Concert Ronan Keating ( August , 2016, Singapore)

It is unbelievable things you would do when you are abroad just because you miss home, home for us is Ireland since we lived in Dublin for 11 years. We had only moved out from there months ago at the time when we decided to see Ronan Keating at the Universal's Studios in Singapore. I actually used to be a big fan of him when I was a teenager, i had a poster of him in my bedroom, wearing jeans and a white t-shirt. Everything started as a joke between Ciara & I: " Ronan K. is coming to Singapore, it would be fun to go and see him". Ciara also agreed that if she was in Ireland, she would have probably not had gone to see him live. Well, not only we decided to see him but we got "VIP" tickets with a table and some food/drinks very close to the stage. We had a VIP pass with his name on it. It ended up to be so much fun, he is so amazingly talented, such a great voice and still so handsome. Our goal was to get a selfie with him, my husband, Ciara & I tried in so many different ways to call his attention waving the only Irish flag in the audience: mine. Well, even though we were very close to the stage ,we never managed to get a selfie with him :-(. At one point, he started to walk among the audience and we started to chase him like a couple of teenagers lol . At the very end of the concert, he stopped to talk about his wife. Oddly enough, even though Ronan did not seem to care about a true Irish girl, Ciara and an adopted one, me, his wife took notice of us! She posted a photo of Ciara &I waving the flag on her Instagram page ( see below photo); she even replied to one of my comments on her page. I actually started to follow her on IG after the concert and she is such a nice and sweet woman. Our work colleagues were laughing at us due to that photo and our excitement to see him but you know what? Carpe Diem! We had a great team and only those who emigrated very far away from their families and friends, understand how seeing an EU pop-star came make your day. There are not as many chances to see concerts from EU singers in here, so we could not miss this one! Who knows whom i'll go to see next! Ronan if you read this by any chance, you owe us a Selfie !

Concert - Glen Hasard, Iveagh Gardens (2013) by Belén Delgado

I do not need to write much because There is a video where you can see and listen the talent Glen Hasard has, he is definitely one of those talented artists that you need to see live before you die. It was a sunny day in Dublin, at the Iveagh Garden, my husband and I had a picnic there with a couple of drinks and enjoyed the music very much with the crowd! We had to leave before it finished because I had to wake up at 5 am next day to go to work. If you check the video you will see us going downstairs , it´s in the minute 5.09 and no we were not late! We are actually early and got a very good place! It was moving to hear live a few songs from the movie "Once", so beautiful!!!

http://arbutusyarns.net/2013/08/10/glen-hansard-iveagh-gardens/

The Coronas live in the O2 in Dublin ( 14th Dec. 2012)

As you know, we go to gigs frequently and I'm not hesitant at all to state that this has been the best concert we have been to this year, maybe because we have become one of the Coronas biggest fans! It was their first biggest concert in Ireland and we were part of it! Danny's face (the lead singer) said it all, he was over the moon!! 14,000 people filled the O2 arena, this is something that not all the groups can achieve in their first big concert in their home country!! They are so humble and so talented! We were standing very close to the stage, we didn't stop moving or singing along, we couldn't!! There were 2 supporting bands before them, we missed the first one Roisin but were lucky to see the talented Irish musician Ryan Sheridan! What an energy! It was the first time I have seen him and he really made us move! The Coronas came up at around 21.15 and left at around 23.00. They played their hits of their album "Closer to you" but they also played some hits we all wanted to here such us: "San Diego","Heroes of ghosts ,"listen dear" and "Someone else's hands". They interacted with the audience all the time , there were a few moments of silence when Danny just stared at the public with a smile from ear to ear enjoying the moment. We all started cheering!!. We were lucky to meet Danny O'reilly (The Coronas lead singer) at the Dublin National Concert Hall this year when they played a couple of songs with the RTE orchestra at a concert we went to, when they finished, Danny and his girlfriend seat to see the rest of the concert and of course we didn't lose the chance to have a photo taken with him! He was so approachable and friendly,  we couldn't say a word, just look like stupid teens to have the photo taken!! I hope fame doesn't change him and I do hope they grow internationally. They are so great live!! If you ever have the chance to see them, don't miss the opportunity! Since we saw them for the first time at the Aviva at the Script concert, we haven't stopped following them whenever they play in Dublin , there we are! Our goal is to go and see them in a country they have not become famous yet to sing along!!

Not my cup of tea: Chris Brown concert at the O2, Dublin (3th December 2012)

