Celtic Thunder: Celtic Thunder X (PBS special and Tour)

Tonight, I watched the Celtic Thunder X PBS special, partly because the group is Sharon Browne's baby and partly because some of the other people on the forums are fans.

Mini-Review

I thought it was good. Their style and song choices are less up my alley than Celtic Woman. Just not my cup of Barry's Tea (#ShamelessPlug). I preferred their previous special, Legacy, to this one, but they did do some songs I really enjoyed. From the Ground Up and May the Road Rise to Meet You were good harmony numbers.

I'm not a huge fan of what they did with The Voice, but I'll give them credit for trying to do it differently. I'm sure their version of Streets of London sounds fine ... unless you've hear Mairead Carlin sing it, because once you've heard it from her, nothing else compares.

I really like their fiddler, Nicole Hudson. She's of course very talented. She doesn't move around as often as the Celtic Woman fiddlers, but she always looks like she's having a great time and when I see her smiling off the left of the screen, I smile too.    By extension, The Devil Went Down to Georgia and the band instrumental before the finale were among my favourite moments of the show.

My favourite moment was the finale, Ireland's Call. They always do a fantastic job with that song. Lots of fun and great harmony!



Pledge Breaks

One of the same hosts that does the Celtic Woman pledge breaks was doing this one. She's alright. I wouldn't call it highly inspired promotional work, but I suppose it was adequate. She pronounced their names correctly. I guess O'Dwyer is easier to pronounce than "Tara" or "Woman?" I dunno... It wasn't quite at the same level as the person doing the pledge breaks for The Bloody Irish. THAT was impressive work.

They had Ryan Kelly and Michael O'Dwyer in the studio this time ( they didn't have Celtic Woman in the studio during the Homecoming airing ). Michael I think was a bit nervous. Ryan was pretty cool.


The Road Ahead

Celtic Thunder apparently has a tour show within half an hour of me this fall. It's super-convenient location-wise, but...

... It looks like I'll be going to a LOT of shows in the second half of the year (possibly 10 in the span of 4 months). If I have to choose between seeing Celtic Thunder, Chloë, Amy Rivard, CaraNua, Lisa Lambe, Lisa Kelly, Mairead Nesbitt, Orla, or Chloe Lowery, those boys are definitely getting the short end of that stick. I think I'll leave it until the last minute and try to get a nosebleed seat depending on what happens with the other shows.


Overall

Overall, the show was entertaining. Their performances get my head bobbing and toes tapping. I've got nothing against Celtic Thunder, my heart will forever and always belong to Celtic Woman. <3

I love the part where Damien rocks.

Wow is my local venue ever promoting the heck out of the Celtic Thunder show next week. They've been Tweeting about that think at least 3-5 times per week for the about the past 6 months. I sure wish the venue's social media team invested that kind of effort in Celtic Woman. Maybe then there would be more than 50% of the seats filled. 

I still haven't decided if I'm going to go to this one. It's about a 15 minute drive to the venue, but ticket cost is an issue considering all the Celtic Woman related shows I'm going to. That and I didn't like the most recent Celtic Thunder special nearly as much as the one from last year. I guess I need to decide this weekend.

Wow is my local venue ever promoting the heck out of the Celtic Thunder show next week. They've been Tweeting about that think at least 3-5 times per week for the about the past 6 months. I sure wish the venue's social media team invested that kind of effort in Celtic Woman. Maybe then there would be more than 50% of the seats filled. 

I still haven't decided if I'm going to go to this one. It's about a 15 minute drive to the venue, but ticket cost is an issue considering all the Celtic Woman related shows I'm going to. That and I didn't like the most recent Celtic Thunder special nearly as much as the one from last year. I guess I need to decide this weekend.

Hmm. Still on the fence about this one. It's almost $60 before fees for a nosebleed seat. I would have probably paid that to see Legacy, but I was significantly less thrilled about the "X" special on PBS. The tour doesn't even start until Monday so I'm probably not going to be able to look through many reviews. Obviously I don't have the same passion for that group as I do for Celtic Woman but it's just so close...

