BLUE CHIP CASINO
MICHIGAN CITY, IN
March 20, 2009
Got in about 1 AM from the Irish Tenor's concert in Michigan City,
IN and I have no idea why I am up this early. The performance was
wonderful and all the fellas were in great spirits.
We had a great time and since the song list has been told,
there is not a lot I can add to it, except I loved their newest addition,
Galway Bay. There were few surprises since this was the final
concert of the tour and pretty much everything has been reported.
Finbar smiled and danced through the whole concert. I am sure
that it being the last concert made them all happy to be going home
in the next couple of days after three weeks away from home
and hearth.
The Stardust Center at the Blue Chip Casino is spectacular. It is a
new facility and was just opened in January of this year. Instead of
theatre seats, the venue was filled with very comfortable chairs.
There is room for about 1200 people and since the stage is very
high I am sure everyone got a good view of the fellas. We lucked
out and were in the front row sitting between Finbar and Anthony
with Karl just to our rights. There was a very wide space between
the front row and the stage so if they had wanted they could
have added another three row, but again since the stage was very
high it might have not been convenient for viewing.
I didn't know who the conductor was going to be last night, and
I was so happy it turn out to be Arnie, and boy, did he work hard
with the orchestra. It wasn't that large a group but there were
lots of cellos and violins and the acoustics in the room were
very good. I am not a musician and never have claimed to be, but
I thought the orchestra was very good.
As it seems the first couple songs set the mood for the whole
concert. The audience warmed up and there were a lot of woo
hoos, and not just from me!! As the songs continue the audience
really got in the spirit of the show and so many vocal responses
besides the of course usual applause could be heard all night.
Which as we know the fellas feed off such a show of appreciation
and they seemed to raise to the occasion.
Finbar, Anthony and Karl it seemed had trouble not moving constantly.
We know Finbar does always have some body part in action when
he is on stage, from the tapping of his foot, the swaying to the
thigh slapping, but last night he invented perpetual movement.
What was great is that Anthony and Karl were right there with him.
The gentle kidding between the three of them made you realize that
these men do truly like each other and have fun doing the
performance together.
I took a friend with me to the concert and it was her first time ever
hearing the Irish Tenors. She said she would give them two thumbs
up for the show. She liked the way that they blended their very
distinct and different voices together - I had told her that yes,
all three were Tenors but she would hear that each one has their
very own sound. She thought all tenors would sound alike, and
found that she liked the more mellow quality in Finbar's voice,
the higher more operatic sound of Anthony, and the only word she
could use for Karl that fit was sweet.
I also had a chance to talk to other fans that were there at the
show, they came from all over the middle of the country and
I would like to say hi to Maureen and her husband who were
there from Canada. It is so much fun when you run into
other followers that are willing to travel to see the fellas.
I had better stop this report now or it will go on forever and a
day, like we all wish the Irish Tenor concerts would. When
they were coming to the end of the night in Michigan City, my
friend with me said, is it over already? I guess I have another
convert to join the ranks of the many, many fans of the Irish Tenors.
Susan Swinehart
PS: Since I had sent the flowers to the fellas for the concert
I was so delighted that all four of them including Arnie were
wearing them last night. I have to report that Anthony's
buttonhole stayed upright all concert long! LOL
