After the Clemson show I headed for Asheville.  The girls had a day off on Monday which meant I did too.  I left early because severe weather was in the forecast and I arrived mid-morning.  After checking out the railroad scene I did the tourist thing and visited the Biltmore Estate.  If you are ever in Asheville it is a must see.  I will say, though, that February is probably the worst month to visit if you want to see the beautiful gardens.  Of course, my timing was driven by other factors.  Wink  I spent almost 4 hours there, primarily in the house, and still didn't see everything.  My departure was timed perfectly because I no sooner got off the shuttle bus and into my Jeep when the skies opened up.  That told me that the girls had arrived.

After some more photography today it was time to get ready for the show.  My front row pit tickets were at Will Call so I wanted to get there a little early.  I had the two right-most seats, just to the right of Ewen, and the second one became a coat rack.  I arranged my jacket so the Fiddler Crossing sign on the back was facing the stage.  There were several things different on stage tonight.  The first thing I noticed was that everything was about 10-12 feet back from the front, although the “stop line” for the girls was still at the front.  The second thing was that both drum risers were about 4-5 feet shorter than normal; Ray's was only about 2 feet above the stage.  I couldn't see any obvious reason for either of the changes.

The theater seats 2300 people and appeared to be sold out.  In fact, it was showing as sold out on Ticketmaster for a few weeks until they released some seats last week, which is when I got mine.  When the couple next to me asked if I has seen them before I hinted that I had seen them a few times.  This was their first CW live concert; the tickets were a Christmas gift from friends.  After bringing them up to speed I learned that they were Colorado transplants and we exchanged Red Rocks stories for a while.  I gave them a Fiddler Crossing sign and invited them to join us.

The crowd was a little boisterous and didn't want to settle down.  Even after the lights went out they still didn't quiet down until Chloë started singing.  That enthusiasm carried through the entire show, with one glaring exception.  The girls noticed and remarked on it, too.  There was spontaneous applause every time Máiréad appeared, applause at the opening of Orinoco Flow, Danny Boy and You Raise Me Up and a mini standing ovation for Anthony's Amazing Grace solo.  They also made an effort to clap along where they should have but they must have been using a Meenan-brand metronome.

I didn't see any Velcro® factories around but clearly it's readily available here.  When I stood after Mo Ghile Mear I was the only one standing for quite a while.  Eventually a few more stood and by the time the girls left the stage maybe 10% were on their feet.  Very disappointing.  But, wait; it gets worse.  As expected, everyone stood after You Raise Me Up but after the jam session in the middle of the Finale, when the girls come out to take their bows, it was a standing ovation of one.  Me.  For the entire time.  Lisa smiled at me with a look in her eyes that said “Thank You.”  I felt so bad for them.  Finally, after the chorus joined the cast at the front and after Chloë thanked all of the band members, the rest of the audience finally took the hint and (very) reluctantly stood up.  They did manage to fight the lure of the Velcro and stayed standing for Spanish Lady, with more Meenan-style clapping.

I haven't said anything about lighting this tour because I haven't had to but I think they brought in the crew from Red Rocks tonight.  It was so bad that CW had to use their own front spots several times.  Because those lights are higher they aren't as nice, but it's better than singing in the dark.  Even the Clemson arena did a better job than this so-called theater.

OK, enough grumbling.  The show itself was absolutely amazing, the best one I've seen this tour.  The Thomas Wolfe Auditorium is one of those theaters where the pit area is wooden and somewhat isolated from the main floor.  That leaves the pit floor free to vibrate and boy did it vibrate.  The deep bass and big drum hits were both heard and felt.  The only other venue I've been to that vibrates more is the Mann Center in Philadelphia.  VSS aside, the energy of the crowd transferred itself to the girls and they returned it with their performances.  Chloë's Galway Bay was pure emotion and Orinoco Flow brought the house down.  Máiréad was more juiced than I've seen this year and finally broke the 10-spin barrier; she did 11 tonight.  LisaL did her best Dulaman yet and Lisa really belted out The Moon's A Harsh Mistress, reminiscent of The Voice.  Last Rose Fantasia and Non C'e Piu both brought tears.

This was my first show this year with no other forum members present and while I missed being with others it did have one advantage.  Being, as far as I know, the only familiar face up front, I got lots, and I mean lots, of interaction with the girls tonight.  Right from the beginning all the way to the end it felt like a very personal show.  Even my neighbors remarked on it at intermission.

The original review is here.