My trip to see Lisa Kelly: The Voice of Ireland (2017)Setting the Stage:Lisa's show came at the end of a very eventful month of April, one in which I:
- Saw Celtic Woman: Voices of Angels twice
- Saw Rocktopia twice
- Met Mairead Nesbitt for the first time
- Met Celtic Woman (Susan, Mairead Carlin, Eabha, and Tara) for the first time, during my first Celtic Woman Meet and Greet through PBS
That was probably the best month of my life so far, but it was also pretty draining. Looking back on my posts about those shows, I must have been really exhausted afterwards, because I actually posted surprisingly few details about them until now.
The Trip:The day before flying to Atlanta, I had driven all the way from Canada to Erie, PA, stopping to pick Karsten up in Buffalo on the way to the Celtic Woman Meet and Greet. The following morning, I drove Karsten and I back to Buffalo so we could catch our respective flights to Atlanta to see Lisa's show. We had to leave pretty early in the morning. I was still buzzing from the Meet and Greet the previous evening. Somehow, I managed to get 3 hours of sleep, which for me, is sometimes enough.
At that time, I had never flown anywhere to see a concert before. I had been on many flights before, but it was actually my first time flying alone.
It was a bit of a different experience planning and keeping track of everything, rather than just tagging along for the ride.
I stayed in Atlanta near Turner Field, where the Atlanta Braves used to play. It was my first trip to Atlanta and I decided to treat it like it might be my only trip. I crammed a LOT of attractions into a couple of days. One thing I didn't get to see was The Fabulous Fox theatre, where Celtic Woman: Believe had been recorded. The Fox Theatre tour is apparently a popular attraction, as they were selling out tickets 2 weeks in advance. I had it on my list of things to do, but in the crazy weeks that led up to the trip, I forgot to book those particular tickets in advance.
It was around a 40 minute drive from Atlanta to Peachtree City.
Because of traffic in Atlanta (it was just after the overpass collapse, making things even more hectic), I was a bit late getting back to the hotel after seeing attractions on the morning of Lisa's show. I was rushing and getting VERY excited about finally seeing Lisa. As a result, I almost left my ticket in the hotel room.
Pre-Show GatheringBefore the show, I got together with a bunch of fans at The Mellow Mushroom. I had met a few of them already a few nights before at the Rocktopia show in Atlanta. I'm a ridiculously shy person, so meeting about 40 people I hadn't met in person before was pretty intimidating for me. One of the may things I love about Celtic Woman is that the excitement they make me feel can be strong enough to overpower even powerful feelings of anxiety.
A few of the people I chatted with were susprised I had travelled all the way from Canada. Honestly, I was surprised too. But I had been waiting for far to long to see Lisa Kelly live for the first time and I didn't want to wait any longer.
The place was pretty packed. My visual memory is pretty poor, so it was difficult to remember who I had met already. Fortunately, the entertainment for the pre-show gathering started before I introduced myself to two many people twice.
The scheduled pre-show entertainment, part of The Pixiedusters, was somewhat interrupted by American Hope (one of Lisa's opening acts) making a surprise appearance at the pre-show gathering.
The food was good, although I did have to wait a while for the beverage.
I managed to win one of the signed photos at the fan gathering auction in support of the Lisa Kelly Voice Academy.
Unplanned Tour of Peachtree CityBetween the pre-show gathering and the show, I had some time to spare and had some things in PTC I was planning to look at. Unfortunately, between my GPS was really having a hard time that week. It had me going in circles for a few hours trying to find some conservation area and the Lisa Kelly Voice Academy. At one point it brought me to a recycling drop-off point. At first, I didn't realize exactly where I was. It turns out, I happened to be near a back entrance of the Fred Amphitheatre and I almost walked in the Lisa Kelly Voice Academy rehearsal. Good job, security.
Although in their defense, I was wearing a bunch of Lisa Kelly Voice Academy merch from the per-show gathering, so they probably thought I was part of the show.
LOL!
Oh well, I guess I'll have to find the Lisa Kelly Voice Academy next time. Next time I'm brining a printed map and/or a human guide.
The Fred Amphitheatre is located in one of the most beautiful areas I've seen for a venue, in the middle of a wood, surrounded by trees. I could see the sun setting between the trees off to one side. It is definitely one of the coolest places I've ever been to for a concert.
