I have added a few things on the french forum, and few photos but nothing really interessing at that time, it's just pre-concerts rubish.
We just reached the church at 18:30 while a guy was to close the doors. I have took quickly one poor photo of the inside but it was "moved"...
The church seems to me to be difficult to organize for any king of show. There is a sort of metallic fence between the front row of chairs (yes, chairs, not banc) and the place where the boys might be... but hard to say, Fred and myself have had no time to go the the front to see better...
Well, now time to sleep, before 10h queuing tomorrow
Amazing...having lunch in the same restaurant with the Libera boys. Looks like Tom has joined Ben and Steven as part of the setup crew.
I can't wait to read about the concert review.
Ann
'Let me go where'er I will,
I hear a sky-born music still:
It sounds from all things old,
It sounds from all things young,
From all that's fair, from all that's foul,
Peals out a cheerful song.'
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
tcenrt wrote:Looks like Tom has joined Ben and Steven as part of the setup crew.
Ann
it's good to see that he's somewhat moved onto that. sometimes after being the performer for so long it's nice to step back and do something new. you learn a lot from doing that. haha
This has got to be so hard on Tom. For last 2 years he has been front and centre and now is helping setting up and stuff thats a big change. Its different for people like Callum who always had a small part to play un Libera.
dani wrote:This has got to be so hard on Tom. For last 2 years he has been front and centre and now is helping setting up and stuff thats a big change. Its different for people like Callum who always had a small part to play un Libera.
Definitely. The change from treble chorister to tenor/bass and set up would not be as difficult (I imagine) if you were not one of the main soloists with a big part in concerts--although each boy is important to the group! They make up Libera together; I'm not trying to say only the soloists are important, of course.
In my opinion, Tom has been a main soloist/prominent member of the group since 2005 when he got his first album solo "Always With You" as well as singing with Michael H. on songs such as "We Are the Lost" and with Joe SW in "Sempiterna" (Visions album); he also starting to sing solos during their concerts as well, such as the solo on "Mysterium". And from 2007-2008 he had many solos in Leiden and the US, not to mention on the studio albums Angel Voices: Libera in Concert and New Dawn. That being said, I am really happy that he's still with Libera, singing in the back row and helping set up and so on because I think it shows his dedication to the group.
et laudate Domino in laetitia
et cantate Domino gloria
saecula et saeculorum, Alleluia
No Meet and Greet tonight saying that time and tirdness was a factor but there concerts normally finish after 10pm so dont that excuse. Also on another forum they say Michael V has now departed Libera.
Well, I made it. I’ve only known about Libera since March this year when I happened across a ‘tube link on a blog I was looking at. It wasn’t a blog I read regularly;I was off work on a rainy day and just wandering the web to kill time. Serendipity if I ever saw it.
The problem is I’m a secret Libera fan; single male, old enough to know better! Advertising my like of boy trebles in this day and age is asking for trouble. Also, (and I know this has been touched upon in recent threads) it did make me uncomfortable to think about attending a concert on my own. However innocent it may be, we all know that in reality it looks ‘odd’. Anyway, I ordered a ticket and had a few months to make my mind up.
In the end I decided to drive the 240 miles from my home to the venue; now to Americans I know you would drive 240 miles for a pint of milk, but to us Brits that’s a bit of a commitment. It wasn’t so much the 240 miles there that had me worried, it was the trip back in the wee small hours of the morning that was giving me concern. I think that road trip might be the start of my first novel!
I returned to the Cathedral at 17.00 and noticed five people at one of the side doors. Libera fans. I heard a French accent and guessed that one of the guys must by Fan_De_Lok – I was right. I decided to join the queue and had a chat with the guys. F_D_L (Patrick), Fred, George and Chris (I think it was Chris apologies if I got your name wrong) seemed very normal I’m pleased to report (but obviously a little bit Libera obsessed!).
