AIRWAY HEIGHTS - There are a few things you have to say right off after seeing a Celtic Thunder show.

One, it's a blast. Just full out fun. Because these guys don't just sing songs and play instruments. They pulled in the audience. They engage. You laugh, you smile, you clap, you sing, you cheer, right along with them.

And, if you're a woman, you swoon.

You stare wide-eyed, dreamily, trance-like at times, at six men with charming smiles, sweet, wholesome looks, some with brilliant blue eyes, and of course, Irish accents to kill for.

Proof of the female devotion was such that when the men of Celtic Thunder sang, "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," one young woman yelled, "I'm right here!" Others quickly chimed in they were there, too, just in case these guys were still on the market.

Such it was during their recent performance before a packed house of a few thousand at the Northern Quest Resort & Casino.

The primary six - Emmet Cahill, Keith Harkin, Ryan Kelly, George Donaldson, Neil Bryne and Colm Keegan - are amazing. There's no other way to say it. Each is incredibly gifted in voice, and equally gifted in playing an array of instruments.

The backup band, by the way, is talented enough to command the spotlight, and did at times. Barry Kerr plays whistles, pipes, guitar, bodhran, and you're left wondering if there's anything he can't play. Harpist Seana Davey, violinist Nicole Hudson and cellist Laura Durrant simply shine.

But the six are what make Celtic Thunder stand out.

Cahill, Harkin, Kelly, Donaldson, Bryne and Keegan at times shared the stage, at times they went solo. Either way, whatever they sang, whether a popular hit or an original piece or an Irish medley, whoever was at center stage, it was excellent. They sang about fathers and mothers and wives and girlfriends as they often ran from one side of the stage to the other, always smiling at the crowd.

Again, the females in the audience clapped and screamed throughout and snapped up their T-shirts and CDs at intermission.

Harkin, with long blond hair and baby blue eyes, performed a rendition of "Don't Forget About Me," that delighted the audience, notably the ladies.

Donaldson earned ovations for "Cat's in the Cradle," and "500 Miles."

Ryan Kelly, wearing the appropriate black T-shirt, brought down the house with "Friends in Low Places."

Kelly, turns out, was blessed to be there.

Before the song, he explained that he had been critically injured in an accident in June in Ireland, and for a time, was in a coma.

He thanked fans for their prayers and speeding his recovery.

"You're the reason I'm back on the stage as quickly as I am," he said.

Nothing, though, may have delighted the audience, women especially, when the men came out for their final number in - it had to be - kilts.

As "Caledonia" filled the air, and the men came out, one by one, and stood shoulder to shoulder, smiling handsomely, and joined by bagpipes, sang the lyrics, "Let me tell you that I love you, and I think about you all the time. Caledonia You're calling me. Now I'm going home."

The women went wild.

And as for the men in the audience, well, we clapped and cheered, too - and wished for an Irish accent.

Boz Scaggs reschedules concert

American singer, songwriter and guitarist Boz Scaggs will take the stage at Northern Quest Resort & Casino for his rescheduled tour stop on Sunday, March 24. Due to illness, Scaggs canceled his previously scheduled concert, Nov. 24. Northern Quest will honor all tickets sold for the earlier show for those fans who did not request a refund.

Showtime is at 7:30 p.m. Ticket prices range from $47.50 to $67.50. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Northern Quest Box Office at (877) 871-6772 or by ordering online at northernquest.com.