What can i say that has not already been said? (I don't do twitter so i will have to do it here
)
I arrived in Guildford in time for a nice lunch with my travelling companion, and also had a short walk around the quite pretty town centre before heading for the Cathedral and joining the queue at about 430pm. Already a couple dozen people there by that point. As always the time spent in the queue goes quickly as you end up on a tour of the world chatting to people from places like France, Italy, Germany, Holland, New Zealand, South Korea etc
I don't think it's been mentioned here (though maybe elsewhere) but at about 6pm came an announcement by the front doors where some had been gathered for 7 or 8 hours
that we were all queuing at the WRONG place and we were directed to another entrance where there was a small enclosed area (at least we got out of the cold) So there was a bit of a stampede as people jostled for position and some of those really early arrivals (quite rightly) had to push their way through to retake their original positions at the front of the queue. This area was quite claustrophobic but at least we knew the wait was nearly over and sure enough at last the doors were opened and off we went to take our seats. I had quite a nice view on the left edge of the right aisle about 4 rows back from the front. Libera's raised stage ensured nobody's head got in the way of a clear view
The Cathedral itself, while impressive in size, was a bit non descript and it seemed as if they ran out of money towards the end in decorating the place. But however i was not really there to see the building.
Another mesmerising performance by Libera which can be summed up for me in two words: Voca Me
Absolutely outstanding performance of this on the night, and worth the 30 pounds ticket price alone IMHO. Thomas DL just soars flawlessly on this one. Some of the others have picked out Mysterium as the highlight, and maybe it was the fact it was still not dark outside, or it could well have been the wine i drank at the interval, but i was not as blown away by it as i have been on other occasions (Belfast, Chester) As others have mentioned it was really great to see some of the newer boys getting solos for the first time and some other boys (Like Michael UR) getting more responsibility in some of the higher parts of the songs (such as Salva) Was a little sad to see Be Still my Soul dropped from the list as this was one of my favourites at the N Ireland concerts last November but i understand they have to try out new things and not just stick to the same old setlist.
Great to see such a big crowd there and they were very enthusiastic with even a few whoops and whistles at the end of some songs, and a well deserved standing ovation at the end. After some time of chatting with other fans after the show, it was time to leave. Just as i and my companion were heading back to the car some of the boys were coming out of the refectory area and (presumably) being collected by parents and guardians (no bus this time) So there was just a little chance to give them a little wave and praise for such an excellent show.
I always liken a Libera concert to an other-worldly experience. For me, it is two hours of pure heavenly, endorphin-producing bliss. If i were to take drugs, i think it might feel a little like being at a Libera concert. Here's to the next one in the autumn.
High time for a new album, methinks! The PCSM version isn't bad either: . Good call, RP!
(Liam returned to the line-up) & Kav has been there continuously since about 2008 (don't quote me on that date though!).
