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Messages - CWazyTom

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31
Other Musicians / New Celtic Thunder Special
« on: January 17, 2024, 12:13:13 PM »
Celtic Thunder (with Ronan) were doing a photoshoot in Ireland this month and teased a new TV special was coming.

32
Celtic Woman 20th Anniversary Tour / Re: 20th Anniversary on VINYL
« on: January 14, 2024, 01:19:48 PM »
I noticed one of the buying options on Amazon is Vinyl.

If you google something like "celtic woman 20th anniversary vinyl", you'll see an old-fashioned LP / record is being released 3/15/2024 in gold!

Is this the first CW album in vinyl?

It might be. I don't recall hearing of an actual Celtic Woman group album on vinyl. There were some solo releases on vinyl. I find it strange that they'd release the album on vinyl (well, technically part of the album) but would not release the special on Blu-ray. It seems like Blu-ray would be a better seller. There have to be more people now with a Blu-ray player than a functional record turntable.

33
I seem to recall this is normal for Amazon Canada and that the DVD usually becomes available there shortly before general release or the day of general release. It will be there, we just have to wait longer here.

Personally, I'm waiting until I can combine the CD and DVD from Amazon Canada in a single order so I get free shipping.

34
Forum Questions & Comments / Re: Unsafe message -- ADMIN??
« on: January 09, 2024, 11:02:01 AM »
You're probably getting the warning because this site uses only HTTP, which isn't encrypted, instead of HTTPS.

Part of the process of establishing a secure connection between your browser and a site is a certificate. The certificate proves the site you're trying to connect to is actually the real site, instead of something trying to impersonate the site. The forum doesn't have a certificate issued to it, so the browser has no way to verify the authenticity of the forum.

You should never send sensitive information without encryption and without verifying the authenticity of the site (especially if it's over a public network or Wi-Fi), which is why the browser is displaying a warning to you.

There shouldn't be anything overly sensitive sent to the forum though, so it's most likely safe to proceed.

35
Muirgen O'Mahony / Re: Let's Meet Muirgen
« on: January 07, 2024, 07:48:37 PM »
Muirgen has a public Facebook page now:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61555364461655

36
So I've grown tired of relying on Amazon to get the latest special and decided to go through CW's online store in Dublin.

I put a preorder for both the CD and DVD of the 20-year special in my cart.

When I went to check out and put in my address it said:

Quote
Shipping not available
Your order cannot be shipped to the selected address. Review your address to ensure it's correct and try again, or select a different address.

Has any other Canadian Fans used their online store before? If so, how was it and how quick did it come?

I've never had problems before (well, aside from having my calendars getting damaged during shipping the first few tries every single year). 🤣 They eventually get me the stuff I ordered though.

I haven't tried pre-ordering the 20th Anniversary CD/DVD through them. I usually wait for Amazon to make the DVD available (it's lame we can't pre-order as soon as the US), then order them both together to avoid the shipping costs. The DVD might be available for pre-order from Amazon in Canada at some point before the release. If not, I'll just order once they're officially released.

37
Celtic Woman / 2023 Year In Review
« on: December 30, 2023, 03:17:34 PM »
2023 Year In Review

With 2023 approaching its closing moments, it's time to reflect on the year it has been.

This year began in disappointing fashion, with no Celtic Woman spring tour, making it the third time in four years there was no full spring tour.

Hannah departed Celtic Woman after only one year. She featured on the 2022 Christmas tour but did not appear on any album or DVD (thus far the only member of Celtic Woman to not feature on either media, since Deirdre appeared briefly in the documentary on The Greatest Journey DVD).

Megan also departed Celtic Woman to pursue her solo work.

Celtic Woman returned to The Helix in Dublin, the place it all began, to record a new PBS special to celebrate their 20th anniversary in 2024. The 20th Anniversary special featured the debut of Emma Warren and the return of Mairéad Carlin. It also featured a reunion with 4 of the original Celtic Woman members, including Méav, Chloë, Máiréad Nesbitt, and most shockingly: Lisa Kelly. The special began airing on PBS in the US in November and the album and DVD are scheduled to release in January 2024.

Celtic Woman embarked on their 2023 Christmas Symphony tour with 3 shows at The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, a tour which concluding with a 2-night finale in Atlanta, Georgia.

Éabha's innaugural Celtic World Forum was held at the Irish Institute of Music and Song in Balbriggan, Ireland. She assembled an astonishing collection of talent, including Mairéad Carlin, Máiréad Nesbitt, Megan Walsh, Orla Fallon, Glenn & Ronan, and long-time Riverdance instrumentalist Tara Howley.

