The Fitzgeralds are a a fiddling and stepdancing family group based in Canada.
Like almost every artist (and ever person) in the world, 2020 has not gone according to plan. Still: The Fitzgeralds forged on with an ambitious World Tour: consisting this year of a total of 2 shows at one venue on the same day.
This weekend, I went to see half of The Fitzgeralds' shows in 2020!
It was quite a drive to get there (Chloë's show I went to in 2016 was I think still the longest for me though with a nearly 11.5 hour return-trip). But the show was worth it!
It was a distanced show:
- Maximum of 50 audience members allowed
- At least 6 feet between each occupied block of seats (so family's could sit multiple people together, but people that purchased separately were 6+ feet apart)
- Mandatory masks at all times in the building
- No intermission
The show was at an old venue (the Orillia Opera House) that looked pretty impressive on the outside and old on the inside. It's a small 677 seat theatre with a main flow and a balcony. I'm not sure if / how they were able to make money with less than 50 people in attendance.
The performers didn't wear masks, so the first 8 rows or so were left empty to have some buffer space between the stage and the audience. Technically, I was in the first (available) row. Not bad for getting a ticket less than 1 week before the show.
It was a little stuffy in the auditorium, even with a small crowd. I was a little concerned at first that the mask was going to get a little uncomfortable. But it was one of my good masks and the polypropylene interior layer (wicks moisture away from your skin and dries more quickly than cotton) and the buffer zone between my skin and the interior layer worked pretty well. It didn't feel like a swamp and it didn't become a distraction. Even wearing it for a few hours at a time feels fine.
The lobby got a little chaotic, with traffic not moving smoothly or in the same direction. But with 100% mask usage and (for the most part) distancing even in the lobby, there's really low chance of infection via droplets. No good if there was an aerosol super-spreader in attendance, but I've got to imagine the chances of one of those in a group of 50 people is pretty low.
The show itself was lots of fun! It was about 1.5 hours without intermission. The group had a guest guitarist for the show. The 3 lead performers (siblings), all played violin, some other stringed instruments (including a bass ukulele), and piano. They also sang a little. They all showed off their incredible stepdancing skills (and stamina).
They have quite a substantial bag of tricks and they did employ a few of those during the show. They didn't play each others' violins this time as I've seen them do before (one hand on their own violin, the other hand moving the bow for another violin), or play their violins upside down. But Tom Fitzgerald showed off a detached bowing technique that allows him to play all strings at the same time on a single violin. That technique allows for chords to be played, so essentially, 3-part harmony of Over the Rainbow with a single violin!
They've got a sense of humor too. They did one number wearing jerseys of rival hockey teams to get a reaction out of the crowd.
Speaking of the crowd, they were decent, but almost as subdued as the average Celtic Woman audience in this area. There were plenty of opportunities to clap along but the crowd took advantage of only a few of them, opting instead to just enjoy the music rather than participate in the show. I think the group was just overjoyed to be able to perform for a live audience and grateful to have us there though.
Normally, the group meets their fans after the show, but due to the circumstances that have dominated 2020, that wasn't an option this time. However, I did get to briefly meet their dad at the merch table before the show. One of the performers sent me a really nice private message after the show to thank me for coming all that way to see them. That made my day. <3
Considering the disastrous mental-health experience I had at the Celtic Woman shows in late February and early March, this was the only show of the year I got to enjoy without having some sort of associated meltdown. I'm proud of the progress I've made since March and I'm glad I was finally able to properly appreciate a live show again.
This was my third time seeing the group. The previous two times, I saw them as guest performers with Nathan Carter (along with Chloë). Their show was lots of fun. I don't know where, I don't know when, but I'm going to see their show again!
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