Memorial Day concert - Washington DC - 29 May '11

[tireman]

Nov 23, 2011 5:17:08 GMT Dori said:

Hi Larry

I think it's because America is a big market which she has yet to fully tackle, and since she's less known over there, she takes every opportunity to impress with her beautiful voice, and hence, I think, it makes her more nervous.

Dori

That makes sense Dori.It's like a baseball player who hasn't had a hit for a while and starts pressing and trying too hard.

Larry

[martindn]

Might also be becuase she is used to being in control of things, and doing her own thing, but in the States at big shows like that, she has to dance to someone elses tune. She probably also might not have had time to fully get to know the musicians she is performing with either.

Martin D

[Libby]

Some of us never got to see her holiday performances, so I can't answer you on that. However, in this case, it seems much more to do with the emotional story she had just heard. We have learned since then that Hayley asked Michelle to take her to see the Wall. I would say she was trying to connect herself to this role as much as possible. She saw her own relatives names on a wall (or whatever it was) in Belgium, I think, so this is something she can sort of identify with.

[martindn]

Yes, you may be right Libby. I'd forgotten about that, crass of me I know. And we know that Hayley cares very deeply about the plight of servicemen and women and their families.

Martin D

[cuivre]

I believe Hayley's biggest exposure to the US listening public was in 2011 when she sang at the Memorial Day observance in Washington DC. It is on You Tube- (Pie Jesu). what do people think? Did she get any bump in interest/further invites after that, I wonder?

[Libby]

No, that isn't her biggest exposure here. The biggest thing was when she was with Celtic Woman. She was on their 2nd live DVD, A New Journey, and she toured with them, alternating with Meav. She gained lots of Celtic Woman fans from that. When I looked at comments on her Pie Jesu video, they were mostly by people who already knew who she was.

I know she gained at least one, probably 2, new fans from the Memorial Service show. Michelle Baugh, the lady she was singing for. Her father was killed in Vietnam when she was still a baby, and they had never even met. Her father's friend, a Mr. Gregoire, seemed very emotionally touched by her performance too. I remember reading that Michelle said she was sure she wasn't going to cry during the segment, but she said that when Hayley started singing, she couldn't stop it.
I don't think PBS Memorial Day or Fourth of July shows are the most widely-watched shows around, especially when there are always other 4th of July shows on at the same time. I remember when she had been on the 4th of July show to sing Shenandoah, and the next day people at work were talking about the firework shows. One man mentioned the PBS show, and he didn't seem particularly impressed by it. Of course, he made no specific references, but I don't blame him. The rest of the acts that time weren't all that great, IMO. Too bad, he's Japanese, too! Oh well.
She's been on Good Morning America before, around the time of Pure. That's a far bigger show. Okay, now it's waaayyy off-topic, but I didn't bring it up.

[martindn]

As I've said before, and will say again, I don't think America has ever seen Hayley at her best. Except perhaps with CW. I don't know what went on on that tour, so I have to giver her the benefit of the doubt. But from what i have seen, she never seems at her best in America. Although with Hayley, her worst is probably better than most other singer's best.
I have no idea what the reason for that is. That Pie Jesu sounds harsh and shrill to me - maybe it is just the sound mixing. But in my opinion, it does Hayley no favours.

Martin D

[Bamafan]

Sadly, Martin, I have to agree with you. I wanted my family to actually hear Hayley for the first time, so I asked them to watch the show with me. Big mistake. I didn't (and still haven't) told them about my being a fan, so they had no idea how bad I felt when they started cringing and saying how bad "that singer" was. Like a shot to the heart. I knew she could have done so much better than that, but something in the air in DC must make make her voice go all wonky.

As for the CW tour, that was before my time as a Hayley fan, sadly. Would've loved to see her. But, I did find her performance of “Dúlaman” on YT, and thought it was amazing! i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

-Taylor

[tireman]

May 6, 2012 20:24:59 GMT martindn said:

As I've said before, and will say again, I don't think America has ever seen Hayley at her best. Except perhaps with CW. I don't know what went on on that tour, so I have to giver her the benefit of the doubt. But from what i have seen, she never seems at her best in America. Although with Hayley, her worst is probably better than most other singer's best.
I have no idea what the reason for that is. That Pie Jesu sounds harsh and shrill to me - maybe it is just the sound mixing. But in my opinion, it does Hayley no favours.

Martin D

Hi Martin
I agree that the Memorial Day performance was not up to Hayley's usual speed; but I think her gig with the CW group was super. That's the first time I saw her and have been an avid fan ever since.

