Singapore Concert 2012

[phlibera]

Is that Ralph singing the high notes at the end?

Yes, that's Ralph.

[tom413]

Meet and greet video from Singapore made by Lauren is now up on Youtube.

[BBvideo 425,350][/BBvideo]

Love the exchange with Nano Ben and Tom!

[carina_gino20]

Here's part 2 of my concert review:

Orinoco Flow
A very fun performance and I’m glad they brought it back. As usual, there were lots of movement, and walking forward and backward involved. It really amazes me that they can produce all that marvelous sound while they are doing all these.

Gloria
If there’s one song that I expect to be perfectly delivered in every concert, it’s Gloria. I don’t know how they do it but they just really, really can’t seem to do anything wrong with this one. And as we just recently saw in that raw recording at St. Ignatius’ church, they sound just as lovely even without all the backing instruments.

Enter Barney and Cassius with their orange juice bit. It makes me wonder whether they really drink orange juice during every concert intermission. I loved their synchronized action when Barney said “lovely white robes.” Barney seemed to be mighty pleased with it. And as usual, they talked about their very massive hoods and Cassius got the crowd laughing.

The Fountain
I’ll always love this song and I’m glad I got to hear it again live. I really like the piano intro by RP. He stays in shadows for most of the concert, except for a little light striking him on the back. And in this song, the effect was rather dramatic—the maestro playing a solemn tune on his piano. This time, taking Kavana’s high part from the Philippine tour, is Barney, and oh my word, can that boy go high. Ralph’s voice just pulls you into the song and weaves a web of mystery around you. He encountered a bit of problem during the second night and sang “again” an octave lower. He probably had a minor cold or something since he apparently can still hit that very high ending note for Gloria.

Dies Irae
Red. Very red. That was my initial reaction to this song as red lights flooded the stage. And then Ciaran started singing the solo and I just about melted in all that cuteness. He stood in the middle with MRA and the rest fanned out in a reverse V. Ciaran’s voice was young and clear, and just like the other new soloists, did not betray any signs of nervousness. I really enjoyed this performance.

Grateful Heart
Ah, Stefan—what a classic performance this was. The other boys knelt down encircling him as he stood in the middle and gave a very genuine performance of this song. It’s just the right song for him. Simple on the surface and yet commanding nuances that Stefan provides so effortlessly. You could almost picture him somewhere in a green, green valley just bursting into song. This song.

Stay With Me
Another one of their classic Libera pieces. Daniel’s solo was shared among the younger boys. MRA again took to the high platform and stunned us with his high notes. He was really amazing in these two nights.

After this, Nano Ben introduced himself as Nano Ben and talked about singing in Latin. Sooo adorable, this child.

Ave Verum
Loved the percussions on this one. Another flawless performance from the boys. Ralph was at the head of the V towards the end, which is a little funny because his voice is still very high.

Far Away
This was another nice surprise with little Isaac singing the solo. It was mesmerizing listening to that young and powerful voice coming from such a tiny body. I wonder though who was doing the lovely high parts in the chorus...

Glory to Thee
My absolute favorite of the night. I just cannot get enough of Eoghan’s voice. It just keeps getting more and more beautiful. And he performs it with such confidence and that cute little smirk that never really left his face the whole evening.

How Shall I Sing that Majesty
As usual, it was a perfect song to end the show. And it’s a perfect song for Easter. Stefan sang the first verse and Eoghan sang the second. The choir really came together to create such a full sound and the ending was majestic.

On both nights, the final song received extended applause. The kids took turns to bow with RP. After this, they launched into the chorus of Exultate. However, since the last two encores I saw were of Bayan Ko and Himig ng Pasko, I was a little underwhelmed with this one. But the crowd still loved it and we gave them a standing ovation afterwards.

All in all, they gave two successful performances. At first, I felt a little nostalgic, not seeing any of the boys from the Leiden concert there. It was a little odd at first, but this younger bunch really showed they can go on their own. The little new boys seemed up to the task of performing for two hours straight, although some yawns did slip out once in a while. The old mini boys who are now not so mini looked very satisfied as well. They just grow so fast these days. But I’m happy to report that Kavana, who is now signing in the background, still sings animatedly.

Meet and Greet
The Singapore version is also comparatively muted compared to the Philippine ones. Not as large a crowd but the queue was still pretty long. The kids were still game after the concert, although some of the younger ones looked very sleepy.

I told Barney how great he sounded in the Fountain and he was pleased. Again, I told Ralph how much I love The Fountain and he was really appreciative. I also told him to please never ever stop singing. Said that Stefan also who had a big smile on his face during the whole signing. Kavana was as cool and friendly as ever. I asked him if they were coming up with a new album soon but he was non-committal on his answer. He just said, “I hope so.”

Eoghan responded with a shy smile when I told him how stunning he sounded in Glory to Thee. Jude, that very energetic boy, joked about the Singapore heat.

I got signatures on my concert programme and my Eternal CD cover. I’ll try to scan the programme if I get the chance. I hope they visit Singapore again, and I hope next time, they would find a reason to insert Carol of the Bells into the set list.

[maartendas]

Gloria from the church service

You guys were lucky to watch it as it's removed now

[b20me]

Thanks for the hint. I can't seem to do it with the other photo though. Is it possible?

Thanks, I'm glad if it made any sense
There's just one high resolution photo! (I posted the small size picture from Libera's blog and a link to the big one a few hours later) I'm sorry for any confusion!

Not confusing at all! Thanks for the tip. Tried it with blog number 2, but I guess they found out too.

[dearmadine]

Gloria from the church service

You guys were lucky to watch it as it's removed now

I downloaded it before it was removed Can be found at the bottom of this post.
http://dearmadine.blogspot.com/2012/04/ ... japan.html

[maartendas]

Gloria from the church service

You guys were lucky to watch it as it's removed now

I downloaded it before it was removed Can be found at the bottom of this post.
http://dearmadine.blogspot.com/2012/04/ ... japan.html

Thank you Loved the entire write-up, too

[Murkskis]

A new blog by Libera is up!
Going to Japan

[chris17]

Gloria from the church service

You guys were lucky to watch it as it's removed now

I downloaded it before it was removed Can be found at the bottom of this post.
http://dearmadine.blogspot.com/2012/04/ ... japan.html

Thank you so much!

[LuxVenit]

Thanks everyone for posting reviews and videos! I SO wish I could travel like some of you do to be able to hear every concert I could, but even though I can't I'm glad that I don't miss everything since you always share your experiences here. Some of those tiny mini boys are so cute! I hope I can see them in concert someday, and oh my word has Kavana's voice gotten deep!

Thanks again for sharing. Libera's such a special group and its fanbase makes it even more special.

[JimmyRiddle]

..another concert review here... http://myneeweasley.tumblr.com/

[Sue]

Thank you for the link Jimmy!

[maartendas]

A new blog post by Libera boys!
http://www.libera.org.uk/blog/shiny_singapore_7th_april

I like how you get to know certain small things through the blogs. For instance, that Tintin is popular among Libera members. This gives me an idea for fan art though I've no idea if I'll be able to pull it off...

Oh, I'm sure you could give it a try and maybe even post it...

Ahem... Just a quick sketch

[Yorkie]

Ahem... Just a quick sketch

Liking it

[paul]

[quote="maartendas"Ahem... Just a quick sketch
[/quote]

Ha-ha.

Good one Maarten