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Post by Mark on Jul 19, 2008 15:02:36 GMT
Hi everyone Just one day to go - not counting the rest of today - well, its a bit nearer that way Hope the weathers good, as me and 'the reli's' are having a picnic before the show. Best wishes Mark
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Post by george on Jul 19, 2008 15:47:43 GMT
Hi Mark
We also intend to have a picnic there. We will be with my brother Chris and his wife Tracey. We all met you in Buxton. It does look like the weather is improving from tomorrow onwards so will plan to be there for 5.30 pm. Looking forward to seeing you and your family there. I think we are all taking up the front row!
George
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Post by Mark on Jul 19, 2008 19:22:39 GMT
Hi George
We are hoping to get there between 5.30 & 6pm but my mother & father in-law are going to arrive at 5.30 to save us a table. Apparently, it can get quite busy !!
Yes, it seems we are taking up most of the front row. As its a relatively small venue, I am hoping that Hayley will do a signing afterwards.
Looking forward to seeing you again.
Best wishes Mark
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Post by martindn on Jul 20, 2008 17:28:49 GMT
Hi all, Just to let you know we got back from the south of France safely so we will be there tomorrow. We don't expect to arrive much before the start of the concert, as I have to work tomorrow and we will have another couple with us who won't want to spend time hanging around before of after the concert anyway. So don't know if I will be able to say Hi to Hayley, or spend much time with the rest of you, but I hope to be able to say hello at least! And I've got a lot of catching up to do here, the best part of three weeks of news to catch up on. I doubt I'll have time to complete that before the concert. After all, there are a few bottles of wine in the van that need unloading! I know, I'll ask Hayley what she has been doing (any excuse). An outdoor concert in England is going to feel a bit chilly after the temperatures in the low 30s that we have experienced in the last week.
Martin
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Post by grant on Jul 20, 2008 21:54:12 GMT
Hi Martin, George and Mark
I will also be arriving at this one later than normanl having opted to eat at home before setting off.
It is only about 50 minutes drive for me and I hope to be there there around 6.30pm. Hopefully to meet up with everyone then.
I forgot to ask Ray if he was driving Hayley for this one so we will have to look for some signs when we get there as Hayley does not normally do signings at outdoor concerts.
We may have to come up with a 'Plan B'
Best wishes Grant
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Post by Karsten on Jul 21, 2008 4:26:07 GMT
Hi, George, Grant, Mark, Martin and all others going to Kilworth, Have another wonderful evening, including dry weather. All the best, Karsten
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Post by Mark on Jul 21, 2008 9:18:06 GMT
Hi Martin, George and Mark I will also be arriving at this one later than normanl having opted to eat at home before setting off. It is only about 50 minutes drive for me and I hope to be there there around 6.30pm. Hopefully to meet up with everyone then. I forgot to ask Ray if he was driving Hayley for this one so we will have to look for some signs when we get there as Hayley does not normally do signings at outdoor concerts. We may have to come up with a 'Plan B' Best wishes Grant Hi Grant Looking forward to seeing you. Your plan 'B' worked very well for me at Aberglasney, so hopefully it will work again tonight. This is quite a small audience though, so you never know. Do you know for sure that Fiona & Ian will be there tonight ? Although the weather looks to be dry, it could be a little chilly this evening, so be prepared everyone Regards Mark
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Post by martindn on Jul 21, 2008 17:19:26 GMT
Hi all,
Well, I am less that 20 minutes away. I work 10 miles south, and live 10 miles north of there.
As I drove home this evening, passing near to Lutterworth, I saw two white gliders, presumably from Husbands Bosworth, flying above. And guess which Hayley song was playing on the car stereo at the time!
Yes, you are right, "Wings to Fly". Coincidence or what?
We will be setting off in a few minutes time.
I wonder if Hayley saw the gliders from where she is, about four miles away from there.
Martin
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Post by martindn on Jul 21, 2008 22:02:49 GMT
In an attempt to break some sort of record, I am posting some brief comments 47 minutes after the end of the concert. Some people are probably still there!
This was a superb performance by Hayley in a beautiful location. No real surprises regarding the set list, I will write a fuller review later.