Éabha also put on a spin-off concert entitled Celtic World at Christmas, held at 700+ year old St. Nicholas' Collegiate Church in Galway. The concert included (among others) Megan, Susan, Glenn & Ronan, and Tara Howley.

Mairéad Carlin performed in Opry le Daniel and also held a solo concert in her hometown of Derry (or Londonderry, depending on your persuasion).

Alex performed 6 solo shows at the Cherry Peak ski resort in Richmond, Utah. She also toured with Jenny Oaks Baker in celebration of Christmas.

The Brave Collide (Chloë Agnew and Brian McGrane) made their official touring debut in New York. The Brave Collide also did several virtual concerts on StageIt.

Tara McNeill and her husband completed a brief tour featuring songs from their original album, Across the Atlantic.

Lisa Lambe launched a Patreon page, toured her show Nightvisiting in Europe, and performed the National Anthem at the Notre Dame vs Navy NCAA American college football match at Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

Megan performed as a guest in a number of concerts in Ireland.

2023 was a light year for music release. Here are some worth noting...

Éabha:
- Scéalta (4 track digital-only EP)

Máiréad Nesbitt:
- Celtic Spells (album, Máiréad Nesbitt)

Tara McNeill:
- Across the Atlantic (album, Tara McNeill)

Lisa Lambe:
- Lisa Lambe Live (5 track EP)

Rebecca Winckworth (singles):
- When I See You Again
- Sister's Love
- Young, Brave and Free
- Remember You're You

Sarah Rebecca (Gannon) (singles):
- City Is Mine
- Kwik-E-Mart
- Above in the Blue
- Dance With the Devil

Alex:
- Faith Of Our Fathers (with RootsTech) (single)
- Mother (with Kristina A Bishoff) (single)

Chloë:
- Ladies (with X Collective / Zapho)

CaraNua:
- Featured in a few songs of the Hogwarts Legacy video game original soundtrack, most prominently in the track Haven

There's plenty to look forward to in the New Year. 2024 heralds the release of the Celtic Woman 20th Anniversary CD and DVD, as well as the highly anticipated return of the Celtic Woman spring tour. Éabha's Celtic World Forum will be back for an encore. Máiréad Nesbitt has a few more west-coast Celtic Spells shows scheduled and will perform in the Rock Me Amadeus debut in January. Mairéad Carlin and Trinity are scheduled to perform a single show in Nebraska.

Here's to all the memories that await us in 2024 as we each pursue our passion of Celtic Woman, the production we love.

38
Alex Sharpe / Witnesses Of Christmas (2023 edition)
« on: December 28, 2023, 09:53:13 PM »
The LDS (Mormon) church put together another virtual Witnesses of Christmas concert this year. Jenny Oaks Baker didn't perform this year, but he was the musical director for the show.

This year's show was a collection of carols from various countries in Europe, along with the stories behind them. Alex performed the familiar Wexford Carol and also sang in the finale: Silent Night. Most of the other carols I hadn't never heard before, which made for a refreshing experience.

Here's a link to the concert on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/4lHnnErptqE?si=lNDQvfoJi_95JD56

39
Other Musicians / Treasure Island (starring Leah Barniville)
« on: December 28, 2023, 06:59:15 PM »
While I was in Ireland to see Éabha's Christmas concert, I saw Leah Barniville in "Treasure Island" at The Helix before flying back home for Christmas. It was my first time seeing a pantomime (panto) and I enjoyed it more than I was expecting.

The Helix lobby was heavily-decorated for Christmas.

For those unfamiliar, a panto is essentially a comedy with audience interaction. The main character, played by Leah Barnaville, made a wish to have more adventure in her life and got more than she bargained for as she was thrust into a swashbuckling fantasy. Her character had to thwart the plans of the evil pirate captain Long John Silver. The plot was secondary to the characters and the vibe of the experience. There was a healthy does of slapstick and random dance break segments. The actors frequently broke the 4th wall (broke character to interact with the audience).

The captain Silver character was a hilarious evil parody of Jack Sparrow. The fairy godmother was also really funny.

The audience got into the show. The kids were waving their glow sticks, booing the bad guys, and (unfortunately) talked with their parents throughout most of the show. It was all part of the experience though and it didn't significantly affect my enjoyment of the production.

Leah sang a little bit, although she didn't get to exercise the full capabilities of her voice. Perhaps one day the timing will work out and I'll be able to attend one of her solo concerts in person.

