Melbournerev09 - Page: 1 of 1

With a 3 pm start for the Irish Tenors' Melbourne concert Sunday afternoon,
we left Vero Beach about 1:15 pm, as it was supposed to take about an hour.
It was a good thing that we left that early as there was very heavy congestion
and a lot of traffic on Wickham Rd. just before The King Center. It was a
strawberry festival, with pony rides, lots of families with kids that delayed us.

We got to the King Center about 2:30 pm, tried to upgrade our tickets
as soon as possible, as our seats were in row M. At the "upgrade" window,
they told us that because we bought our tickets through Ticketmaster,
they would not upgrade them!! When I bought those tickets, I knew that the
crowd was going to be good, as they told me that they had a lot of pre-sales
to season ticket subscribers and patrons of the King Center.

So, into the venue we went. I had the tenors' buttonhole flowers for this
afternoon, so I immediately looked for a "head usher" type to bring the
flowers to the tenors. My Vero Beach florist suggested green roses, so
that is what I brought. This florist always has magnets, so it is a pleasure
to order them from him.

We didn't have a lot of time to wait - met up with Barbara Lawson
at her #2 concert of the 5 in Florida.

The King Center was a big theater, with a large balcony over half of the
main floor seating. I am not good at crowd estimates, but it was easy to
see that all the main floor seats were full. After the concert, I asked an
usher if the balcony was sold out, and he said about 2/3. So, the audience
was excellent. John thought he was the exception in age, as most of the
audience were more into retirement than he is.

As soon as the orchestra played, we realized that the acoustics
were going to be good. You could see all that ceiling buffering materials, if
you looked up. I thought that on the whole, Anthony and Finbar sounded
great, but Karl's microphone was too loud. By the second half, they had
adjusted it a bit, and there was some improvement.

Anthony sounded like the star he is - his beautiful voice enchanting
the audience with volume,
clarity and harmony.

The audience was partial to the popular songs such as Isle of Innishfree,
Galway Bay, Gloccamora, Toora Loora, When Irish Eyes Are Smiling,
and Danny, of course. Those songs got the biggest applause. But, I preferred
Knocknashee, Hail, Glorious St. Patrick, Galway Girl, The Irish Rover, and
Whiskey in the Jar. Finbar once got us all laughing when he said
Maureen O'Hara, instead of Eric Stern!! Finbar also said something
about Tynan's horsehides, I think in the Irish Rover. We couldn't believe that.
There were several standing ovations at the end, almost after each encore
song. This audience was very appreciative of the tenors. We met several
Anthony's fans there who aren't among the regular fans.

There was a table selling CDs at the front entrance to the theater. It looked
as if all they had to sell was Sacred and Ireland. But, I didn't stay there
very long, as we were not that early, and I wanted to make sure the
roses were delivered.

All three tenors wore the roses, but as is the custom whenever I bring the
flowers, Eric Stern (or any conductor) did not wear his. I really don't know
why I bother with four, as only three are worn. My Vero Beach florist is
used to magnets, so he never makes the boutonnieres too large and
heavy - no drooping with his boutonnieres!!