But I can tell you that Hayley really does charm the birds in the trees. A flock of what sounded like crows, but could have been rooks or magpies (do magpies flock?)" burst into applause as Hayley played the intro to her first encore, Sonny. I don't think they were ravens though, that was the name of the string quartet (four young ladies, w ho were excellent) that were backing Hayley, along with pianist Al Gurr. Again, Hayley's voice was more powerful than I have ever heard it, and there were a couple of songs I hadn't heard her perform live before, "A Thousaand Winds" and "Songbird". Her "Shanandoah" sounded much more assured than her 4th July performance, and the doors weren't locked because there weren't any. Bur she still only performed 3% of the song, as usual. I didn't get any photos of the actual performances, because the audience were being watched, and they did make an announcement about photography being prohibited at the beginning of the concert. I didn't notice anyone in the audience taking photos either, so unless someone was very surruptitious, there probably won't be any. But I have got some photos of the venue, which is a superb location.
More tomorrow, I have to eat.
Martin
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Post by grant on Jul 21, 2008 22:34:30 GMT
Hello everyone
Just got in from another fantastic Hayley concert.
Sorry, no pictures and no signing and a 'jobsworth' on security.
I'll be back with my review shortly.
Best wishes Grant
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Post by martindn on Jul 21, 2008 23:08:01 GMT
Hi again Grant,
Nice to meet you again at Kilworth.
One member of my party did see someone take a photo with a mobile phone and get away with it. Like you though I didn't want to risk it.
Another snippet - Hayley wore the same two dresses, the Geen "Celtic" gown and the orange one that she did at Buxton.
God Bless
Martin
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Post by grant on Jul 21, 2008 23:23:22 GMT
Hello everyone!
Part 1 With this venue being only a forty minute drive for me, I decided I would eat at home first, eventually setting off at about 5.45. Motorway was far less busy than I thought it would be so I was parked and raring to go by 6.30.
Jim and his wife found me first and we soon got into conversation with Steve and Sue; the couple parked next to me, who had travelled up from Bromsgrove for the concert. I then went up to the picnic area where Mark and his family along with George, his brother and their wives were just finishing off their picnics.
The hotel and theatre are set in stunning grounds and both are hidden by a forest of trees. By 7pm people are beginning to drift through to the theatre which is also set in beautiful surroundings and boasts superb amenities. The stage and auditorium are covered throughout but with open sides. The stage is massive and quite low. The high raked 550 seat auditorium offering a perfect view from every seat.
This concert is sold out and patrons were still taking their seats right up to the start. As Martin has already said, Hayley was accompanied by Al Gurr on piano and the raven Quartet (more about them later). For the first part, Hayley wore her green Celtic gown and opened her first set with “Prayer”. The between songs chat from Hayley followed a now familiar pattern as she talked about how she discovered her favourite version of Ave Maria; the one by Caccini which she performed next. Scarborough Fair and Shenandoah concluded Hayley's first set and she left the stage.
We were then treated to three classical numbers by the Raven Quartet – four extremely attractive young ladies dressed in black and comprising three violins and a cello. Unfortunately they didn’t identify the pieces which I recognised but cannot name I’m afraid!
I read a few moments ago that their second performance at Gawsworth (what was the first anybody?) seemed a bit off, not so tonight they were superb and played with great spirit and I think will provide excellent accompaniment for Hayley on the ‘River of Dreams Tour.
Once again Hayley returned to stage and began by talking about her recent Japanese tour and the Japanese album this, we all now knew, was going to be “I Am A Thousand Winds” and, for me, it was for the intro to this song that the Ravens had a real impact. I was watching Hayley at that moment and it was as though she transported herself to another time and place as she mentally prepared to sing. My “beautiful!!” comment at the end earned me an acknowledging smile which pleased me no end. Hayley concluded the first half of the concert with Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now” and “Danny Boy”.
More later ......
Grant
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Post by graemek on Jul 21, 2008 23:31:58 GMT
Thanks Grant & Martin, For your reviews & comments. One member of my party did see someone take a photo with a mobile phone and get away with it. I'll never understand why a few fan pics can't be taken. (except for disturbance of the performers) I usually assume that the venue proprietors have something to hide or known criminals with great musical taste need to avoid their location being noticed. I've heard the "demeaning of the artist" argument but can't remember one single pic of Hayley on this site which would demean her. Very annoying. But really glad for you guys that you had a lovely concert. Hayley is truly wonderful, Graeme
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Post by grant on Jul 22, 2008 0:21:06 GMT
Hello again!
