My Celtic Saturday Evening

Upon the ending of the American Cancer Society's 19th Annual Chili Cook-Off, the next item on my agenda toward which I was looking was a concert for Celtic Woman in Pensacola. Due to some delays that are not really worth describing in detail, we managed to get to the concert just in time. We arrived at the main entrance to the Pensacola Civic Center at about 7:55pm. The concert was due to begin at 8.

We were then directed to another entrance based on where we were going to be sitting. With this knowledge, we hightailed it to the next entrance and made a quick pit-stop before finally making it into the arena. We were told if we had been a few seconds later, we would not have been let in for another 12 minutes, as they did not want anyone moving around while the group was singing.

We found our seats, and we settled in to await the beginning of the concert. It was not long before the lights all dimmed completely, save the aisle lights. Actually, they got dimmed too, but came back on shortly after. Well, there were still the entrance lights and the exit signs, but I am not counting those.

Shortly after the arena became dark, it was filled with a fantasmic ambient sound.
The stage then lit up brilliantly as the fiddle player made her appearance. After a mesmerizing solo, the rest of the group walked out, and a constant stream of amazing music and fantastic lighting effects began.

After an hour, there was a temporary delay as they gave everyone a 20-minute break, otherwise known as an intermission.

After the end of the intermission, another hour-plus of pure visual and aural amazement began. After the "end" of the concert, there was a standing ovation, followed by several encores...each of which was followed by a standing ovation.

After the concert it was our plan to go to McGuire's Irish Pub. This was set in stone when, during the intermission, we managed to cross paths with some other friends that were also planning to go to McGuire's.

So... it was off to McGuire's Irish Pub. During our short trek, I realized that it is absolutely pointless to have a navigation system if you don't pay attention to it. Luckily, though, it was an extremely short trip.

McGuire's has to be the largest restaurant in which I have ever been. It was great, though. Festive and fun. We got a table right next to a small stage where a fellow began singing songs shortly after we arrived. He sang some traditional songs, while also playing some more modern songs with a bit of an Irish sound to them. Not really what I would consider family friendly, which is what made it more entertaining. Looking weird, or otherwise drawing too much of the singer's attention resulted in a "penalty". Most of the time, people had to "Kiss the Moose", while at least one guy had to "Kiss the Ass"... for which he was vastly made fun of since he was from Texas and clearly didn't know what the ass was. One fellow was also asked to "Kiss the Leprechaun's Crotch". Everyone was having fun.

At one point, everyone in our little room was "ordered" to stand up immediately. This is when he began playing "The Hokey Pokey", with some additional lyrics I had not previously heard. ... So we all did the Hokey Pokey. It was fun.

Not long after that, our food arrived. It was absolutely delicious. It was a wonderful evening. And yes, I did wind up briefly staring into the eyes of a girl in the middle of the women's restroom... but that is a completely different story I probably shouldn't share.

I was actually sad to begin the drive home. Though, it was entertaining in itself. Miranda used her iPhone to track down videos of Celtic Woman online in order to find the name of a song she really liked. The name appeared hard to pronounce, but was actually quite simple once I looked it up later. "At the Céili"
Also, there was a maniac on the road that kept making cameo appearances. He would speed by at insane speeds and disappear into the night, then slow down so I would pass... then would speed by again. Until eventually, we did not see the car again. I sincerely hope they did not get into a horrible accident... but at the same time, there were times when they had to be going well past 100-110mph. Just keeping an eye out for this car kept me alert for the entire trip.

Alas, I did eventually make it home. I immediately checked dates to see if CW was coming back anywhere near here anytime soon, and that answer was a sad "No". I shall have to continually check and see.

That about covers my Saturday evening. Now I am looking forward to more great ones.