I've been a Libera fan for 25 years, but never saw much value in attending a live concert. I have all the albums and I've seen all the videos. Why go to the trouble and expense of travelling to another state to hear the same songs in person?
However, after reading the concert reviews in this forum for the past couple of years, I finally began to understand what I was missing and made plans to attend the L.A. concert. I'm so glad I did because it was an amazing experience!
I arrived at the church about 40 minutes early and joined some other Libera fans at the edge of the parking lot as they admired the amazing view from high above the San Fernando Valley. After about 20 minutes, I walked up the driveway and sat on a bench under a tree. I watched as other fans made their way up the hill, enjoying what was turning out to be a beautiful Southern California evening.
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The doors opened about 6:10 and I stopped by the merch table to buy physical versions of If and Forever (2 CDs for $25). I stream everything these days so I’m sometimes slow to pick up the physical media. Plus, I wanted to have something for the Meet & Greet.
I felt a sense of awe when I found my seat, which was in the front row on the end closest to the stage. I could not have chosen a better location. The main stage was about 10 feet to my right and the circular platform where the soloists would sing was about 15 feet in front of me. The only downside was that my view was to the side and slightly behind the soloists. It was a trade-off I was happy to make.
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It was still bright daylight as the orchestra filed in and began to tune their instruments. After a few minutes, Oscar gave his little spiel and a quiet anticipation fell over the audience. It was then that I realized the seats on the main floor were only half filled and nobody was on the balcony. I couldn’t help feeling disappointed and even a little ashamed of the light attendance. With all the sunlight streaming through the windows, those empty seats would be painfully obvious to the boys.
Then a side door opened and the boys streamed onto the stage and fell into their Vespera formation, except that Oskar went up a flight of stairs to a platform above and to the right of the stage. From there, he sang his descants like an angel on high. Vespera was performed as beautifully as others have described and it was a perfect way to open the concert.
Luca stood on the high platform for Sanctus and was the only one who went up there from that point on. Lively and uplifting, Sanctus is a fan favorite and the boys didn’t disappoint. You need great trebles for this song and Libera clearly has them. Their harmonies and timing were flawless. I wouldn’t have minded hearing it again.
We then transitioned to Wayfaring Stranger with its instrumentals, simpler harmonies and of course, the wistful solo done superbly by Frederick H.
With Ave Maria, the whole choir moved back to leave Luca all alone out in front. It was an appropriate way to spotlight him as he sang the challenging solo to perfection.
They were using spotlights from the front and vertical lighting along the back wall, but I really could have done without them. The boys in their white robes were beautiful in the natural lighting alone and it was a rare opportunity to see them that way.
It was now apparent that certain boys were on my side of the stage most of the time. Ben, Julian, Oskar, and Laurence D to name a few. Julian and Oskar were actively scanning the audience and making eye contact. Julian would often smile when doing so and I even saw Oskar give someone a big smile. The boys were clearly very happy and my concerns about their disappointment at the attendance had completely vanished by that point.
The core group of 12- to 14-year-olds were almost always near the center with the younger boys spread out on either side. I began to think of them as “the minions†because there were so many of them. There was usually a more experienced boy among them, such as Laurence D on my side and Nathan on the other.
I had high expectations for Nathan in From a Distance from prior reviews and he didn’t disappoint. He proved that he can do more than descants and I hope we hear more from him.
Mitchel’s intro to O Beata was sublime. To me, it had a beckoning nature like a siren’s call. It’s a wonderful addition to the Libera repertoire, especially with a soloist as expressive as Mitchel.
Luca. Lighthouse. Awesome and flawless. What more can be said?
Voca Me with Luca up on the platform. It seemed to give his solos more impact. A nice variation on a Libera staple.
Nathan and Pietro did a nice job starting Beati off. The line from the Bigs was fun to see.
After all that’s been said about Daniel conducting the 7 parts, I thought there would be more to it. The song itself was great, though.
Following intermission, the boys entered double-file down the central aisle singing Lux Aeterna. The sun was close to setting at this point with rays of gold and red light coming through the windows. An interesting song to hear as darkness began to fall in the mortal realm. I loved his Morgan’s voice in this.