As you know, I always write about cultural activities I do, the problem I have is when I do not enjoy a concert, show or movie that much and I don't feel like writing about it. This was the case with Chris Brown concert at the O2 that we went to on the third of December. Those who know me, are aware that I 'm very open and I like a lot of different type of music and artists, which in my opinion is a good thing, you are not the biggest fan of any of them but just you enjoy their music at some extent. I knew a few songs of Chris Brown that I enjoy, specially the ones with a much quicker pace and rhythm  but I did not know him so well, anyway I bought the tickets to go and see him and I had high expectations due to his international fame (not only due to hitting Rihanna which I did not love , by the way..). Wel,l first thing I did not love was the audience, full of drunk youngsters, I felt old lol, out of place , I just wanted to see the show but I had to watch out that a drunken fake-tanned teen did not fall over us. I did not feel comfortable, so not a great start. Even at the entrance, when queueing a few of them were not allowed in because of the state they were in. Anyway, not Chris Browns' fault , I thought. Then we went in and there was a dj playing hip-hop music that I did not enjoy that much. This was 19.45 and Chris Brown did not show up until 20.45. Impressive start. Chris Brown can definitely dance and sing, no doubt about that and I have no complaints in that broad sense. However, when I go to a concert, I'm waiting to be carried away by the music and feel it and with this concert, this only happened with 3 songs, which were the ones i knew (lol maybe , this was the reason), among them "beautiful people" and "turn up the music" and "don't wake me up". I did not get him as an artist, he was going from very slow melody songs (I love youuuuuu) to very quick ones and in-between songs a DJ playing dance music. Weird.. !! Specially when you like best the dj in-between than him lol. He did not interact with the public much, at the very end he said something like " Dublin I love you and for those who flew from UK, I fucking love you", then he threw the micro on stage and left (Wow, so caring towards the audience lol). I was open-mouthed! To put it in a nutshell, he only sang for a bit longer than an hour ; on top of that, we were there waiting for another hour listening to a horrible dj prior he came to the stage and then, when he started singing, we were actually bored, not moved by most of the songs he sang.. going from slow to quick melodies (At one point I even asked Andres to leave..). For those who are Chris Brown biggest fans, I'm sorry, but I found him a bit "bipolar", I don't understand his style. Don't get me wrong, I still listen to the songs I like from him but I'll not go to see him in concert again. To compare him with a similar artist that we also saw at concert in Dublin a couple of years ago: Ne-yo, I have to say that Ne-yo is far way better than him, he enjoyed his concert very much even though we did not know many of his songs but he engaged with the audience and dancers and we enjoyed it very much. Well!! Again I have to admit that the 3 songs that we enjoyed, we enjoyed them very much and the teen fans seemed to like the other songs, too. This is only our opinion about this gig, maybe I have to go back to my teens times and get drunk (like most of the audience was..) to be able to enjoy it!

Recommended concert: David Garret (Nuremberg,2012)

I got the tickets for my husband as he's a big fan of this highly talented German-American violinist: David Garret (real name: David Bongartz)to see him at concert in Nuremberg (yeah we flew from Ireland just to see him!). Tickets were not cheap since he's very well-known in Germany and his concerts are usually sold-out due to their uniqueness and mixture of music styles, mainly classical and rock music blended by the Frankfurt Philharmonic orchestra, a pianist, 2 guitarists  a drummer all leaded by the violinist David Garret among beautiful female dancers and a giant screen in the back playing images of Garret's performances and even short stories in between the songs (al introduced by Garret's himself). Among some of the stories, David told us was that he was amazed to find his dvds in the black market in Bangkok LOL. To me, it was a great experience just making my husband so happy, he was totally carried away by the melodies, checking with his binoculars the way David G. played his violin. I have nothing bad to say about this concert, pure raw talent in an experience I have not had before. Even not being a big fan of him, I cannot deny the excellence of his performance (it made me overcome my fear of being surrounded by such a big crowd!). He has it all: great looks (he used to be a model), talent and originality in his versions of classical songs. He didn't stop smiling throughout the show, you could tell that he was really enjoying every moment of his performance, so was the audience (by the way, Nuremberg Arena, was packed!!! We were lucky to be in the second row, Andrés did not need the glasses!). One lucky fan was taken to the stage where Garret played a song seating close to her, amazingly enough she remained calm and did not even touch D. Garret, my respect to her!. Some of the highlights for me were the song of Pulp Fiction, the end with his version of Beatles's song "Let it be", Highway to Hell, "Cry me a river", "We will Rock you", "He's a pirate", "Smells like Teen spirit" and his performance of James Bond's soundtrack where he was playing James Bond in a video in the background. Last but not least, yeah you could tell that he knows that he's very talented and loves himself (and music), specially due to the facial expressions he did but no surprises there, I'd also be like him if I was so talented! What a pity that he only goes on tour mostly around Italy, , USA, Australia and some parts of Asia, the rest of the world is missing his concerts! An unforgettable concert for us, the first time I have seen my husband's tears out of joy when listening to the music live. Thank you Garret!!! I leave you with one of my favorite songs:







here you can find his official page with tour dates and videos:

http://www.david-garrett.com/videos/

Concert Review: The Best of Symphonic ROCK (5th of October)

Yesterday we had the pleasure to see live the RTE National Symphony orchestra playing classics of Rock-pop. It's the first time I have listened to something like this, a full orchestra playing Bon Jovi "Living on a Prayer" (one of my favorite tunes); "fix you" by Coldplay, Tina Turner "Simply the Best" and Queen's famous hits: " We are the champions" " we will rock you" " Bohemian Rhapsody" among other hits, what a joyful feeling to listen to the harmony of so many instruments together at the same time played by around 100 musicians. The anecdote of the night was one woman in the audience who was 99 old and didn't stop dancing! The presenter draw our attention to her and she even said a few words, so cute, when I "grow up" I want to be like that woman! I have lost count of how many times I have seen performed the RTE orchestra and I don't get tired of saying that if you haven't seen them yet, don't miss the opportunity! They usually play in the National Concert Hall in Dublin and tickets are not expensive, the cheapest (depending on the concert) can start from 10 euros. Thank you RTE orchestra one more time for making us smile , sing and dance along, specially with the last Abba's song " Dancing Queen".