Overall, this exceeded my expectations and my first panto experience was positive.

After the show, I got to meet Leah at the stage door! That was my first time meeting her. She spent a few minutes chatting with me and took a photo.

The next morning, I was back in the air to fly home for Christmas.

Treasure Island was my 31st and final live performance attended in 2023. For a year that started without a Celtic Woman spring tour, I somehow managed to see more shows than ever. 🤣

40
Eabha McMahon / Re: Eabha's Celtic World at Christmas
« on: December 28, 2023, 06:48:56 PM »
Less than a day and a half after returning home from the Celtic Woman concerts in Costa Mesa, California, I was back in the air, this time on my way to Dublin, to attend Éabha's Celtic World At Christmas. Considering I effectively subjected myself to eight hours of jetlag (California to Toronto to Ireland) within the span of a couple of days, I'm surprised how well my energy level held up.

The venue was St. Nicholas's Collegiate Church in Galway. The church is over 700 years old. It was founded by the Normans the 1200s and first mentioned as St. Nicholas' church in 1320 AD. Christopher Columbus apparently stopped at this church in before his journey to the New World in 1477.

I got to the venue about half an hour before the doors opened and that was sufficient to get me a front row seat, with center stage to my right. The audience seating was in the nave of the church. I got to sit in a seat this time instead of a super-cramped pew. The stage was set up at the transept, with a Celtic World at Christmas banner behind the stage (it was the same size as the banner at the Song Circle at the Celtic World Forum, for those trying to visualize it.

The style of the show (and portions of the set list) were quite similar to the Celtic World Forum concerts.

Set List

Carol of the Bells (band)
Don Oíche Úd i mBeithil (Éabha)
River (Susan)
Mo Ghile Mear / Fairytale (Tara Howley)
Lark in the Morning (Fergus)
Caledonia (Megan)
Oh Holy Night (Megan and Glenn Murphy)
Come Home (Gleen & Ronan)
Dance Piece (James)
Téir Abhaile Riú (all)
It Came Upon A Midnight Clear (Susan)
Winter Song (Glenn & Ronan)
Aird Uí Chuain / Sadhbh Ní Bhruinneallaigh (Éabha)
ACC Carol / Oró, Sé Do Bheatha 'Bhaile (Fergus)
Lonesome Boatman (Tara)
Amid the Falling Snow (Megan, with choir)
Angels We Have Heard On High (Éabha, Megan, Susan, with choir)
Amazing Grace (Éabha, Megan, Susan, Tara, with choir)
You Raise Me Up (Éabha, Megan, Susan, Tara, with choir)
Níl Sé'n Lá (all)
Auld Lang Syne (all)

Susan's first solo was River. That was my first time hearing Susan in person in over five and a half years. Her voice sounded especially gorgeous with the acoustics in the church. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear was as spectacular as ever!

Tara Howley reprised her soulful rendition of Mo Ghile Mear from Éabha's summer concerts, followed by an abbreviated
version of Fairytale of New York, in memory of the recently passed Shane MacGowan of The Pogues. I hadn't been familiar with the song before Tara McNeill covered it on social media a few years ago. Since then, I've been wanting Tara McNeill to cover it on the Celtic Woman Christmas tour, and while that dream has yet to be realized, it was deeply satisfying to hear it performed by Tara Howley. No matter how much I rave about how amazing she is, it will never do her justice. Every note is so special.

A funny moment in the show came when the performers were stalling as Tara assembled her uillian pipes, only to be reminded by someone in the band that she was to be playing the low whistle instead of the pipes.

Both of Fergus' solos worked really well in the acoustics of the church.

Glenn & Ronan always sound fantastic together. They performed their original song Come Home. They also covered Winter Song, for those missing or mourning loved ones this holiday season. This was really pretty.

The duet of O Holy Night sounded nice, but I had been hoping to hear Megan solo the song with her classical voice, something he didn't get to hear with Celtic Woman. She didn't go for the epic high note near the end.

Three of the songs were performed with a choir. The choir was positioned in front of the stage in two rows: the first at ground level, and the second slightly elevated, at a height between the ground and the stage. Unfortunately, from where I was seated, I couldn’t see most of the performers on stage at all. I could see Tara Howley part of the time and caught fleeting glimpses of the top of Megan's head. Other than that, it was a purely auditory experience. I had to look at the set list after the show to see who performed in some of those songs, because I couldn't tell. The sound of the choir reaching me was also unbalanced, with the voices closest to me sounding like individual voices instead of a musical unit. The visual and audio experience for those three songs would have been significantly better further back from the stage. I hope the choir, should they be used in future concerts, are off to the side of the stage or positioned elsewhere within the venue.

