Review: Houston April 13th

Just when I thought no review could be as hard to write as my last review at Dallas from the Symphony Tour in December, this show comes along. Not quite as difficult but pretty close. The big reason was that, once again as at my last show, there had been a key personnel change in the interim - this time the absence of Lisa Lambe, who was away on leave. Also, I had been to see a number of shows with another Celtic ensemble since December, and had seen a magic that I always thought was unique to Celtic Woman. I must amend that now to say that such magic and chemistry as Celtic Woman has displayed is not unique, although it is still pretty rare. I will not make direct comparisons between the two productions since there are significant differences, but it might seem that I'm expecting more from Celtic Woman these days. Perhaps I am. But if they expect me to keep up as a fan, then I expect them to keep up as a production.

Roy had bought Ticketmaster tickets for the two of us months ago for this Houston show. For both of us, this would be our "home show." At the time we decided this would be our one M&G together for this tour, so he also pledged for the PBS tickets to get the M&G. We figured we could sell the worse of the two seat sets and keep the M&Gs. Eventually Roy was able to sell the PBS tickets to Gillian and Caitlyn, whom we had met at previous Houston shows. The punch line was that the PBS seats he got were fourth row near center, while the Ticketmaster tickets were for third row center. It actually made Roy mad, and I don't blame him. If he hadn't found takers for those tickets, it would have been costly for a mere difference of one row of seating.

I rose early on Sunday morning, worked for two hours, and then drove down to the venue. Lacking a better place to park, I decided to park in the venue's parking garage. I headed over on foot to the Hard Rock Cafe about two blocks from the venue. I joined Roy and Melissa, and we were joined soon enough by Hubert, Lester, and Lester's grandson Logan. We talked a little about shows past; or I should say we shouted a little, as the place was incredibly loud. I must add in the interest of full disclosure that the Hard Rock Cafe Houston is one of the absolute best restaurants I have ever been to. We had a forum gathering here in 2012 prior and after that show, and had a fantastic experience with them. They have possibly the finest restaurant waitstaff and management I've ever encountered. The only issue was that it was just too loud for people who want to talk.

Although I had bought the M&G with Roy, I sold mine to Hubert, who had very much wanted one for this tour. When they came back out afterwards, I asked how it was and they told me it had been mostly hurried along. This was not an absolute surprise to me.

Anyway, the Hobby Center is not exactly one of the old restored theaters. It sits in Houston's Theater District occupying an entire oversized city block, with attached parking garage and lots of outdoor sidewalk space. The outer lobby has very high glass windows, the inner one multiple levels with a very nice upper level with dining tables out on an open-air concourse. The new-style lobby areas are contrasted with an old-style (or at least, made-to-look old-style) theater. A very ornate ceiling had what looked like Christmas lights installed into it. Opera boxes were on both walls, with two tiers of balconies set well back. The orchestra section had considerable slope to it. The stage appeared about three and a half foot height, fairly deep, with steps leading up to the stage on both sides. They had a pit for this show, which surprised Roy and I as we had not seen one offered at all when the tickets were purchased. Our seats in the very center of row C, behind two pit rows with a railing and two forward orchestra rows, placed us about the equivalent of six rows back. Lester and Logan would be first row in the orchestra, Hubert the aisle seat in the same row, Gillian and Caitlyn almost directly behind us, and Melissa far back in the orchestra section. We'd be watching for an upgrade opportunity for Melissa.

