By Ute
Finally again a Celtic Tenors concert for Uli and me AND two more family members after more than 2 years!
This time our adult kids Manuel and Jana came with us. Jana saw the tenors once with us many years back in Stuttgart but for Manuel it was the first time.
First we met with our dear Dutch friend Ali for dinner before we headed to the nearby venue. So happy to see Ali again! And when she talked with the kids the ice was broken right away and we all had fun. We wanted Ali to let us know how Goes is pronounced and when we heard that we really had to laugh. We tried to pronounce it as the Dutch do but failed. A little later we guessed how many Celtic Tenors concerts Ali has already attended. Manu guessed exactly the right number. 🙂
Sorry but I will not tell here how many, who knows maybe Ali wants to give the answer herself?
As always I got a present from Ali. Presents from Ali are never boring and they are never bought in a regular shop. Presents from Ali are ALWAYS special. Thank you for the present Ali. I think I will need it in the future. LOL
Time went fast and soon we had to walk to the theatre. There we met Heike and Axel, we said a short hello and then it was time for the concert to start.
The first song was ‘Red is the rose’ and after the first tones they sang it was clear to me that this would be a wonderful evening and THAT it was!
While I didn’t expect them to sing a certain song, Uli SO much wished beforehand that they perform ‘Forever young’ and then they did. His all time favourite. He was over the moon to hear it.
During the first songs I had a glimpse at the faces of my kids and I saw that they enjoyed the concert as much as Uli and I did.
The guys were funny and in a good mood. I heard old and new jokes which I all liked. One time (I think it was James and Matt) they made the sound of a train and that sounded so REAL! Well done guys! 🙂
The audience was told what the guys did during this long lockdown. Now I finally know! I had often thought of them during that time and had wondered how they came along.
The tenors’ MD Brian McGrane did a wonderful job to back the tenors. I liked to see how he played the guitar and mainly the piano with ease. There is not much music knowledge necessary to see how talented this young guy is. He sometimes sang along with the tenors but he performed two of his very own songs as well. Not in tenors style and he doesn’t have a tenor voice but he has his own distinctive style. I wish him well for his musical career!
Daryl told us that during the lockdown he had made a new CD called ‘Reflections’. Brian is also involved. Daryl made me curious so I ordered it on the Internet. I hope it will arrive here soon – can’t wait.
After several songs I always fear to hear a certain sentence said by one of the tenors. They always say this sentence – aarrggh! 😉
It is: ‘After the next song there is a short interval’. Do you know what this means??? This means the concert is approximately half over by then!
During the interval we all got a drink for free. This means long queues of people ordering the drinks. This is very stressful for the people who have to fill the glasses as this has to be done really fast to make sure that everyone is back to the theatre in time. One of these ladies did as fast as she could and when she put the full glasses back to the surface one broke. I felt a bit sorry for her though it was not a big deal. I think everyone got the ordered drink in time and we were all back to our seats when the tenors and Brian continued with the concert.
Naturally the time went by very fast. Too fast.
An encore and then the concert was over. James announced the meet and greet and he asked better not to touch (due to Corona) but Matt said: ‘Touch me’. I really had to chuckle when I heard this!
When we saw the guys at the meet and greet we introduced Manuel and Jana to them. They ALL were astonished that both the kids came with Uli and me to see them. Daryl (or was it Brian?) said that with their attendance the average age of the audience would have been lowered. :-).
Both the kids told the tenors and Brian that they really had liked the concert.
Later I asked them which songs were their favourites. Both said it was ‘Remember me’ and ‘The Boxer’. And of course the Ed Sheeran song ‘Perfect’ (though Manu said he had heard it too often in the past). Among Manu’s favourites was also ‘The rocky road to Dublin’ while Jana had liked very much ‘Caledonia’.
My favourite song was also ‘Caledonia’ and ‘Fare thee well love’ as these songs brought back such wonderful memories as with these songs and ‘Mull of Kintyre’ Uli’s and my love for the Celtic Tenors once started.
I think it was James who asked Manu if he was familiar with their music. Manu said: ‘I’ve been listening to your music for the last 20 years – in my parents’ kitchen’. 😉
That’s correct. The kids grew up with the Celtic Tenors music in some way. LOL
Of course I still like to listen to the Celtic Tenors, in particular while doing the cooking. But as the kids don’t live at home anymore, they don’t know. 😉
As always it was special to have the guys for a short talk after the concerts. And yes, I dare to say they greeted us as being old friends. James, as always, asked Uli how far we had to drive this time and Uli assured him it was worth every kilometer as always.
James told me further about his long time in the hospital and that he is healthy again. It was such a relief to hear this!
One more thing that made me chuckle during the meet and greet:
Matt asked Manu about his height. After that, Jana did not bother to ask Matt about his height when his hair is down. That was really funny. Manu told Matt that his whistling was really good, of course Matt liked to hear this and he started to whistle again for a short moment. Yep!
Like Uli and me, Matt thinks too how time flies and how soon the own children grow up and yes, with this we have to admit how soon we all become older. But that’s life, isn’t it?
Now it was time to say good-bye which is always sad.
The next day we listened again to a few Celtic Tenors songs in the car and talked about the concert.
Manu said if he could sing as good as these guys he would sing the whole day. 😂
And Uli, as always tried to console me by saying: ‘After the concert is before the concert’. I do hope this is soon.