Just got back from Engerland and the concert at Arundel.
This was my 6th Libera concert (my first being the QEH in 2008) and my first at Arundel. What a lovely quaint town that is. Sadly did not have time to explore the castle, but had an excellent lunch in the town and then headed on up the hill to join the fairly small queue at about 4pm, while my companion went to the pub across the road to watch some cup final featuring Chelsea
Must say had a very enjoyable time queueing and chatting to the French fans about all sorts, and also a nice chinese girl whose name i did not get. I managed to get one of the signed programs at 8 pounds a pop
but i know the proceeds are going to a very good cause. which makes me wonder why they dont do more merchandising like calendars or mugs at premium prices, as the fans would pay for them if they knew any profits were put back into the group. Once the doors opened at 7pm i managed to get a pretty good seat abput 5 rows back from the front directly behind Patrick who thankfully has not got a big head
As usual i am not good here on any of the details so i leave that to those good enough to have posted detailed reviews already but suffice to say the concert did not dissapoint. Now i will say that it was not my favourite performance as i felt it was lacking a certain something by not having the 'back row' there to add to the harmonies, but that is a fairly minor quibble. What stood out for me was Isaacs performance of Far Away, he really nailed it and what an honour it must have been for him to have a solo like that given his short time with the group.
At the interval i met Daniel at the back of the Church and he very graciously signed my Peace inlay card, and was very friendly and polite. I also noticed another boy with his family and the face looked very familiar and then i realised it was Alfie Smart from a couple years back. I did ask him if i could get his signature, but he said that he wasnt in Librera any more so i left it at that. He has a brother who is now performing with the group. I also met Daniels dad, who was very nice and down to earth, and i had seen him many times before at concerts but not realised who he was.
Got to hang around a little after the concert and talk again to some of the french fans before heading off on a two hour journey back to my friends house. All in all, a very enjoyable evening. I was a little envious of my companion after he told me he had a good chat with Dylan Duffys parents at the pub who were also big Chelsea fans
(it's not new anyway)
I think it is the Attende Domini et Miserere bit that sells it for me. For those that weren't there it didn't sound like the record; it was slower and almost Gregorian chant like (and of course no backing track).
