I made the leisurely 2 hour drive from Schenectady to Wallingford on Friday.  One of the highlights of this pair of shows was that Glenn would be here.  Since a certain Scott (who shall remain nameless, oops) headed south, there was an extra ticket in the group that Tony had pledged for back in October.  So he decided to treat Glenn to a show by flying him in from the west coast.  I picked Glenn up at the Hartford  airport Friday night and the stage was set for a marvelous Saturday with old forum friends.

Dwight had already arrived from Phoenix and at breakfast we discovered that Scott (Furface) and Dave had arrived overnight.  Tony would be meeting us at the venue with Josh and Danielle later in the afternoon.  John (meavman) also would meet us at the venue, but in time for the matinee.  So there ended up being 6 of us at the matinee and 9 of us at the evening show.  Not a bad forum turnout for a show way up in Connecticut.

The five of us staying in Meriden headed out for lunch around 11am so that we wouldn't be rushed and would be able to get a decent parking spot in time for the 2pm show.  We ate at the same Italian restaurant that a smaller group of us ate at last year.  The plan was to not leave the venue between the two shows so we needed a decent lunch to hold us over until after the evening show.  The food was great and very filling.  Once we parked and got Glenn over the bumps and sidewalks I found out that the parking attendant would have left me park in the handicapped area even though I didn't have a placard.  Oh, well.  I relocated my Jeep between shows so we would have an easier time when we left later.

After confirming that Tony's tickets were at Will Call for him to pick up, we headed inside.  We were all rather scattered except Glenn and me.  We were adjacent since I had purchased those tickets together and we were at the top of the lower section.  The row in front of us was empty so we had a great, if distant, view of the stage.

This was Glenn's first time seeing the new show live and it was interesting watching his reactions to the songs that were arranged differently than on the DVD, to the old songs that had been brought back, and to the new songs that he hadn't seen yet.  The show was great as was the sound.  Máiréad did 11 spins, as usual now, and all of the girls nailed everything.  I did notice a few minor tweaks to some songs.  Máiréad especially likes to make changes to the opening of Coast of Galicia,

We, of course, were way too far back to be seen so we just basked in the glow that is a CW concert and enjoyed the lighting, some of which can only be seen from a higher and more distant perspective.  Good old Schenectady had shipped their audience mannequins over just for the show and, once again, the standing ovation at the end of the first act was a forum roll call.  Tommy didn't get any applause for his solo but at least Anthony did.  By the end of You Raise Me Up the audience had apparently wakened from their nap and had finally become a little more animated, emphasis on the word “little.”  They need to give those geriatric matinee crowds a little caffeine injection on the way to their seats..

After the show we just hung around outside and chatted while we waited for Tony.  I had pledged separately and had my ticket, but everyone else's tickets were at Will Call in Tony's name.  He finally arrived, everybody got ticketed, and we headed inside once again.

This time, the 7 members of Tony's group were at the left end of the second row, John had a last minute ticket in the 5th row, while I somehow lucked out and had front row dead center.  There were exactly 8 seats to my left and exactly 8 seats to my right; it doesn't get much better than that.  I was prepared for something special but not for what I got.  It turned out to an absolutely heavenly night, or should I say a pixie-sized slice of heaven.  Máiréad wasn't on stage for 30 seconds before she spotted me and mouthed a “Hi!” in my direction.  After that I got so much attention I began to feel a little guilty.  NOT!  I got “The Look” at the end of Coast of Galicia (11 spins again, by the way) and during Granuiale's Dance.  I got plenty of looks and smiles from the other girls, too, even Alex.  Maybe it was because they knew that I had a delivery to make at the M&G, but I didn't care.  It was wonderful.

Since the venue is rather large, the sound guys had the volume turned up on the small on-stage speakers and the sound was not as pleasing as some other shows but it was still quite good.  The audience was much better and I could see a difference in the performances.  The girls feed off of an enthusiastic audience and it showed.  Everyone clapped and stood when they were supposed to and most of them even stayed standing for Spanish Lady.  It was one of the better crowds and it was a refreshing change.

After the show, we headed for the Connecticut Room where CPTV had a large dessert table for our enjoyment.  The M&G was little larger than most, about 40 people, but not as large as New York.  Our guests tonight were Chloë and Alex.  I had guessed that Chloë would be there since it had been a while since I had last seen her, but I was expecting Lynn.  I think Rachel just uses a dart board to determine who is at each M&G.  Incidentally, Rachel was there tonight, too, which was the first time I'd seen her since New York.  Claire and Kelly had switched places with Claire working the entrance end of the table and Kelly at the exit end.  Claire said they just like to mix it up every once in a while.  After getting a few things signed for others I reached into my bag and pulled out tonight's box of Cadbury Flake bars.  It wasn't a surprise, since I had forewarned Lisa, but it was still a big hit.

After the M&G, Tony went back home with Josh and Danielle; Scott and Dave headed for Baltimore; and Dwight, John, Glenn and I went to the same diner that we had closed up last year and had a late night dinner.  Finally around midnight John headed home and the rest of us headed back to our hotel.  Both Glenn and Dwight would be flying home Sunday afternoon while I would be heading to Providence for the last two shows on this leg of the tour before heading home myself next Thursday.  It was a great day and night.

The original review is here.