with Celtic Woman. I have been at several truly memorable shows and events these past two years, and last night was no different.
I wasn't going to the Mohegan Sun show. It's about a 2-hour ride from me, but I had already planned out the shows that I would do, and I was indifferent about the Mohegan Sun venue itself. Then I saw a post from Celtic Lass saying there would be a CD signing after the show... I thought about it, checked for tickets, found that the best would be a stadium seat about 50 feet from the stage at a slightly sharp angle, and after 15 minutes I just decided "Heck with it, I'll go!"
I arranged for a rental car for this drive down, listened to the girl's solo CDs on the way, which made for a very relaxing ride inspite of traffic. Arriving at the Mohegan Sun facility, I met up with Mike (Mr.Peabody) and we talked for awhile, checked about the signing, grabbed a quick bite, and made our way to the venue.
Mohegan Sun is a massive entertainment complex with a casino, a high-end mall, and an arena. I had been here for the taping of CW's "Skate For the Heart" event. The design of the place requires that people entering the facility have to walk through the casino, then through the mall, to get to the venue. This required navigating through thick, massive crowds... as massive as any I have ever been in. The fact that it was a Saturday probably made it even more crowded.
For the show, the audience had no problem with enthusiasm or participation. They clapped along in all the right places and cheered the girls excitedly. The problem was that they insisted on talking amongst themselves at times in my section during the songs, got to their seats very late, and... ugh!... using flash cameras during the show. So many flashes went off during the beginning of "The Sky And the Dawn And the Sun" it was like a photo session. It never completely ended, I don't think there was any five-minute period which was free of flashes. VERY rude, especially as door security at the arena made a point to tell people absolutely no use of cameras.
That was about the only real issue with the show. This was my first stop on the new tour. I must say... WOW!! I love the new show very much!! Here is a quick (very, very quick) review of the show itself:
"Fields of Gold" was excellent, somewhat of a different arrangement from the one by Sting. I love "The Coast of Galicia"!!! Excellent solo for Mairead to perform, I would love for her to record it! Chloe's performance of "When You Believe" was stunning, she has improved so much as a singer over these last few years. "Orinoco Flow" has been changed considerably, the choir is MUCH more involved than ever, which is great! The live version they are using now is the best version of the song that I have ever heard.
The second half starts with "The Call"... haha it was great watching people jump when it starts! "You'll Be In My Heart" was tremendous, it's great that Alex finally has solo songs of her own to do. I am now officially a fan of Alex! The song "Oh America" is unforgettable. You have to see the new second-act dresses... stunning is an absolute understatement.
We lined up for the signing afterwards, and when I got to the line my heart sank... there were so many people already there (even though I got there as quick as I could), and I expected a limit to be placed on how many people would be allowed to do the signing. Then as security started coming alongside us, I breathed a sigh of relief... it appeared that anyone who was already there would be allowed in. Also, it became clear, as Mike and I got closer to the front, that ALL FIVE of the soloists were at the signing! Mike would get to meet Mairead, his favorite! It's always great when someone gets to meet their favorite.
The girls were wonderful, as always. Lisa and Chloe and Mairead all remembered me from my previous M&Gs in 2007, which just doesn't surprise me anymore. I told Lisa that it's great to have her back. It was nice meeting Alex and Lynn for the first time. I told Lynn that I loved her "Carolina Rua" and "Swimming In the Barrow" (from her solo CD)... she said she'd tell the guy who wrote "Swimming In the Barrow" that I said that.
Mike and I watched afterwards as others came to meet them. Mike got some incredible pictures. After talking for another hour or so, we said our goodnights and headed our respective ways to prepare for our Manchester show together, for Sunday night. But that's another story.
