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Celtic Thunder let loose in CN Centre

It was like some full-sized leprechauns were turned loose in CN Centre when the Celtic Thunder show rolled into town. The five Irish tenors and their eight-piece band gave everyone a pot o' gold who came to the show.
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Celtic Thunder brought their Celtic Thunder Legacy Fall 2016 tour to Prince George on Saturday at CN Centre.

It was like some full-sized leprechauns were turned loose in CN Centre when the Celtic Thunder show rolled into town.

The five Irish tenors and their eight-piece band gave everyone a pot o' gold who came to the show. The personalities were piled as high as the mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving, as high as the white cascade on the first pour of black Guinness, and they stacked up a lot of musical hits as well.

What spiced up the show was a sprinkling of songs that weren't Irish at all. I suppose some people might be a bit put off by the mix-in of the Eagles ballad Desperado, or the romantic anthem I Want To Know What Love Is but they slid them in without a frayed thread in the presentation.

They also spread definition of Irish song quite widely. There were longtime favourites sung in Gaelic tongue, but also their take on the U2 rock standard I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For (this might have been the highlight of the night, for the new life they gave this ubiquitous tune), and even Whiskey In The Jar which is bit of both - a traditional Irish song made famous as a rock song by The Dubliners, Thin Lizzy and American metal gods Metallica along the way.

They did some double-duty as well with their version of The Galway Girl, which sounds like an emerald isle classic but in fact it isn't an Irish composition at all, even though it's dressed up in green clothing.

It's actually written by Texas song-master Steve Earle, although it was written in Ireland based on actual events, and it went on to be one of the bestselling singles of all time within Ireland.

There were also some touches of Canada in their set. They did a sleek rendition of the Michael Bubl crossover hit Home, they slipped in Come By the Hills which is an Irish traditional melody with Scottish lyrics that was famously done by Nova Scotia's Rita MacNeil (in collaboration with The Chieftains), and they also did the Leonard Cohen mega-standard Hallelujah which was lovingly presented but gosh, I'm sorry, I'm just done with new versions of that song. The audience received it wildly, though, so I know where I'm marching to my own tune. They certainly performed it strongly, no complaint there.

It was a simple, direct, vocal showcase. All five took turns with solo material and then coming together for group work that showed off the variety of skills they possessed and the variety of tastes they could handle.

Perhaps, I must say, too much variety. It was a bit of a musical Boggle game, to be honest, with songs just spilled out in an unruly pile. They went from a thunderous drum solo directly into Danny Boy. It was like driving 100 miles an hour then throwing the car into first gear. There seemed no thematic organization, and it didn't make for a better show.

There were a few tidbits of conversation, humour and theatrics to perk up the proceedings, but this aspect was underwhelming. There could have been better stage movement and more harmonizing. No effort at all was made to personalize this concert other than just sprinkling their generic speeches with the words "Prince George" now and again. You'd expect better from a recurring international touring act.

As for the music you'd expect, well the talent was unmistakable.

With ease and genuine love of song, these five specialists shone with music.

They turned auditory art into colour and light and warmed a snowy night in a winter city. With any luck - and we know how the Irish are with that - they'll be back with a redesigned and reinvigorated concert experience next time they set out on a Canadian trip.