St. MICHAEL'S CHURCH
HOLBROOK, IA
MAY 3, 2009
IMPRESSIONS OF HOLBROOK, IOWA
It was a lovely spring day in Holbrook, Iowa, Sunday, a perfect
day for singing, unlike 2007 when we were greeted with
wind and rain. For the uninitiated, Holbrook is an Irish
community in the rolling hills outside of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
I am told it looks much like the Irish countryside. Anthony and
Patrick perform in old St. Michael's church that the community
is restoring bit by bit. The stained glass window of St. Patrick high
above the altar is dated 1809. Lovely venue. This being their
third concert there, Anthony and Patrick were greeted with enthusiasm.
I do believe the programme was essentially the same as Berta
reported for the Peekskills concert. The Boys were splendidly decked
out in their white tie and tails with red rosebud boutonnieres.
Anthony lost the battle with his half-way through the concert
when it fell to the floor never to see his lapel again. He said
the magnet would not hold. I forgot to ask if he removed the
paper on the magnet, lol. Discretion is the better part of valor.
I do believe Anthony and Patrick could go on stage as a comedy
team, they have so much fun together in the lighter moments of
the concert. Patrick had just concluded his story about The Donkey
Serenade where he was playing in the wrong key so that the
soprano was forced to sing in base tones. He then went on to
announce Anthony's return and said that "Antony" would now be
singing The Donkey Serenade. Not to be outdone, when Anthony
came back on stage, he turned to Patrick and began the first
few lines of The Donkey Serenade in the lowest register possible.
It is good to see Anthony keep expanding his repertoire.
Of course, the Irish character tunes are golden. I mean,
to be honest (and would I lie?, heh), he can sing just about
anything he has a mind to. He has always built his concert
program very carefully up to the final note delivered flawlessly
and seemingly effortlessly.
Hopefully this concert will continue to be a biennial event,
and we will see him back in Iowa May 2011.
Fay Loux
