Show Review: Celtic Woman "Believe"

Tonight I went with some friends to go see Celtic Woman's DVD recording "Believe" in Atlanta in the Fox Theater. This is the first time I have been to an actual recording, and so it was definitely different from a normal concert. I do have to say that the balcony seats my friend and I had were excellent, the closest I've ever been to the stage for the cheapest price; we had a very clear view of the entire stage, except for the heads in front of me. The theater looked pretty full, but I didn't see the ground floor at all, so I don't know how full it was.

I guess each recording has its own glitches, but tonight it was the microphones. The PBS representative was supposed to talk into a mic, but it didn't work so everyone was running around trying to fix the problem. Throughout the night, the sound guy (who told us when to clap and such) had mic problems as well. During a couple of songs, for a brief second it sounded like there was a male talking into a mic, even though there was no one on stage doing it. It was odd, but it was a glitch that I doubt will be shown on the final DVD.

SPOIlERS AHEAD: IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE SPOILED BEFORE DECEMBER'S PBS PLEDGE DRIVES, DON'T READ ANY FURTHER.

Song #1- the show started off with the usual Mairead solo and then led into the three singers Lisa K, Lisa L, and Chloe singing. I didn't recognize this song, but it sounded like a mixture of "The Call" and "Sky, Dawn, and Sun" and was about waking either the night or the heavens.

Song #2- the second song was a Lisa K solo (which is typical, it seems). I don't know the name of it, but the only line I recall from it is "you are the only one." Lisa used a hand microphone while she sang it. This one reminded me of "Fields of Gold."

Song #3- the third song was a Mairead solo. I don't know the name of this one either, but given past shows, I'm guessing it is a David Downes- Mairead creation. This one sounds eerily like "The Butterfly," except Mairead did some Hendrix screeching during it. Mairead didn't look like she was on fire like she has been before, but at the end of the song her bow was shredded.

Song #4- the fourth song was a Chloe song with Mairead accompanying on the violin. It was soft and pretty, and the word "nocturne" was repeated several times throughout.

Song #5- the fifth song was all four girls but centered predominantly on Lisa K. Bagpipes played a large part in the song, and I was less than twenty feet away from the lead piper who was in the balcony. The problem with the pipes is that they played along with the girls and, as a result, were nearly drowned out because of the voices. The song was very short and dealt with sailing on the sea.

"Bridge over Troubled Water"- I am not familiar with the original version of the song, but CW's interpretation was nothing memorable to me. The Gwinnett Young Singers, a local kids' choir, joined in and sat on the stairs in the center of the stage, surrounding the girls. This one got standing ovation.

"Black Is the Color"- I was not familiar with this song until wikipedia informed me it is largely an American folk tune. This one was sung by Lisa L; this is the first time I have heard her perform, but I was not that impressed with her voice. To me, Lisa Lambe sounds like a combination of Lisa K and Chloe, which made it difficult for me to tell the girls apart when they sang. Lisa L moves around a lot on the stage, much like Mairead dances, and it was a bit distracting.

"Give Me Your Hand"- I first heard this song on the "Songs from the Heart" tour last year, but this is the second half of the "Songs from the Heart" medley in the second act. I loved the pipes on this one. It was good, but I missed Alex and Lynn being a part of it.

"Tears in Heaven"- I believe this was an Eric Clapton cover; even though I know Clapton a bit, I was not familiar with this one. Chloe sang this, and it reminded me of her version of "The Prayer" that she sang at Slane. It was not a memorable piece.

It was interesting in that during this song, I noticed some people getting up and walking out. I'm not sure if they returned a different way, but it made me wonder if some fans were not happy with some of the songs.

"My Heart Was Home Again"- I also first heard this on the "Songs from the Heart" tour when former member Alex Sharpe sang it. Alex's version, to me, was so powerful and emotional, and it was her signature song. However, the duet between the two Lisas just did not work for me. Out of loyalty to Alex, I didn't clap at this one.

"I Dreamed a Dream/ Circle of Life"- This one was a medley of stuff from the musicals "Les Miserables" and "The Lion King." Lisa K focused more on the first half with Lisa L on the second half. The drums reminded me of "Mo Ghile Mear," and David Downes played a whistle during the song. I didn't like the Lion King song, and I thought it really didn't fit with the entire scheme of things.

Between this one and the next song, there was a five minute interlude. The sound guy gave us instructions on clapping and stuff about gas prices. I thought it was a poor attempt to keep the audience entertained while the girls changed.

"Teidhir Abhaile Riu"- don't be deceived; this is NOT the original traditional Irish song. Much like "Nil Se'n La," it was part of the original Gaelic chorus added to a song that had little relation to the original. This one was the "Nil Se'n La" replacement, with all the girls coming out barefoot and wearing what looked like green bathrobes (I kid you not; one of the chaperones agreed with me about the dresses for this one). Nonetheless, it was a fun, upbeat song. They had a male Irish tap dancer on stage (I have no idea who he was, but he seemed to know Mairead very well, given their interactions). There was the sense of "At the Ceili" with the girls doing a bit of acting, and there was dancing, including a neat spinning scene. It was entertaining and one of the highlights of the evening.

