Enya - Wild Child (Click her photo at right for web site)

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Recent Concert Photos


Saratoga (SPAC) July 26, 2010


Bangor, Maine July 28, 2010


Monday, July 26, 2010

Bethel Woods - July 24, 2010

After a very interesting ride in, Dave picked me up at the station and as always, I find it very interesting to meet other forum members. We chat for a bit as we head off to my hotel. It was three hours before check in and just wanted to see if I could check in early. Was informed they are getting the rooms together and to come back in 30 minutes. Kelly (Scuilly) and her husband Christopher come down stairs and we have another great first time meeting. We decide to get something small to eat so we head next door to what may be the only diner in this small town.

I love salads so thought I would get a taco salad and that would hold me over until our tail gate party at Bethel Woods. A few minutes later we get our meals and sitting before me was the biggest salad I have seen. There goes my small snack. It was very good but could not eat it all. Chris had a burger and fries and that even filled his plate. The prices were reasonable and the portions were not small here. Was not hard to leave full. Goes to show that these country restaurants still believe in providing a hefty meal for a great price. After the show we all met up again and eat at the only diner in town. Everyone’s plate had the hungry man’s portion.

We head back to the hotel so I can check in and clean up for the show. Sitting in the lobby waiting for Scott and Mike to arrive, we go through our photos for the night’s show and I show everyone the small porcelain boxes I got for Máiréad and Kelly shows us these cute little animals she got for each of the girls. I know the girls get swamped with gifts over a tour and I know I am guilty as one of those who takes part in overloading Máiréad with gifts. No good with graphics or poems, so I try to search for a gift that she may like. For myself, it is just my way to say thank you for all she has given her fans.

Dave saves the best for last. He pulls out his beautiful and thoughtful project that he has been working on the last several months. As many know, he has taken all the reviews from the spring shows and combined them into a book to give to each lady. This is what I mean by providing such a thoughtful gift. Not only did he put a lot of time into each book, each one looked professionally done. I know the ladies would love their gift.

After Mike and Scott arrive and we chat a bit, we head off to the venue about 3:00 to try and catch any interviews conducted with Thunder 102 and hope to spend some time going through the grounds that held the biggest and most notable music event in the history of America. We take our cameras and head on in. After snapping a few pictures, we head out back in hopes of hearing a sound check. This was just a small treat of what we are about to experience in a few hours. Some was a little hard to hear because the venue was also playing music through their patio speakers, but we managed to hear some beautiful music going on down there.

We have some idle chat and watch the carts move about and soon see a cart pull up with two women sitting backwards on the cart. I quickly notice blonde hair up in a ponytail and as they stand up I see Máiréad and Lynn move on inside with expressions on their face of enjoyment. Later that night Lynn even mentioned that she was born in the wrong time.

No one is hungry after we each tried to eat small for lunch, but we all know how that turned out. So we purchase a ticket and move on to the museum. Let me tell you, well worth the money paid for admission. Such a great volume of information by audio, video and so many tangible items from the 60’s. I stood there just gazing at the 45’s (that is a small record with one track on each side, for those who may not know what it is). I was only nine years old in 1969 but I grew up listening to many of these artists and was deeply amazed with how much was in this museum.

As I move about I did notice that the choir was also in there. I am standing in the bus watching a video and after I leave someone asked me if I knew who was standing right behind me. Oh yea, I knew. That is why my heart was racing.

About time for the show so we head back to the cars and drop off our cameras and collect our things for the M&G. Dave and I each had two seats for this show. Of course, he had second row center and of my two, the best one was section three about seven rows back just a bit to the left of center. Not bad and had great view of the ladies. Kelly had a seat right next to me so we quickly get involved with a couple next to us. This was their first show in two years and they just got the SFTH DVD, so they knew nothing of this show. They did not even know about Alex. Well, we quickly got them up to date and prepared them for a show of their life. Kelly ran over and got a “Fiddler Crossing” sign from Mike to give to them. They were just in heaven with the sign.

The show started and Kelly and I did our best to keep those in our area clapping. Maybe it was meant for us to be spread out in this show. Gives us more chances to talk to new fans and share information with them.

Not sure why they took Lynn out of Goodnight My Angel but was still a beautiful song. Another of my true favorites.

