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February 8, 2007 - Brevard, NC
Hey welcome
back everyone. Hope everyone had a great holiday and the New Year is a
great one so far. We’re back on the road and we just finished playing
our first show of the 2007 tour. Tonight we’re were in Brevard, NC at
the Porter Center. What a
Sold out show tonight! How nice is that for our first show of the year. Great audience too. They really got into the show and made us feel at home. And by the way, Natalie is now 5 months pregnant but you wouldn’t know it by the way she performed! She’s still a firecracker on stage. Anyway thanks to the people of Brevard for making our first show a great one! See you in Birmingham, Alabama next. ............................................................................................................................... February 9, 2007 - Birmingham, AL "Sweet Home Alabama"! Wow what a cool place this is. Yes we are in Birmingham Alabama tonight. The gig is at the Stephens Center for Performing Arts located on the campus of the University of Alabama. It's a beautiful symphony hall that holds over a thousand people. The one feature that really stood out for me was the carpet in the foyer. Tonight we had over 900 so we were very happy with the people that came out. And they were a lively crowd. They weren't shy when it came to clapping along with the music. Natalie definitely kept them entertained all night. I have to say a huge thanks to |
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the staff at this theatre. They couldn't do enough to help us out and we really appreciated it. Anyway off to Atlanta tomorrow. See you then. ............................................................................................................................... February 10, 2007 - Atlanta, GA Hi everyone! We're in the beautiful city of Atlanta, home of the 1996 Olympics. The gig tonight is at the Ferst Center on the grounds of Georgia Tech. Lovely theatre with a crowd of around 750 enthusiastic souls! Actually one of the surprising moments of the night was when Natalie asked if there were any Cape Bretoners out there and at least a dozen people clapped and yelled out! I think it made her feel a little closer to home. Once again the crowd made the show for us. Our favourite thing is when people get up and dance in the isles or at the sides and we had quite a few people do that tonight. Very energetic crowd. Thanks again to everyone who came out to the show. Tomorrow we head off to Newberry, SC for an afternoon show. By the way I forgot to show you a picture of the new bus. It's a great way to travel! See you next show. ............................................................................................................................... February 11, 2007 - Newberry, SC Wow we experienced history today. We're in Newberry, South Carolina at the wonderful Newberry Opera House. This beautiful little theatre was built in 1881 and originally housed a fire hall and jail on the first floor! When standing on the stage you can just imagine the shows that had graced that stage. As well it has a great balcony section that wraps around the building. Well the whole day was a lot of fun. First we were fed and watered by some of the nicest ladies we have ever met. They just couldn't do enough for us. And when we hit the stage we found out that everyone was like that. What a nice audience! Pretty close to a full house for this afternoons show and usually the afternoon shows are a bit more "reserved" but these folks were having a great time and were very appreciative of Natalie's music. I hope to be back here sometime in the future. Thanks Newberry. Now another night drive up to Virginia. We're at Charlottesville tomorrow for the first of two Virginia shows. See you then. ............................................................................................................................... February 12, 2007 - Charlottesville, VA This theatre is very typical of many theatres we play. It was built at the turn of the century and thrived until the '70's when most of these theatre's were closed down. Then some time later (usually the '90's) someone came along and saw potential and restored these theatres to their original state. Thankfully this is what happened with the Paramount Theatre here in Charlottesville. As soon as we walked out on the stage at sound check we all felt that this was going to be a very good night. It's somewhere around the 1000 seat size and has loads of character. On the side walls there are these beautiful huge paintings and the room features two huge chandeliers. Before I talk about the show, I have to mention the food. From the incredible pasta lunch to the seafood/beef main dinner, we couldn't have asked for more! And full laundry facilities! After a week on the road these are very welcome! Again the feel of the theatre was incredible and even though it wasn't a sold out show the crowd was amazing. They made us feel so at home and they were one of the most appreciative crowds on this tour. As a result we all had a great show and tons of energy. A huge thanks to everyone who came out. When we get responses like that it means a great deal to all of us. Tonight we are off to Hampton, VA for a day off tomorrow and a show the next day. We'll see you all at the American Theatre. ............................................................................................................................... February 14, 2007 - Hampton, VA Happy Valentines Day! We're here in beautiful Hampton Virginia at the American Theatre. Another turn of the century theatre, the American Theatre has around a 450 - 500 seat capacity and it was a packed house tonight. And what a great crowd! I've never seen so many smiling faces, clapping hands, and bobbing heads at one show. Natalie kept them entertained from her opening note till the very end of the encore. And speaking of encores, she got a couple boxes of chocolate from some very young admirers! Very cute.
I do have to
backtrack and mention that during soundcheck I met the theatre's
security guard at the
front of the theatre. Had a great visit! Hey also thanks to the
fans who took the time to send me an email about the Road Story section
of the website. I love to get feedback on this section and it tells me
that someone out there is actually Thanks to everyone at the American Theatre for making our short visit a memorable one. See you in Philly! ............................................................................................................................... February 15, 2007 - Philadelphia, PA Well we're in the Zellerbach Theatre at the Annenberg Center in Philadelphia tonight. Natalie's been here before and she said that Philadelphia has always been a great place for her to play. We arrived at the theatre only to see a nice big picture of our boss on the outside wall! The Zellerbach Theatre is a great place to play and has around 1000 seats. The staff are always top notch here and we are always treated well here.
