Yesterday on Friday the 6th of April I took a bus and taxi
ride to the Aberdeen Exhibition Centre to have my first experience at catching
Dundalk's finest live in concert.
I arrived at the arena at around 6:15pm and after standing in a long
line of fellow Corrs fans in the chilly Scottish weather for around half
an hour, the doors were finally opened and in we all went. This being my
first visit to this venue, I wasn't sure what to expect as I hadn't heard
much about it - probably for good reason. The AECC is a tiny, grotty-looking
place with shaky stairs and uncomfy plastic chairs (which only serves me
right for getting my ticket at such late a stage, of course).
Still, my padded jacket provided some cushioning and once the lights
went out for BBMak's opening set, all visual shortcomings about the building
were quickly forgotten, but not forgiven. BBMak didn't exactly thrill the
crowd with their boy band-like songs and constant album plugs, but they
did get a bit of a cheer when the lead singer brought out a set of bagpipes
and played a decent tune on 'em.
After 45 minutes of America's favourite British band (shudder) out
of the way, the lights came back on and it was obvious that many had decided
to arrive late in order to miss the preceding group - clever folks. However,
once the lights went out for a second time, the arena was full and at quarter
to nine it was time for those familiar Celtic drumbeats of 'Erin Shore'
to start up. A huge cheer greeted Andrea, Caroline, Sharon, Jim, Keith
and Anthony as the curtain came up and 'Only When I Sleep' was played to
thousands of Corr-mad Scots.
Three songs in, Andrea apologised for being a couple of months late
with the gig and asked for the audience to sing particularly loud as she
"mightn't hear" them - we complied, naturally. Later on, hands were waving
as 'Runaway' was performed and received what was then the loudest applause
of the evening, but it only kept getting more deafening as the night progressed.
Andrea appeared to be having a whale of a time the entire night, dancing
about barefoot and getting off her chair during 'Old Town' to skip merrily
as Sharon's violin replaced the trumpet (thank goodness).
After they bid us goodnight (which some silly people actually thought
was the end), a fan threw on stage a tartan tammy (a traditional Scottish
hat) and what appeared to be a...tribble from Star Trek? Well, something
small, round and furry anyway. As the band made their way back on stage
for the encore, Andrea picked up the tammy, exclaiming "I like this!",
and wore it as she sung a few impromptu bars of 'Will Ye No Come Back Again'.
As she then introduced us to the rest of the band, she placed the hat on
her brother's head (which thankfully has some hair on it again) and officially
re-named him 'Jimmy' - we loved it.
After a rocking rendition of 'At Your Side', all hands were in the
air as usual making some noise for 'So Young' - but not the extended audience
participation version, sadly. A shame, as we were all still alive and kicking,
especially for 'Toss The Feathers' which garnered the Fab Four a standing
ovation as they all took their famous bow closing what was an unforgettable
night of great music and memories. Here's hoping they all do indeed "come
back again".
- Stephen