For those curious ones below you can see the programme:

Aaron Copland " Fanfare for the Common Man"
Robbie Williams "Let me entertain you"
Procol Harum " Whiter Shade of Pale
Eryc Clapton "Layla"
Coldplay "Fix you"
Meatloaf" Bat Out of Hell"
The Beatles " Can't buy me Love"
Bon Jovi "Living on a Prayer"
John Miles " Music"

Interval

Survivor "Eye of the tiger"
Bette Midler " Wind Beneath My wings"
Michael Jackson " Thriller"
Deep Purple " Smoke on the Water"
Simon and Garfunkel " Bridge over Troubled Water"


Good old Rock and Roll Medley

Tina Turner " Simply the best"

Queen " We are the Champions", "We will Rock you","Bohemian Rhapsody"

as a bonus they ended up with Abba

Roxette's Concert , O2 Dublin, 9th July 2012

Row 28, seat 125 & 126, block E in the O2 Arena in Dublin we got to see for the very first time and probably last, one of our teen idol pop bands : Roxette. A perfect music duo: Marie Fredirksson and Per Gessle that started back in 1985, I was only 8 years then. I bought one of my first vinilos albums when I was 12 "Look Sharp" in 1989; in this album you can find one of our favorite songs of all times, which were performed at the very last minute of the concert " The look" (exciting moment!). If you tell me when I was 12 in my Spanish city that I Was going to see live Roxette in Dublin 23 years later with my husband, probably I would have not believed it! I have to say that I Was worth to wait for so long! I couldn't be in better company and in a better place! What a great atmosphere, it was packed! Not a single free seat!! The audience of course were all from their thirties onwards. People singing along the lyrics loudly. It was moving to see how everyone singing "IT must have been love", "sleeping in my car", "Dangerous","Dressed for Success" ,"How do you do?", "Joyride" well everyone sang in English but Andres, me and a few other bunch of foreigners like us that didn't speak English back then and they way we remembered the lyrics was very differently lol. It was a nice feeling to listen back to the lyrics and be able to actually understand what they were saying!!! EXCITING!!! Going back to the concert, there was only one supporting band , Taxi something was the name, can't remember because I have waited to see Roxette for too long to listen to another group. Roxette came to stage at 21.00 (we got there at 19.30), as they didn't have big screens and we were a bit far away, we pictured them with the same look they had in the 80ies, they didn't grow old for us. The gig was simple:Just both of them singing, no fancy dancers or changes of wardrobe/ stages. Their energy, their voices, the way they dressed, it was all the same!! Per didn't stop jumping all the way, what a shame I couldn't get closer to jump with him!! Marie did not jump so much, she was a bit more chilled-out but she smiled all the way and sang beautifully together with Per. They did not even take a break for the 2 remaining hours! While reading the programme of the concert I found out that Marie (female singer of Roxette), had a brain tumor at the beginning of 2002, this is why they stop performing back then. I had no idea!! Luckily she recovered , otherwise i would have never been able to see them!! Unfortunately Cancer kills anyone, it doesn't count if it you are a brilliant singer like Marie. I cold go on describing the concerts with loads of compliments, to me it was the perfect ending of a hard working day, it was a dream coming true for both my husband and I, what a joy to share it together, I found it so romantic. Thanx Roxette for existing, for going on singing so that old fans like us can enjoy your songs together!! I hope you can continue for many more years making more people happy!! Big virtual hug from a humble Spanish blogger who has grown up with your songs. We love you!

Afro-Cuban All Stars concert , National Concert Hall (Dublin , 28th May 2012)

I only need a few lines to describe the positive vibe and good energy that this Afro-Cuban group of musicians brought to the National concert Hall of Dublin, all dressed in their elegant white suits. They mix different style of Latino music bolero, chachachá, salsa, son montuno, timba, guajira, danzón, rumba and abakua. I had never listened to such a great combination of sounds and dance moves. Just by listening to them, we got carried away by their rhythm!! Andrés could not remain seated for long because to be honest it was not the type of music to seat back and relax! You just wanted to dance along and enjoy it! They mentioned that the last time they were in Dublin was 10 years ago, what a privilege seeing them , I really need to go to Cuba now! It was beautiful to see the main singer and founder of this Cuban orchestra Juan de Marcos Gonzalez dancing with his wife on stage while he was singing a Romantic song. One of the highlights of the night was the bolero "2 Gardenias para ti" and from the second half of the concert, when they invited the audience to stand up and dance and we didn't stop them! It was the first time that I see the National Concert hall's audience dancing. They did not stop smiling , dancing or singing for a second, they gave all they had on the stage. People ask me all the time why do I go to so many concerts, well the answer is simple, if the concert is good enough, it can make you disconnect from daily routine and stress even after a hard-working day like it was last Monday when this concert took place. Not sure I would be able to live without music! No I'm thinking of the next concert we will be going to!! Last but not least, if you have the chance to see the magnificent AFro-Cuban all Stars live and you could not see them in Buena Vista Social Club, go and see them, they were not awarded for grammy awards for no reason!

Moment of music Joy: Brian Byrne & RTE Orchestra at the National Concert Hall, Dublin (2012)

I wanted to share a night full of music with my mum who is visting from Spain & my husband,so what a better way than going to a concert at the National Concert Hall in Dublin?. I was checking the coming performances and I chose the one from Saturday night ( the10th of March), mainly due to the fact that one of our favorite groups were part of the repertoire of the night: The Coronas. I did not know the director of the orchestra for the night, Brian Byrne (I know I'm an ignorant, he is quite a well-known composer and director), nor I did the rest of the artists of the night: Claire Martin (vocals) & Nigel Hitchcock (saxophone). The magic of the night was a blend of different styles of music, all in a few hours, surrounded by at least 70 members of the RTE orchestra. All started with some classical touches composed by Brian Byrne: Queen's Fanfare and then opening title of Albert Nobbs, Fantasy store & Hubert/ Albert Fix Boiler. This was followed by a colorful and happy Polka and a Waltz played mainly by one violinist and a flute player along with the orchestra, you felt like dancing on the stage! The end of the first interval came with a saxophone concerto played by magnificent Nigel Hitchcock! I can assure you that I had not seen anything like him before in my life, what ability to play saxo so quickly and in tune! Among the performances,the brilliant director, composer and also musician: Brian Byrne, played some Irish jokes about the orchestra and even some cousins that he said that had in the audience and made us all laugh. Brian was able to direct the orchestra and to play piano in a superb way at the same time, of course without stopping smiling!

