Well, the previous
blog was certainly a different one and I am still on the mend. The onset of
gout has been stubborn and painful but we just deal with it and move on.
Recovery from surgery is going fine and my digestive system seems reasonably
normal now. But let's step back a few months and move forward.
February began yet
another long grinder tour for the artists and crew of Celtic Woman. I had
planned on about a dozen shows though really had no financial business doing
so! I would miss the opener for the first time in many years and the closer as
well. I'd miss Máiréad's birthday too after four years being front and center
for that. Things simply did not work out in the schedule and I had no desire to
fight winter early on in the tour. Why the powers that be scheduled it that way
I have no clue, and it looks like that won't be the case in 2014. My first
shows would be around Paddy's day and my first ones in that area of the
northeast with Newark, Wallingford, Boston, and Manchester. I had meet and greet
for all except Boston which has not offered them since the 2007 debacle. I went
in with a bit of reluctance due to the new format for the meetings. In some
cases that was justified and in others it was not. Newark we had great seats
and I met Kenn Craig for the first time who is the person assigned to run the
show on the road along with Brett Miler. We were stacked in a hallway and
entered a small room singly for a group photo. It was brief but fine and Kenn
is a very personable gent. In Wallingford, though, CPTV did it right and the
meeting was huge bang for the buck! The artists themselves and Kenn's tolerance
about it all made it even better. THAT is how it should be done and we had
front row seats to go with it. Most special was the warmth and care of all the
artists with no shortage of hugs and I had this candid photo with the ever
delightful Lisa Lambe. Boston was fine and the venue is amazing. We were
blessed with a bit of face time with band, choir, and front four near the stage
door. Plenty of security but they stood back and watched as things flowed
naturally. I commend them and the CW staff and artists for that lovely
interaction. Manchester was in an arena. Those that know me know I'm not fond
of this group in an arena setting. Yet we had good seats thanks to Mike and even better ones
after intermission. Lisa was wonderful in making sure we were included in spite
of our location early on. The meet and greet was more what I had worried about
and was not at all worth the money. PBS seats were mediocre and there were two
stations involved. So, 40 or so people and a very rushed meeting was not at all
the way things need to be. I said earlier on this page that meetings have to be
limited to 20 or less regardless of the number of stations involved. Yet it was
St. Patrick's Day and we did have a great time at the show. We had tried to set
up lunch prior to the show across the street at an Irish pub with Máiréad's in laws. All looked fine but at the last minute it fell apart and we never
connected with them at the show either. So,
in the five shows (double-header in Boston) I had overall positive experiences
with the artists and touring staff. Yes, some snags and some tweaking needed
but I did feel as though things were going in the right direction.
It would be
until June 1st until my next show, so a long gap. In the interim I watched as
other fans had their experiences and they too were mixed. While on my break I
also connected with another Irish group, Celtic Nights, who some fan friends
had seen in Austin due to former CW choir gal Una being one of the main
artists. By all accounts it was a marvelous show though without the major
production elements of Celtic Woman. Since then some of us have been in contact
with their management and a couple of the artists and are very much encouraged
in our input and support. They will tour again in early 2014 and I do plan to
see a few shows. It is refreshing when artist management asks for fan input and
embraces them rather than pushes them away. EMI, Madstone Productions, and CW
LTD over the years have been inclined to push the avid fan community away
rather than embrace it, although the artists do not seem so inclined at all.
Over the years CW has certainly been paying attention to fans and adopted some
of the ideas especially on stage, although they have never asked for input or
acknowledged it. I also became connected with a lovely Canadian foursome called
Naria. A bit different tack with opera combining with techno pop. But they have
a lovely presence, and a nice sound. Each have been open to fan support and
input and willing to connect on line both on Twitter and Facebook. I even have
the odd chance of one of the songs Liv and I created being a Naria song. Their
leader, Katya, even did a guide track of the song and sent it to me for
approval. So, fingers crossed there.
Celtic Woman
learned along the course of my break that some things were not sitting very
well. Oversized meetings at some locations and with very poor places within the
venues chosen for photos was part of that. Fuzzy photos and too brief
encounters combined with mediocre PBS seats were not going over well. The
biggest bonehead move was the slap in the face to the avid fan communities and
the short notice given for a DVD recording at South Bend. Three days notice and
all the primo seats were long gone. It was a clear and intentional affront to
the most loyal fans yet a handful were lucky enough to have gotten tickets for
the show. I sent a message to one of the artists and to CW that while I supported
the artists without question, I would NOT acquire that DVD due to the insult
given to their most dedicated fans. It will be the first DVD or CD from them
that I don't own. This was clearly a decision by Madstone and likely Maggie
Seidel. I have no affection for her at all knowing the things I've heard her
and Mr. Hochwald say over the years. I was not pleased when she received a
promotion to essentially manage the group and suspected she would do something
averse to the fan community at some point. She did. After Springfield in 2011
many of us had hopes she would be gone or at least disconnected from CW. EMI
retains that company and it is not a positive. In any case, I still looked
forward to a nice string of shows in June.
In late May I
had a major health crisis and so was unable to attend five shows in the
northwest. That hurt almost as much as the infected gall bladder and the gout!
