HI THIS IS BOBBY,I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW YOUR FEELINGS ABOUT THE ISLE OF HOPE TOUR,GOOD OR BAD ON WHAT YOU OR FAMILY THOUGHT ABOUT THE CONCERT,THE SINGERS,THE SONGS USED ON THE SHOW AND ANYTHING ELSE ABOUT THE SHOW AND CELTIC WOMAN.PLEASE REPLY WITH YOUR COMMENTS,ANYONE THAT HAS BEEN TO A CONCERT IN ANY STATE OF THE USA OR OTHER COUNTRY. THIS IS JUST A SURVEY OF YOUR OPINION ON THE SHOW OR SHOW'S YOU MAY HAVE ATTENDED FOR CELTIC WOMEN.I HAVE NOT ATTENDED ONE YET, BUT WILL BE ATTENDING THE ONE IN TULSA,OKLAHOMA ON JUNE 28TH AT THE MABY CENTER SUNDAY @ 7:00 PM. REPLY ON THIS IF YOU WOULD LIKE, I WOULD REALLY LIKE YOUR IDEAS OR OPINIONS. THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH! ''BOBBY HOWELL''

Bobby,

As for my opinions about specific shows, my reviews already cover that. However, as for general opinions, or opinions about the tour as a whole, I will mention a few things here:

(1) The lighting is very good, as in previous tours... EXCEPT for spotlighting individual girls. But then, it also seems to vary. For instance, at the beginning of "Nella Fantasia" the spotlight finds Chloe just as she begins to sing. This was done properly at all 15 of my shows. But, for some reason, the spotlight has missed Alex on repeated occasions, especially in group numbers. It has happened so often, at so many venues on this tour, that it would almost make me think that it's someone on the tour staff who is screwing up... except that I am led to believe that the individual venues handle the spotlighting. The only plausible explanation is that the venue people are working from a script, which must be poorly edited in the Alex portions and which the tour people have simply not addressed for whatever reason.

(2) In a sense, I think the girls are enjoying this tour more. This is only an opinion; you can't really tell by asking them about that at the M&G, because they certainly wouldn't say "No, we really are sick of this tour!" or "Yes, we hated last year!" But in little things I think they really like this tour inspite of how long it is. Chloe, Mairead, and Lisa have the perspective of the back-breaking '07 tour to compare it to (which also included a partial injury to Mairead in mid-tour); Lynn and Alex don't have that same perspective, since '08 was not as long. But I think the girls are enjoying this tour especially because things are more relaxed; there is no switch on this tour AT ALL, and that has to make things smoother.

(3) The tour has to be considered a success, but it is actually a dead-end. If the previous tours were not eminently marketable to Europe or Asia (outside of Japan), then this tour is wholly unmarketable to those areas because it has a theme that is so specific that it creates a sort of limited scope for growth. The tour cannot be duplicated outside of the Western Hemisphere. It will simply not sell. At the conclusion of the American Tour, CW's management will have four choices: David Downes will have to either create some other tour theme for the rest of the world, they can give the girls a vacation, they can do an extended recording period, or they can stay in America and add dates to the current tour. Those are the only choices that they have because of the tour that they created. I think, in creating this tour, the management is conceding that the girls are not a world sensation and are instead merely a sensation for the fans in the US and Canada. This is NOT a knock against the tour; it is a beautiful masterpiece created by IMO the finest artists of our era. But, in creating songs and themes so poignant to us, they have created something only we would appreciate.

That is very true scott, like in the number of Oh America! they basically thank us for the support we have shown them, so that gives reason to believe that this tour was mainly for us here and not a world wide thing.
as for the show I dont personaly know yet seeing that i havnt been to a concert yet, BUT from what i hear the tour is AMAZING.

THANKS SCOTT FOR YOUR INPUT ON THIS SUBJECT,I DON'T KNOW IF YOU KNOW, BUT LISA KELLY'S HUSBAND,SCOTT PORTER IS CEO: OF CELTIC WOMAN LTD. THIS MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH SOME OF THE PROBLEMS,I DO NOT BLAME ANYONE FOR PROBLEMS THAT COME UP ABOUT THE SHOW'S.I WORKED IN MANAGEMENT FOR OVER 20 YEARS AND MY BOSS WAS AN ATTORNEY, SO I KNOW MANAGEMENT MAKES MISTAKES SOMETIMES. ''THANKS ALL KEEP WRITING ABOUT THIS SURVEY''. '' BOBBY''

My reactions are like this:

I LOVE the new dresses. They're the most beautiful that Chloe has ever worn on any tour. I adore the fact that they're strapless and sleeveless, which is a style that shows off Chloe's beauty best. I especially admire the breathtaking second-act gowns, with Chloe in navy/silver. That's the dress that she wore for Dancing with the Stars.

Chloe's voice is more powerful than before, yet has retained its most important aspects, which are its high range, its beautiful breathiness, its distinctly youthful quality, and of course its stratospheric high range.

The new set, with the elegant curtains, is lovely -- FAR prettier than the sets of past shows. The lighting is better, generally, and the choreography (an underappreciated aspect of the shows) is very nice.

I'm pleased with Chloe's songs choices -- Last Rose of Summer, Nella Fantasia, and When You Believe. I'm utterly delighted that she's in Orinoco Flow, where she completely steals the show. Chloe is the one whom you watch in that number, because her movements are so beautiful.

The show is wise in having more group numbers than before, because that means that Chloe is on stage longer. And she's the one that matters.

And of course, I love the fact that Chloe speaks more in the show. Her speaking voice is as wonderful to listen to as her singing voice.

But I was deeply, deeply disappointed in some of the song choices overall. There are far too many modern songs, FAR too many pop songs, and when I think of all of the gorgeous classical and Celtic songs that were eschewed to make way for these contemporary tunes, it breaks my heart. The song choices are making CW lose their Celtic identity -- which is the whole point of their existence. Many people go to hear CW to escape from modern music, not to hear more of it.

Sure, David's arrangements make the songs more palatable than they would otherwise be. But including classical and Celtic music instead would be a much better choice. The first Helix DVD, for example, shows a program that was visually less interesting than the current show, but musically superior.

Or to put it another way, it's a sorry day when Johann Sebastian Bach is replaced by Sting or Phil Collins.

So all in all, I love the new tour/show for many reasons, but some of the music choices are, to me, a great disappointment, and represent a missed opportunity.

This is just a reply to Celeste comment about Chloe's movements,Don;t you just love to watch her movements,She can make those little motions with her body and her singing together,love it.SHE sings,I listen and watch and she touches my heart! CHLOE AGNEW;FOREVER! ''BOBBY''