HERITAGE TOUR
SUMMER 2004
Chastain Park Amphitheatre
Atlanta, GA
July 2, 2004
Needless to say, the concert was wonderful and over too soon!!! For a change, it was a beautiful night in Atlanta--hot but
NO RAIN!! My husband, granddaughter (13) and her mom and myself were perched in absolutely wonderful seats--
—right of center stage and the “lads” were close enough so we could see the sweat on their brows!! Poor Ronan really suffered! At one point, he took a white kerchief and placed it over his head like a skull cap. The "lads" started the concert with MINSTREL BOY and had chosen songs from all the cds they have made. Anthony sang THE WEST'S AWAKE and it was beautiful! He also sang LOVE ME DEAREST and THE OLD BOG ROAD, which I found interesting as I have only heard Finbar sing it!
Ronan sang I’LL TAKE YOU HOME AGAIN, KATHLEEN and it was wonderful-he takes your breath away when he sings this beautiful song!! (mine anyway). He also sang SONG FOR IRELAND and ISLE OF HOPE, ISLE OF TEARS—he was magnificent!!
Finbar came on with SOUTH OF THE BORDER and you could tell that he really enjoys singing this song and he is very “cute” when he sings it!! He also sang FORTY SHADES OF GREEN and MAGGIE, although they changed it to Jack and Nora. I love MAGGIE and was not really enthralled with the new rendition—Finbar is singing SOUTH OF THE BORDER as I type this and I can almost see the smile on his face!!
They sang MY HEART WILL GO ON and it was so beautiful!! My granddaughter loved it—on the way to the concert she asked me if I though they would sing it!! The harmony was just fantastic!! Also, WHISKEY IN THE JAR with a lot of audience participation with clapping of hands!! What a fun song J!! They had started to sing THE GOLDEN JUBILEE when someone set off a barrage of firecracker-it was frightening until we realized what it was-but the “lads” started again and it was so cute-they had some really fun antics with this song! Also, PHIL THE FLUETHER' BALL was sung and the "lads" were in their prime! They sang many more of their songs-i cannot list them here, but am sure Duke will pick up where I left off!
Speaking of Duke, during intermission I heard a voice asking, “ Is there anyone named Judy sitting here?” I turned around and there was this cute guy with dark rimmed glasses and baseball cap and I said “I’m Judy; he stuck his hand out and said, “Hi, I’m Duke!!” It was a real pleasure to meet him and I can now put a face to the emails he sends!!
All in all, it was a marvelous concert-oh, and I need to add that Ronan came out and thanked everyone for their support and how he had enjoyed his years with Finbar and Anthony and how he was moving on to new adventures—he received a standing ovation and I truly think he left the stage teary!!
God Bless the Irish Tenors for the gift of their voices and for them sharing their music with us!!! I hope they all know how loved they are!!!!
Judy Friedman
