PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
PORT ANGELES HIGH SCHOOL
PORT ANGELES, WA
DECEMBER 15, 16 2006
After a week without electricity - and no Internet - I put fingers to keyboard
and attempt to recollect last weekend's events. The power went off Thursday,
December 14, midnight, so we endured one day in the dark before we departed
for Port Angeles, light, and warmth. Electricity returned to my house Thursday,
December 21 at 4:00 p.m. These are just some of my impressions of
the concerts.
It is always a thrill to have The Tenors in our neighborhood, plus this would be
my first concert with Karl. I had an extra ticket, so I pressed my 15-year-old
granddaughter, Devin, into service. She agreed to go being curious as to what
has been obsessing her grandma for the past seven years, almost half her life.
Before the concert, we had the opportunity to chat with Sean who regaled us
with their adventures in just getting to Port Angeles. They had come in Thursday
afternoon from Sunny California just as the storm hit, a fact that Finbar
mentioned in his greeting to the audience. In fact, the Hood Canal Bridge
had closed due to high wind just 20 minutes before they got there, so they
were forced to back track and spend the night down the road at Gig Harbor.
The PA concerts began with the entrance of Larry Blank, new to me and an
able maestro, with a pick-up orchestra, who acquitted themselves quite nicely.
The songs were the same as written in the program. Karl's first solo was
Song of Ireland; very impressive. He has a sweet, pure voice but can turn
on the afterburners when necessary. Of course, he is not Anthony (lol) but
is a very good blend with the other's voices. I can see why they chose him to
complete the trio. They were all relaxed and seemed to be enjoying themselves,
as usual disageeing exactly where the stone was outside Dan Murphy's door.
Finbar struck a very popular note with the audience with his Isle of Inishfee and
How Great Thou Art. Anthony particularly was having a good time with FairyTale
of New York, concentrating on Karl as the object of his affection, explaining that,
hey, he was in prison. When Karl sang, "I love you, Baby," Anthony had a wide
grin and pumping his fist in the air. Karl, on the other hand, during "Santa
Claus Is Coming to Town, referred to Anthony and Finbar singing, "He knows
who has been bad or worse." Of course, my favorite song was "O Holy Night"
with Anthony's impeccable French that is second to NONE. Am I prejudiced?,
only slightly. The concerts were over much too soon, and they made us beg
for an encore. During "Jingle Bells" and "White Christmas," Finbar encouraged
the audience to sing along, then Anthony said, "Come on Girls/Ladies," holding
his hand to his ear. When I asked my granddaughter whom she preferred, she
said without hesitation Karl. Where did I go wrong?
Benaroya Hall in Seattle is an impressive venue. It is the home of the Seattle
Symphony, so the acoustics are also impressive. It was very well attended though
not a sellout. Several of us were able to upgrade our tickets from Row H to D. This
turned out to be the second row as they had not sold the first two rows, which was
a good thing as they were extremely close to the stage. I wish I could say the
orchestra was as good as the Port Angeles group, but no luck. Larry did his best,
but they did get out of sync a few times, then a couple of times Anthony had to cue
them faster or slower. During Lord of the Dance, a tricky tempo, both Anthony
and Finbar were tapping their feet in unison to the increased cadence of the piece.
As far as the meet and greets go, these had to be the fastest on record. I don't
know where the fire was, but we were herded through, actually both meet and
greets, at a brisk clip. I guess it is like turning the horses back to the barn these
being their last three concerts. All in all, it was a good weekend plus Monday.
BENAROYA HALL
SEATTLE, WA
DECEMBER 17, 2006
Fay Loux
Fay and Devlin with the Tenors.
