Greek Theatre L.A. Show 5/17/08

[Jim M.]

Thanks, everyone!  Yes, Jack, I have two inverters and the laptop is usually plugged in to one of them, but at the time I posted before, the truck batteries were dead and the inverters were useless.  I got a jump later and was able to drive again.  Now, I have a different truck and all is OK.  Thanks - and, I did get out of Laredo.  I'm in San Antonio now.

[L.A. Girl]

Hi Jim,

Great review. Les and I were also pleased to have met you that evening. Thanks for enabling us to see better.

Take care,

Dianne

[Jim M.]

Dianne - You and Les are very welcome.  Good seats should not go unfilled!

[2B0B]

JimM,

I just read your review. It was a better one than I could EVER have written! Thank you for taking the time to tell us the story.

PM or email me anytime you plan on coming through Tulsa. If you can spare the time, we will be glad to raise a glass or two (we can find Guinness on tap here in the wilderness). 

We met another forum member last night for burgers and beer at an (almost) Irish Pub. It is always NICE to meet the other forum members. Hope to meet you here or at a taping in August, if possible.

2B0B

[Emily!]

Great review, Jim!

[Jim M.]

Thanks, 2BOB!  I'm sure if you took more than a month, like I did, you could write a very good review, too!

You never know where I may be - this morning Laredo, tonight San Antonio!  Tomorrow, Waco, at least; maybe Arlington.  I'm still waiting for a delivery appointment.  If I get to Tulsa (and, I have several times before), I will be sure to contact you if I get time.  I'm trying to work my way to the east coast this trip as I'm a little tired of running up and down I-5.  It's boring and bumpy and the truck speed limit is only 55, good for fuel mileage, I guess, but limits the miles you can drive each day, and I get paid by the mile.

I've been lucky to meet several forum members, so far.  (About 16, I think)  And, I've talked to a few more on the phone.  I'd like to meet many more.

Thanks, again, and take care!

[Jim M.]

Thank you, Emily!  And, your evidence is in the mail!

[Emily!]

Thank you, Emily!  And, your evidence is in the mail!

Really? Cool!

[Moscapoet]

Thanks for that review Jim. Considering it was THE last ANJ concert in the states period I figured we'd be flooded with reviews. Considering the great seats you got at walk up I should have come after all. Oh well, I'm so glad that you, Dwight, and Craig had a great time and had great seats and some interaction. Thanks for that one last review of CW and ANJ. One can only wonder what may be next.

[Jim M.]

Thanks, Scott!

[OldFatGuy]

Warning: long, multi-part post ahead.

Part 1

May 16-18, 2008.  About time I posted something about that weekend, huh?  Sorry it took me so long.  I’ve had other things on my mind lately.

It was a strange but, in the end, delightful weekend.  I’d had chemo on Thursday, the day before we left, so I was pretty knocked out.  Then my vision started playing tricks on me.  Every so often, especially when I went out in bright sunlight, it seemed like someone had drawn a Venetian blind over my left eye.  It cleared up after a few seconds each time until Saturday morning, when it cleared only halfway.  I was left with a total blind spot, covering the entire bottom half of that eye.  But I wasn’t going to spoil things for everyone, so I kept it to myself.

Friday night, Chris went out with a friend while Eric and I went to dinner and hit the sack early.  Saturday dawned bright and hot, and we all slept in. We’d planned on meeting the gang for lunch before the show, but our wonderful volunteer driver, MaryWillowJeeves, got stuck in some horrendous traffic.  I went outside to watch for her, and – what, to my wondering eyes (or “eye”) should appear – but Dwight!  He’d been sent to pick us up and drive us to the restaurant, since M/W/J was still stranded in a parade of vehicles in the wondrous LA freeway system.  We got to the restaurant and chatted with Dwight, Jim and Craig for quite a while, refusing to order and eat until M/W/J got there.  We were saddened that Diane (LA Girl) wasn’t up to joining us.  Finally M/W/J made it, and we enjoyed a hearty meal and lots of fun, interesting conversation.

Everyone kinda scattered after lunch.  M/W/J drove us back to our hotel to rest a little, while she went to scout out the area and make sure she could find the theater.  I have to say that we couldn’t have asked for a finer chauffer.  M/W/J picked us up right on time, drove to the venue without incident, and dropped us at the curb so we wouldn’t have to walk too far!  The venue is in a spectacular setting, and it’s gorgeous.  I sat down on a shaded bench and rested, while the rest of our troupe went to check the place out (and bring me a cold drink!).