After a short 10 to 15 break, we became excited because it was the time to see "The Coronas" live with the RTE orchestra, what a moment! The singer, Danny was excited to play with them, you could see it on his face, he is so humble and transparent! They played 3 songs "Closer To you", "Mark my words" and Danny's version of "Lakes of Pontchartrain (see the below video to listen to it)", to me the last one was my favorite, Danny has such a clean and different voice from anybodyelse that every song he sings it 's made unique. When he was not singing he was looking back at the orchestra, it must have been a beautiful moment to see 18 violinist playing along their songs. We enjoyed it with them, so much! The director introduced them saying that he knows that they will be "the U2 of the XXIth century" due to their talent, I'm also sure they will be!! Well, after the Coronas finished another big surprise was awaiting for us, at least for me, getting to know and listen to UK Jazz singer Claire Martin was the surprise of the night. What a voice and talent!! She made me feel every note of every song she sang! Beautiful! The songs she sang: "Get Happy","Windmills of your mind"."How about me","I get along without you ver well",I keep going back to Joes""God give me strength" (I loved this one!). Such a beautiful night ended with Jazz with the Saxo Nigel and Bryan Byrne  playing piano improvising with the rest of the orchestra! What a way of ending the concert!

Yesterday night will be a night to remember , not only because of all that I have explained above but also because we had the chance to meet personally &  had a photo taken with Danny (The Coronas' singer!)!! Yes!! He was seated among the public with his girlfriend after his performance and some fans like us couldn't avoid asking Danny for a photo! My husband said: "We are your fans, Can I take a photo of you with my wife?". Danny said"Sure, Nice to meet you guys, thanx " (Gee , he is much taller and handsome than I expected!! What a pity he has a beautiful blonde girlfriend (check my photo, she is in the background) and that I also have a beautiful husband, otherwise..). I wanted to tell Danny so many things but I was lost for words,I really felt like a teenager again!!! Although I look horrible I want to share the photo with you!

Thanx National concert hall for making us all happy !! We all enjoyed the night!! This was my "Mother's day present and I'm very pleased to see that she enjoyed a different concert from the ones she usually goes to.

Just pure Irish talent : The Coronas (Olympia theatre, Dublin 5th of December)

Yesterday night we had the pleasure to see one of the most curent successful pop-rock Irish bands: " The Coronas". Its four members are from Dublin, they recorded their first EP in 2004 at the famous venue "Vodoo Lounge" but it would not be until 2007 with their debut LP " Heroes and Ghosts" that they will become well-known. And you will be wondering how come a Spaniard and a Colombian happen to know this group? Well, we are big fans of music in general and try to attend concerts as much as we can, one of those concerts was " The Script" concert last summer in the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, another well known Irish band. The Coronas was one of the supporting bands of " The Script" and we listened to them there for the very first time and since them, specially my husband, we are big fans. Going back to last night concert, I can describe it in a few words: Passion, Talent, Positive Energy, Happiness and great atmosphere! There were 2 supporting bands : " The Car Lovers girls" and "The Kayun tree", first band started playing at around 19.00 pm and we got to the Olympia at around 20.00 so we only could listen to one of their songs, not my style ,not too much to comment on , I can't judge either since we only listened to one song! But about " The Kayun Tree" , I can see that we loved them, they are a band from Galway a mix of "Scissors sisters, Calvin Harris and The Example", very lively, musical and energetic! First time we have seen them but it won't be last! I'll dedicate one post to them soon.

After "the Kayun Tree", "The Coronas" came at around 21.30 and wow, what an energy from the very beginning! THe lead singer, Danny did not stop jumping with his guitar! He smiled all the way through and his happiness could be seen on his face when the whole audience (Theatre was packed, it was a sold-out nite) sang along some of the most famous songs such as " Heroes and Ghosts", " San Diego" "Someone elses's Hands" (this is actually my favorite one!), "Won't leave you alone". Danny can sing, play guitar and piano, all perfect!! no faults!! And his voice is so unique!!. He was explaining the meaning of the songs, when he composed them such as for example another beautiful song composed in a rainy day: " Different Ending" and then he started playing it in the piano. The Coronas mixed the new songs with the old ones so no-one was disappointed there :-)

More info about the Coronas here:

http://thecoronas.net/index.php

You can follow them on twitter and on facebook.

The concert went so fast, we didn't want it to end, it really made my day, a very different Monday evening for me, these little things are the ones worth living working for! The audience had a mixture of people from different ages! The Coronas appeal to everybody!

A couple of Anecdotes:

1.I'm lucky that my husband sings very well because he was singing so loud Corona's songs that I could only hear him lol being lucky again because he did not know all the lyrics for the new Corona's album released only the 25th of September " Closer to You".

2.Another anecdote when I was getting my jacket to leave , the security guys took one young drunken lad outside the Olympia because he apparently hit someone, I was luck I could go back and get out of the narrow corridor since they were coming my way and the young guy was not very calm..

So , what are you waiting for??/ You haven't listened to the Coronas yet?? give it a go!!! and if oyu can see them live once, go!! They are stil at the Olympia theater until this Saturday (6 gigs in total) and I think you may still be able to find tickets ,best ones are standing, of course!

