Today started out with another ugly departure from Manchester.  Last year I snowed overnight after the show and I had a slow trip south.  This year the weather pulled another trick and decided to sleet.  Nasty stuff that sleet and I was fortunate to get behind a DOT truck spreading salt.  Fortunate in that the road was only wet but unfortunate because it was another slow trip as far as Nashua.  I wonder what's going to happen next year, a full-blown ice storm?  Once I hit Massachusetts it was rain but rather heavy at times.  Finally in Connecticut the sky brightened as I came out from under the trailing edge of the storm.

There were five of us meeting for dinner before the show: old timers Kelly and me and fresh faces Mary, Kristin and Kelly's friend Peter (justme, justme2 and rugperson).  We all arrived extra early and had a lovely dinner, although I think we may have overstayed our welcome since there was a line waiting for tables when we left.  John (meavman) met us at the box office and Dave (BigDave) arrived just before show time.  After equipping everyone with signs and buttons we headed inside.  I talked to the venue people about delivering a rather large gift to the girls via Bubba and once that was accomplished I chatted with John for a while.  There was a cursory bag check and an admonition against cameras.  Rather than try to explain the new policy I used my newly honed smuggling skills to get my camera in.

The first stop inside was the concession table to see if they had Anthony's new CD yet.  Scott had tweeted that it would be available on the 17th and I guess he meant it.  I was in the second row on the left aisle of the center section.  I was glad because the Oakdale Theater is one of the few venues where second row is better than front row.  A faux stage is extended over the pit section and is quite high so the view from the front row is not great.  The performers are not allowed off the real stage so the set and stop line were rather far back.  It's been that way every year so it was not unexpected.

I struck up a conversation with Bob, the gentlemen next to me, and it turned out that he was a very knowledgeable audio tech who used to work at the Foxwood Casino.  This was his first live show so I briefed him without giving too much away.  I also gave him a forum card and invited him to join us.  By the time he told me that his wife couldn't come and he had an extra seat it was too late to get John a PSU but we took care of that at intermission.

Soon the lights dimmed and it was time.  This was my first show this tour where I've been on the piano side so I was able to see things that I couldn't see from the other side and I got attention from different girls at different times depending on who was where.  It made for an interesting show.  The audience was not bad.  The were forum-only standing ovations for Máiréad's solos and a reluctant one for the end of the first act but other than that they did quite well.

The girls were fabulous.  It was obvious that they were in a St. Patrick's Day frame of mind even before Chloë mentioned it during her Galway Bay introduction.  Only 10 spins from Máiréad again but still lots of bow shredding.  I hope she gets a good deal on bow hair!  It was nice to see LisaK when she was near the piano and this was my first closeup of the new piano arrangement of Goodnight My Angel.  I was also able to observe more of the antics with Brian during At the Ceili; Chloë is having way too much fun during that one.

At intermission Bob went to talk to the audio guys and Kelly, Dave and John came down to chat.  We took care of that empty second row seat for John.  Dave said there were a few empty second row seats near him but Kelly and Peter decided to stay where they were.  Bob came back and said that he was very impressed with the equipment that CW uses for their shows and filled us in on some interesting tidbits.

After the show we all met in the lobby area.  Dave, Mary, Kristin and I were the only ones with Meet & Greet passes.  Kelly and Peter were headed, oddly enough, to Foxwood.  John waited for us outside for our traditional after show visit to the Colony Diner.  CPTV calls their M&G a “Red Carpet Experience” and it does live up to its name.  Included with the ticket is a VIP parking pass and a wristband that gets you into the M&G.  The Connecticut Room was fully stocked with cakes and cookies in quite a variety of flavors.  There were 7 round tables each seating 8 although they weren't all full.  The M&G was handled buffet-style, with each table being called individually rather than a long singe line.  It worked very well.

Our guests were Chloë and LisaK, the dynamic duo.  I haven't had Chloë at a M&G yet on this tour so I was happy.  I had way more than 3 items to be signed by her so I picked the most important ones and had Dave take one with him.  Dave also handled my camera for me and I had a delightful chat with both of them.  Chloë signed a couple of birthday cards, separate from my three items, and I was finally able to deliver her new forum buttons in person.  She was ecstatic.

Afterward, Dave, John and I closed up the Diner like we usually do.  Dave was heading back to New Haven for some photography work and John was heading home, although he'll be with me at Radio City Thursday night.  We said our goodbyes in the parking lot and went our separate ways.  As always, it was a great evening and night with forum friends, old and new.  I'll be taking an early train into the city in the morning to hopefully catch the girls at the Today Show studio and watch the 250th St. Patrick's Day parade.  That will be followed up with what I suspect will be a rather special show at Radio City.  I can't wait.

The original review is here.