Larry

[Libby]

Wow, it wasn't that bad! Good grief.

And I never thought Shenandoah was that bad, either!

[Bamafan]

My family is a bit cynical when it comes to music. For them, it either has to be perfect, or it's not worth it. I hate to say it, but it's true. I thought it was OK, and I told my sister so, but then she gave this weird look. I would never be so critical of a performer, especially after such a moving speech.

And even though my family was rather harsh, this will always be a special performance for me. It was the first time I ever saw Hayley perform live.

-Taylor

[grant]

Hi Taylor

May 6, 2012 21:28:24 GMT Bamafan said:

I didn't (and still haven't) told them about my being a fan, so they had no idea how bad I felt when they started cringing and saying how bad "that singer" was

I think it's time you stood up to be counted like the Christians did in Roman times before being fed to the lions - though I don't think you're likely to be fed to anything any time soon! i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

As for Hayley's performance of Pie Jesu, given the circumstances I thought she did magnificently; following the story telling by A J Cook and Gary Sinese; and having been to the Memorial with Michelle Baugh, Hayley would have become very emotionally involved because that's the sort of girl she is.

It WASN'T a concert performance, so, for me it can't be judged as such, but I think it was SPOT ON for the occasion. Had Hayley sung it clinically or perfectly as she would have done on a theatre stage she would have come over as having a very cold heart. The level of emotion that Hayley displayed was exactly right for THAT ocassion but maybe it doesn't work as a television show afterwards.

Hayley's performance had a profound effect on the audience on the day - that's what really matters.

Best wishes
Grant

[Dave]

May 7, 2012 9:10:49 GMT grant said:

Hayley's performance had a profound effect on the audience on the day - that's what really matters.
Best wishes
Grant

Indeed it did, Grant. Hayley's performance has to be taken in context.

To anyone with doubts, this performance must be judged not in isolation but in its proper place at the end of the very moving 19 minute segment of the show about Richard Githens, a soldier who was killed in the Vietnam War. His daughter Michelle Githens-Baugh - who never met him as she was born when he was away - was in the front row of the audience. Hayley had asked to accompany her to The Wall, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the previous day and that they did.

So Hayley was already emotionally involved in the story as it unfolded, immediately before her performance, and it showed. The story visibly and audibly affected everyone who heard it, including the actress AJ Cook herself, who took part in the telling - her voice strained with emotion at times. Little wonder that Hayley was affected in a similar way and Michelle most certainly was too, something that is clear from the TV pictures. For the record, it affected me in much the same way, who could not be?

Michelle was moved to post more of her story and her admiration of Hayley on our web page coverage of this event; it is complete coverage of the entire segment and which anyone who has only watched Hayley's performance should see. Then, they may understand.

The funny thing is, some people have criticized Hayley for a so-called lack of emotion in her performances; well they certainly cannot say that about this performance. And it's real. To watch the 19 minute Vietnam segment and read Michelle's message in the comments section, click the following link:

National Memorial Day Concert: Vietnam segment Complete

Dave

[martindn]

Yes, guys you are right. And I for one have never criticised Hayley for lack of emotion in her performances, although I know others have. Perhaps with all that beauty, I didn't notice - or at least didn't miss it. And it is something I feel that Hayley has worked on - when people make criticisms of her, she listens and works to improve. That is one of the reasons why she is as good as she is.

Martin D

[stevemacdonald]

I think the reason some felt the performance was off is that we don't expect singers to have emotions when there's a sad occasion, such as a funeral or memorial service. We expect them to stay strong, professional and unmoved so they can provide a necessary service. There are singers who specialise in funeral singing (usually Ave Maria and Amazing Grace) and they are wonderful at what they do. Their emotions are not on display, just their solemn vocal beauty.

In the Memorial Day event, it was impossible for Hayley to be unmoved, and her empathy came across powerfully. I'm sorry that some were not able to appreciate the beautiful job she did. Bear in mind Americans have dealt with the aftermath of the Viet Nam war for almost 40 years, the September 11th tragedy for 10 years and the sorrows of the most recent wars ongoingly. So the poignancy of this particular story — though very real — isn't a new thing at all. We hear such stories year after year and expect our Memorial Day to be both sad and healing. However, it is a mindset that the music accompanying an emotional service should be done dispassionately. If Hayley had dispatched the song all crisp and proper no one would have complained in the least.

I think it was a brilliancy on the part of the event's organisers to have a non-American sing for this story. Hayley showed that we can't be numb to the pain of the past when it has altered the course for so many. A singer with a real heart that goes out to people is a new thing here and it was long overdue.