Starting on time??? Ok, very well, I do like punctuality... the curtain rose to reveal Mairead and her violin, and she began the strains of one of the finest songs ever created - indeed, the finest song ever to start a concert - and for the first time live since 2009, "The Sky And the Dawn And the Sun" washed over me; wow they even used the purple "Newgrange-style" starfield as a backdrop!! I had missed this song, very much, and I am glad it is back; but for a split second I was expecting to hear the Chloe introduction to the song and then realized that, no, 2014 is not 2009... speaking of "Newgrange" it came up soon enough; I for one like how Mairead Carlin does it, and in my opinion the powerful drums gave just enough of a spooky resonance to the song to offset the sweetness of her voice... "The Butterfly" was AWESOME!!!!! The intro was a little bit like what we'd been getting on the Symphony Tours but what really made this was how Mairead gave each musician a moment with it; nicely done, and it earned a well-deserved standing O from me... although I guess I should say that "The New Ground" has become shopworn from continuous use (which I emphatically and unfortunately believe "Dulaman" has), I don't mind having this song in the list inspite of that, because it always brings to mind my visit to Ellis Island with dear friend Mike, much as "Isle of Hope Isle of Tears" does... Orinoco Flow is NOT shopworn, for sure; and I'm glad they have kept the stormy intro to it; but personally I wouldn't have minded now if they had dropped the little part in the center where the girls have their own solos for about two seconds each... I really liked "The Moon's A Harsh Mistress" very much!! As Susan has been wont to do, she went in a different direction with this song and made it her own; I think she loves and welcomes challenges... "Amazing Grace" got a standing ovation from almost the whole house; this should not surprise me, Texas has shown it's love for this song on previous tours, with good reason... "Si Do Mhaimeo" was ok, I have no problem with it being done as a duet, but I don't think this song is being done to full potential... that drum-box/dance jam that the fellas did, I don't know what they call it, just didn't do it for me, and I am usually chomping at the bit to hear percussion performances at concerts; maybe next time... haha Mairead Carlin yanked a guy out of an aisle seat to dance with him for a few seconds during the lead into "TAR", and the song was really good too.

Lighting was fantastic, maybe the best I've seen at a Celtic Woman concert. Sound was good for the most part, although the bass was really too high and there was some distortion at times. That was also an issue at my Dallas Symphony show as well, and I'll be listening carefully for it again at my Tulsa show. The crowd was fairly good as crowds go, but the pit was entirely motionless except for two older people on the piano-side; motionless, that is, except when the pit patrons were seated late, in a very Mohegan Sunesque way. During intermission I directed Melissa to an upgrade in the row ahead of us.

Ok, on with the second act... I really, really like the way "I Know My Love" plays out, especially as an opening song; they took this song and they "CelticWomanized" it, by that I mean David put the Celtic Woman sound to it, and the choir provides a key part in this song... just as with SDS, it was good to hear "My Lagan Love" again; this is a song that Lynn does well, although the sound system here really didn't do it justice and someday I would like to hear Lynn do this at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin where the venue design did wonders for this same song in 2011 when Lisa Lambe did it... alright, now we get into the trilogy of "Nil Sen La!!!!" Ray gave his usual hilarious bodhran solo and got the crowd going to a fever pitch, followed by a very spirited jam session by the supporting cast (including a sweet greeting for young Logan in the front of the orchestra from the incredible-as-always Sarah Gannon), oh and one thing about Lynn Hilary: no one gives that disapproving stare at the wayward cast for them to get back up on stage like Lynn can! Then the icing on the cake with a cracking "Nil Sen La"; fantastic performance!!!!... Oh yes, "Granuaile's Dance!!!!!!" As has happened in tours past, Mairead swung her bow up at the beginning and pointed it right at me sitting in the direct center, I love when she does that; the song itself, though not quite as high-energy as on other occasions, was performed with heart, and at the end a bunch of us gave her a standing ovation and Mairead blew a kiss back... Mo Ghile Mear: nuff said, except that finally the sound was done right on the percussion at the beginning... this was the second time I'd heard Mairead Carlin participate in "You Raise Me Up" and what I consider the key lyric of the whole song isn't being sung by her the same way as she did it on the Symphony Tour; whether by design or just implementation, I am relieved because now she sings it sufficiently different that I can take it on it's own merits... The entire cast performed "The Parting Glass" beautifully, but I there was a solemn feeling of regret in my heart that had nothing to do with Celtic Woman; the lines of the song ring very, very hollow for me right now.