I kind of want to experience at least one of their shows. I guess I just wish that experience was during a different tour.

Thoughts?

I've never actually listened to Celtic Thunder so I don't have thoughts about them in particular, but I would say go to the show if you think you'll enjoy it to the extent that it's worth the money and time spent. There have been shows that Gregg has gone to without me because I think I wouldn't be into it so then it's not worth spending the money. That's how I look at it.

I decided I'll go see it.

The first time I saw Celtic Woman I wasn't sure if I would like it. I obviously did.

I don't expect the same level of passion to arise from CT, but I'll go in with an open mind. It should be a fun show, in any event.

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.

Great review Tom! Glad you had fun!

Wow! So apparently my ticket came with a free Celtic Thunder X CD (no shipping cost either).

I was pretty suspicious of it at first, but it seems they're actually doing this for ticket purchasers at selected venues on the tour. You're supposed to get an email with instructions about 7 days after the ticket purchase and I did. They give you a website to go to with a one-time redemption code. After double-checking a few things, I decided it was legitimate and filled out the form. I got a confirmation email, so that's a good sign. It should arrive in a couple of weeks.

That's pretty cool!

It seems there's a few different versions of the CD. The Double Deluxe CD has 2 discs, 26 tracks. Based on the information I received, I'm pretty sure they're sending out an alternative 14 track version (might include a 15th bonus track).

The show in itself was worth the ticket price. If this free CD thing works out too that would be awesome! It's almost like they know how to ensure my loyalty...

Tom, a good friend who loves CW saw this show in NJ and really loved it, he said almost as much as a CW show, so it must have been pretty good.He liked the upbeat songs in the show.

Jack D

It's certainly a different kind of show.

The Celtic Thunder harmony numbers were very well done though There are some things that work better with deeper voices and more than 3 singers and in those situations, Celtic Thunder has a bit of an advantage when it comes to harmony.

I really enjoyed. Celtic Woman delivers an overwhelming joy though and non-Celtic-Woman shows just can't compete with that level of satisfaction.

I received my free Celtic Thunder X CD today in the mail though, so that's pretty cool! Will listen to it this weekend. I wonder if they did that kind of thing on previous tours too, with free merch giveaways for getting tickets (to selected shows).

The free Celtic Thunder X CD I received was a 14-track version.

Tracks:
1. Castle On the Hill
2. Only Time
3. May the Road Rise to Meet You
4. The Wild Rover
5. Toora Loora Lay
6. Streets of London
7. Galway Girl (probably not the version you're thinking of)
8. Seasons in the Sun
9. On the Street Where You Live
10. A Thousand Years
11. I'm A Believer
12. The Devil Went Down to Georgia
13. The Voice
14. Rise Again


Overall, I thought it was a good album.

My favourite tracks:

The Wild Rover:
- The fact that Lisa Kelly and Chloë Agnew taught me this song live in Peachtree City brought this song to a whole new level
- A fun song with well-arranged and well-executed harmony

Streets of London:
- Mairead Carlin's version is my favourite
- But the version on this album is really good too
- The deeper voice (compared to Mairead) works well for this song and it's performed well

A Thousand Years:
- I didn't enjoy the movie as much as some people did
- But I did really like the song
- They do a fantastic job with this
- I think it's even better than the original

Rise Again:
- This track is the closest the album comes to the feeling I get when listening to Celtic Woman
- The harmony is great
- The lyrics, arrangement, and voices create a sense of exhilaration but also a strong desire for the song to never end
- It's the same kind of feeling I get from Celtic Woman's penultimate songs or closing songs, like Going Home or The Parting Glass

Even if you're not a serious Celtic Thunder fan, I recommend you at least give The Wild Rover and Rise Again a listen, and probably A Thousand Years as well. They're all excellent!

It would have been nice to have Ireland's Call on the CD, but I guess I should have got the Double Deluxe CD if I wanted that one.