Celtic Woman Forum

The Cast => Mairead Carlin => Topic started by: CWazyTom on November 30, 2024, 07:36:09 PM

Title: Shamrock Tenors: Live from Belfast
Post by: CWazyTom on November 30, 2024, 07:36:09 PM
It's been a long wait, but tonight, I finally got to see The Shamrock Tenors: Live from Belfast, recorded August 5, 2022 at Ulster Hall in Belfast.

The stage setup was pretty simple, with a couple of Celtic-themed drapes flanking the organ at the back of the stage. The lighting looked nice.

The Shamrock Tenors have a vibe reminiscent of The High Kings, so if you enjoy their sound, you'll love this too.

Acts like Celtic Woman and Celtic Thunder typically have the lead performers do a few solo numbers each. This show, all 5 leading lads were performing on stage together most of the time. There weren't any featured solos. The harmonies had a nice full sound.

Noteable participants were Mairéad Carlin, who was a guest vocalist in one song, and Darragh Murphy, who performed pipes and whistles throughout the show. Darragh was featured prominently in the arrangements.

I'm sitting in the center section, in the left isle seat of the front row. I'm easy to spot in a bright green t-shirt and an N-95, with a trademark slouch that's only gotten worse in the intervening years. 🤣 It was the start of a 2-week trip featuring a packed sightseeing schedule and 4 Celtic Woman concerts at a time when quarantining was still a thing, so I felt it would have been foolish not to take some precautions. Fortunately, they managed to keep me out of the frame most of the time. I do make an I was quite pleased with their editing work.

Track List:

1. The Wild Rover
2. Black Velvet Band
3. Bodhran Duel
4. Wild Mountain Thyme
5. Mary (original song)
6. Climbing Over the Mountain (might be original, I've never heard it elsewhere). Fun to listen to!
7. Fields of Athenry (featuring Mairéad Carlin)
8. Unity Irish Dance (tap-dance routine)
9. Red Is The Rose (with a bit of Loch Lomond)
10. Belfast
11. Danny Boy
12. Whisky In the Jar
13. Dirty Old Town
14. Ireland's Call
15. The Parting Glass (a cappella)

During Dirty Old Town, a bunch of people in the crowd got up and danced around the aisles. If you look carefully enough, you can see me dancing (badly) with someone during that song. You can't tell who it is from the video alone. This was one of the moments during the show when the lighting on the crowd could have been better, but it's still a cool memory to have.

Ireland's Call was amazing. The crowd shots of us all dancing, clapping, or swaying arm in arm, were fantastic.

This was a fun show and it turned out great! They really captured the buzz in the crowd, especially towards the end of the show.

Additional notes:
- There were clips of Irish scenery at times during the perofrmance.
- If you're watching on pbs.org: the volume seemed very low to me, relatively speaking. I had to crank the volume up at least 25% higher than usual even after maxing out the volume bar in the video player.

I highly recommend this one!

Aside from the PBS broadcasts / streams, I don't think you can get a physical CD or DVD right now aside from PBS's exorbitant pledge price. I'm not sure if there are any plans for the CD or DVD to be available through regular retail channels later. I haven't decided if I'm going to pledge for one of these bundles, especially with an expensive month of December travels coming up, because they really jacked the price up this time. You should definitely watch the PBS special though.
Title: Re: Shamrock Tenors: Live from Belfast
Post by: LakersCeltics on November 30, 2024, 08:16:37 PM
Thanks for the heads up! I didn't know MC was in the show. I was even wondering why you posted it in the MC forum.  :P

I will try to find it on my PBS. Is it available for on-demand streaming now?

Sounds like you had fun!
Title: Re: Shamrock Tenors: Live from Belfast
Post by: CWazyTom on November 30, 2024, 09:28:15 PM
Thanks for the heads up! I didn't know MC was in the show. I was even wondering why you posted it in the MC forum.  :P

I will try to find it on my PBS. Is it available for on-demand streaming now?

Sounds like you had fun!

Here's the link to the show on pbs.org / Passport:
https://www.pbs.org/show/the-shamrock-tenors-live-from-belfast/

You need to log in with your PBS account to view it (you have one if you pledged to a PBS station within the past year). Without logging in, you can only see the preview.
Title: Re: Shamrock Tenors: Live from Belfast
Post by: LakersCeltics on December 01, 2024, 07:52:00 PM
Thanks! I watched a few songs around song #7.

It is a little strange to see Darragh Murphy in another band! I also see Cormac Crummey, who played guitar on the 20th anniversary tour. I didn't see you yet... :P

Shamrock Tenors is pretty good! I will watch it in full when I have a free afternoon.
Title: Re: Shamrock Tenors: Live from Belfast
Post by: CWazyTom on December 01, 2024, 10:35:46 PM
Thanks! I watched a few songs around song #7.

It is a little strange to see Darragh Murphy in another band! I also see Cormac Crummey, who played guitar on the 20th anniversary tour. I didn't see you yet... :P

Shamrock Tenors is pretty good! I will watch it in full when I have a free afternoon.
Title: Re: Shamrock Tenors: Live from Belfast
Post by: Tracie on December 04, 2024, 07:02:53 PM
I found Mairéad's song in there last night. She sings beautifully. Of all the performances she did during her break from Celtic Woman, this was the only one I wasn't in attendance for. Lucky audience that night having her in the show. I loved supporting her as a solo artist with all my heart and wish I had been there.
Title: Re: Shamrock Tenors: Live from Belfast
Post by: CWazyTom on May 15, 2025, 12:17:55 AM
The Shamrock Tenors: Live from Belfast special apparently got nominated for 3 Emmy's!

Well, technically Michigan Emmy's not the Primetime Emmy's. But I suppose it still counts.

https://natasmichigan.org/emmy-awards/nominees-winners/

It makes Mairéaid Carlin and Máiréad Nesbitt the only 2 members of Celtic Woman to be part of a production nominated for an Grammy (Destiny) and an Emmy (Songs from the Heart).