Rchicago4 - Page: 1 of 1

It was a really wonderful concert! The Tenors wore white tie and tails in the first half and used standing mikes. They came out in business suits and ties for the second half and used head-microphones. Each Tenor introduced his solos with an explanation of the song's background or inspiration. Here's the program:

Mise Eire, with a poem read offstage by Anthony
The Harp that Once
Red is the Rose
Off to Philadelphia - Anthony
Foggy Dew - Finbar
I'll Take You Home Kathleen - Ronan
Kerry Bears Picnic - orchestral
The Lonesome Boatman -orchestral
Fields of Athenry
The Old Bog Road - Anthony
Little Brigid Flynn - Finbar
Song for Ireland - Ronan
The Irish Rover - orchestral
You'll Never Walk Alone

Intermission

My Heart Will Go On
South of the Border - Finbar
Grandfather's Emigrant Eye - Ronan
The West's Awake - Anthony
Danny Boy
Three Irish Folk Tunes - orchestral
Dublin Medley
The Parting Glass (sung with the Tenors sitting on stools)
Golden Jubilee
We're On the One Road/Battle Hymn of the Republic

Encores
Glorious St. Patrick
God Bless America
Whiskey in the Jar

The audience was very receptive but slow to give standing ovations. The fans upfront set the example. By the end of the show, the whole audience was on it's feet clapping along with Whiskey in the Jar. I think it should make a really wonderful PBS show!

When they introduced the Dublin Medley, the Tenors mentioned Noel Purcell, whom Marie told us about. They described him as a well-known Irish actor with a gray beard who appeared in many seafaring films. They said he'd made the Dublin Saunter famous in Dublin. Ronan referred to it as the Saunter and Anthony corrected him, saying it was the Dublin Saunter.

There were surprisingly few mistakes made during the entire show. One problem arose part way through Danny Boy, when Ronan had a problem with his microphone and left the stage. Finbar and Anthony, left onstage by themselves, shook hands and got a laugh. Anthony said, "Have you heard the one about..." but apparently didn't have a joke to finish it with. Finally Ronan came back out and they started again, singing Danny Boy through without a hitch. On some of the last numbers, there were a few missed beginnings, where they stopped and then began again. I had the feeling they were all so happy that the concert had gone so very well, everyone was a little over-energized.

Ronan was full of mischief as usual, and Finbar was charmingly animated. The audience was very receptive to his South of the Border. It seems to me that Finbar is loosening up and Anthony is becoming more dignified, LOL. Anthony's The West's Awake was very powerful.

The stage had a dark backdrop with lights coming through to imitate stars. To the right (I was sitting on the left, so couldn't see the left backdrop of the stage) there was a light colored drape on which various colors and patterns were projected. It was sort of standard for these type of concert shows, and I'm sure it will show up very nicely on TV. There was a large, long boom with a camera at the end in front of us that was going slowly up and down and around throughout the show. Sometimes the boom would lower so far that it blocked my view of the Tenors! There was a camera at the back of the audience and hand held cameras onstage. For all that, I was surprised at how relaxed the Tenors seemed to be.

I believe this will be a great TV show for PBS and I hope all the stations across the US will pick it up. I can't wait to see it and get the DVD. No mention was made from the stage of when it will be released.

And an after thought. Finbar's choice of shirts was interesting. At the collar, the shirt seemed to be sewn so that the striped pattern formed a right angle---I wondered if it wouldn't show up a bit like a zigzag on TV. In any case, it was sporty looking, while Anthony went in the opposite direction with his traditional white shirt--- though he had on a bright yellow tie. I don't remember the color of Finbar's tie, though I think it was coordinated with the shirt colors. Their suits were all dark--with the lighting constantly changing I couldn't tell if they were dark brown, blue, or even black.

Lori Herter