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Wednesday, April 22, 2009
THE CONCERT I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD SEE There
is the music of a musician and singer I enjoy listening to very much. I was introduced to her music around 1998. The first
song I heard was Bonny Swans. Ever since then, I followed her music. As she released new music, I was hoping to get the opportunity
to see her perform. Loreena McKennitt, a Celtic-Eclectic musician and songstress.
But as I visited her website, touring to the US was not to happen for a while. I felt that those individuals in Europe
or Canada, or those who could travel many distances were lucky and were in for a treat. And it was unknown if I would ever
see this musician in concert. Reading her website and listening to her music had to suffice. Follow me.
I came home from work one evening. It was December of 2006, and it was getting close to the
holidays. It was cold out, and at six o’clock pm it was very dark. I changed into comfy clothes and sat down at my little
workshop desk, turned on my computer to check my emails. Emails from friends, family, advertisements from
stores I shop at. I received an email also from Quinlan Road; A special hello from Quinland Road, or a listing of wonderful
merchandise for the holidays and for gift giving. Reading it, I perused over a short message saying
something about Loreena McKennitt’s Ancient Muse, appearing at Barnes & Noble, Union Square, New York, New York.
I stared. What? I whispered “no this can’t be. This can’t be!’ I’m
screaming my head off. “No way!” Ok, I’m reading this wrong. They
mean the CD has been released, and it’s now available at Barnes & Noble. No. That doesn’t sound right. Why
would Quinlan Road do that? It’s available everywhere now! What do I do? I’ll call Barnes & Noble.
The next day I went into work. I asked my co-worker to call
Barnes & Noble, because I was chicken to do so. My co-worker confirmed it. It was confirmed. Loreena McKennitt was appearing at
the Union Square Barnes & Noble. I asked about cameras. They said yes. They said yes! It’s probably
not a good idea for me to have done this at work. I was losing myself in all the excitement. “Development
office, Liz speaking.” “No Loreena McKennitt, I mean your name is not in our system. But we can certainly add
you in.” Course this wasn’t true but it was close. Fast forward. I had to ask one of my friends to come with me. There was no way I was going
alone. It would not be a good idea. I can hear it now. “Extra Extra read all about it,
girl yelling on the subway that Loreena McKennitt will be at Barnes & Noble! Girl constantly breaks into pieces of song!
Several of them! In a range of different tones and high keys! Off keys!”
So December 14, 2006, I would be going to the small little concert at Barnes
& Noble. I brought my camera and a special gift. Beth, a
very good friend of mine, decided she would accompanied me on this journey to make sure that I did not fall over
or faint from the sheer excitement of it all; Also not to get lost on the subway. Beth was not familiar with Loreena,
but she loves music and is very familiar with Manhattan more than me, even though, I work in Manhattan. She also knew exactly
where B&N in Union Square was. I had the address just in case. We got to B&N. Beth asks “Is
this the right place?” We stared for a moment. I said “I think so, they said Union Square.”
Neither of us notice the huge blue, sign in front of us LOREENA MCKENNITT’S ANCIENT MUSE. We
go in. We were told to go to the top level. We did. We were early. But there was the blue sign, with a keyboard and microphone
on a little stage. There were a few people in the front. Of which I did not want to sit because well I couldn’t. How
can you take a picture from there? You’ll flash too much light into the woman’s eyes. Beth and I went to get snacks,
came back, and the room had started to fill up. We were still able to get good seats. Beth knitted, and we talked. But as
I was speaking with Beth, I blinked my eyes and realized a horde of people were in the room, who were not there before. My
God! Where did they all come from! Show was to start at 7:30 pm. “Ladies and Gentlemen”,
said a woman. Welcome to B&N. Loreena is on her way she just got off the plane at Kennedy Airport." Then she said
something like ‘she should be here momentarily.” It’s going to be a while. So the chatting
among all of us started to pick up. Excitement in the voices of everyone. How long have you been a fan? What songs do you
like? This went on for quite a while. It was when my friend told me about her small tattoo that I noticed
that the level of sound in the voices speaking began to drop a couple of notches. A tall man appeared, dressed in black and
made his way to the stage. He had an electric guitar with him. “Ladies and Gentleman, Loreena McKennitt.”
I’m like, where? Where? Where? To the far left, Loreena, blending very well in with the crowd. As everyone
else was wearing black, Loreena walked in, wearing all black, with her soft red hair flowing around her shoulders. She looked
as if she was on the cell phone. Probably letting someone know, that she made it to her destination.