I'd say attendance wise the place was about half full. Not as big a crowd as they had for some of their previous shows, but considering a lot of the crowd was from out-of-state or out-of-country, I was still pretty impressed.
The Preshow:By the time I actually found the Fred Amphitheatre (my GPS was telling me to turn in the wrong place for that too, so I'm lucky I even found the place), the pre-show acts had already been going on for a few minutes. I took a brief look at the merch table. Too brief a look as it turned out. I thought I already had all the merch that was laid out there, but there was apparently a stack posters Lisa had signed.
I was seated in the front row of the bleachers. Between the bleachers and the stage, there was a section of tables. I had been a bit late getting tickets, trying to work out if getting to Lisa's show would even be possible considering all the other shows I already had planned for that April. It was a decent view, although it was probably over 50 feet from the stage.
The Opening acts Sinséar and American Hope. I thought both were good. The Irish-flavoured Sinséar was more my cup of tea, but the country group American Hope did a good job too. I think both acts were Lisa Kelly Voice Academy alumnists.
The Show:Scott Porter (Lisa's hubby and former Celtic Woman CEO) came onto the stage and welcomed us to the show.
When Lisa finally stepped onto the stage I was pretty overwhelmed with joy. May It Be was the first Celtic Woman song I ever heard in its entierty. Here, on the stage before me, after all those years, was the incredible woman who had opened my ears and my heart to the most important group in my life. That moment felt pretty surreal.
Lisa's show was much like Voices of Angels in that it featured a wide spectrum of songs and styles. Like most shows, I remember more of what surrounded the show and the concert itself was a blur of joy.
Some things I enjoyed most about the concert:
- Finally seeing Lisa live!
- The duet of "For Good" by Lisa and Chloë. That was just beautiful beyond words. <3
- Special guest Chloë Agnew's comedy / storytelling (she's soooo funny!)
- Chloë's duets with Dermot
- Getting to sing along with Lisa and Chloë!!! I had been dreaming of that since I saw "Believe." #Chlia taught us how to sing "Wild Rover." It was a really fun song. The way Chloë performed her part was both hilarious and priceless.
- The venue was quite breathtaking.
- Seeing the Lisa Kelly Voice Academy and Kelly Porter Dance Academy students perform live.
- Scott porter had a dance off with some of Lisa's kids. That was entertaining, although the use of stobe lighting during that segment was perhaps excessive.
- When Sarah, one of the fans in attendance, got a hug from her favourite singer, Chloë, near the end of the show. That was hearwarming and soooo sweet! <3
There were a few local guests that performed during the show that were pretty good as well.
Overwall, I thought the show was great. I did feel like Lisa was holding back a little bit vocally compared to what she would do during her Celtic Woman days, but I really didn't mind. She still sounded fantastic! I was soooo happy to hear her beautiful voice and to finally see her live.
Post-Show Gathering:After the show, I got together with one of the fans at a nearby IHOP. I think our large gathering overwhelmed the staff there, as it was quite a wait for food. It was worth the wait, though. Being from outside the US, I really wasn't familiar with IHOP. Boy, I am now. The food there is AMAZING.
While waiting, I got to chat with a few more fans I had seen around online, but hadn't met before in person. I'm sure I came across pretty awkward during the pre-show and post-show fan gatherings, but considering how incredibly nervous I was leading up to it, I think it went pretty well. In the end we all love Celtic Woman and we all love Lisa, so that gave us a lot of common ground right off the bat.
On the drive back to the hotel, my GPS did its best to get me lost one more time. Getting lost on a poorly lit back road after midnight in Atlanta during a heavy downpour while trying to keep my eyes open wasn't an ideal scenario, but I eventually made it.
What does the future hold for CWazyTom?Going to see Lisa Kelly live is something I should have done a long time ago. 2018 is going to be an interesting year, starting with a couple of Homecoming shows in a few weeks. Lisa's show this year is slated for the end of August, rather than in spring and will be at a different venue.
It could be a very busy second half of the year for me, with possibly 10 or more shows packed into 4 months (possibly 3-4 shows requiring separate flights to different states). But my plan is to go to Lisa's show again this year. It was a great experience meeting so many people who are as passionate about Celtic Woman as I am. Lisa and her music mean the world to me and I'm really excited to see her again!
Show Posts