My humble review of George Michael concert with the symphonic orchestra in the O2 in Dublin (3 Nov.2011) by Belén Delgado

Seeing Michael live on stage was very important to me, I was only a kid when I heard of George Michael for the very first time, my sister Marta was a big fan of him. I grew up listening to his songs and watching his videos dancing along with my sisters. Another dream come true, I got tickets to see him live in Dublin the O2! The symphonic orchestra tour is where you can see the evolution of George Michael. He has really grown professionally as an artist and his style of music has evolved from pop to a more jazz-chill out type of music. From wearing jeans and t-shirts to wearing an elegant black suit. There was not a single free place left in the huge O2 arena in Dublin. At some point, I tried to start counting how many people there could be in there but I stopped shortly after since it was impossible to keep count! There were thousands! It was also a very mature audience, I´d say I felt really young in there lol  (I should go to this type of concerts more often!). Unfortunately, our seats were not the best, on the very left side, side A row 26 but it didn´t matter to us because George´s voice could fill the whole O2 Arena. There were no dancers, no special effects, no big changes of stage decoration or wardrobe, just the magnificent symphonic orchestra with more than 30 musicians, 4 back singers & an elegant George wearing his black glasses that never took off . George's experience  & talent with a more than 30 years of a career in music, made all of us want more and the 2 hours and a half that the concert lasted flew by. There was one big screen at the back where they played beautiful images going with the melody and sometimes they zoomed George while he was singing. By the way, he looks great ,probably thanks to Botox but he is also in good shape ! He even made some dance moves that reminded me of the young George in his 80'es video "Faith". The concert was divided in 2 parts with a 15 min interval in the middle. In the first part he played mostly his newest songs such as "Cowboys and angels", "You have been loved" ,"Kissing a fool"(he said this was one of his favorite songs) etc and in the second part the audience got really excited when he sang a mix of some of his most famous 80'es songs starting with Wham's song: "I´m your man "and followed by "I want your sex"; "Amazing"; etc but to me one of the moments i´ll never forget was when he sang: "Freedom". The whole audience, including us, were moving our hands in the air and sang along! I really felt free there!! George was so nice to the public, even a woman from the audience threw a letter at him on stage and he read it out loud. It was to congratulate one of her friends who had her birthday. As a result, George made the whole audience sing along happy birthday and he sang along, too. Just Imagine for a second!! George Michael singing happy birthday to you! Another beautiful moment was when he sang "Love is a losing game" in tribute to Amy Winehouse. Photos of her were being displayed in the background while he was singing. We were getting close to the end of the concert but the audience cheered & cheered asking for more! We didn´t want it to come to an end . George came back to the stage twice and he even sang a short gospel song! He´s just a genius! He can sing anything!

Unfortunately I had a crazy O2 employee stopping us from taking good photos or even videos but there are plenty of videos on you tube , here you are the moment when he paid tribute to Amy, this time in Prague but it was the same in Dublin:


Here you are the other highlight of the night, the 80ies mix part:



I could write more and more about it but the conclusion would be the same: George Michael has a naturally & talented voice. If you ever have the chance to see him live, believe me , it´s worth spending every penny. Yes, it is not cheap but it is one of those moments that you will cherish for life.

George I hope you sing and sing for many years to come, you have even inspired my husband now to keep on learning playing violin with your songs. Thanks for a beautiful and unforgettable night.

Chucho Valdez and the Messengers concert (National Concert Hall, Dublin)

No doubt why the Cuban musician Chucho has won 4 grammy awards! To be honest I went to this concert because I got it as a birthday present, I did not have the pleasure to know this genious Cuban Jazz pianist before. So thank you very much to Allan,Francesco,Marta and Albert for this wonderful present! It was just what i needed after a long day at work! Not only Chucho but also the messengers (5 musicians) and his daughter made the night! What a positive energy full of improvisation, instruments with original melodies and rythms that i had not heard before, dance and clean singing. The whole audience was smiling and moving and at the end everybody stood up to dance and sing along, it was impossible to remain seated! What a joy! What an positive energetic Monday evening! Now I understand why this concert was on a Monday, to make a blue Monday special! Thank you Chucho ! I love what a good concert can make you feel!



See this video of what they are capable of doing and if you have the chance of seeing them on tour, don´t miss the opportunity! Even if you are not into Jazz,it´s something different, just art!! trust me!

Since December 2010 waiting to see the Script in the Aviva Stadium in Dublin! Finally!

I waited for so many months for this moment, being able to see one of my favorite groups, The Script, live in the impressive Aviva Stadium. The atmosphere was great, people of different styles and ages, all dancing and singing in the Aviva Arena. It's was an amazing feeling to see the whole stadium doing the "wave" before the script came to the stage. Very well organized, with security and staff everywhere, it was easy to get something to eat or drink. There were more than 50.000 people, I would say (Aviva stadium has capacity for 52.000 thousand), this is a great success for them ,taking into account that their debut album was launched only in 2008 and they playing with U2 as a support band last year, if i remember well. Now they are on tour around the world and they deserve their success! They sang beautifully for 2 hours ,you could tell that they were very excited and proud to be in their home country singing in front of such a receptive audience, people were singing along loudly, Andres and I tried to sing along but we didn't know all the lyrics lol so we had to pretend we were singing in our own language "English-pitinglish",you know the kind of "uoooo, lalalal washi wushu!! " We were supposed to be seated but everybody stood up to sing and dance so no chance to be seated there!! I'd say that my favorite moments were when they sang " the man who can't be moved" " break even","we cry","nothing","science and faith","if you even come back","before the worst" uhm all of them really!!! They are so good live!! I'm so happy i could be part of this!! What? do you know them yet??!!! have a look at the below video:

And the coronas, great band!!!

