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Author Topic: Sioux City Spectacular (review)  (Read 3528 times)
David Knisely
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« on: April 29, 2014, 03:06AM »

"EMERALD" CITY (Sioux City, IA) Concert Review
(lots and lots and lots of spoilers below)



     I had been waiting patiently for a few months after getting my concert ticket to the April 27th, 2014 Celtic Woman performance at Sioux City's Orpheum theater, so when the time finally came, I was more than ready to go.  The route would be an easy straight shot for me up US Highway 77 all the way from near my house to Sioux City, as I had traveled much of that route several times before when going to Sioux Falls, South Dakota on previous CW concert trips.  The weather had been a little on the nasty side, with thunderstorms, rain, and wind almost all the way up.  Fighting nearly 40 mph winds in a minivan on a wet stretch of two-lane highway north of Uheling, Nebraska made the experience a bit less than pleasant.  Still, after 167 miles of driving, I arrived well ahead of schedule at 1:10 p.m. and got parked in the parking garage in case there was any hail which would appear during the 3 p.m. performance.  The Orpheum wasn't open, but the box office next door has a nice lounge where people can sit and wait, getting drinks and a few things to munch on, so I spent some time there.  I met a few people out in front that were first-time Celtic Woman concert goers, and they were surprised to learn that this was to be my *seventh* concert in the past five years (my, how time flies).  I never told them that there are concert fans who have double to triple that number of Celtic Woman concerts under their belts!  I figured, let them find out on their own how addicting a CW concert can be.

     Once the doors opened, I went over and got my obligatory concert tour T-shirt and then went to find my seat.  I was really impressed at this Orpheum, as it was beautifully restored and decorated, with a very large tall stage, comfortable seats, and wide viewing angles.  I was about 40 feet from the stage, but I still could see everything there at a glance.  The stage setup was fairly simple with the usual two widely separated percussion setups only slightly raised above a short low central staircase with the piano and base guitarist on the left (Ray Fean's side) and the rest of the instruments on the right.  The backdrops were fairly simple tall dark gray vertical banners with some odd circular designs on them reminding me a little of taller standing stones in some megalithic monuments.  I was by myself on this trip, so other than doing a lot of thinking for a while, I did pull out my cell phone to call up my sister and brag a little to say, "Guess where I am right now?"

     Then came the usual announcement about not filming or recording during the concert, and then the lights went down.  At the very first notes of the first piece, I had a sudden flashback to my very first Celtic Woman concert in Sioux Falls, where in the opening song, Mairead Nesbitt abruptly materialized in a diffuse cone of bluish-white light.  Once again, she appeared in almost the same manner to do the first violin notes of "The Sky and The Dawn and The Sun".  The cone then vanished for a bit and then reappeared in a different area with Mairead again playing in that cone.  Then, the soloists walked up one by one onto the stairway and back down onto the stage as the each began to sing their parts.

    "The Sky and The Dawn and The Sun" was simply exquisite!  All the silly talk on YouTube about it somehow "not being the same" with the lineup changes vanished like the puff of smoke that it really is.  This song had absolutely the very same stunning impact that it had had five years ago, and at that point, I knew that this was going to be a very special performance.  In particular, I could hear the newest member Mairead Carlin very clearly, and from what I heard, she definitely could really sing!  There were a few small changes in the way it was performed, but it still was a masterful performance, with Carlin meshing with the rest of the group well. I pulled out the envelope I had my ticket in and began to scribble the set list down as best I could, as I definitely wanted to copy for a review that I really had not intended to make before the concert started.  As they finished the song, it was plainly obvious to me that David Downes has successfully done *exactly* what he has done for the previous changes: *he made Celtic Woman be the same wonderful live experience that it always has been*.  In short, I was HOME!

     Overall, the concert, like the last one I attended, was a mix of some really early Celtic Woman songs rearranged somewhat, plus a number of new things (including a NEW SONG!!).  There were four members of the choir, with two dancers and two or three percussionists, along with two guitars, piano, and Tommy Martin on a variety of instruments.  The second piece was "An Chailin alainn - Dulaman", done by Lynn Hillary (and it was really good to see her back).  It was pretty much done the way Lisa Lambe had, but you could definitely see differences in the two performances.  Lynn's was a little closer to what Meav had done in her first performance of the song so many years ago, but I love both versions and find them equally attractive.  Indeed, Lynn had performed the Dulaman portion for my first CW concert five years ago, so again, it was like "old-home week" for me.