All on our feet, we clapped and hollered. Wooooooooo! She sat down at the keyboard so comfortably and began to play, if I
can remember Raglan Road. She sang a set of songs. Two from the new album, and others from her older albums. Loreena was accompanied
by a gentleman, to whom I did not get the name of, but was a wonderful guitar player. When Loreena would play the very first
note of a song, and I do mean the very FIRST note, I would WOOOOOOO! It’s effective when
you have others doing this. But when you are the only, it’s embarrassing and funny. This New York crowd was totally
into the music but very subdued. Loreena chuckled at one point, after naming one of the songs and the particular album it
came from, of which I WOOHOOOOED! Oh my cheeks were burning but I was caught up in the whole experience.
Then, finally the program ended. I wondered if we would get a chance to meet her, but I didn’t
see how we could. There were so many of us in a not so large room. But, it was not over yet. It was explained by Loreena
that she wished to meet us all and that she would be over by the side, so that one by one, row by row, we could meet with
her. I squealed, “Oh my God, Beth were going to meet her.” Beth laughed. “Look they are taking pictures
with her!” Ok breathe, just breathe. We talked to others around, swopping tales and soon, it
was our row's turn to line up and speak with Loreena. When we got close to Loreena, a young man asked us what our names
were so that he could introduce us. My real name is Elizabeth, which was how I introduced myself to him. My friend’s
name is just Beth. So,when the gentleman asked kindly “what’s your names?” I replied, “Beth and Elizabeth.
He chuckled and asked “what was that?” We repeated and he laughed about the rhyming of our names. As I
stood in line, I pondered on what to say. What do you say to a person you admire, without appearing to
be a lunatic fan? Don't ask, because I still haven't got the knack. We got to Loreena
and were introduced. This is it. Good Lord, I didn’t think I could stand. I can’t believe it’s
her. Right in front of me! But instead of saying anything nutty, just now, I presented her with the gift.
“Loreena, I made this doll for you”. A doll! Yes,
ladies and gentleman, I created a specially made doll for Loreena. The doll's
name was Monica Harmony. A lovely cloth doll with tomato red hair and dressed
in a crocheted, blue cotton dress. With Monica Harmony came a scroll that described
her mission in life. I go to get the doll out of the bag and what happens? The doll would not come
out. Ok long line of folks waiting for Loreena, and I’m holding up
the line. I tug again, and no go. So Loreena, bless her, immediately helped me finally tug the doll
from the depths and cramped sides of my bag. This is so typical of me. It was really funny. She thanked
me kindly for the doll. Loreena, then signed my CD and she mentioned that my CD cover was a bit battered.
Yes I carried that CD from car to house, to house to car. I then asked if I could have a photo with her, and she was happy
to do so. Beth, took our photo, and before she was about to take the picture, I turned
to Loreena and told her that this was a dream come true, and that I was so excited. She told me in a soft
voice, "I'm just an ordinary person". I was a little embarrassed, but you know what can I say. Yes, an ordinary
person doing some extraordinary things. So Beth and I left the building and thanks to my dear Beth, we
celebrated the experience at a place she picked out called Chat –N- Chew! It was a great night. I
could have burst into song! Or maybe some other time, when I’m in the confines of my home. I’m so happy to have shared this with you
all. I really was happy to have been able to see her finally in concert. See my pictures below of
Loreena. Thanks for reading this story of a glorious time. Liz
 
Wed, April 22, 2009 | link
Friday, April 17, 2009
A NOTE FROM SITEPAL-USE OF AVATARS
Hi Elizabeth,
Thank you for the kind note!
We were able to find one of your SitePals embedded on this page http://www.lizjul.com/id4.html.
We love how you transformed Nicole to Ginga by taking advantage of our coloring
& accessory options! :- She suits very well the overall theme of your website, adding a personal touch to it. We also
think you used the avatar effectively to make it easier for users to find the call to action (links to buy the book). Making
the avatar speak only when the user clicks on it is also very neat.
If you want to further explore, you may want
to consider using our Lead Generator Player in your Guest Book page to maximize the lead collection by using an avatar. See
an example here http://www.webpointemall.com/. If you're using a Silver or Gold, you can find the Lead Gen option in the step 5 "Players"
inside the editor.
Overall, a great work!
SitePal
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