St. MICHAEL'S CHURCH
HOLBROOK, IA
MAY 15, 2005
"The Holbrook concert, of course, was marvelous. We were concerned because The Boyos had the concert in Kentucky the night before and drove to Holbrook (8 hours) because there is no easy way to get to Cedar Rapids, the closest main airport. They arrived at early afternoon in time for the concert at 3:30. The concert took place in St. Michael's Church, which is on the National Registry, and the community is working to restore the church and hall. Anthony was 'on' and blew the doors off the place. The audience was most appreciative and did not sit on their hands as they sometimes do at the beginning of a concert. I think he was most pleased with that. He commented the country side reminded him of home complete with cows out in the field.
Now for the song list:
Vale of Avoca
Little Gray Home in the West
Younger than Springtime (which he explained as a favorite)
Trottin' to the Fair
Smiling Through
Kitty from Colrainne (he slowed this down and added more amination including the 'kiss')
Patrick then regaled us with his appreciation of the lovely church setting, told us the Mrs. O'Toole and the water closet story, then sang Galway Bay.
I'll Walk Beside You
Palatine's Daughter
The Bould Gendarmes (with the usual catching of the butterflies, taking of bribes, and 'something' on his shoe)
Ireland Mother Ireland
(interval)
Vienna Mine (a BIG favorite for me)
I Saw from the Beach (with a preamble explaining it was a lessor known Moore's Melody)
Sparkling Eyes (which Anthony said Patrick bullied him into singing)
Sorrento
Patrick commenting on his adventures in traveling on the plane, Irish Mother's letter to her son, the Wart story, then Her Mother Came too.
With a Song in my Heart (another favorite of mine)
Kitty, Me Love (new to me, a character song as Anthony calls them, very intricate lyrics, very nice addition)
As I Sit Here
Two Tenors (of course, they made the most of this song!)
Girls Were Made to Love and Kiss
Danny Boy
Matinatta
Encore-O Solo Mio
The meet and greet was great fun too, once the people got the hang of it. I think sometimes they don't realize how charming and accommodating he and Patrick are with the concert goers, but they quickly learned that he didn't bite. They did look tired, but they are troopers.
I must add I really love going to these small venues and talking with the local people who have never heard Anthony and Patrick before in person. They invariably are impressed with the quality of performance. Holbrook is a largely Irish community, so many of the people had been to Ireland and/or have implanted memories of The Emerald Isle. There were also non-listers there from Wisconsin, St. Louis, Louisiana who flew in just for the concert, very impressive."
Fay Loux