Part 2 The interval seemed to be over quite quickly and everyone returned to their seats for the final part of the concert. George had spotted the set list, so I copied it down so as not to distract Hayley with my scribblings during her performance!
The Raven Quartet opened the second half with two more classical pieces; though it seemed like four as one piece had breaks during which the very enthusiastic audience clapped though I don’t think we were supposed to!
Hayley now returned to stage in her coral pink dress. The light is now fading and the theatre lights are more evident such that Hayley actually commented on the fact that it was very bright. Hayley opened this set with “In Trutina” and talked about Aire Studio and Sir George Martin. Then came “Pokarekare Ana” followed by another new one “Songbird”.
The remainder of the set included “May It Be”, “Santa Lucia” (sounding quite different with piano and strings accompaniment as opposed to a single guitar – it worked well though) I always feel that Hayley really looks forward to and enjoys singing that one. “Lascia Ch’io Pianga” (One of my favourites and one we don’t get that often). All too soon Hayley introduced Hine as her last song as the concert drew to a close.
Hayley then left the stage to tremendous applause, ensuring at least one encore which we knew would be “Sonny” – and it was. Interesting, that this was the first time since she first played the piano at Shepherds Bush, that I could see her hands as she played. Having her back to the audience, Hayley tends to turn her head towards us as she sings and no longer watches what her fingers are doing! I hope we get more of Hayley accompanying herself in the future – but I digress!!
I’ve heard it said that an artiste has achieved something special if a second encore is called for and it happened tonight – the audience was not prepared to let her go and she returned to stage with Al to give us a beautiful rendition of “Amazing Grace”. Even then, the audience were wanting more, but we had had 16 fantastic songs from a Hayley who just seems to get better and better and it was time for most to head home.
With no signing and not knowing the chap with her (although I have seen him before) we have a plan ‘B’ and intend to go and wait by the artistes entrance. However, it would appear our presence is not welcome and one of the security guys comes over for a chat.
When I tell him we are waiting for Hayley and he replies that “You’ll have a long wait, she’s not coming out this way” (Clearly this is the only way out!!) you know you’ve come up against a Class One ‘Jobsworth’. Our sort of “We know Hayley better than you mate!” comments weren’t getting us anywhere, but it soon dawned on ‘Super-Pratt’ that we weren’t going to be fobbed off that easily, and he got nasty and threatened to have us removed!
I feel a ‘Plan C’ coming on! We headed back to our cars, planning to drive up to the hotel entrance and wait there. At this point we seemed to have lost Steve and Sue who were hoping to meet Hayley for the first time (if you read this guys – so sorry! It’s not usually a problem – maybe next time?)
Most of the audience have cleared by this time and I parked up near the gate soon to be joined by George and his brother Chris. Denise and Tracey staying in their car and leaving us to keep watch. Numerous cars passed, mostly staff on their way home. We scanned every vehicle as it left.
Eventually a silver people carrier approached “This could be them!” It passed. “I think it was the girls” (from George I think) It stopped! The cars interior light came on. The sound of a door opening. Then a familiar “Hi Guys!” Denise and Tracey running to join us as Hayley arrived in our midst.
Dave, I think the driver’s name was, (he did introduce himself and we shook hands but cum’mon guys, my brain goes bye bye’s when Hayley's around!) With him not being familiar with the routine, Hayley told us she’d said “Stop! Stop! They’re waiting for me!” and jumped out to come see us.
Hayley was keen to know what we thought of her concert and naturally we told her that we had loved it and that we loved the ‘Ravens’ Apparently they won’t be on all the River of Dreams concerts as they can’t do all the dates, so there will be another quartet on some of them.
We did tell Hayley about ‘jobsworth’ to which Hayley replied that he had told her what he had done and that she thought he was joking! Good Girl!
We didn’t have very long with Hayley stood on the grass verge at the entrance to an exclusive hotel but it was enough that once again she had stopped to say hello and, not only that, had made it very clear that she had done it because she wanted to and not because she felt she had to.
Oh, and one last thing …..
Hayley and HWI.. 1 – Jobsworth.. 0
Best wishes Grant
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Post by larryhauck on Jul 22, 2008 0:56:44 GMT
Grant,
Thank you for the fine report. I'm looking forward to seeing Hayley in Dublin. I hope I see you as well. I have a special gift for Hayley that I'd like you to photograph and post on HWI.
Larry
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