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There are five women in the group, but the singular still works for Celtic Woman.

In a majestic, if exceedingly mellow, two hours on Saturday at Amway Arena, the voices and mannerisms of the singing members — Chloë Agnew, Lynn Hilary, Lisa Kelly, Alex Sharpe — were so similar that the ensemble could well be called Stepford Woman.

Only violinist Máiréad Nesbitt managed to wordlessly carve out a distinctive presence. In her long, flowing gown and long flowing blond hair, she whirled and two-stepped — often up and down stairs — while playing impossibly fleet-fingered solos. As seen on PBS, she wielded her bow as if a magic wand.

If this woman can handle all that, then Britney Spears should be doubly ashamed that she can’t at least sing and dance at the same time.

Musically, Celtic Woman is accompanied by a relatively economical cast of singers and musicians that put out an amazing amount of sound. On the two-tiered stage, there were two drummers, each pounding on massive kits that included everything from gongs to wind chimes and triangles.

Four additional musicians handled keyboard, bass, acoustic guitars, assorted flutes, with a half-dozen backing singers adding voices and the occasional choreographed flourish.

Although the Celtic Woman concept has been compared with Riverdance, the group’s idea of dancing is much less demanding. It mostly consists of swaying the hips and gracefully waving the arms, in kind of a pageant-contestant way. It fits with the music, which is consistently soothing and rela

Oops. Must have dozed off for a moment.

In reality, the traditional songs were quite beautiful. The a cappella "Danny Boy" was enough to elicit tears, while Nesbitt’s instrumental on "Shenandoah" was grand and gorgeous.

Less inspiring were covers such as "True Colors," "Fields of Gold" and Billy Joel’s "Lullabye (Goodnight my Angel)," mellow pop songs lacquered with more mannered sweetness.

It was all precise and pretty, of course, but it would be cool if more of Nesbitt’s energy and style would rub off the rest of Celtic Woman.

by Jim Abbott on Apr 4, 2009 11:49:31 PM
OrlandoSentinel.com

      The Orlando-Sentinel should have sent a rested reviewer rather than Mr.  Abbott, who seems to have required the acrobatics of Mairead to keep him awake.  I'll bet he is a twenty-something to whom the debate about decency in popular music as an issue for our youth or in society as a whole is totally lost on him.  He doesn't see the indecency in modern music and so the contrast is meaningless to him.  He has thus lost one of the main points of appeal of this group.  Oh, well--at least he liked Mairead!