Palm Desert, California
February 9, 2002
William
McCaleb kindly sent in the following
review of Hayley, Sophie and Isaac's McCallum
Theatre performance.
He was extremely lucky, in that he
managed to obtain a centre seat on
the front row. From there he was able
to get what was, perhaps, the best
view of this rising new star, during
her USA Première performance.
This is the first ever concert review
outside of New Zealand and Australia
(in so far as I am aware) and, as such,
we are pleased to have been given the
opportunity to present it here first.
If you'd like to copy it to your own
site, please feel free to do so. All
we ask is a little mention of from
where you obtained it and - most
importantly - who wrote it.
Thank
you, William - and over to you...
Hi
All,
Well,
I made it back home. Was driving six hundred
miles, for Hayley's concert, worth it?
!!!You Bet It Was!!! "Awesome!"
doesn't say enough. Not only Hayley,
but Sophie was incredible while singing
a duet, of Panis Angelicus with Hayley,
and a solo of Thank You Stars, that were
both superbly done. These sisters were
joined by their little brother, Isaac,
who was cute and slightly inaudible during
the two songs he was involved with. Unfortunately,
they did not play their instruments.
And the 15 year old violinist, Ben Morrison,
had everyone sitting dumbfounded. His
use of finger and bow were magical. He's,
also, a bit of a joker. Each of the pieces
he played had a false end, so everyone
would begin an ovation early, before
the song was over. He and the conductor,
David Selfe, were enjoying themselves
over this. If Hayley continues to tour,
hopefully she'll be smart and keep him
along for the ride.
And then there's Hayley. No, Keith, I
wasn't looking to change allegiances,
but to add yet a new one. And, yes Simon,
I did enjoy myself immensely. (Unfortunately,
no type of audio or visual recording
equipment of any kind. Sorry.) I think
the unveiling of this talented young
lady, onto the United States, was a stupendous
success. Her clarity and pitch were near
perfection. Captivating.
On my way there, I stopped at a little
Indian trading store. I bought a little
statuette and, just before intermission
was over and Hayley was about to appear,
I placed it on the stage at the foot
of the microphone. (Remember, front row
center. The only thing in my way was
the microphone stand. Hayley is pretty
trim, you know.) It stood there through
the rest of the concert. All of them
noticed it.
Now my negative side. They closed the
curtains and my little "Welcome
Here" present still stood there.
I ended up retrieving it and searching
to see if I could give it to her. I was
told that she would be signing autographs
at the stage door. Here
I did meet Ben Morrison and was stunned
to find out otherwise on Miss Westenra's
plans. It seemed that there was a "PRIVATE"
party being held on the upper floors
of the theatre and Hayley would be
unable to be available. "!!!!EXPLETIVE!!!!"
You would think that the "powers
that be" would want her to be
able to encounter newly aquired fans.
But, noooooooo, that would be logical,
wouldn't it? So, anyway, I give the
statuette to Ben and ask him to tell
her that I hoped it made the concert
more comfortable for them and that
I would like to ask for some autographs.
He said that he would (I did find out
later that, indeed, she had received
it.), but then that's the last I heard
of them. Security did tell me that
it would be about an hour before she
would leave. So, I waited. And waited.
And waited. Two hours later a guard
tells me that they had left out of
a different door. I was truly devastated.
It made for a, somewhat, somber drive
home and a sobering effect to an incredible
high.
I was, also, hoping that she would
have been selling some of her CD's.
Not a thing. Just a flier that gave
you her website. Good way to market
her, duh! Max Jarman was selling CD's.
Even some of the guys in the orchestra
were selling CD's. Opportunity missed
there, guys.
All in all, I'm still glad that I went
and that I can't wait to have the opportunity
to do so again. Recommendation: A "Must
See" at the soonest that you are
able.
William