I gave my seats to a fan from California who is in a wheelchair and struggles
with life in general. Tony flew him to Portland and Glenn would occupy my
seats. They did not have meet and greet but opted instead for great seats
bought early on through Ticketmaster. Yet at three of the locations they did
get some lovely face time with the artists after the shows and again that is
thanks to the kind road staff and the artists themselves. Such things are not
expected and are so very appreciated. But Tony had created a special gift for
Lisa Lambe in the form of a personalized Lambe Crossing jacket. He found a way
to link up with her hubby, Simon Morgan, who happened to be along with her for
a few shows, and gave the jacket to him. Everyone in the fan community who has
met Simon has found him friendly, warm, and a very nice gent. He saw to it Lisa
received her gift and she very kindly tweeted a photo of herself wearing the
jacket. I have to say that of all the girls past and present from this group
that she is the most engaging and warm with her fans on stage, at meetings, on
line, and out and about. Certainly Lisa Kelly was and is good at that too,
and Máiréad at times as well. Al of them are delightful at the formal meetings and Susan really came into her own this tour connecting with fans. But Lil
Lambe is off the charts and Simon is a wonderful and fitting partner for her.
Meanwhile, back
here, I opted to go forward with Red Rocks and Omaha. I've not missed a Red
Rocks show with them except the first one in 2006. The hiking would be misery
for me and my gouty foot but I was not going to be denied. The gathering of
fans was a good one again and we had made plans to celebrate Chloe's birthday
by donning special pink birthday T-shirts. It was a special venue on her
special day and we had to do what we could to make it more so for the girl
we've watched grow up before our eyes. She has matured both vocally and in
other ways and is a strikingly beautiful woman. She has always been so but she
has trimmed down and simply looks marvelous. I was given a surprise meet and
greet when someone backed out and managed to hide around a corner until the end
to surprise them. Mike was celebrating his 150th show and bless his heart had
sent to me a card he had the girls sign in Las Vegas wishing me well. I cannot
thank him and the artists enough for that little treasure. The meeting went so
very well and hair chap, Michael, was now taking photos. He is the one posting
photos on the CWNAT Facebook page and is very generous at taking various shots.
He's a fine gent and a good compliment to the touring team with Kenn, Brett,
and Chloe's gorgeous sister, Naomi. After the wonderful show we made our way to
the buses and were treated with some great chat time with band, choir, and the
very grateful Chloe. Michael took and official photo of all of us with her and
posted it later. Nice touch and it goes along with a group shot before the show
taken by 303 Magazine. Next day I flew to Omaha to be with old friends. Half my
life was spent in Nebraska and I had not been back since the CW show in
November 2007. I had front row center and later picked up a meet and greet from
another fan. My good friends were right next to me at the show and simply loved
it. The meeting was a continuation of Red Rocks and a real delight. Most
special was a photo I had longed for many years, a proper solo shot with
Máiréad, my muse and inspiration for so many of my writings. It was a wonderful
ending of this tour for me and again I had some chat time with band and choir
afterwards. I really did have some warm and wonderful encounters with her this tour including a very kind first ever tweet that wished me well in my recovery.
All along the way
the artists and touring staff have done the best they could to make fans feel
welcome and embraced. At points along the way it was a bit rough but the
tweaking made it better and perhaps they now have the proper formula. There are
still bugs and those are not from the artists or touring staff but upper
management. I do commend the organization for relaxing things a bit and not
chasing the few fans away after the show who might gather near the stage door
or buses. That is a far cry from the Rachel days and very welcome. Makes for
good PR and more ticket sales. I was pleased with a positive attitude towards
familiar faces from people like the merch dude all the way to the fine Bubba
Dixon. The latter has been a positive ever since his expanded role in 2011.
Sadly, for whatever reason. he is no longer with the group. He will be very
much missed and he is the last of the original crew. The longest lived one left
is Máiréad's hubby, Jim, and perhaps only because of that relationship,
although he does his job well. Tour dates for the symphony tour and 2014 are
already leaking out. I have no idea how things will work in 2014 but it appears
it may be much like this year. EMI is working the artists hard and squeezing
every dime out of it they can while there is still an economy to support it. Sales were down by about 1/3 from my reports and yet there is still a solid
following. I encourage EMI to minimize the role of Madstone and keep a leash on
Maggie regarding fans. It worked fine this year and I encourage EMI to retain
this touring staff. I was not happy seeing the grumpy and fan hostile Mitch at
Red Rocks. He needs to stick to counting beans and not be involved in any way
with decisions about fan interactions. The team of he and Rachel in 2010 was
not a good one.
So, now time to
devote to attempting to keep my financial head above water and look forward to
symphony shows, Celtic Nights, Celtic Woman 2014, and perhaps a bit of Naria if
I can swing it. That is if we can keep our country from descending into the
dark abyss DC is attempting to force us in to. A lot can happen between now and
then including currency collapse, civil war, or other things created by and
forced upon the people from both parties in DC who seem more aligned with
globalists and Muslims than their own citizens. Such allegiance runs counter to
their oaths of office and does not serve the people of this nation at all. I
pray things will change in a manner that upholds our constitution and permits
us and the artist families to meet again and enjoy each other. Between now and
then CW will be in Australia and Europe and doubtless to warm, though not by
USA standards, supportive receptions. We're a bit more demonstrative here as they
well know now after nine years. My thanks to the fan community, the artists,
and the touring staff for an overall positive tour. Enjoy your break and thank
you for being such bright beacons in an ever darkening world. God' blessings
and peace.
Scott