One of the small joys in this life is watching 1989's futuristic version of 2015 in the transcendent Back to the Future II, knowing that the real 2015 will be a stunning disappointment by comparison.

Thursday night at Eisenhower Auditorium, a sold-out crowd got a similarly joyous look at what the ancient Celts in Ireland must have thought of the futuristic "Planet Ireland" in Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance.

The show seems as though an overzealous progressive rock band took a dive into the world of Irish music and decided to make a concept album based on this alternate universe.

And that isn't a bad thing. In fact, it's an amazing thing.

The stunning Irish dance musical was high-energy from start to finish.

The show began with an ultra-creepy march onto the stage by a collection of torch-bearing people in black robes and hoods.

After the disturbing march, an elfish girl lightened the mood with an over-the-top mime performance of a tin whistle solo.

Lord of the Dance is one of those kinds of displays that, while completely ridiculous, cheesy and overdone, is simultaneously one of the most enjoyable experiences in the world. Going to see the show is sort of like screaming along to "We Are the Champions" or watching any original programming on MTV.

The plot of the show chronicles the title character, played to perfection by Don McCarron, who finds himself in a love triangle all while trying to save Planet Ireland from the evil Don Dorcha.

McCarron's stage persona was some awesome combination of Las Vegas-era Elvis Presley and "Billie Jean"-era Michael Jackson.

He revved up the crowd like a rock star, punctuating dance sequences with calls of "Woo!" and "Come on!" The star also often brandished a gigantic belt that asserted that he was indeed the Lord of the Dance. He was the man and he knew it.

Aside from McCarron's tremendous dancing and his constant mugging for the audience, the highlight of the show was the constant tension built throughout the story line.

Each sequence topped the one before it, ultimately coming to a climax when the Lord and Don Dorcha battled each other in a dance-off/old-fashioned slobberknocker.

The battle ended in victory for the Lord, but it was an even match the whole way.

It was the Ali-Frazier of futuristic ancient Irish dancing.

Between the ever-progressing dance sequences, there were also intermittent vocal interludes as well as violin duels. The vocal numbers were a snore, but the violin duels were nothing short of amazing.

As if playing the violin with blazing speed wasn't hard enough, the male-female duo did it all while moving around the stage with vigor.

The Lord of the Dance had something for everyone. From the gorgeous dancers to the riveting intrigue of both the story line and the hypnotic movement of the dancers' feet, the show was consistently entertaining from start to finish.