My only piece of criticism would be that they say that the show will start at 18.00 ,we were there at 17.00, first ones in the queue ,we came almost out of breath from the other concert, we went to on that day (Glee) and the show it didn't start until 18.35 and it was the first support band: The Coronas, amazing Irish band, by the way, i didn't know them and now i'm a fan,cute singer ,too lol well, my criticism is that after the coronas, they played some music and then when we thought that the script was coming another support band came! a famous one ,actually "Tinie Tempah" und uff ,i don't care if they are famous and all that, they sounded horribly bad, we didn't like them and they were playing for a while, then they stop and there was some music for a long time. So to sum up the script didn't come to the stage until 21.00 p.m.!!!!! I had to drink a coffee and a coke,eat chips and a hot-dog to be able to wait for them so long!! This is what fame does to people, you need to wait for ages and then they have not only one but 2 support bands! Anyway, the Script were very nice to the audience ,they even gave a guitar to one girl in the audience and a kiss on the lips!! GEEEE WHY I WASNT ON THE FIRST ROW THIS TIME!!

Glee on Tour in Dublin, O2 2nd July: Positive Energy and Happiness! thanx Glee!

Yeah in one word: Glee-tastic!! As a big fan of the American musical serie: "Glee", I have to admit that i felt very excited when I saw them all on stage for the first time live! They are exactly like on the serie: Excellent singers, dancers, energetic and cheerful! It's so weird when you see them, you feel like you have known them forever, you know how they look like, their names, their personalities, their singing and dancing styles.. I literally felt like a teenager! No wonder why this tv series have got so many awards, among those a Golden Globe Award. This is why i like going to music concerts of different styles, they all make you feel different things and you really manage to disconnect. Well Glee concert lasted 90 minutes and to me it went so fast..I could have been listening to them all day long! They mixed the singing with some part of the serie with glee teacher: Will and glee coach: Sue presenting some of the songs, specially because they are not on tour with them. In relation to the rest of the cast, all glee club was there but Quinn, played by actress Dianna Agron. They whole glee club started the concert singing the popular "Don't stop believing" ! wow! what a start! It was not allowed to tape any videos so i can't really show you a good part of the concert. Some of the highlights moments for me were: Britney singing "slave for you", she sings and looks much better than Britney! Yeah i hate her she is even prettier in person than on t.v., i couldn't find any faults and believe me i was looking for them all the time lol. Little Rachel sings beautifully , she is very tiny and compact but with a powerful voice ! Kurt played by Christopher Paul Cofer also has a very beautiful voice, he sings like a girl but it's powerful indeed! He also showed his dancing skills dancing "I'm a single lady" by Beyonce. He stole the show! He also said some funny lines, as for example when he proposed on stage to gorgeous looking Blane (played by Darren Chris) to join the glee club after going to the stage with a sack saying that he had Irish Leprechaun inside. Talking of Blane, the group that he leads in Glee"The warblers" also sang 3 songs in a very harmonious and melodic way, loved it! Another memorable song was when Rachel sang on her own "Firework" by Katy Perry. Tina also sang a song on her own "True Colors", it was fab! I also liked a lot when all the glee club came in the t-shirts with their faults written in them , like in one of the episodes and sang " born this way" by Lady Ga-Ga. They even threw some t-shirts at the audience but i was very far away to get any! So many moments to remember, I could be writing here for hours!!! No need to see that the O2 in Dublin was packed, there was not an empty seat and it was 14.00 p.m. !! There were people of all ages, isn't it great? Music bring people together!

Last but not least, my favorite character in Glee, Finn Hudson, looks as good as imagined him, he is so cute and friendly! And yes he can sing and he even played the drums when he sang "Jessie's Girl", we even have a photo together lol (I know,i know i'm too old for him but teacher Will was not around..!)

They ended up the show singing "Somebody to love" by Queen, what a great ending for a wonderful concert. We enjoyed ourselves a lot, looking forward to seeing them again on tour next year! If you haven't had a chance to see them and you are a fan of the series, don't miss it next time!

RTE National Symphony Orchestra, Summer concert : The joy of music!

What a marvelous evening! One mexican Tenor: Jesus Leon, the well-known Irish soprano: Celine Byrne accompanied by the majestic Irish RTE national Symphony Orchestra (I was trying to count how many musicians were there but it was impossible, i stop counting after number 50..) in the National Concert Hall in Dublin! What a combination! The beautiful and powerful voice of the soprano Celine singing in Italian, Portuguese , French and even in Spanish! Isn't it fantastic? An Irish soprano singing in Spanish with Andalucian accent? She pronounced the Spanish "j" stronger than me! (in the South of Spain that sound is specially deep and it's not easy to learn how to pronounce it for foreigners and Celine did a pretty good job!). Can you imagine? An Irish soprano singing a Spanish Zarzuela " Canci'on espa~nola del ni~no judio" (Luna) saying: "de Espa~na vengo, de Espa~na soy" (I'm coming from Spain , I'm Spanish). It was funny the way she pronounced the "r" "morrrrenaaaa" lol. The best moments of the evening for me where when Celine and Jesus sang together in Spanish : Caballero " Duo y Jota" at the end he told her in Spanish "vente, vente (come with me,come with me) and Celine said " no, my Mexican tenor (in a cutting tone)", the whole audience in the auditorium, which by the way it was totally packed, laughed. At that moment, my mum and I knew where he was from, we were trying to guess all the time with no luck since we thought he was from Peru due to his Indian looking.

Since yesterday night i can't stop singing " Nessun Dorma from Turandot" , to me this was one of the moments to remember from the night, I felt joy, I disconnected from the world, not only me but the whole audience, i kept looking at the faces of the people of the second row where we were seated and everybody had a smile on their faces. We were lucky to have the tenor, the soprano and the conductor of the orchestra just in front of us. Another moment I liked was the singing of "Granada" which brought me back to the South of Spain.