Finally, we went inside and found our seats.  We hadn’t been able to get three adjoining seats; we had two in the pit, but our third seat was a few rows back.  Chris and Eric had determined ahead of time that they’d share the second pit seat – one would sit there until the intermission, and they’d swap for the second half.  The seats were great and the evening was perfect; warm, but nicely cooled by a light breeze.  We finally got to meet Diane and her husband, and chat with them for a few minutes.  They’re a lovely couple, and I hope we get to know them better in the future.

I had been told in advance that we were going to be treated to a little backstage meeting with the girls after the show, so we were all pretty jazzed about that.  But it didn’t diminish our enjoyment of the show one bit.

[OldFatGuy]

Part 2

As anyone who’s been to a number of CW concerts can attest, you notice subtle differences from show to show.  On this particular night, for whatever reason, everyone on that stage was at the very top of his or her game.  Maybe they were all just relieved that this was the final stop on this tour, but every song, every note, was perfection.  We showed our love and enthusiasm with cheers, clapping, gestures, standing ovations.  And the performers demonstrated their appreciation with huge smiles, winks, waves, blown kisses; they made us feel like we were almost part of the show.  People around us took note, too.  A couple even asked, “Do you know them?”  To which we replied, “Oh, yeahhhhhhh!!!”  Dear Orlagh – every time I looked at her, she was just beaming at us.  Mairead, Lynn, Chloe, Alex, Nicky, Ray – each of them paid special attention to us.  Even the choir got into the act.  Amy, of course, dazzled us with that million kilowatt smile, and darling little Una ran her a close second.

During the intermission, Chris and Eric swapped seats and I had to visit the “facilities.”  My only complaint with the Greek Theater is that the rest rooms are a Sunday drive from the pit seats.  By the time I returned, Joanne had come out to talk to us, and everyone was getting nervous because I’d disappeared and wasn’t going to get back in time.  But I made it, and we had a delightful chat, and Joanne gave us our backstage passes.  They were adhesive-backed, and we proudly stuck them on our shirts.  The folks seated near us were literally green with envy.

(I need to inject a side note here, and give a tip of the cap to Joanne Ryan.  She is such an asset to CW, and I dearly hope they appreciate her.  I’ve had the good fortune to get to know her pretty well, and she is unerringly sweet, kind, helpful, and a joy to be around.  Celtic Woman Limited – you couldn’t have found a better emissary.  And the dynamic duo – Rachel and Joanne – are two of the finest “cat herders” in the world!  )

The second act passed in kind of a blur.  Needless to say, we were looking ahead to our meeting with the girls.  But we still enjoyed the show thoroughly.  I stood to applaud so many times I began to feel like a very old jack-in-the-box.  I honestly didn’t care if anyone else in that theater stood; I was determined I was going to show those wonderful performers how much I appreciated them.  When Alex sang “The Voice” I was out of my seat while she was still holding that magical last note, and she favored me with a beautiful, warm smile in return.  And when they finished their final encore and filed off the stage, there were more waves and blown kisses, and Mairead smiled and raised her bow toward us.

Unbelievable as it may sound, the best was yet to come.

[OldFatGuy]

Part 3

Right on schedule, Joanne came out to collect us.  The invitation had only included Chris, Eric and me, but when we mentioned that M/W/J was our “driver” and good friend, and part of our group, Joanne immediately included her without any hesitation.  (This was a HUGE relief!  It just wouldn’t have been the same if she’d been left out.)  Joanne explained that there had been some kind of a contest locally, and that a small group of contest winners would be joining us for the meet-and-greet.  She was very apologetic, but we were fine with it.  Nothing was going to spoil this evening!

Joanne led us down through the catacombs of the Greek Theater, to a small, sparsely furnished meeting room.  We all chatted amiably for a few minutes, and our first visitor arrived – bearing gifts.

No, it wasn’t one of the girls.  It was Nick Bailey.  Thanks in large part to Kelli, I’ve gotten to know Nicky and his lovely bride, Roisin, pretty well.  We’ve exchanged many messages and emails, and they have offered their constant support and prayers throughout my recent health ordeal.  Nick had mentioned that he hoped to get together with us after this concert, and he’s a man of his word.  He walked in, smiling from ear to ear, carrying the little item pictured here.



