Review: Temecula Dec. 3rd 2011

And so another year comes to an end... a year of Celtic Woman. For me this was a very special year, and the closing show at Temecula was a great way for me to close out my 2011 CW experience.

I rose after another short night, with just 4 hours sleep. The group of us was supposed to meet at In-n-Out for burgers before the show, which we did. We had to make our pre-show dinner a simple one, since the show was a matinee. Several people couldn't make it for the meal, so we had Juan, Mikey, Rachel, Jeremy, Donna, Lu, and myself. But things don't always go as planned when Celtic Woman is concerned: we were met up by two different couples at the restaurant, all attracted by our shirts and discussion of the shows. The first couple incredibly live one town over from me (amazing when you consider that they and I were 1500 miles from home), and the other couple were local to Temecula but had been reading my reviews for some time even though they are not enrolled in any of the forums! Thank you to Dennis and Susan, I dedicate this review to you.

So we finally got to the venue and were joined by Caitlyn, Coren, Tink, Cindy, Josh, and Susan. We went to get seated, but Caitlyn asked me if we could switch seats. My original seat was for row C, the last seat on the end on piano-side. She had front row center but with the high stage and that mesh screen to conceal the cameraman. She said it was hard to see and wanted a seat further back so she could see the whole stage. I agreed to switch. As soon as I sat, I understood what she meant. The monitors were different for this tour from what CW had been using, these were bigger and so made it harder to see. And the Christmas garland didn't help either. But it was very acceptable and I would see to it that the girls got their share of love.

And so, for the last time in 2011, I sat down to take in Celtic Woman. The year would end just as it had begun for me... in the front.

Here are just some of the songs and my reactions: Just as the last few days, John Page led the orchestra's "Polar Express" performance, followed by David's quick briefing about what this was all about... "Carol of the Bells" was fantastic, it seemed like it was enhanced with more brass, the lack of which had been my biggest issue with these Christmas show since the first night... "Silent Night"!!!!! Chloe you are sooo amazing!... For "Christmas Pipes" I made sure to cheer good and loud for Caitlyn's benefit, since she said she loved that song; and I must admit, I was liking this song a lot more tonight than the previous 2 nights, it seemed now they had raised the volume on it (metaphorically)... Kudos to Lisa Kelly for "The Christmas Song" which was again a display of the power she can project... I hadn't thought anything could top the "O Holy Night" of the previous night, but for me this one did; it was again rousing and this time I was in front row to enjoy it, definitely one of my greatest CW song experiences ever; thank you dear ladies of Celtic Woman for making this so perfect for me.

Ok, second half... Orchestra did "Sleigh Ride" again... there is a line in "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" that really resonated with me tonight: "Faithful friends who are dear to us, gather near to us, once more" I couldn't help thinking about our fandom as they sang that... "Green the Whole Year 'Round" was again very fun to sing along to, at Lisa's instruction... "Ave Maria" was not quite as rousing as the previous night, but it didn't bother me since this was front row center; thank you again Chloe for giving all of us a part of you... "Auld Laud Sang" was such a gorgeously sung piece, Lisa Lambe should do this song all the time even if it doesn't fit into the 'Believe' mold... loved "O Come All Ye Faithful, the brass sound was much more in evidence than the previous night... again a lot of fun was "Let It Snow!" but also again there was no "Spanish Lady", I'm considering our first-night group to be lucky to have gotten it for what might be the very last time; and as the girls went off stage my 2011 Celtic Woman concerts came to an end.

We did a group picture in front of the Christmas tree in the outer lobby and then began to drive over to Lu and Donna's house to watch the 'Believe' broadcast. Which was a major experience in itself. Of the dozen or so of us at this get-together, only 4 people hadn't also been at Atlanta for the broadcast; I took the time to ask 3 of them how they liked it and they were suitably blown away. For me it was strange, I had lived those 2 days of 'Believe' and somehow it seemed that this video that was made didn't quite capture the grandeur of what we experienced in that theater, and it certainly didn't capture the atmosphere that permeated outside of that theater amongst the fanbase. But I'll reserve judgment until I see the broadcast again in about a week; Roy and I plan to watch it at his house.

Since this was my last show of the year, I'll pull my own little "Auld Laud Sang" and give my own retrospective of 2011. I had 9 shows, each one amazing in it's own right: a never to be forgotten fan front row at San Antonio, front row with the amazing Rachel at Houston, a show at Beaumont where I came to look at CW in a different light, the bittersweet and yet dazzling spring finale at Austin, the 2 days that were Atlanta and the ForumFest that went with it, and 3 days of bliss and magic at Temecula. There are at least four shows, and one in particular (coughcoughSt.Paulcoughcough), that I would love to have gone to in addition to these, however my reasons wouldn't have been just to experience a show again, but to get the chance to meet up with fans who I have communicated with online and who mean so much to me. 2011 was the year that I saw these shows for what they are for me: as a vehicle to personal growth, and the growth of community among those of us who love them. I've now done thirty-nine shows and those shows have memories I will always cherish, with people on stage that I will equally cherish, but a much better point is that as I sit here in Southern California I realize the enormity of what Celtic Woman has done for me. For the first 39 years of my life I never travelled very far from home; in the five years since then I have been across the country and even more important have met wonderful people. And so thank you to just some of those who made this year of Celtic Woman shows so amazing for me: Lester, Cindy, Jeremy, Jacklyn, Ryan, Kelly, Amy, Susan, Bob H, Stan and Brenda, Daniel, Gerald, Donna, Lu, and Bill. Thanks to Moscapoet, Mike, and Ron for making Atlanta a memory for so many people, including me. Thanks again to Dennis and Susan for talking with me at Temecula, as I said I dedicate this review to you. Thanks to Tink and Coren for being at all my shows this year and giving me perspective. Thanks to Caitlyn-LL7 for coming out for these 3 days of Symphony, it was great to finally meet you after 3 years and we have got to do a show sitting together someday. And thanks to the three travelling companions who went on journeys with me this year: Roy, Mikey, and Rachel. I love all of you so, so much!!!!!

Of course thank you as well to the people who made the production possible. Thank you David Downes for being on stage for FIVE of my shows this year after previously only being there for one. Thanks to those cast and crew members that I had a chance to meet at Atlanta, especially Ray, Colm, and Mairead Maguire, thank you for giving us some of your time. Thank you to the ladies of Celtic Woman: Lisa Lambe, you've had an awesome first year, can't wait to see you again next year!!! Congrats and thanks to Mairead Nesbitt, one of the most amazing musicians in this world, thanks for the hug at Houston; and thank you to the incredible Chloe, who first led me on this journey and who is and always will be my favorite singer in this world, thank you for being what you are and thank you for being an inspiration to myself and so many others.

Thank you Lisa Kelly. I'll miss you, until we meet again. And until then, take care and know that you have engendered love in the hearts of some people I care a great deal about. You are the most outgoing personality I've ever met. Best wishes to you and your family.

And thanks you all those who have taken the time to read my reviews. There'll be more to come next year, including Wallingford, which is back where it all started for me with these shows, in a what feels like a hundred lifetimes ago but was chronologically not even 6 years. So I guess it really is as Lisa Lambe sings, a "circle of life." Merry Christmas and see y'all next year. "Here we are, as in olden days, happy golden days of yore..."

Celtic Woman Forever!