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Messages - CWazyTom

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1471
Ancient Land / Re: Dresses
« on: October 08, 2018, 06:26:48 PM »
Here's another photo of the girls in their stunning Act 1 dresses.

I do enjoy the backdrop of the castle grounds more than the plain dark background though.

Photo source:
http://www.msopr.com/press-releases/celtic-woman-return-with-new-album-ancient-land-october-26/

1472
Eabha McMahon / Re: Éabha in a political ad
« on: October 08, 2018, 06:24:20 PM »
As Eabha mentioned, she wants to take nothing for granted. She wants Higgins' supporters fully mobilized not to become complacent.

I don't know much about politics in Ireland, but I respect her opinion very much.

1473
Glenn & Ronan / Christmas EP
« on: October 07, 2018, 10:48:59 AM »
Glenn&Ronan announced they're releasing a Christmas EP on December 7, 2018!

1474
New Members / Re: Hello from Las Vegas
« on: October 07, 2018, 10:46:53 AM »
Cool!

Lisa Kelly will hopefully do a show in spring (April or May, most likely). If so, it will probably be announced in November.

1475
Other Musicians / Emer Barry
« on: October 07, 2018, 12:14:04 AM »
Back in July, Emer Barry did a music video of Wuthering Heights.

This is absolutely awesome!

https://youtu.be/9SBlldqCvbw

Personally, I think this is at least on the same level as Hayley's version.

1476
Caranua / CaraNua Discography
« on: October 06, 2018, 09:49:27 PM »
Albums

- Celtic Dreaming (2019)
- A Celtic Christmas (2019)


Contributions to Albums

- Favorite Hymns (Jason Tonioli) (2017)
     Featured on all tracks except Till We Meet Again

- Finding Peace (Jason Tonioli) (2018)
     Brahms' Lullaby (Lynn Hilary) ... very-slightly-tweaked version of the single

- Evermore Part Vol. I: The Soundtrack of Magical Lore (Chuck E. Myers "Sea" & Caranua) (2018)
     Evermore
     Angels of Evermore
     Magic Enfolds
     The Lore of Glynshire
     Realm of Faerie Magic

- Evermore Part Vol. II: The Soundtrack of Cursed Lore (Chuck E. Myers "Sea" & Caranua) (2018)
     Sirens of Evermore
     Banshee Lullaby (I *think* they're in this song)
     Daughters of Danu
     900 Years

- Yesterday (The Piano Guys) (single) (2019)

- Evermore Park: The Soundtrack of Aurora (2019)
     CaraNua Carol of the Bells
     Aurora
     All Through the Night
     Shooting Star
     The First Noel*
     Winter Magic Enfolds
     Winter Angels of Evermore
     What Child Is This
     O Holy Night
     Silent Night Stille Nacht*
     Away in a Manger*
     A New Dawn
     O Come All Ye Faithful*
     I Saw Three Ships
     God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen*

     * songs that weren't on CaraNua's "Celtic Christmas" album

- Hogwarts Legacy (Original Video Game Soundtrack) (2023)
     Haven

Singles

- A Million Dreams (from The Greatest Showman) (2018)
- Remember Me Lullaby (from Coco) (2018)
- Brahms' Lullaby (Lynn Hilary solo) (2018)
- All Through The Night (2019) ... will likely be on the Evermore Park: Aurora soundtracks when those albums are released
- Baby Mine (2019)
- Celtic Ave Maria (Bach Gounod) (2019)
- Be Still My Soul (Jason Tonioli) (2020) ... with Alex, Lynn, and Edel

1477
Caranua / Re: CaraNua: Voices of Evermore
« on: October 06, 2018, 12:23:16 AM »
I listened to both albums (Vol 1 on Spotify and Vol 2 on YouTube).

As is typical of a soundtrack, some of the songs, particularly the atmospheric ones, are best appreciated in the context of the scene for which they were intended (ie. when listened to at the park). Some of the songs, listened to in the contextual vacuum of an album, may require some effort to properly enjoy them.

As one would expect, Magical Lore is mostly light, upbeat songs, while Cursed Lore has more tension-filled creepy songs.

I did find the Magical Lore album more enjoyable to listen to. Cursed Lore has a couple of really good songs, but is otherwise more atmospheric sounds than easy-listening music. The Magical Lore album on the other hand has quite a few fun ones.