     Then came my first chance to hear Mairead Carlin for her first solo.  She spoke to the audience in a brief introduction, and when she did, it was clear from her accent that she was *really Irish*!  The song was "New Grange", and was one I had only heard on their first DVD.  All I could write down was "WOW!!"  Her voice is difficult to describe.  She has a slightly girlish voice at times, but she also has plenty of adult soprano power she can pull out in a fraction of a second (enough to give Susan McFadden a run for her money).  For this song, it was that power that really made its mark on me.  I don't usually judge one Celtic Woman singer against former members, but in this case, Carlin's version I really liked.  I found to be both faithful to the original and a little stronger than the DVD version by Orlan Fallon recorded for the first Celtic Woman concert.  As with the previous "new" members, I was really starting to like Mairead Carlin.

     Next, it was back to the "original" Mairead for another song I had not heard live before, "The Butterfly".  Holy cow!  Yea, she really nailed it.  Following that was Tommy Martin on the Uilleann pipes with the hauntingly beautiful "New Ground".  I had hoped it would be followed by Chloe's "Isle of Hope", but maybe it is too soon for that one to be done by anyone else.  Instead, there was the powerful "Orinoco Flow", which worked beautifully.

     It was time for Susan's first solo, and what a solo it turned out to be!  It was "The Moon's A Harsh Mistress", and again, Susan's powerful voice took it and truly made it her own.  In contrast to the earlier CW version, Susan just put the emphasis exactly where it needed to be, in my mind turning it from an "OK" DVD performance into a great and truly memorable live one.

     Then, the lights went out.  In the darkness, I was playing a guessing game in my mind as to what would come next, when a very sudden and quite loud bagpipe literally exploded from the isle not 15 feet away!  I jumped a little at that point as I had not seen the piper come into the hall, but in a second, I knew what would be next.  It was the start of "Amazing Grace", and as always, it brings tears to a lot of people in the audience as the piper slowly walked down the isle and up onto the stage.  His initial solo got a huge round of applause right before our female trio began singing.  The song was the usual emotional trigger that it has always been, but the power at the crescendo was just plain blowing me out of the room!  As the song began to finish, there was only one light on in the hall: the spotlight on the piper alone holding that last note.  When it faded, the place just exploded with a standing ovation, but our piper probably never got to see it because it occurred in near total darkness!  Following this was the fine "Si Da Mhaimeo i", which I think was a combination of Lynn and Mairead Carlin doing the honors, although I might have been wrong about this.

     After that, it was time for a little fun!  Out came our two hyperactive dancers with the "sound-augmented" shoes, and they did their little rhythmic dancing demonstration with lots of applause from the audience.  Then, here comes Ray Fean out from one side carrying what looked like a box.  From the back of the stage, another man came out with another similar box, and from the left side, a third guy came out with yet another box!  I thought, "Something's up", and I was right, as they put all three boxes on the floor in the middle of the stage and sat down on them.  These guys watched the dancers, and then started banging on the boxes beneath them, with the one on the right producing a pair of bongo drums to play.  From that point on, it was a very playful "dueling percussionists", as the two dancers tried to out-do the "sitting" drummers.  This is a wonderful addition to the concert, as it helps showcase the talents of the members of the band.  It worked very very well (and provided the time for costume changes for the next piece: T.A.R.).

     This time, nobody in the audience got to have the girls sit in laps due to the way the stage was set up, but "Teir Abhaile Riu" (T.A.R.) was still a rousing piece of musical mayhem.  Even after seeing this three times live, I still enjoy it just as much as the first time.  The girls did the usual initial "Dueling Sopranos" up on stage, followed by the rest of the song with much flirting with the band members during its performance.  In fact, Susan was so active for a while that the boom in her headset microphone began to drop down, forcing her to grab it and move it back up.  This problem would come back to haunt her later in the concert, but she kept on singing away just the same.  This song also got a rousing ovation, and marked the start of the concert's intermission.

     After the break, it was back to great musical performances with something just plain brand NEW!!  It was our new Mairead Carlin doing the very lively "I Know My Love".  I didn't know the name of the song until I looked it up after the performance, but it kind of reminded me of a really jazzed-up Caroline Rua with an almost Caribbean beat even though it is thoroughly an Irish song.  Carlin bounced and flew around a lot, and at times she looked just a hair winded (slight miss on a few notes plus sound system weakness), making it very clear that this was *not* lip-synced but very much a live performance (take that YouTube lip-sync trolls!).  I hope she does this again for the next Celtic Woman album.

    Next, darkness followed by a single spotlight on Lynn Hilary next to the piano doing her mesmerizing "My Lagan Love".  This one has really been hers ever since she first performed it, so it was wonderful to hear her do it live again.  Following that, Susan pulled out all the stops with her version of "The Call".  Once again, this one goes back to my first Celtic Woman concert.  Susan had this one firmly in her grasp with the kind of powerful mastery that the song really requires.  In short, a perfect "killer" performance!  Susan, this one is *yours*!

