This was my first show after a “week off” earning some income to pay for this stuff.  Has my job really become a vacation from touring?  Smiley  I had purchased Dave's (BigDave's) second PBS ticket; Dave (apollomoon) and Kelly (SC_Mann) would be meeting us for dinner.  The “other” Mike from New Hampshire was going to join us but ended up not being able to.  After a lovely dinner at Longhorn Steakhouse and getting reacquainted and caught up we headed for the venue.  The Verizon Arena is one of the few that does bag checks and they are very strict.  Several people in front of me were sent back to their cars with their cameras.  I, of course, needed mine for the M&G so I hid it in a gift box that I was delivering for another member.  It turns out that I had to give that to security so I made an excuse about organizing things and transferred my camera to another place in my bag.  It worked but it shouldn't be this difficult; CW needs to let venue security know about the camera policy at Meet & Greets.  Smuggling shouldn't be a skill that needs to be on my resume.

Once inside, we headed straight for our seats since dinner had run a little long.  I wanted to see if Anthony's CD was at the concession table but I guess I'll have to check that tomorrow night.  Dave and I were at the right end of the second row in the center floor section.  That put us about 8 seats to the right of center and in good viewing position.  Dave and Kelly were in the front row of one of the bleacher sections.

The one constant thing about the arena here is the cold feet.  Not from fear, of course, but from sitting on the ice.  That being said, this is still one of the best arena shows around.  I don't know what makes this one different acoustically, but the sound here is always great.  And that great sound made this show even more special than it already was.

Before the show even started I could tell this was going to be a good one.  When the crowd starts applauding as the band comes on stage it's always a good sign.  We all know that the girls feed off of a good audience and there was lots of energy tonight.  There were no issues with cheering, clapping along, or even standing.  Finally!

Even though we were in the second row it didn't take long for us to be spotted.  It's always fun to catch that smile of recognition when they find you.  The girls were very generous with their attention tonight; several times LisaL seemed to be singing just to me.  And she blew me a big kiss at the end, too.  She is a real sweetheart.  I even got a rare smile from Máiréad during Last Rose Fantasia.

I really love the slightly slower tempo to some of the ballads.  Fields of Gold and Galway Bay are the prime benefactors of that change and both were mesmerizing.  Chloë mentioned Manchester as being the first place she saw an ice hockey game and bragged about her Monarch's jersey with her name on the back.  She got a big reaction from the crowd with  that remark.  Máiréad was on fire although she only did 10 spins.  She was smiling so much I was afraid her cheeks were going to start hurting.  During Granuaile's Dance she shredded almost half  her bow.  Well, it looked like it anyway, there were bow hairs hanging everywhere.  After the Finale while Chloë was chatting with the audience she stood there and pulled off a couple dozen more hairs.  The Moon's a Harsh Mistress is not The Voice but Lisa puts enough power into it that it has become a worthy successor.  Dulaman seems to get a little funnier and flirtier every time and got a big “thumbs up” from Dave!  During You Raise Me Up, as Máiréad stood right in front of us, I was able to hear her violin acoustically and it is truly beautiful.  Manchester is the only arena that has audio that good.

Originally this was a non-M&G show but when Dave got the tickets there was a little surprise inside: a pair of M&G passes!  Neither of us knew anything about a potential M&G but, hey, I won't argue.  Fortunately he let me know in advance so I was able to prepare at least a little.  After the show Dustin checked our names off his list and sent us to a waiting area in the bleachers.  Once everything was ready we were led to the same room as last year.  After everyone was in line I counted almost 50 people, so for a surprise M&G it ended up being the largest one for me this year, and one of the largest ever.  Dave and I positioned ourselves at the end of the line, as usual.

Our guests were Máiréad and LisaL, just like in Salem.  I only had a few things for them to sign since I've seen them both multiple times already so we just had a quick chat and a photo.  The one downside to being at the end of the line, particularly with a big group like this, is that they are anxious to get to the buses.  That meant that I didn't get to chat quite as much as I would have liked.  I may have to rethink my strategy.

Dave and Kelly were waiting for us outside and after saying goodbye to BigDave who had to leave, we walked to a small Irish pub for some late night libation, all non-alcoholic in case you're wondering, and a show recap.  It was a wonderful show with a great crowd, gorgeous sound, and lovely interactions.

The original review is here.