Highlights from Soundtrack of Magical Lore (Vol 1)

Songs featuring CaraNua (as far as I know, by listening):
- Evermore
- Angels of Evermore
- Magic Enfolds
- The Lore of Glynshire
- Realm of Faerie Magic (they might be doing background vocals, but I'm not sure)

Evermore
- Starts instrumental for 50 seconds, then CaraNua enters the song
- Nice
- Not the catchiest song, but should work well when heard in the context of the park

Angels of Evermore
- Angelic humming

Magic Enfolds
- Reminded me of the sound of Saturn Return

The Lore of Glynshire
- Jig
- CaraNua might be doing background vocals at points in the song
- Then they're definitely singing at ~8:40

Realm of Faerie Magic
- Caranua *might* be doing background vocals at points in the song
- A nice song led by the whistle
- Reminiscent of the Hobbit Theme from Lord of the Rings

Winds of Evermore
- Relaxing

Towne Square Jig I, II, II
- Light jig with some percussion
- Each jig in the sequence is progressively more fun, III being my favourite

Dark Light Jig
- A fun major-key song, with some more ominous portions written in a minor key



Highlights from Soundtrack of Cursed Lore (Vol 2)

Songs featuring CaraNua (as far as I know, by listening):
- Sirens of Evermore
- Banshee Lullaby (I *think* they're in this song)
- Daughters of Danu
- 900 Years

The Fate of the Maiden
- A good, sad song, arranged in a classical style, driven by the strings section and supported by a choir

The Last Breath
- Tension-filled, creepy
- Terrifying swells

Sirens of Evermore
- Creepy

Banshee Lullaby (feat. Nicole Pinnell)
- I think CaraNua's in this song
- Either that or Nicole Pinnell has a similar-sounding voice

Daughters of Danu
- If that's Nicole Pinnell singing, she sounds a LOT like Alex Sharpe
- This one is good!
- One of my favourites from the 2 albums.


I asked CaraNua and Evermore Park if the albums are expected to release on physical CDs as well. We'll see what they say.

1478
Thanks Tom! Now I'm going to attempt to be completely surprised at this show by not looking at any setlists or reviews of the earlier shows. I love being surprised but am never able to make it during the spring tour because it's always within the final two weeks when they come near me. Let's see if I can actually make it spoiler free to this one or if I can't handle the wait!

I've thought about trying to do a show spoiler-free. Usually I like to know the set list at least before the show because it makes it a bit easier to take notes. That said, I saw Ancient Land and Celtic Thunder X without knowing the set list in advance and it wasn't too much of a problem keeping track of things.

I'll be basically spoiler free for the Best of Christmas tour as I'm seeing the second show of the tour.

1479
Lynn Hilary / Lynn: Follow the Heron Home
« on: October 05, 2018, 09:53:50 PM »
Lynn performing Follow the Heron Home
https://youtu.be/b2Lp5XWIvWs

My favourite version for a long time has been Deirdre Shannon's.

Lynn's gorgeous the voice is very well-suited to this song though.

The guitar arrangement wasn't bad, it I don't think it was ideally suited for this song. I think there were better ways to compliment Lynn's voice.

1480
Ummmm yeah, remember when I said I could do without a Christmas show since we got to go to Johnstown Castle? That didn't last long before we cracked! Gregg and I just booked flight, hotel and tickets for the show in Denver! Center orchestra seats, row 7. Found a really cheap flight because Denver and Minneapolis are both hubs for Frontier. Also my team at work is in pretty desperate need of overtime to be worked with our massive work load, so I said I'll pay for this trip with overtime pay. And it'll make the overtime hours ok (I despise working overtime) because I'm rewarding myself for it. Lol Had to work out some sort of convoluted logic to fuel the Celtic Woman addiction! Christmas show here we come!!

Yay!!! So happy you'll get to see them!

1481
Celtic Thunder X Tour: My Thoughts

Last night, I saw Celtic Thunder live for the first time. Here are my thoughts...



Just before the show started, they played a nice personalized message from Ryan Kelly to the fans in Canada. It was funny, but also thoughtful and appreciated.


Set List

Act 1

1. Sons of Light (it was an instrumental, I think this was the one, but I'm not 100% sure) / Skyrim
2. The Crow on the Cradle
3. Galway Girl (Ed Sheeran song)
... They did a comedic segment in between songs
4. Wild Rover *
5. Toora Loora Lay
6. Right, All Right
7. Phil The Fluter's Ball
8. I Useta Lover
9. Finnegan's Wake
10. Always There
11. Seasons in the Sun
12. Caledonia *
13. Castle on the Hill *

Intermission: 20 minutes

Act 2

1. Celebration
2. Feels Like Home
3. When I Was Your Man *
4. I'm a Believer
5. Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)
6. Bye Bye Baby
7. Streets of London
8. Turning Away
9. Hallelujah *
10. On the Street Where You Live
11. The Devil Went Down to Georgia
12. L-O-V-E
13. Rise Again *
14. Lannigans Ball *
15. Ireland's Call *