It's truly unfair to expect me to be objective with the new "finale" that David has put together. The song replaced my absolute favorite song in this world, one of the things I always looked forward to as a non-Symphony CW concert winded its way to an end. The new song is good in it's own right. I think if I had never heard the original finale, I'd be satisfied enough with it. But this song replaces THE masterpiece for me, and it's hard for me to let it go. In a way this new song has the same row to hoe as Mairead Carlin did. And Lynn. And the new Nick. But some things are the way they are, and words just can't explain.

Now I know why they introduced the curtain. It didn't occur to me until I saw it come down at the end. I knew going into the show that they'd raise it at the beginning but I did not know it would be lowered as well.

We headed down to the buses and discovered the entire back lot was cut off by a venue guard, although Ray Fean came over anyway and gave us about ten minutes of his time. He is always a congenial and friendly guy. Hubert and I told him we'd see him again at Tulsa. Quite a few of the other supporting cast members waved from a great distance, a few did not. I said my goodbyes to Gillian, Caitlyn, Roy, and Melissa; then Lester, Logan, Hubert, and I went back to Hard Rock Cafe to sit and talk on the veranda about the show. I will say that our conversation was between realists: the three of us adults have been doing this for quite a few years now, and we left very few stones unturned about this show. Sadly the time came to depart; we discovered that the parking garage was left open by this time; had we gone out with the other salmon up the stream when the show ended we would have paid for parking. But by staying an extra two hours, there was no attendant there for us to pay and Lester and I each saved $11, I'll take that any day.

Since I have so few shows this year, I can give somewhat of an overview now. Compared to previous tours, this one is a mixed bag as far as I'm concerned. Almost all the performances ranged from pretty good to excellent, but one forum fan that I talked to at the show (who shall remain nameless) felt that there was a less energized feeling in the show compared to previous editions, and that may be true. There were some very dodgy choices for songs: they aren't going to get rid of Danny Boy, I've known that now since my first tour. The same goes for You Raise Me Up, like it or not. But why they kept Dulaman yet again is totally beyond me - no solo song should have stayed in the set list THIS long. The same can also be said about The Call, and I know I'm not the only one who feels that way about that song, no matter how perfectly Susan performs it and no matter how different David made the arrangement - if they want to bring a song back, why not bring back Sing Out instead? And while we're at it, the same can also be said about The New Ground and Granuaile's Dance: even though I love them both and I look forward to them every time, there are probably plenty of people in the audience who feel about those as I do about Dulaman. Although My Lagan Love was certainly a good enough song, I think Carolina Rua would have been an even better fit for the new, "improved" Lynn. And it might have been cute to see Lisa Lambe do Carolina Rua in the first month of the tour! Si Do Mhaimeo was not a bad choice to revive, but something about it just didn't work for me and it has nothing at all to do with Meav. I don't know exactly why that five-guy percussion piece didn't work for me, but I'll hear it again at Tulsa and if I have more to report I will. Oh, and I don't know how many people noticed, but there are no former Chloe solos in the current rotation. It's either an innocent case of David having a brain fart and forgetting... or it's a mark of respect that they don't think anyone else can do those songs justice... or it's a mark of disrespect that they want to erase that part of their history. You can take your pick.

For me, some good song choices: Newgrange, The Butterfly, The Moon's A Harsh Mistress, and I Know My Love. Those four really impressed me a lot. Sky Dawn Sun a little less so, but still very decent. Orinoco Flow, Nil Sen La, and TAR are good holdovers, as I had expected (Orinoco Flow, even though it has been there for almost every tour, cannot be considered old and tired since David has tinkered with it each year so it is still continues to grow). I recuse myself from passing a fair judgement for the new finale; other fans will give a more balanced view of that song than I can.

I should also say that Mairead Carlin shined brightly during this show; she provides a charm and presence that this group truly needs with it's current composition. If I do meet her yet on this tour, I don't think I'd thank her for any specific song; I'd just thank her for being awesome.

More old friends to see in a few days, at another venue that I've never been to before. Travelling to a show, again. The more things change, the more they stay the same.