I've been looking forward to another Orla concert ever since that wonderful performance at St. Patrick's Church on Long Island just before Christmas.  Orla did not disappoint.  The only disappointment was that my best friend, Brad, who went with me to the Long Island show was not able to make it and I ended up with an extra ticket.

Also attending this show were Susan (Zee), Kelli, and Bruce, who were also in Long Island, and Scott (Furface), Dave (Capn Davey), and Walter.  I had the two center aisle seats in the third row and had an excellent view, great for taking pictures without heads in the way.  Bruce, Kelli, and Zee were to my left and moved over one seat since I had an empty one next to me.  Dave and Walter were just behind us and Scott, who got lost and almost didn't make it, was originally in row J but moved into our row and took the empty seat on the left.

This was a mid-afternoon show and was held at the Gordon Center for the Performing Arts in Owings Mill, MD, just north of Baltimore.  From the outside the venue is nothing special; even the lobby is nothing to write home about architecturally, although there are some very nice paintings hanging on the walls.  They are for sale, by the way, although not for those with lightweight bank accounts.  The theater itself is a very nice intimate room that, I would say, seats less than 700.  The seats are comfortable and the acoustics are excellent.

The stage was setup the same as last year's shows, with lovely blue lights washing over the curtains across the back of the stage.  Orla would be accompanied by Dan and Mary on guitar, keyboard, and violin.  Three o'clock came and went, but it wasn't too long before we heard Orla tuning her harp backstage.  The audience was getting a little antsy and applauded the stage hand who brought glasses of water on stage!

Finally it was time and Mike Sager of the Irish Music Association came on stage to present Orla's IMA awards.  She looked stunning in a lovely black dress and seemed rather overwhelmed to be receiving not just one but [i]four[/i] awards.  Mike looked equally stunning in a full Irish kilt.  The awards themselves are lovely, too, with the circular insert illuminated in a different color on each one.  You can see three of the four with the lights turned on in the lower right corner.

After the presentation, Orla went right into her [i]a capella[/i] rendition of [i]Homes of Donegal.[/i]  Then she introduced Dan and Mary and began to chat.  Just like last year, she spent almost as much time talking to the audience as she did singing and it made for an absolutely wonderful experience.  She explained some of the background of the various songs and did a rather lengthy Q&A session with the audience.  One little tidbit that was new was the fact that [i]Two Sisters[/i] has quite a few extra verses that she does not include in the show.  Apparently one of the verses includes one of the sisters being dipped in boiling lead and she didn't think that was too appropriate!  :)  She also mentioned that Mary had a little case of the flu but insisted on performing anyway.  The set list was the same as last year, minus the Christmas carols, and included a mix of songs from her CD and some traditional numbers.  Orla's lovely voice, combined with the  wonderful acoustics in the theater, made the whole afternoon just fly by and before we knew it the show was over.  We gave her a rousing standing ovation and she came back out for an encore.  During the show she dedicated [i]Always There[/i] to her loyal fans Kelli, Bruce, and Zee and she dedicated the encore, [i]Hard Times,[/i] to Bruce again.

Then it was time for the Meet & Greet.  The two shows last year did not have a formal M&G and Orla just mingled and talked to anyone who wanted to stick around.  This was more like a CW event, but a little less formal.   There was a table set up with light refreshments and those with passes lined up.  I'd say there were about 50 or 60 people but there was no rush at all.  Orla would chat with everyone as long as they wanted to, would sign as many things as desired, and happily posed for pictures.  She didn't even sit, she stood and was usually just a part of the crowd.  Overall, the M&G probably took as long as the concert, well over an hour.

Rather than stand in line, I walked over to the right side of the stage where the awards were still sitting to get some better pictures.  While I was there, Mike Sager came over and I asked him to pose with the awards since I wasn't sure how my shots of the actual presentation would come out in the dark room.  He happily obliged and gave me his business card and asked me to email copies to him.  Then we talked for at least a half hour until he suddenly realized that he hadn't changed his watch for EDT and had to leave for the airport.

Mike is a very nice gentleman and we covered many topics, not just IMA.  I mentioned the live feed issue and he wasn't even aware of it.  He did say that Bob is a perfectionist and the awards ceremony would be made available as a download as soon as Bob is happy with the quality.  He also mentioned that they are going to try a multi-city version with live performances from several locations with big screens at each place so everyone can see everyone else.  I jokingly suggested that maybe they should just go on national television and he quite seriously said that they are considering it.  He did say it would most likely be on PBS rather than one of the big four networks, but he seemed optimistic.

He also thanked us for our support of Máiréad, Orla, and Celtic Woman.  I told him that we were having difficulty deciding who to nominate this year since we can't repeat anyone and he said that the same person can't be nominated two years [i]in a row,[/i] but they can be renominated after skipping a year.  That means that Máiréad and Orla will be back in the running in 2011.  Yay!  Then we talked about Ellis Island, Civil War battlefields and a host of other topics before he had to leave.  He is truly a great guy and I would love to be able to talk to him some more.

At this point the M&G line had dwindled so I headed over there.  Bruce, Kelli, Zee, and I brought up the rear and we just chatted while we waited.  Orla's manager, Denny, came over and I asked him again about the video that was shot in Long Island.  He smiled and said that it was for “internal use only” and would not be released.  I suggested making it available to fans, and not as a commercial release, and he jokingly said, “You'll just put it up on YouTube!”  Oh, well; I tried.  I moved ahead of Bruce, Kelli, and Zee so that they could go last and the people in front of me asked me to use their camera to take a picture of them with Orla.  Then it was my turn and, even though I've only met her twice before, Orla remembered me.  Yet another photographic memory.  And I got another one of her wonderful hugs.  She thanked me for supporting her and I told her I wouldn't have missed it.  I got her to sign the newest Celtic Woman ANJ program, the one with Alex and Lynn.  It's probably the only ANJ program that I can get everyone to sign since I don't know if I'll ever be able to get Meav or Hayley to sign the earlier ones.  I also had her sign my M&G passes.  I always dress up for Orla and I was a little surprised that she noticed and remarked on it.  She is such a classy lady.

Next it was Kelli's turn to get an amazing bear hug and Orla happily signed quite a few things for her.  She then did the same for Zee and Bruce, followed by more hugs all around.  We posed for the now standard group photo and then went for a nice dinner before we went our separate ways.  I've used the word “wonderful” too many times already, but it really was a wonderful way to spend a Sunday afternoon and evening.  And just to emphasize how Orla feels about her fans, she flew in from Ireland on Saturday and was flying home on Monday.  She came all the way from Ireland just for this one show!  Now [i]that's[/i] dedication.  She said that she will be returning to Nashville in about 2 weeks to record her Christmas album and she is working on a tour of Ireland.  We all asked when she would be returning to the states and she hinted that she may be back in the fall.  I can't wait!

The original review is here.