Show length: ~ 2 hours 10 minutes


Venue and Seats

This was my third time seeing a show at the venue. I had seen Celtic Woman Voices of Angels and Riverdance in the same theatre last year. For those shows, I was on the ground level of the theatre. This was my first time sitting in the balcony in this venue. I was sitting first row of the balcony (third level), centre. The balcony seat was good. There was lots of leg room. There was a railing at the front edge of the balcony. It wasn't in my line of sight, but I thought before the show it might be a distraction as I watched the show. It didn't end up being a problem at all. There was great stadium-style seating in the balcony area. There would be almost no chance of having your view blocked by someone's head in front of you regardless of where you were sitting in the balcony. There were closer seats available (about 10-15 rows back from the stage), but the balcony seats were cheaper. I also wanted to try out watching a show from that far back as a sort of test for how far back I'd be willing to sit if I see Celtic Woman at Red Rocks. I couldn't really see the faces of the performers. I could tell who they were, but my eyesight wasn't good enough to pick up any facial expressions at all. Given that Celtic Thunder places emphasis on theatrics in their shows, I think I missed out on part of the show. It definitely made it tough to pick up on their energy being that far back.

At Johnstown Castle, I chatted with some people that had been to Red Rocks a few times, who suggested sitting about half way up the stands. Based on my experience at the Celtic Thunder show, I don't know if I'd want to sit that far back for a Celtic Woman show, even to take in the awe inspiring surroundings at Red Rocks. I couldn't see Nicole Hudson's facial expressions at all. Seeing Tara's adorable expressions add a lot of dimension to her already amazing performances and I don't think I'd want to miss out on that. If I end up getting seats more than a few rows from the stage at Red Rocks, I'm definitely going to have to bring binoculars.


Crowd

The theatre was almost completely filled, which was a pleasant surprise given what an abysmal (and quite frankly, embarassing) turnout there was for the Celtic Woman show last year. At the Celtic Woman show:
- The first 4 rows had been reserved for people who subscribed to a bundle of shows at the venue.
- Most of the subscribers weren't Celtic Woman fans, I guess, because most of those seats were empty.
- It felt more like a theatre in Ireland, where people prefer not to sit close to the stage.
- The theatre for the Celtic Woman show was only about 60%-70% full.
- I felt sooooo bad for the girls and as convenient as it was for me to get to the venue, I wouldn't want them to come back here. They deserve soooo much better.

Like the crowd for the Celtic Woman show, the audience in attendance was ok but not what I would consider a great audience. There were a few younger people there, but they were certainly the minority. The crowd wasn't overly enthusiastic. They clapped along to some songs but the audience participation wasn't nearly at the same level as the Nathan Carter show I saw in Toronto last year. Even the applause for the songs they liked seemed a little restrained. I was actually surprised the energy level in the crowd wasn't higher.

Aside from the end of the show, Nicole Hudson got the biggest, loudest ovations of the night. She deserved it as she was fantastic!

There were a few people that wore kilts to the show.


The Show

The stage setup was pretty basic. It was somewhat similar to the a Celtic Woman tour set, except there was only one percussionist and the stage was more laterally condensed (less space between the two wings of the band). The platform part of the set was narrower than it is for Celtic Woman shows. There was an oval video screen behind the stage where they projected images during some of the songs (similar to Destiny / Voices of Angels).

This was the first time I have seen Celtic Thunder live. I've heard a few of their songs and seen a couple of their PBS specials, but I'm certainly not as dedicated a fan as I am with Celtic Woman. I wasan't sure how much I was going to enjoy the show going in, but as promised, I went in with an open mind. It was a fun show and overall, it was better than I was expecting. It was a fun show and there were a few songs where I really enjoyed the harmony. The fourth singer does make a difference...

I definitely enjoyed the first act more than the second, as I knew from the PBS special would be the case. The first act was more Irish songs, whereas the second half had a larger proportion of retro popular music. The songs in the second half were good for the most part, but the song selection was just less interesting to me in the context of this show.

There were a few tracks that really stood out to me, mostly because of the outstanding harmony. Wild Rover was well-arranged and really fun, especially since this was the song that Lisa and Chloë taught us to sing in Peachtree City last year.
They did a great job with Caledonia and Castle on the Hill to close out the first act. Neil Byrne's cover of When I Was Your Man was very well done. I liked it better than the original. Hallelujah has been covered a lot. Of the covers I've heard, this was one of the most enjoyable. Streets of London was good, but Mairead Carlin's version remains my favourite.