It was also impressive to see the RTE orchestra playing "William Tell" Overture! "ta,ta,taran,taran,tan,tan!!! tiiii, ti, to tiiii"

Celine's sweet and strong voice gave us the goose pimples! She even sang one part of a song without opening her mouth, only with her throat and controlling her breathing. Tears came to our eyes when she sang " Un bei di vedremo" from Madame Butterfly. It was also very original to see a Brasilian piece sang by her surrounded only by 8 cellos called: Bachianas Brasileiras N.5 (Villa Lobos).

This was the full programme for the evening:

Rossini : il barbieri di Sevilla, Overture

Puccini: Un bel di vedremo from Madame Butterfly

Britten: Soir'ees musicales

Puccini: Nessun dorma from Turandot

Puccini: Vogliatemi bene from Madame butterfl

Rossini: William Tell, Overture

Villalobos: Bachianas Brasileiras N.5 Soprano and an orchestra of cellos

Rossini: Il signor Bruschino Overture

Lara: Granada

Luna: Cancion espa~nola from el ni~no judio

Caballero: Duo y jota from el duo de la Africana

At the end of the 2-hour concert the whole audience was clapping so receptively that Celine sang another song with the orchestra and in the end She and Jesus end up with a piece from La Traviatta called " Brindisi" ,what an amazing way of finishing off the evening! 20 more minutes of delight! We didn't want it to end!

I'm very happy to have bought these concert tickets for my mother, i think this will be one of the things she will remember in her life and me , too. Dubliners , if you haven't seen the RTE orchestra yet, i think this is the second time i recommend you to go and see them!!! and if you have the chance to see Celine Byrne in Ireland, don't miss it either, she will take you to another world with her voice and her smile! Evenings like this make me think that I'd not be able to survive without music, even if i can't play a single instrument, i have the ability to enjoy so many types of music , this makes me grow as a person !

See below a couple of videos i have found of the soprano and of the tenor, unfortunately i couldn't find any video of both of them singing together but at least you will get an idea of what we felt when we listen to them live:

Spanish Flamenco guitar concert, National Concert Hall (Dublin)

Last Saturday, 2nd of April, we were delighted by the sound of the Spanish guitar played by Spanish musician, Juan Martin, who comes from Malaga, Andalucia (my region). Such talent playing flamenco can only come from the South of Spain! His fingers moved so quickly that it made it look so easy, gee! Juan spoke in perfect English between each song and explained when he played at the 90 th birthday of the famous painter Picasso, who is also from Malaga and who asked him to improvise at his birthday. There was another Spanish "cantaora" (singer) from Malaga with a very clean and neat flamenco voice and 3 more musicians, one playing typical instruments from Marroco and the other two played flauta and clarinete. It was beautiful to see the mixture of the Arabic music along with classical flamenco guitar: Rumbas, bulerias and alegrias. There were 2 dancers, as well, one female who was o.k. , i wouldn't say great but o.k. but the male dancer, geeeeee he didn't feel the music, he reminded me of a Spanish comedian #chiquito de la calzada#, in the way he walked lol the Irish audience didn't notice his lack of skills but we did because we are used to seeing flamenco shows. Anyway, this male dancer, can't even remember his name, didn't make us forget talented Juan who deserved all the applauses he got! I felt back in my region, Andalucia for 3 hours ! thanx National Concert Hall!

Kylie Minogue Concert, 23 March 2011,O2 Dublin

No need to say that Kylie has a great show on her tour "Les Folies". Surrounded by acrobatic, fit dancers, great back singers, different changes of colorful clothing. Full of positive energy and a lively atmosphere! Kylie was so nice to us, she talked a lot to the audience, brought a couple of fans to the stage and even was brave enough to sing a part of one of one of her songs "it's in your eyes", imitating the Irish accent! The only piece of criticism i have is that as Kylie is so short , even though she was wearing high-heels, sometimes when she moved to the other side of the stage, we couldn't see her! The Stage was designed for the people who were seating,not for the standing audience. Before Kylie came to stage there was a poor quality girl band, dont even remember their name and after that there was a d.j. playing for an hour..it was eternal because we all wanted to see Kylie!! The concert started at 8 and it ended up at around 23.30 if I remember well. Some of my favorite tunes were of course, the last 2, "In a night like this" and "all the lovers", which was performed with the magnificent human fountain full of dancers and Kylie in the middle! Amazing! I also liked "get out of my way" and the song "looking for an angel"and "closer" that she sang on top oa black male dancer dressed like an angel and they were both hanging in the air!or some 80ies hits like "Better the devil you know" which all the audience sang along! It's unbelievably in good shape Kylie is and so happy/go/lucky! She smiled and danced all the way through! I have to say that her back singers helped her a lot ,they have strong voices and to be honest some times we weren't sure if she was actually singing or not but fair play to her because she has an excellent show that we didn't want it to end!

Last but not least, Kylie's show is clearly aimed at the gay community, it's done in an exuberant way, it has different influences, clearly from Paris' Moulin Rouge's shows, Arabic influences, pop-dance and circus flavor due to the acrobatics in the air. She clearly chose carefully her gorgeous-looking male dancers! Gee!! There is something for any one! It's not vulgar or tasteless ,it's done in style and with a big budget!

I'm happy I got to see Kylie after being so sick, I thought i would never had a chance to see her live , it seems that she never had cancer, she looks totally healthy! Thanx Kylie for sharing your show with us!