     Following that was more "fun" with Ray Fean's extended bohdran drum solo (with some help from the two male "percussion" dancers).  This, of course, was the lead-in for Nil Sen La, which went off pretty much without a hitch until Susan's head microphone once again slipped down well below chin level.  I heard her directly from stage weakly despite the distance between me and where she was, but she quickly grabbed the boom and pulled it back up.  She had to do this a couple of times, but once again, it showed to everyone in the hall that she was indeed singing this live.

     After this, our "Flying Fairy Fiddler" once again took the stage with a wonderful performance of "Granuaile's Dance".  She was very mobile while playing this, but for once, she didn't do a lot of extended spinning.  Still, I never tire of seeing Mairead Nesbitt play this live.  She remained on-stage and the other three women joined her to do "Danny Boy".  Again, Nesbitt applied just enough violin to gently weave its "voice" into the other voices without distracting or overwhelming them.  Of the versions they have done for me live, the version with just these four performers working together by themselves is my favorite.

     The next piece performed has kind of become a standard now with Celtic Woman: "Mo Ghile Mear".  It used to be used to "announce" the intermission, but relocating it towards the end of the concert didn't hurt things at all.  It is a powerful and uplifting song that remains one of my very favorites.  Following that was the one that has come to signal the end of the performance: "You Raise Me Up".  It brought everyone to their feet for a standing ovation, but Mairead Carlin fought with her microphone to get everyone to settle down.  She announced that they wanted to give us just one more song to send us all on our way, and that song was "The Parting Glass".  That one *really* brought the house down with a massive ovation.

     However, the concert wasn't exactly over yet.  After the four soloists waved goodbye, the band clearly had something more for us.  The percussionists started things going along with the guitarists, and then our bagpipe piper came up from behind to create a fast-paced rousing rock music anthem (and I didn't know you could do a rock music piece with a bagpipe!).  This was the 2nd new piece that Celtic Woman has done, and went on for a while until Mairead Nesbitt came back out to introduce and acknowledge each member of the band as they played, along with the dancers and the members of the Aontas choir.  Then, she started playing with them, and our other three girls came back out on stage to do the "At the Ceili" reprise/playout.  Waving a final goodbye to the thunderous roar of yet another standing ovation, the concert was finally over.

    I had a nearly three hour drive home after a brief after-concert meal, but even when I got home, I was still kind of on Cloud nine.  My seventh Celtic Woman concert had been the best, and it once again confirmed that despite changes, the group remains the same as it has always been (if not maybe a bit better).  For a final re-cap, here is the set list as I copied it down:

SET LIST FOR CELTIC WOMAN EMERALD TOUR
Sioux City, IA, April 27th, 2014

The Sky and The Dawn and The Sun (all)
An Chailin alainn - Dulaman (Lynn Hillary)
New Grange (Mairead Carlin)
The Butterfly (Mairead Nesbitt)
New Ground (Tommy Martin)
Orinoco Flow (all)
The Moon's A Harsh Mistress (Susan McFadden)
Amazing Grace (all)
Si Do Mhaimeo i (the Wealthy Widow)(Lynn and M. Carlin?)
Dueling Tap Dancers/Percussionists
T.A.R. (Teir Abhaile Riu) (all)

Intermission

I know My Love (Mairead Carlin)
My Lagan Love (Lynn Hilary)
The Call (Susan)
Ray Fean's Drum solo (with tap dancers)
Nil Sen La (all)
Granuaile's Dance (Mairead Nesbitt)
Danny Boy (Nesbitt, Hilary, Carlin, McFadden)
Mo Ghile Mear (all)
You Raise Me Up (all)
The Parting Glass (all)
Rock Bagpipe band recognition/playout (At the Ceili Reprise)

As Mairead Carlin said (in "Irish"), "May the road rise to meet you."

David Knisely

« Last Edit: April 29, 2014, 10:19PM by David Knisely » Logged
ShiningBright
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let it carry me through darkest night


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« Reply #1 on: April 29, 2014, 06:57AM »

Thank you! That review was just great! But I have one question: What about Si Do Mhaimeo? You didn't describe it. And was it sung by Susan?  Shocked I thought it was sung by LisaL/Lynn and Mairéad C?
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Maloney
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« Reply #2 on: April 29, 2014, 08:58AM »

 Smiley  great review.   Really enjoyed reliving the concert!
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=)  yes!! We got to go ! 
Then there was Atlanta !
David Knisely
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« Reply #3 on: April 29, 2014, 10:20PM »

Thank you! That review was just great! But I have one question: What about Si Do Mhaimeo? You didn't describe it. And was it sung by Susan?  Shocked I thought it was sung by LisaL/Lynn and Mairéad C?

Yea, I screwed that up by leaving it out.  I fixed it in the edit.
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Hubert
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« Reply #4 on: April 30, 2014, 12:43PM »

Thanks, David for the nice review.
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There is no Lambe like our Lil' Lambe.  Mairead Carlin is the real deal.
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