He’d gotten one of the staff to stencil the silhouette and CW logo on the drumhead, then wrote in the entire set list and a beautiful personal message.  I was overwhelmed.  As you can see, it’s now prominently displayed on my “Celtic wall.”  It’s a gift I’ll cherish forever, just as I cherish the friendship of the man who gave it to me.  Nick sat with us and talked for about fifteen minutes, and he’s so much more than a gifted percussionist.  He’s a warm and wise man with a terrific sense of humor, and we could have talked to him for hours.  But they had a wrap party to attend – this being the end of the tour – and finally Nick had to excuse himself to go get ready.  We let him go – albeit reluctantly – and I stood there gazing in wonder at his gift (and, incidentally, wondering how the heck I was going to get it on the plane to Florida).

[OldFatGuy]

Part 4

I had little time to reflect, though, as the ladies filed into the room, almost right on Nick’s heels.  They’d had time to freshen up and change into their party attire, and they were absolutely lovely.  (Yes, they made me wish I were about 30 years younger.)  We mixed and mingled, and it was just delightful to see them so relaxed and totally at ease.  I’ve had the pleasure of attending a number of formal meet-and-greets, and I hope to go to more, but this was an entirely different atmosphere.  This was not a couple of professional performers, still dressed in their second act gowns, dutifully signing autographs and chatting with fans and strangers.  This was a group of friends, completely informal and without pretense, simply having fun and enjoying each other’s company.  Orlagh, in particular, was in her element.  She grasped both my hands and told me how much I meant to her and the rest of CW, begged me to take proper care of myself, and added that I’d been in her thoughts and prayers often.  As you all know by now, Chris is very fond of Mairead, and they talked for quite some time.  (I’ll let him expand on that, if he so chooses.)  Eric and Lynn had a nice conversation.  When he mentioned that he’d just gotten engaged, she said, “Lucky girl.”  That made his night!  We made the rounds, and each of us got plenty of time to talk with each of the ladies.  They made M/W/J feel like part of the family, too, and we were very glad she was there with us.  I’m sorry to say that the “contest winners” got short shrift in all this.  They were very aware that they were witnessing something pretty special, and they were very patient and respectful.  The girls did try to pay some attention to them, introducing themselves and chatting briefly, but they kept gravitating back to us.

(Side note 2: you all know that Lisa is very special to me.  Of course I missed seeing her.  But she’s doing fine and I’m very happy for her.  And don’t let anyone suggest that seeing Alex instead of Lisa was “settling” or anything like that.  Alex is not only a great talent; she’s as sweet a person as you’re likely to meet, any time, anywhere.)

Someone mentioned photographs, and we realized that none of us had a camera.  We had all obeyed the “no cameras” rule to the letter.  Orlagh came to the rescue and produced her own camera, and Joanne volunteered to take some snapshots.  All the performers and fans got into a bunch of group shots.  I’d love to post some of them, but I can’t.  Orlagh hasn’t gotten around to sending them to me yet.  And Orlagh and John are vacationing in France right now, so it may be a while.

All good things must come to an end, and the girls had a party waiting for them.  We exchanged hugs and good wishes, and said a rather lengthy goodbye.  All told, I think we actually spent about forty minutes with them, but it seemed like it was over in seconds.  Joanne even escorted us to the parking lot, since the whole place had been locked up and secured for the night.  M/W/J had gotten a great parking spot, in a lot right outside the theater, so we were at the car in no time.  We saw the cast members getting ready to go to their party, and we all waved one final time.

Naturally, the conversation in the car was spirited and single minded.  We all relived every second of the evening.  We distracted our driver so badly that she got plenty of practice making U-turns.  MaryWillowJeeves had a long trip home ahead of her, but none of us were ready to let the night end yet.  When we got to our hotel, we all stood outside in the parking lot talking for over an hour.  M/W/J graciously agreed to take my souvenir to UPS and ship it to me.  I emailed her my account number as soon as we got home, and my drumhead arrived, in perfect condition, within a couple of days.

I’d like to thank Chris and Eric for being great guys and traveling companions; Mary for being such a good friend and for taking such good care of us (and my drumhead!); Orlagh, Mairead, Lynn, Alex, Chloe, and Nick, for being so generous with their time; and Celtic Woman Ltd for letting it all happen.

[celticdreamer00]

Rich,

Thank you for all that you do for us and thank you for sharing this special experience with us.