Feels Like Home was one of the few songs I thought should have been better. I think Damian McGuinty sang this one. It didn't really work for me.

Aside from the harmony, Nicole Hudson was my favourite thing about the show. I knew she was good, but I didn't realize she was THIS good. She moves around the stage a bit from time to time ... not quite as much as Mairead Nesbitt or Tara. When she plays accompaniment, I could pick up the sound of her violin pretty clearly without it being distracting. Sometimes during Celtic Woman shows I feel like the sound of Tara (or Mairead Nesbitt) playing accompaniment gets lost in the rest of the music. I didn't find that to be the case with Nicole Hudson. Maybe it's because Celtic Thunder sings at lower registers that Celtic Woman. Maybe I'm just so focused on the voices in Celtic Woman that I notice the sound of the violin less when it's played in accompaniment. In any event, her accompaniments were really effective. She was great during the instrumental features where she took center stage. She played with energy, feeling, and a surprising intensity (where appropriate). She also was really good at putting emphasis in the perfect spots to help move you along with the music. It was really impressive. Devil Went Down to Georgia and the instrumental just before the finale were outstanding!

All the songs I put a "*" next to were pieces that stood out to me during the show. But I think my two favourites were Rise Again and Ireland's Call. Those two songs were the closest I came to experiencing what I feel when I listen to Celtic Woman. Singing along to Ireland's Call live for the first time was awesome!


Overall Impression

Overall, I thought this was a good show. It was fun and they sounded better live than I was expecting. I enjoyed the live show quite a bit more than the PBS special. If they come nearby again, I would want to see them again. I'm not sure that I would travel too far out of town to do it. I would drive 7+ hours for Celtic Woman, but I don't know if I'd do the same for Celtic Thunder. Overall though, I'm glad I went to see them (finally). It was certainly worth the $50 it cost for a balcony seat. If they come nearby to you on this tour, consider seeing it. For fans that have seen them before, I can't comment whether you'll enjoy this tour compared to their previous tours, since this is the only live Celtic Thunder show I've seen. For Celtic Woman fans who haven't seen Celtic Thunder live before, I'd recommend doing what I did: don't expect it to be like Celtic Woman, because nothing else is that special. But go in with an open mind and you might just be surprisingly impressed like I was.

1482
Thanks for all the work you put into this. The icons look fantastic in color!

1483
Ancient Land / Re: Dresses
« on: October 04, 2018, 10:06:04 PM »
I think they were custom (they matched very well), but I haven't been able to confirm who the designer was.

Here's a photo of their act 1 dresses though from a photo shoot at Johnstown Castle (probably the morning of show #2).

I borrowed the photo from the Celtic Woman Brasil fan page on Facebook.

Page:
https://www.facebook.com/Celtic-Woman-Brasil-156278887741179

Photo:
https://www.facebook.com/156278887741179/photos/pb.156278887741179.-2207520000.1538708492./1885097821525935/?type=3&theater


1484
Amy Rivard / Re: Favourite Amy Rivard Photos
« on: October 03, 2018, 07:36:10 PM »
im looking for maybe a album cover of her current album

The last solo album she released was Where I Am back in (2014).

On Common Ground was recorded more recently and was a collaboration with Georgia Weber.

1485
Amy Rivard / Amy Rivard Discography
« on: October 03, 2018, 07:29:56 PM »
Amy's Albums

- Cashmere (2005)
- Shout It Out (2012)
- Where I Am (2014)
- On Common Ground (Subjects of the Queen) (2017)
- Amy's 80s Xmas (2019)


Amy's Singles

- A Best Friend in Me (2010)
- Mother River (2018)
- Sunny Skies (2019)
- Skipping Stone (2020)
- On the Platform (Felix Van Dijk) (2020)
- In the Arms of Morpheus (2020)
- Forever and a Day (2021)
- It's My Time (2022)
- Cuckoo for You (2024)
- Fool to Love You (2024)


Contributions to Other Albums:

- Broadway's Greatest Gifts: Carols for a Cure 2000 (2000)
     We Wish You a Merry Christmas (Amy as part of the 2000 Company of Riverdance)
- Ocean Liner (Jim Kuras)
     Stuck in the Gloom
     Do It All For You
     My Lonely Heart
     Ocean Liner


Celtic Woman DVDs

- Celtic Woman: A Christmas Celebration (2006)
- Celtic Woman: Songs from the Heart (2010)
- Celtic Woman: Celebration (2020)


Appearances in Other DVDs

N/A

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