Fields Of Gold is such a beautiful song when performed by Lisa. I may have been the only one who gave her a standing ovation, but she deserves it.

My Heart Was Home Again was performed by Lynn and Lisa. They really did a wonderful performance but I have to admit something. Two songs tonight brought tears to my eyes. This was one of them (the other was Amazing Grace). When I was listening, I watched Alex performing this. Though it was Lynn and Lisa on stage, I watched Alex on stage. My memories of Alex took control and I once again saw Alex on stage singing. It was so touching and emotional for me.

Now I am glad that I refused to read reviews until my first show this summer. I did not want to know how the changes were made without Alex and wanted to be surprised. I thought I could deal with it better. Anyway, I am glad I did that. I am sitting here listening to Orinoco Flow and all the sudden this four part harmony comes up. WOW, I just about lost it. On top of that, Kelly is next to me hitting me so I knew it blew her away too. I am not in no way minimizing any other part of tonight’s show, but this was the best part of the show. I wanted to hit replay and hear it again. Cannot wait for Philly. Seriously everyone, This change was totally Angels singing from above. Not reading reviews provided me with a surprise that I remembered all night.

During the intermission we discover that three seats are empty next to Dave so Kelly, Chris and I quickly take them over. Still did a lot of yelling and after I left the show I noticed my throat was a little sore from all the yelling that I was doing. Well worth it.

A few things really stood out in this show. Each girl seemed like they had this extra burst of energy and it blew me away. Lynn was fabulous on the stage. Seriously, she was so full of smiles tonight. Do not get me wrong, she is always full of smiles, but there was just something different tonight in her smiles. She already has such a beautiful smile, but I am not sure how to explain it. It is like the ghosts from Woodstock were once again on stage through these ladies.

I will admit that I was not sure how to react to tonight’s show. As it got closer I really started to miss Alex even more and even spoke to Dave about it. Alex will always be missed and I still got to see her perform tonight through the wonderful memories I have of her. It just goes to show that these ladies are so talented and each one has that special and unique gift that they will always keep us wanting more. That is just one of the qualities that makes us keep coming back for more.

Máiréad and Lynn, Máiréad and Lynn, Máiréad and Lynn. That is what I kept telling myself over and over. Than Rachel walks in and announces that Máiréad and Lynn will be at the M&G. YES! I have yet to meet Lynn and wanted so much to meet her. I pull out my items for the girls, including my IOH items to have Lynn sign. I make my way around to the table and start talking to Máiréad. I talk about Tinkerbell and than I talk to her about Pixie Land. I show her the little porcelain boxes that I got her. There are seven boxes with each letter of her first name. After I bought them I tried to paint the accents on the A and E, but it looked so tacky that I wiped it off. Not sure how long I was talking to her but I glance over at Lynn and she is waiting patiently for me. I again brought the line to a stop. Sorry everyone. As I move over they both comment about my Alex button. She will always be part of CW.

I get to Lynn and I think I took my stupid pills. Here I am finally getting a chance to talk to her and I waste it talking about how I have missed her at the M&G. What was wrong with me? I wanted to talk to her about her love for animals since I am also an animal activist. But did I? No, I did not. After we talked a bit she asked me where I was from and I told her Ohio. She was so sweet as she told me to be careful on the streets. Seriously, I think each of these ladies have been blessed with so much compassion for others.

I finally move on because I again was holding up the line. These ladies make us feel so welcome that time just never crosses our mind because we feel such comfort as we talk to them. But I still forget things.

Tonight’s show was full of energy and as we the fans continued to show our appreciation, it seemed like all four ladies just returned with even more love. Though there were many small changes, the impact on me was an overwhelming warmth on my soul. Truly a spectacular show!!

Philly, here I come.


Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Songs From The Heart Summer Tour Underway

The summer tour has started in Canada and they will return to the states on the 23rd. of this month. It is really hard to believe that this is their sixth year touring in the states, the first was in 2005 when they promoted their first DVD which was recorded at The Helix in the fall of 2004.

I hope everyone has a chance to make a show this summer as you will find nothing else that touches your heart as the ladies. Máiréad and each one of these talented performers loves to interact with the fans. Though I was told they can only see out a few rows because of the lights, you will see many smiles and a lot of eye contact. It is not uncommon for them to look right at you and smile. Even Máiréad with all her dancing and moving about the stage even finds it in her heart to look at each fan and provide them with the most welcoming smile.

