Tuesday - October 21, 2008
Celtic Woman has been a favorite group of mine since I first heard them in January, 2006. I was home trying to recover from a sciatic nerve problem and all I was able to do was sleep and watch TV! Even with satellite, there wasn’t a whole lot on TV that interested me! One day I came across the Celtic Woman. I saw a clip of them singing and then an advertisement that was promoting their first DVD. I was hooked; ordered the DVD and the rest is history. I have been able to see them twice in concert – once in Huntington and the second time in Toledo. Both concerts were fabulous. These ladies know how to sing and put on a show! The original girls include – Chloe, Maev, Lisa, Orla, and Máiréad – who is sometimes called the “fairy dancing fiddler!” These five ladies captured my heart with their singing and talent. They were instrumental in helping me heal from the loss of Dad. I could be carried away with their music, and forget about the pain in my back and leg as well as in my heart! They have had others join their show as a temporary replacement for Lisa and a permanent replacement for Maev. Lisa was off for maternity leave, and Maev was pursuing other avenues on her own! That’s show biz! Lynn, Alex, and Haley all added their own talent to the show and it was wonderful.
Now Celtic Thunder is what some call the “male counterpart” to Celtic Woman. The plural forms are not used in either of these groups name mainly because they are individual performers and do some group songs. Each artist has their own style of singing and that is shown throughout the show. But when they sing together, oh the harmony is so sweet and pleasant! Bill referred to it as listening to a “barber shop quartet” group. When the group first started, Damian was only 14 while George was the oldest at 39. Four of them are from Ireland with George being the only one from Scotland. They all had to audition and were ultimately chosen by Sharon Browne and Phil Coulter. This is their first tour in the US and we got to see them live in concert in Columbus. OH. It was everything I expected – only better! I have watched their DVD and listened to their cd’s so much, I know the songs by heart - even the ones they sing in the Gaelic language. What they are saying – I have no idea – but it is beautiful! Damian is now 16 and not wearing his braces and his voice doesn’t seem to be as high pitched – but oh did he do a really great job singing “Young Love” and “Puppy Love.”
If I had to choose what my favorite song is –that would be so hard to do! I love hearing Damian sing “A Bird Without Wings”; Paul does a great job singing “Nights in White Satin”; Ryan’s rendition of “Desperado” is superb; Keith does a wonderful job singing “I Wanna Know What Love Is”; and George’s singing “The Old Man” is one that makes tears come to your eyes. Each one did a beautiful job singing all their individual songs. But, I really loved the songs they sang as a group. These songs sung by the ensemble brought most of the crowd to their feet. My favorites may include “Ireland’s Call” and “Caledonia.”
Bill and I have enjoyed going to the different concerts even though some people don’t understand why we go. Five, ten, or even a year from now, we may not be able to attend these concerts. We want to go to the concerts while our health will allow us to do so. This is something I was so glad that my father was able to do when he retired back in 1984. When he first retired he and Mom were always on the road! It may have been a day trip, but it was something they wanted to do and were able to enjoy! I hope we can enjoy our retirement years as they did.
I am including the URL for the Celtic Thunder YouTube site that will allow you to see for yourself on how much talent I think they have! You will need to copy and paste the following URL's to your browser; wait for it to download completely and then listen - you will get a better feel of how well they sing and then will be able to keep up with the message in the songs. Hope you all enjoy! Once you get to YouTube you will be able to see many other links that show Celtic Thunder, their songs, interviews, and pictures. You will get an idea of who they are and what how well they sing! (I may have figured out how to insert the link without you having to copy and paste it. Try clicking on the link and see what happens!!)
The following link will take you to YouTube with the group singing "Ireland's Call," and "Caledonia." (Two of my favorites)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlnLk4Y_kKM
This is a link that takes you to "Christmas - 1915". It wasn't on the DVD or part of the show we saw, but it was on the second cd they released. Get the tissues ready - it is a tear jerker! This one really brought tears to my eyes when I first heard it on the cd! So Sad!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqqlaTRBxas
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