Then we had an intermission. It was supposedly fifteen minutes, but I think it was closer to twenty because they kept delaying returning to the show. While they set up, the audience sang "happy birthday" to Ray the drummer, as today is his birthday. Finally, Lisa K and Chloe came out and taught the audience how to sing "Green Grow the Rushes O"; I wonder how much of their interaction was scripted or if it really was unplanned.

"A Woman's Heart"- this song has been sung by Mary Black and by Eleanor Mcevoy, but I had never heard it before. It was sung by the two Lisas and Chloe. The lights were very bright during this one, and it made it hard to look at the stage.

"The Water Is Wide"- I'm sorry, Lisa K and Mairead, but Orla Fallon and even Chloe as a soloist were far better. This song was too loud and lacked the power that Orla put into it on her first solo album. The bagpipes were predominant and loud on this one. Nonetheless, it got a standing ovation from the audience.

"Green Grow the Rushes O"- the audience was urged to sing along with the three girls. It wasn't a very memorable piece.

"You'll Never Walk Alone"- all four girls performed this one with the kids' choir. The drums were rather loud on this one, but it came across as being sentimental.

"Smile"- I'm not familiar with the original, but this one was sung acapella by the girls, with Mairead accompanying them. It was a rather bland and homogeneous arrangement, and it made me miss CW's earlier days when everyone sounded different. It wasn't very memorable.

"Walking the Night"- this is the first half of the "Songs from the Heart" medley popular on the recent tours. It was ok, but Alex and Lynn sang it far better, in my opinion. Lisa L acted very dramatic on stage, but it came across as silly and not fitting the song.

"A Spaceman Came Traveling"- I was hoping this song would not be performed, but it was anyway. It's a catchy tune, but being a Christian, I found the song offensive for its portrayal of angels being aliens. Lisa L spun around the stage like crazy, but it came across as a poor imitation of Mairead.

"Ave Maria"- Chloe and the kids' choir sang this new arrangement of the Catholic hymn along with the orchestra. I prefer the original version that Chloe and Orla did back in 2004.

"Women of Ireland"- this was Mairead's replacement for "Ashoken Farewell/ The Contradiction." It started off slow and then picked up the pace at the end. To my disappointment, the drummers did not come down to perform with Mairead; instead, the Irish dancer came back on to dance with her. The crowd enjoyed the dancer, and they got all excited when they saw the wood being laid down for him before the song began.

"The Parting Glass"- this was the last song of the night. It started off acapella but then the other instruments joined in. This song was extremely loud, and I had a headache and sore ears by this point. The bagpipes nearly drowned out the girls' singing. Some confetti was shot out on the stage towards the end of the piece, and I pity those who have to clean it up tonight.

Then, everyone cheered, and the performers bowed and left the stage to the "At the Ceili Reprise". The ending felt rather abrupt, but perhaps that was because I'm so used to the "Mo Ghile Mear/ Finale" and "Spanish Lady" to finishing out the show.

As far as music, I was rather disappointed with the song choices. Most of the songs dealt with sadness or some kind of depression, and very few of them were upbeat. They sang Celtic songs, but they did not have any Celtic flavor to them, coming across more like pop and not traditional. And several of the songs sounded familiar in that they were mere replacements for previous show songs or that, in the case of Mairead's pieces, they sounded exactly like what's she been playing for the past seven years.

The costumes were nothing special either. The dresses struck me as looking like different versions of those from "Songs from the Heart" DVD. Neither of the dresses looked particularly good on Chloe, and I think the designer needs to pay attention to the fact that she's bigger than the other girls and that she should dress differently from them.

I was concerned about the extra eye candy that was rumored to be in the show, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The tap dancer wasn't distracting; he did add something interesting to the show, but I still think that he was a bit unnecessary. The kids' choir was ok, but it seemed that they were there to convince people that CW loves kids. The confetti at the end was a bit much, and I think the fog machine let out a bit too much fog at times. The lights, however, were very bright at times, and I was left worrying that I'd get a migraine from them.

As for voices, I honestly don't know if what I heard was live or not. At times it seemed live, but most of the time I didn't know. I'm reserving judgment until I see the final DVD result. But, given Lisa L's constant spinning, it wouldn't surprise me if she was lip-synching.

A big problem I had with the show was the treatment of the girls. Lisa L seemed like a third wheel, only added as an extra vocalist; Lisa K and Chloe were on the stage far more frequently than Lisa L. Mairead also seemed like another third wheel, only showing up in a few songs. Lisa K once again was shown off as the predominant, leading singer, which seems to have been the case for the past few years, but it was done at the expense of Lisa L and Mairead. It reminds me of "Songs from the Heart," where the original three girls were promoted while Lynn and Alex were treated more like background singers. I'm not sure what songs will end up on the final CD, but I hope it's not going to be a repeat of the last show.

I was really excited about "Believe," but I was left feeling rather underwhelmed. It seemed more like a pop repeat of "Songs from the Heart." To me, this show was even worse than "Songs from the Heart." I may change my opinion about it, but I was not very fond of what I saw. It seems, to me, that CW is only continuing to decline as a show, and I'm losing confidence in their ability to entertain.