This video is not a good quality but you can see how the concert ended and get an idea..it was the best of the night!

Concert REview: Lighthouse Family,Olympia theatre (Dublin)

After 8 years break in their career, Lighthouse family announced their u.k. and Ireland tour and we were among the lucky fans to enjoy them live! Paul started shouting "Did you miss us?", they look so happy to be back on the stage and they were really amazed at the reaction of the public to every song, we were all overexcited!!

I'm going to be brief and you can see it for yourself with the below video, mid-90ies British group Lighthouse family concert last Saturday at the Olympia theater in Dublin. It was one of the most beautiful and melodic concerts i have been to! The atmosphere was great, the age average of the audience was high (in comparison to other concerts i have been to,i mean), i felt really young there lol this is the kind of concert i should go to feel good!!! But gee they shouted and sang like teenagers! I want to be like them when i grow up! What clean and relaxing voice the Nigerian origin singer Tunde Baiyewu has! He was very decent on stage and elegant in his blue suit, the concert was pure music with 7 different instruments and 2 back singers.Paul was hyperhappy , probably high since he couldn't stop moving his mouth and arms and loved to talk between each song lol (He talked about politics, about x-factor etc).

I love Lighthouse Family lyrics, they are full of meaning and feeling accompanied by soul/pop melody and we were lucky enough to be on the second row standing. Olympia is an old theater and the sound was not great but Tunde's voice did the trick and we didn't care much about any sound issues. They started the concert with "Lifted"Of course my favorite song was "High" ,very romantic since i used to send the lyrics of this song to my husband when he was in Germany and I was in ireland and we were appart. This song has a special meaning for us and it was a wonderful feeling to have Tunde singing it only for us (well ,for the whole audience but i to us, too !!). Other beautiful songs: "lost in space","postcards from heaven", "happy".

Again,another concert with just good music, no shows , dancers or decorations just pure music!!!

Upps!! sorry, i said i was going to be brief but i got into it!!! I leave you with our video of our favourite song: "High" (if you pay attention you will hear the whole audience and us singing along !!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BorANykCE7Y

Concert Review:Maroon 5 (Docklands Theatre,Dublin)

I have been waiting for months to attend this concert and i have to say that it was worthwhile waiting!They had two support bands, we missed the first one because we were having a drink on the highest floor of the theater looking at the brilliant view of the dock! Luckily enough we went in to see the second support act singer from California: Sara Bareilles. We were blown away by her voice and talent, she played the piano and the guitar. Sometimes it's good to see famous bands to actually get to know the support act! As when we I saw blacked eyed peas for the first time, years ago and they were the support act of Justin T.! To be honest, we thought the support act, Sara was going to be sing much better than Maroon 5 live but noooooo, Adam Levine's voice and talent did not disappoint me at all!!! Loved the energy on stage, he was a healthy singer, not acting weirdly high on drugs or anything and GOD he is hot, too!! a bit skinny but hot!! He was a bit shy with the audience but it didn't matter because we all sang along! It was a simple gig, just them, playing good music! No show, no big screens, no dancers,no changes of clothing, just them! The acustic of the most modern theatre in Dublin played its part, the sound was amazing! Even us , who were at the highest circle of the theatre could hear the music perfectly like in a bubble! At the end of the 3 hours and half concert, i can say that i was a happy woman, music makes me alive and you could see that Maroon 5 enjoyed themselves on stage and love what they do! If you have a chance to see them on tour in Europe, don't miss it!! Among the songs i loved the most at the concert were: "Misery" " Harder to breathe" " she wil be loved", "hands all over" , "how","Sunday Morning" etc The only piece of criticism i can give, is that for those of us who where so far from the stage a big screen where we could see him closer, would have been nice! Thanx God i had a good zoom in my lumix camera! Poor Andres forgot his glasses and sometimes had to have a look at my camera to know what was going on lol but this didn't prevent him from singing along!

If you want to know more about them check their web page: http://www.maroon5.com/bio/

Here you are a couple of songs of Dublin's concert (Wake up call and she will be loved):





and if you want to listen to the wonderful Sara (here you are a little part of one of the songs she performed in Dublin):

Beautiful and Romantic Concert: As time goes by (Dublin)

I had the pleasure to see live the Irish RTE orchestra together with top Jazz singer: Matthew Ford. What a delightful combination of talented and clean singing voice and around 70 musicians. Frank Sinatra and Andy William came alive again!Matthew started the show saying that he was not going to sing the song "why you didn't bring me flowers (lol)", then part of the audience who didn't get flowers laughed loudly lol. My favorite love songs performed in the show were: Cry me A river (beautiful, they played it twice for us! the audience couldn't stop clapping!), Moon river, Sway, When I fall in love and that's Amore. The last one "That's Amore' they gave us the lyrics and we all sang along. We were lucky to be in the third row and sometimes I even blushed because the singer was so close singing romantic songs that it looked like he was singing to me lol and on top of that Andres was also singing and an old lady behind us was singing ,too.

National Concert hall was packed (only a few seats left), regarding the audience, I have to say that I felt very young ..i think all elderly population from Ireland was there!

Some of the instruments they had: Trumpets,violins,violas,piano,guitars, arpa ,saxo,drummer, chelo

If you live in Dublin and have a chance to see the Rte orchestra live, don't miss it, they are very professional and can play anything! They play regularly at the National Concert Hall, don't miss it! Regarding Mathew Ford what a voice mannnnnnnn , he was very nice and smile throughout the show and joking with us. What I like about this country, you can go to see a classical concert and still have a laugh. To put it in a nutshell , I'm happy to be versatile musically speaking! I can say that I had a beautiful St Valentin'es night! What about your day?