Sold out
show tonight and Natalie decided that for their effort she would show
them a few Cape Breton dance steps. Imagine the view from stage of 1000
people standing up and jumping to their left foot while shuffling their
right and then repeating it on the right foot! It was quite a site and
the audience seemed to get a kick out of it too! ............................................................................................................................... February 16-17, 2007 - Storrs, CT Wow, what a treat to be in one town for two days! We're here in Storrs, CT at the Jorgensen Auditorium on the University of Connecticut. And this place is HUGE! This theatre seats over 2500 people in a very unique way. It has a balcony that is a regular theatre balcony but the floor is set up cabaret style. It's a great way to see the show. Both nights were pretty full. Roughly 75% or more of the seats were full so we were extremely happy about the turnout. The people on both nights were very appreciative of Natalie's music and there were even some Cape Bretoner's out there both nights. In fact there was a Nova Scotia flag out in the audience on the second night! We had a great time here and we'd like to thank the top notch crew and all the staff and volunteers who kept the nights running smoothly and made us look and sound good up there. We're now off to York, PA for the next show. See you there. ............................................................................................................................... February 18, 2007 - York, PA
First of all
we didn't know if this show was going to happen. This area got hit
really bad with a winter storm just days before we were to perform.
Luckily for us everything was fine because this show was incredible.
Again the Strand-Capitol
Performing Arts Center Crowd wise tonight was one of the top audiences we played for this tour. Not a sold out show but very close. But these people were incredible in their response and their gratitude for Natalie's music. After the show they had a reception in the theatre and we had the privilege of meeting some of the nicest people you could hope for. Thanks to everyone who came out on a cold winter night and a big thanks to the staff, crew and volunteers who helped create a very special night. Tonight we head to Newark, NJ to jump on different planes and head home for a couple of days. See you on Saturday in Princeton, NJ. ............................................................................................................................... February 24, 2007 - Princeton, NJ
Welcome back
everyone! We're at the legendary Princeton University playing the
beautiful McCarter Theatre.
What a great theatre with
seating for just over 1000 enthusiastic people. Well what a night.
Not your everyday Natalie MacMaster show. Tonight we had not one but two
special guests. The legendary
David Bromberg
joined us onstage for some incredible The second special guest is an unknown guitarist hailing from Cape Breton and he just happens to be the brother of Natalie! Yes Kevin MacMaster came out and played a tune with Natalie. The story goes that he played on stage with her 20 years ago and got stage fright and never returned to the stage again until tonight. Well if he had stage fright tonight it didn't show and the two of them brought the house down! Pretty special night all around. It wouldn't be fair if I didn't say something about the crowd tonight. As usual they were amazing in that they made us feel pretty darn good up there. Great energy and great response. Thanks to everyone who came out tonight. We're off to Boston next so we'll see you there. ............................................................................................................................... February 25, 2007 - Boston, MA I can't believe I'm actually in the Symphony Hall in Boston. This is the home of the Boston Pops! How many amazing albums have been recorded in this venue and talk about history! As well when you first walk out on stage you are shocked by the size of this room. Somewhere around 2600 seats. You really get a sense of the stage from the back of the room. Incredible.
The show was
fantastic today. Boston is really special for Natalie and now I know
why. The people here love her. We had a pretty full house today and
these people were filled with the brim with great energy and in return
Natalie gave them a fantastic show. As well we had her brother come out
and play a tune with her
again and we even had another special guest tonight. Natalie's aunt,
Mary Janet, who is out on tour with us looking after Mary Francis when
Natalie's on stage, came out and did a step dance. She was absolutely
incredible! That is one thing about Natalie's show, you never know A huge thank you to everyone who came out to this afternoons show. You folks deserve a huge round of applause for making us feel great up there. Can't wait to come back. We now head out and go up to New Hamshire for a day off and then a show the next day in Rochester. See you there. ............................................................................................................................... February 27, 2007 - Rochester, NH Today we're at the historic Rochester Opera House. At around 950 seats this theatre is 1 year shy of it's 100th birthday! It is an incredible theatre with a floor that actually elevates in the rear for concerts and lowers for a flattened surface for cabaret style shows. Not bad technology for an old building! Awesome show as always tonight but it was a little bit more special for us as this was Kevin's last show. Natalie brought him out on tour with us as a special guest for only three shows as he has to get back home to work but it was a great pleasure having him out. Thanks to everyone who came out tonight as well. I believe it was another sold out show! We're off to Amherst, MA tomorrow. See you there... ............................................................................................................................... February 28, 2007 - Amherst, MA Hey folks. We're at the University of Massachusetts in the Amherst Fine Arts Centre. Very unusual theatre in that the entire structure is made of concrete (inside walls too) and it has these 4 narrow balconies that are pretty much layered at the top of the ceiling. Actually the view from the very top balcony is both breathtaking and frightening!
Close to a
sold out show tonight and what a crowd. They were sure fired up for
Natalie and she didn't disappoint them. As always there were a few Cape
Bretoners in the crowd so they always help get the crowd going! One
other nice thing about this theatre is there is a
duck pond just behind it
and a certain future fiddling star named Mary Francis had ...............................................................................................................................
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