Megan, who was hiding somewhere behind the choir, sang Amid the Falling Snow, which for some reason had been dropped from the Magic of Christmas tour after the first few shows.

Although Gavin Murphy wasn't in attendance, several of his arrangements were adapted for the show. Hearing the same arrangements performed separately from the Celtic Woman tour gave me an even greater appreciation for how polished the Celtic Woman touring production is. The sound quality on the tours is incredible!

The show ran straight through without an intermission.

After the show, the performers took some photos backstage in front of the Celtic World At Christmas backdrop and talked with family and friends. I got some brief photos with Megan, Éabha, and Tara Howley and got to hand them their Christmas cards. Thank goodness for my writing skills though, because I'm not good at talking with them at all (especially with the ridiculous brainfog I have to deal with now). I need to start memorizing things to say to them at the stage doors next year like I used to do for the Meet and Greets, because otherwise, I'm basically wasting my time standing there. 🙄

I managed to grab one of the set lists and one of the show posters (the poster took some punishment during the rainy walk back to the hotel, but though it's creased and crumpled in places, at it's still intact).

I stopped in Dublin on the way back for a night (a short separate post on that is forthcoming), then I was on a plane back home for Christmas!

41
Celtic Woman / Re: The real Celtic Woman Anniversary
« on: December 24, 2023, 08:15:21 PM »
In the 20th Anniversary Photo Book, it's mentioned that the idea for Celtic Woman was conceived in the winter of 2024, although a specific date when Celtic Woman was actually founded was not provided.

42
Alex Sharpe / Re: Christmas Tour with Jenny Oaks Baker (2023)
« on: December 24, 2023, 08:07:17 PM »
We saw the JOB show with Alex last week. We got the VIP M&G too.

I know someone who works @ the venue. We got to tour the venue before the public, but nothing 'extra' added since we already had the M&G.

The Show. All traditional Christmas songs. And JOB is a fabulous violin player. They tell the Christmas story. It may come across as very religious, if you aren't used to it. My family is Christian (although not Mormon), so we don't mind at all. Alex sang in roughly half the songs. It was the first time I've heard her in person.

Irish highlights. Alex sang Oichi Chiuin (Silent Night) in Irish Gaelic. They performed Wexford Carol. And they had a piper & a local Irish dance academy in a few of the songs.

Post show. After the show, JOB & family were in the lobby taking pictures & signing autographs. We didn't see Alex after the show, but we may have missed her somehow. IDK.

Pre show M&G (general). Very casual. Like a party / mixer. The pros of this is you could do whatever you want, and take your time. The cons of this is Alex was busy talking with others until the very end, and it felt a little rushed (for me only probably). Alex more than made up for it with extra photos & time after everyone left the M&G. There was a photo opp on the stage for the 2nd half of the M&G. Lots of giveaways / freebies.

Pre show M&G (Alex). Very easy going & generous with her time. She's 'sharp' too. She thought we knew each other because she recognized my last name (from buying stuff from her website actually). I liked talking about CW with her. She mentioned Songs from the Heart, Mairead C, Tara, and Lisa Lambe in conversation.

That's cool you got to hear Alex and meet her! I had a ticket (with VIP) to one of the shows on the tour this year, but I ran out of vacation days and had to pick between two shows I both wanted to do. When I saw Alex with Jenny last year, there wasn't a M+G, but Jenny and Alex stayed in the crowded lobby after the show to talk to people. I had to wait for every other person in the lobby to leave before I got to talk to her for a couple of minutes. 🤣

Also, I agree that Jenny is a REALLY good violinist.

43
Thanks for maintaining this community for us Glen!

I know how I'll be celebrating New Year's Eve again: by playing the most epic Auld Lang Syne version of all time, the Magic of Christmas edition!

44
Fun and Games / Re: Name That Tune
« on: December 19, 2023, 01:09:47 PM »
Lascia Ch'io Pianga?

It doesn't have English tho...

That is correct!

45
Fun and Games / Re: Name That Tune
« on: December 18, 2023, 08:54:49 PM »
This song was the 7th solo to be performed on a Celtic Woman DVD in predominately or entirely a language other than English.

Hints:
It's from A New Journey.
I'm counting songs that had some English words as long as most of the song was non-English.
I'm not counting songs that have some non-English words / phrases if a significant portion of the lyrics were English.
It was a correct answer to one of the previous questions.

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