Celtic Woman, lounge photo: Left to right: Lisa Kelly, Lynn Hilary and Máiréad Nesbitt standing from left to right Chloë Agnew and Alex Sharpe,...
WEST VALLEY CITY — Mairead Nesbitt looked like a frenzied white Tinkerbell as she leaped across the stage while playing her fiddle during Celtic Woman's "Isle of Hope" concert.
Her jigs and spins made it impossible for the audience to see her flashing fingers. And there were some that expressed doubt that she could actually play such intricate leads.
In fact, the music's arrangements were so enhanced by sonic effects that it was hard to tell where the enhancement ended and her fiddling began.
Regardless, most of the audience enjoyed what they saw and heard and gave multiple standing ovations throughout the night.
And Nesbitt was only part of the show.
The rest of the group featuring singers Chloe Agnew, Lynn Hilary, Lisa Kelly and Alex Sharpe harmonized and soloed with grace and finesse throughout the night.
Songs such as Celtic renditions of Sting's "Fields of Gold," Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors" and the classic staple "Have I Told You Lately that I Love You" were some of the crowd-pleasing vocal performances of the night.
The group sang in English and Gaelic, which added atmosphere to the already visually choreographed performance.
Dipping into Celtic's Gaelic roots, the group — with the help of a chorus of backup singers and a keen band — pulled out Clannad's "Dulaman."
That segued into Enya's ever popular "Orinco Flow."
Originals such as Brendan Graham's "Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears" and "I Bless You" featured the epic Celtic Woman trademark arrangement.
Adding to the singing was the band featuring two percussionists, a piper, guitarist, bassist and keyboardist.
Each of them was able to take the spotlight for their own solos throughout the night.
The set also included the gospelesque "You Raise Me Up," the Spanish "Nella Fantasia," a touching a cappella version of "Danny Boy" and the sassy "Caledonia."
"The Voice," "Last Rose of the Summer" and a take on Billy Joel's "Lullaby" hushed the audience to pin-drop silence. And a surprising version of "You'll Be in My Heart," from the Disney film "Tarzan," complete with djembe accompaniment, had people singing along.
"Thank you for being such a wonderful audience," said Agnew when she addressed the audience for the first time near the end of the show. "Without a doubt, you are the best audience we have had on the tour.
"We always have a blast when we come to Salt Lake City. In fact, America has really embraced us. So this next song is for you."
With that, Celtic Woman launched into a new, previously unreleased and patriotic song called "Oh, America."
While some of the performances and execution of the songs were a little over dramatic at times, the audience members didn't seem to mind. They knew what they wanted, and it was a full-blown, sweeping Celtic Woman concert. And they got what they wanted.
By Scott Iwasaki
Deseret News
Salt Lake City, UT
Published: Wednesday, May 13, 2009 12:01 a.m. MDT
