This is a difficult review to write.  Tonight's show was a very bittersweet one for me since it is my last show of this tour until late July.  I was both happy and sad, and at times it was difficult to separate the two emotions.  But I'm getting ahead of myself...

I arrived in Cleveland around 3:30 and relaxed for a while after my 6 hour drive.  Around 4:30 I headed downtown to meet up with the rest of the group at Flannery's Pub.  There were almost 30 of us going to the show, from both the Máiréad and CW forums, although only about a dozen of us got together for dinner.  After a very nice meal, we headed for the theater.  The State Theatre is yet another older theater that has been lovingly restored to its former glory.  It's not quite as majestic as Shea's in Buffalo nor as ornate as PPAC in Providence, but it is quite grand in its own way.  Most of the steps and railings are marble, although some of them have been covered with carpet, and there are a lot of carvings and painted designs on the walls and ceilings.  One unusual feature that I haven't seen before is a pair of stairways to the balcony that are actually in the rear of the theater, not in the lobby.  There is a “cutout” in the rear of the balcony that allows the stairs to ascend to the mezzanine.  It's a little hard to describe but it is unique in all of the theaters that I've been to.

We had almost the entire front and second rows to ourselves, with a few late arrivals in the fifth row.  The stage is very low compared to most, about shoulder high when seated, and the front row seats were only arms length from the stage.  I somehow ended up in that wonderful front row, just one seat to the right of center.  What better way to celebrate my last show for a long time.

The theater appeared to be a virtual sellout.  If there were any empty seats they were just a few randomly scattered singles.  We were, of course, fully equipped with Fiddler Crossing signs and ready to give the girls all the recognition that they deserved.  We planned to stand for every song and did so with complete abandon, the heck with the rest of the house.

Before I get into the details, a few observations.  This is one of the few shows where I won't comment on the audience, mainly because I can't.  Our group was so loud and energetic that I have no idea what the rest of the people in the theater were doing.  I hope that we spurred them on but I don't know whether we succeeded.  The lighting problems were back, but I won't mention it.  Oops, I just did.  Sorry.  For this show, though, I didn't really care.  The sound, on the other hand, was absolutely perfect.  From the front row it was almost an acoustic performance; I could hear the girls' voices and Máiréad's violin directly.  It added immeasurably to the show.

I knew going in that this was going to be tough show for me and it started as soon as the lights went down.  Knowing that I would be hearing all of these songs live for the last time in a long time made each one more special and each one a little heart-wrenching.  The girls spotted all of us right away, which is not surprising since we were pretty hard to miss!  I got early smiles from all of them and many special looks from a certain fiddler.  I was fighting back tears almost the entire time and the attention helped to distract me a little.  I think Lisa sensed how I was feeling and she seemed to be trying to cheer me up several times.

Seeing all of the familiar faces in the front two rows, the “good ole regulars” as Lisa puts it, really got the girls going and every performance was outstanding.  Máiréad shredded many a bow hair and was her usual Tasmanian Devil self.  Her earpiece even came out at one point and was swinging wildly around; it didn't phase her one bit.  Are you ready for this?  She broke her all-time record and did 13 spins during Coast of Galicia!  After she came out of that last spin she looked right at me as if to say, “I did that last one just for you, Mike!”  Maybe I've got her counting her own spins now.

Chloë gave an extended introduction to Galway Bay where she mentioned that Cleveland was where they performed their very first show 5 years ago and that tonight was very special to them.  She said that they had come full circle and that because it was St. Patrick's week they were thinking about home being thousands of miles away.  It was very touching.

Being on the threshold of tears anyway, it didn't take much for Alex's My Heart Was Home Again to push me over the edge, just the first of many times that the stage became a blur through misty eyes.  I ended up just closing my eyes during most of Danny Boy and letting the glorious sounds just permeate through my soul.  Absolutely breathtaking.  Even the upbeat Mo Ghile Mear couldn't completely ease my pain and I was actually glad for the intermission so that I could recover a little.

At the start of the second act I could see Máiréad scamper out on stage in the dark and what little recovery I had enjoyed vanished in a heartbeat.  Amazing Grace only made it worse; once again I closed my eyes for much of it.  Dulaman finally brought a smile to my face as I watched Lynn do her flirtatious best to distract me.  No insult for Ray and Nicky tonight; the audience interrupted her speech and she didn't have time to sneak one in.  The soulful first part of Songs from the Heart, with Alex and Lynn standing 3 feet away pushed me over the brink again.  Like Chloë, Lisa mentioned in her introduction to The Moon's a Harsh Mistress how special Cleveland was to them.  It wasn't until At the Ceili that Lisa was finally able to make me smile again.  Unfortunately, it didn't last long because next is Máiréad's Last Rose Fantasia and I was done for.  The Mason's Apron brought me back a little and then Non C'è Più knocked me down again.  Thanks for the roller coaster ride, David.  Once again Máiréad had to wait for the applause and our standing ovation to end before she could make her introduction of You Raise Me Up.  As always, I watched Máiréad the whole time and once again while she was standing in the shadows without the spotlight she gave me the most heartwarming smile and that was it.  The floodgates opened and there was no turning back.  Both Lisa and Máiréad noticed and tried to help but it was no use.  It took both the Finale and Spanish Lady before I got some composure back.

After the show, Mitch and Ella (not Robin) checked everyone on their lists for the Meet & Greet.  Instead of going to a separate room, a table was setup in the theater near one of the exits, like they did in Syracuse last fall.  They had us line up and Claire announced that our guests would be Alex and Chloë.  After all the effort I went through to get Lynn's special gift, I wouldn't be able to give it to her in person.  Oh, well.  I chatted with Mitch for a little while and told him that I already had tickets for three of the summer shows.  He didn't even know that there were summer shows!  Then I talked with Ella for a while.  She asked where I was from and I told her that I traveled from Pennsylvania and that this was my 20th show this year.  She then asked how the State Theatre compared with some of the other theaters that I've seen the girls perform in.  I was honest and told her that while this was a nice theater, it would probably just barely sneak into my top 5.  We compared notes and I told her what my top 3 were.  After a little more chatting I had advanced to the head of the line so I switched my attention to Kelly.  I got two more signatures in my ANJ program that I had Orla sign last weekend; only 3 to go.  Then it was gift time.  I reached into my bag of tricks (Do any of you remember the original Felix the Cat and his bag of tricks.  I know, I'm dating myself again.) and pulled out my last box of Cadbury Flake bars.  Alex said that I would go broke if I kept giving them chocolate and I assured her that I'd be OK!  She asked where my next show would be and when I told her that this was my last one she seemed genuinely disappointed.  I wanted both of them to see Lynn's gift so I waited until Chloë was free before I got it out.  Chloë also seemed disappointed that this was my last show but I told them both that I'd see them later in the summer.

After the show some of us went to Denny's for a late night snack and post-concert conversation.  Finally, around 1am we all went our separate ways and it was over.  It was great to see so many forum members again, some old and some new.  It never ceases to amaze me how different and yet similar Celtic Woman fans are.  We come from different parts of the country, different backgrounds, different occupations, even different generations, and yet we all share a common love for this group and their music.  If only the whole world could feel that way.

As you can tell, this was an extremely emotional show for me.  Any CW show is always a little emotional but this one was different.  I've had withdrawal symptoms before, like after Red Rocks last year, but usually not this early.  I have two more significant posts to make, one being about Lynn's gift, and then I'll relinquish my role as road warrior and reporter to those who will still be attending shows.  It is said that absence makes the heart grow fonder, but in this case it will hopefully mend a somewhat battered one.

The original review is here.