I agree with what’s already been said about the transition to The Prayer. I get the logic behind it, but it does confuse the audience and cut down on the applause for Lux Aeterna. However, all that is forgotten when Joseph’s young voice carries us away. There’s such a clear and sweet quality to it that he leaves us yearning for more.
We do get just a little more as Joseph leads off Total Praise. It seems like this song has been done to death in recent years, but the different soloists starting it off always seem to keep it fresh.
Ave Verum. Freddie. The video had about 410,000 views on the day of the concert. It’s about to pass 500,000 as I write this 10 days later. I scanned the audience looking for shocked Pikachu faces, but everybody in the front rows seemed to be fans who were in the know. All I saw were delighted smiles. Still, I felt a sense of sadness as the song ended, wondering if we’d just heard the very last performance of it. This was something unique and special in the history of Libera, past and future.
I Am the Day has always been one of my favorites and Morgan has made it more so. His voice is a nice match for the song and he sang it superbly.
Love Shine a Light isn’t a song I would have listened to in its original form, but I do like the Libera version of it. In fact, it can be quite an ear worm. It’s usually the song I’m humming after listening to the album. Mitchel’s cheerful solo always gives me a lift and I really enjoy having it in the mix.
Once an Angel was well-sung but I wonder about its placement among the last four songs. The other three are comparatively upbeat so it seemed a little out of place to me.
God Only Knows was sung superbly by Luca but there were definite sounds of strain in Daniel’s voice in the higher registers. I wouldn’t be surprised if this was his last performance of it.
Sing For Our World is a great song to end the concert with. The boys really perk up and sing with great enthusiasm. I just love to watch them do it.
Smile lived up to all the praise I’d heard about and more. As written, it’s a beautifully poignant song and Mitchel takes it to another level. Libera has a great video of the song that tells a nice little story, but I hope they can somehow do Mitchel’s version as well.
My final and most vivid memory of the concert was watching Joseph swaying to the sound of Mitchel's voice with his eyes closed and a look of total bliss on his face. I know exactly how he felt.
The Meet & Greet
The M&G was in another building. Some people lined up immediately, but I relaxed on the patio outside in the hope that there’d be more time to chat as the line dwindled. The boys arrived in high spirits with the minions noisily pushing and shoving as they jostled for position before going through the door and sitting around a long line of tables arranged in a 3-sided square. You need a lot of tables for 34 boys!
Orlando likes to be first and usually is (according to him).
Oscar likes to make a great big “O†and draw a face in it.
A German guy in front of me asked one of the boys why they don’t do M&Gs in England. The boy said it’s probably because Libera isn’t as popular there. That can’t be the reason, but it made me sad that he thinks so.
I told Lewis he was the smile champion of Libera. He seemed to get a kick out of that and said it meant a lot to him. Laurence D is a close second for me.
The Bigs were all clustered around the first corner of the 3-sided square, chuckling among themselves. Dom, however, sat a few seats down looking very distinguished and proper. He’s a Big, but a different kind of Big.
Thomas and Freddie were at the other corner. It was great to see them sitting together, but up close they’re like the Odd Couple. Thomas looked immaculate with his hair perfectly combed, leaning forward and holding his pen like a student about to take a test. Freddie was slouching in his chair, very chill and relaxed, with wild curls scattered across his forehead. I felt a distinctly Bohemian vibe coming from him. His initials look like some kind of alien symbol.
One of the boys smirked as he showed the boy next to him that Ludwik’s face had been scribbled out on a lady’s album cover. I looked at mine and his face was scribbled out there as well. Ludwik had apparently signed under his scribbled face without comment. None of the other signatures seem to match the color and thickness of the pen that did it. I’m afraid it will always remain a perplexing and mildly irritating mystery.
Luka and Daniel were sitting at the end like a grand finale and my little chats with them were the perfect way to end the evening.
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, but for all we know Daniel (or any of the current boys really) could become leaders of the group in the future. If someone had told me back in the mid 2000's that Sam Coates would become music director and Josh Madine would be composing songs for them it would have been unthinkable. 