I have my first show for the summer in Bethel Woods and will post my review to share with others. If anyone has a review of a show that they would like me to post, send me an email and I will post it for you.

pixie.land@yahoo.com

Monday, June 28, 2010

New Pixie Land fansite

Hello Máiréad fans. I have a few things to update on so let me get started. First, I recently built a new “Pixie Land” site. The reason for this is because the hosting site I originally was on was very limited. Check out the new site and I think you will like it better. Add Pixie Land to your favorite list and continue to check up because I will not only post new information but I will keep all older stuff too. The new site is:

http://www.maireadnesbittpixieland.com/

You will also see at the right and also on Pixie Land that I have five sites that I use to share with fans about Máiréad’s career.

Fansite
http://www.maireadnesbittpixieland.com/
Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=186194221569
Blog
http://www.rick60.blogspot.com/
YouTube Channel
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheRick1960?feature=mhw4
Twitter
http://twitter.com/_PIXIELAND

As we know, the ladies are currently in Australia doing promos for their fall tour in October and November. I have many videos and adding more on Pixie Land. You may find it here:

http://www.maireadnesbittpixieland.com/Australia-Tour.html

The summer tour in the U.S. starts next month and many have already reserved seats. If you plan to attend and have not yet got your tickets, I would not wait too long. Tickets go fast.

As many know, Máiréad’s forum holds a Máiréadfest every tour. This year it will be in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Take part of this and show your support for Máiréad. If you have not joined her forum, go to this link and sign up today.

http://maireadforum.com/forum/index.php

Have a safe summer and hope to see you down the road. Until then, keep sharing Máiréad with others.

Friday, May 28, 2010

Alex, We Will Miss You

I am going to side track for a moment because this is something that is important to share with you. Wednesday was a sad day for many. We received the news that Alex is taking a break to spend time with her family. She will be dearly missed. With her angelic voice and passion to sing, I know we will see her again down the road. I, for one, will continue to follow her career. I am not just a Celtic Woman fan but also an Alex Sharpe fan. Best wishes to you Alex and you will always be in my prayers.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Máiréad on Ron and Don Show

Check out the recording of Máiréad on the Ron and Don Show yesterday. There is only audio since she was not live in the studio. I would have no problem listening to her play for three hours. Actually I have listened to her play for more than three hours before. Her music is just that great!! To get past all the other stuff, move ahead to 31:00 minutes.

http://www.mynorthwest.com/?nid=577&a=17306

Monday, May 10, 2010

Spring Tour About Over - SUMMER IS COMING

Well there are only nine shows left on this tour. It has been a long road and these ladies deserve a break. As much as we love them, they need their rest and time with family.

Summer tour opens July 12th. in St. John, New Brunswick. So if you were not able to attend a spring show, you still have the summer. See the link on the right for Songs From The Heart tour dates.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Máiréad Nesbitt and Cora Smyth

I really enjoy all of Máiréad’s music. She is a highly talented lady and perfects all she does. The first video is “Strings Of Fire” and the second video is “Celtic Violin Dueling.”



Monday, April 19, 2010

PIXIE LAND Fan Site

PIXIE LAND fan site is now going. It is just a way to show honor for all that Máiréad has done for her fans. I did include a guestbook if anyone wants to leave a comment, but it will be monitored daily. I will delete anything that is inappropriate. So check it out and pass the link along to others.

http://maireadnesbittpixieland.weebly.com/

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Máiréad - HAPPY BIRTHDAY

I would like to wish you a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY. Enjoy the warm Florida weather and celebrate this day, for it is the day the world was given an Angel from above.

Photobucket

Monday, April 5, 2010

2009 Irish Music Association Winners

Congratulations to Máiréad and Celtic Woman for their 2009 Irish Music Association Awards

Máiréad won “Top Fiddle” with 49% of votes. She defeated Liz Carroll (25%), Martin Hayes (15%) and Natalie MacMasters (12%).

Celtic Woman won “Top Group” with 48% of votes. They defeated The Chieftains (28%), Gaelic Storm (19%) and The Wolfe Tones (6%).

"TOP FIDDLE"




"TOP GROUP"




“THE BEST OF THE BEST“


"VOICES OF ANGELS”