Tours:

Concerts:

Paducah, October 9, 2009

 

Ticket_20091009_PaducahIt was a dark and stormy night.  Yes, I know that's Snoopy's perennial opening line for his book but it is no less appropriate here.  In fact, it was two dark and stormy nights.  I awoke to rain on my roof at the ridiculously early hour of 5:30am Friday morning (still Thursday night as far as my body was concerned) to head for my 9am flight out of Harrisburg (PA) for Nashville.  There I would be meeting up with Jim, Don, Scott (Furrface), Davey, and Mustang Scott for the drive to Paducah.  The rain stopped just before I left the house and while both of my flights were about 10 minutes late they were otherwise uneventful.  I wore my new Fiddler Crossing jacket and proudly showed it off when I arrived, since Jim had not yet delivered the ones he had.  I had needed the jacket when I left but when we stepped outside the airport it was 86 degrees!  Needless to say, the jacket came off.  After a quick stop at the hotel to check in and change we had lunch.

Jim did an admirable job getting us to Paducah where we hooked up with John and made some backstage deliveries.   During lunch the rain had moved in with a vengeance (there were tornado watches out for western Kentucky) and the temperature had dropped about 20 degrees so I put my jacket back on.  By the time we arrived at the venue the rain had mostly stopped but it started up again just as we started to walk to the restaurant.  John was prepared, though, as he had 4 or 5 extra umbrellas in his car; I suspect he sells them on the side.

Lisas_PlaceSlightly soggy, we met up with the rest of the group at Whaler's and got reacquainted.  I had already met most of them at other shows, but this was the first time that they were all in the same place.  With 17 people, it was quite a crowd and we had the waitress pretty well frazzled by the time it was over.  The food was excellent and reasonably priced.  The oxymoron “jumbo shrimp” was actually true here as the shrimp that I had were the biggest I have ever seen.  Jim handed out “Lisa's Place” signs for those who didn't have them and I completed my button collection with the new Lisa and Chloe buttons.

After dinner we walked back to venue.  I returned John's umbrella, got my prized Fiddler Crossing sign, and headed inside.  The doors didn't open until almost 7pm so we just milled around for a while.  I mentioned in Tony's jacket thread that we would stand out in a crowd and indeed we do.  You can spot a fellow Fiddler Crossing jacket wearer a mile away!  It's like a beacon for pixie dust.

We had the entire front row, except 2 seats, plus about 6 seats in the second row.  I was in the second row with Mustang Scott and, like Wallingford, second row is actually a little better than the front row because of the closeness and height of the stage.  While the show hasn't changed significantly, CW has invested in some new equipment.  One of the  first things I noticed was that the big boxy speakers that used to be lined up across the front of the stage have been replaced by much smaller high-tech speakers.  They are just as good, if not better, than the old ones but the biggest benefit is that they don't block the view.  At some venues those old speakers were a real spectator obstacle, but no more.  I was very impressed.

Chloe_Fan_1Since this was ChloëFest, Jim handed out special signs for us to display.  One side had a lovely photograph of Chloe (is there any other kind?) and the other side had “Chloe Fan” in big letters.  I'll have to get mine autographed at a future show, along with my new Lisa sign.

Finally, (believe it or not, there actually is a concert review in here somewhere) it was show time.  This was my first show since Red Rocks and I had so far managed to suppress most of my withdrawal symptoms from that amazing final show but now the anticipation was becoming almost unbearable.  After the local Carson Center representative made all of his announcements, including taking “credit” for the rain, the lights finally dimmed.  Ray and Nicky took their places and it started.  All of those feelings came rushing back when Máiréad entered.  She played those first 5 notes and I was toast.  It was so wonderful to see them again and, as I write this at the Nashville airport, withdrawal is already rearing its ugly head.  As others have said, it was an emotional show on both sides of the stage.  Many times I noticed an extra glint in the girls' eyes as they were moistened with tears.  They spotted us right away, of course, although we certainly weren't hard to find.  I won't list every song but each artist was absolutely perfect and it was a truly spectacular show.

Máiréad was at the top of her game and it was so great to see her without any leg braces.  She was all over the stage and did plenty of leaps and jumps.  She did 9 spins during Coast of Galicia, although I think she could have squeezed in a tenth if she had really wanted to.  As expected, after over 3 months without hearing it, I completely lost it during Last Rose Fantasia.  That is still the single most stunning piece of music I have ever heard.  I want the new DVD!

Chloe_Fan_2As a group we gave standing ovations for almost every song although the rest of the audience was not so inclined.  In fact, they didn't even stand for Mo Ghile Mear at the end of the first act.  I was quite frankly a little disappointed.  It wasn't until O, America that the everyone finally took the hint.  Even after that, though, they were still a little reluctant at the end.  Oh, well.  We did all that we could do.

Some other random observations: Guardtot and her friend were at the opposite end of the front row from me and each time Máiréad headed to that side of the stage there were huge squeals from that direction!  You gotta love those “front-row newbies.”  At intermission Scott (MP) was telling a gentleman about the forum and apparently he misunderstood Scott's role because when he returned to his seat behind me he was gushing to his wife that he had just met Máiréad's manager!  He kept saying: “He's her manager! He's her manager!”  I didn't say anything but I did tell Scott after the show that he had been “promoted.”

Those of you who read my “Raleigh story” letter to Máiréad may recall that I told her that just because I watch her when she thinks nobody is watching doesn't give her license to watch me.  Well, I caught her sneaking a glance at me during The Voice when she wasn't playing.  I guess she thought she could catch me not looking but she smiled when she confirmed that I was indeed watching.  I guess she forgot that I told her I am always  watching!

It was an outstanding day and evening spent with friends both on and off stage and was well worth the early rising and the multiple flights.  I'd like to extend a big Thank You to Susan, Dalton, Jim, Emily and everyone who made the event the resounding success that it was.  An extra thank you goes out to Jim for the transportation, buttons and signs.  Oh, and thanks John for the use of the umbrella.

The original review is here.

 

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