Well, I was wrong again. I thought I would be let down by the show at Paducah because my last show before this was the incredible Spring finale at Red Rocks. Truth be told, Celtic Woman shows NEVER get old. Any talk of let down is an urban myth.

I flew out from Boston to DCA Washington to Nashville. I had to get up at 4am for this flight, due to likely traffic issues. With some flight turbulence, I arrived safely. In fact, during my brief stopover in DC, a stranger saw my white Celtic Woman shirt and asked if I had ever seen their show before. Needless to say, I did some talking before re-boarding my flight hehe.

I got picked up at the airport by Jim and company. He had arranged a get-together, which was one of my reasons for attending this show. We had a great lunch at a Cracker Barrel restaurant, I had never been to one before. At each stop this year, I have tried at least once to sample something of the local food… this time, being as it was Nashville, I decided on chicken fried chicken, which was excellent.

We drove through the rain and arrived a couple hours later at Paducah and we went to a seafood place were some 17 of us were to gather. Since I had eaten only a few hours earlier, I only had a small dessert. I got to meet John (Starman) who provided umbrellas to all of us who were braving the rain. Also I got to meet PDM's wife Susan and Guardtot, both of whom I had talked to through posts a number of times. Guardtot was attending with a friend. For Guardtot this was to be her second show, and first-ever front row seat. For her friend it would be her first-ever CW show. I told them this would be a real treat.

The Carson Center is a beautiful little theater, with lovely red seats. As at many theaters, there are pit rows. The first row is very close to the stage, and the stage itself is a bit high. My own second row center-section seat, a little to stage-left, would be an excellent vantage point for me for the show. I talked with Mike (Mr.Peabody) sitting beside me as we awaited the beginning of the show. We had noticed that the speakers were MUCH smaller than the ones that the crew had been using on the previous tours, and I was curious as to how the music would sound. At least they were small enough now as to not obstruct the vision of those in the front row.

Thus began "The Sky And the Dawn And the Sun," which I could listen to a thousand times and never tire of. At first the sound seemed a little "soft" volume-wise, but it paid off as the song reached it's crescendo ending, as there was NO distortion at all, which though it was not usually much noticeable on Sky Dawn Sun, had been a slight issue to me at other indoor venues on other songs.

I think I understand now why I adore "Coast of Galicia" so much. The song is a story which Mairead tells with her movements, expressions, and violin. I just never looked at it that way before, but watching her tonight it somehow made sense. For just a second I actually thought Mairead was going to leap clear into the fourth row from the stage!

It was clear the girls were performing with much emotion for this show, noticeable on "When You Believe" as Chloe became noticeably choked up. Maybe it was from the warm response they were getting from much of the first two rows at such an early show on the tour, as we were giving standing ovations after many of the songs. It wasn't something we had planned ahead, we were just naturally getting swept along with the show.

Rather suddenly, the crowd got right into clapping along to "Dulaman" as soon as Ray started drumming. Unfortunately the crowd as a whole would be inconsistent all night long with their involvement.

I honestly don't know how, but Lisa has been winning me over to "The Blessing" more and more on my last few shows. It kinda started at Red Rocks. Some of you know this has never been my favorite Lisa song by any means, but after 2+ years I am finally coming to appreciate this song. Thanks Lisa.

Best "Granuaile's Dance" performance ever!!!!!!

On a personal note, the song "Isle Of Hope, Isle of Tears" meant more to me this time than ever before, as I will be visiting Ellis Island and Liberty Island for the first time (as part of my upcoming road trip with Mr.Peabody) at the end of this month. The expectation of being at the setting of one of their songs made the biggest impression on me that you can imagine.

During intermission, many of the non-Forum people in the third row behind us could see by our attire and enthusiasm that we were obviously more than just casual fans. A lady asked me if I followed them around to different cities and I told her that yes, I had seen them in numerous cities in other parts of the country. By the time I was done she was pronouncing Mairead's name correctly hehe.

Second half… Carolina Rua!!! Lynn you are so awesome!

No distortion on "The Last Rose of Summer." Best indoor rendition of it that I had ever heard. I like these new speakers!

Again there was a little bit more playful fun during "At the Ceili" than usual. I like that whether it is improvised by the performers or not.

For "Sing Out" the crowd became animated once again and clapped along, which was great.

I LOVED the way Chloe said "Paducah" when she thanked us all for coming to the venue. It wasn't that she pronounced it all that different, it's just…. Well, there is something in their lilt which just reaches into you and makes you smile.

An incredible rendition of "Oh America!" Again, no speaker distortion. And finally the entire crowd rose to give them a standing ovation, along with us of course.

"You Raise Me Up." 'Nuff said.

"Encore Medley" began again, along with some applause from the crowd behind us (though not the whole place like at Red Rocks). I didn't care… I love this song so much nothing could dampen my enjoyment of it.

It seemed like the girls had even more fun than ever with "Spanish Lady" than usual. Mairead almost keeled over with laughter when Chloe bumped her.

In summary, the sound quality was definitely better, and the lighting was somewhat better (by that I mean the spotlight work, which varies from venue to venue). I noticed slightly different musical arrangements on some of the songs, which was fine.

Saying our goodbyes, we headed out, 6 of us in Jim's van headed back to hotels near the airport at Nashville, a two-hour ride highlighted by plenty of talk about the show. I'm glad that I came out for this one, good to see people again, and great to make new acquaintances.

The only casualty of this show was my cellphone, which is now officially dead, but oh well. Now I just have to last the upcoming few weeks until the Syracuse show, which will begin the most dizzying vacation of my life.

Thank you for the wonderful review, Scott. It sounds like it was a phenomenal experience.

Say, I may have missed it in the write-up, but...was there a meet and greet at this show? I can't imagine a "fest" without a chance to actually meet the girl who is being fêted! (Mind you, I know that you have had the opportunity to meet Chloe before.)

No, that was the one thing that was missing. It was really about the ONLY thing missing, too. If there is to be another ChloeFest, you can bet it will be at a show that has a M&G.