So what about the concert? I though you’d never ask. I won’t go in to the line up as it was exactly the same (as expected) as Belfast; same songs, order, soloists, etc and Fan_De_LoK has already posted that line up earlier in this thread. I decided to sit in the second row (behind Fred*edit* now I think about it, it might have been George!) centre stage. Unfortunately Fred is a decent size so I had to look over and around him a fair bit to see everybody.
To me, this was a performance of two halves. I can’t say that I was overwhelmed by the first half. I was probably a little too near the stage to benefit from perfect acoustics; it just sounded a little, I don’t know, thin to me. Certainly not as good as the sound on the DVD. From memory (and this was after a long and stressful day + a Red Bull fuelled 4 hour trip home so I may be shaky on a few things) some highlights of this half of the show were Sancte (the boys knelt down in two rows) and Secret (Benedict can sing).
At the interval I checked with the guys who’d been to Belfast and they assured me the sound was good. Better here in fact. Perhaps I had been over thinking it rather than sitting back and enjoying it, but part two blew me away. After the interval the Cathedral was much darker, the sun having set. This presented just the perfect atmosphere and the coloured lights came in to there own.
Sakura – the first time I’d ever heard this. I know some are not a keen, but I thought it was great! About half the boys came on stage from the left and right. They formed up with their backs to the audience and started to sing a cappella - very soft, beautiful harmonies. Gradually the rest of the boys came on stage and a soft piano (possibly gentle violin too) joined in. Nice.
Next we went straight in to When a knight with Ed. I remember this from my schooldays. We always had to sing this and 200 kids murdered it every week. Ed just blasted it out of the park. What can I say? Earlier in the queue Chris (if it was he) had said he believed Ed was the best voice in the group and I smiled politely (but thought otherwise). I was wrong, wrong, wrong; Ed’s voice shone through all the songs in this half of the show. His high notes were perfect and soared effortlessly above the rest. He is definitely right at his peak now and I hope he gets to lay down some great solo’s before his voice starts to change.
Prayer was done brilliantly by James and Freddie (Freddie at one point opened his mouth wide to sing and started to yawn. He did it a couple of times in the show the poor kid but it didn’t affect the sound). You were there and Orinoco flow were perfect and normally I’m a bit cool on Orinoco but hearing it live was sublime, actually better than any of the recordings I’ve heard.
Favourite song of the evening now. Mysterium. What can I say? This was spine tinglingly stellar. There is a You Tube of an older performance in a Cathedral with blue lighting and it always looked beautiful and very ‘mysterious’. It was a joy to watch. In the darkness the cold blue lighting picked out the white of the boys robes perfectly and sent shadows dancing across the stage. From left to right the boys started to raise their hoods at regular intervals until they were all covered and eerily ghostly. Then the ranks of boys split in two and Ed floated down the middle like Moses and absolutely nailed the vocals. Perfect. I wish you could see it, I really do.
Sacris Solemnis was good, Josh did a nice rendition of Love & Mercy (one of my favourites) but his voice is changing and it lacked a little of that warm softness of the CD version. How can I keep from singing with Ed and Josh was sublime and the night finished well with I am the day. Standing ovation was long, loud and genuinely warm (don’t believe what F_D_L says, they were definitely the first to leap up and clap! More power to them though, they make sure the lads get the right level of appreciation for their work).
Final thoughts. Others have said this earlier, but I think the curtain is falling on this Libera line up. We’ve lost Tom and I think Liam and Josh have probably performed at the front for the last time (Liam faltered in the first rendition of Libera but he did nail the encore. If it bothered him he certainly didn’t let it show). But there are plenty of young talents to come through, although it might be a couple of years before the young lads hit their peak (I couldn’t help but laugh at the way one of the young ones bounced up and down all night, completely unable to keep still).
There was a good crowd, I’d agree with F_D_L’s guess of around 500 (at 6.30 it looked like less than 100 from the size of queue). There were a lot of single men, but none that looked sinister or sleazy (not that I made a point to vet every one). I can see how in these times that the people looking after the lads would want to be careful though and I respect that. Would I go to another concert? What after driving for four hours of what seemed to be constant road works, having to spend $215 for a new tyre and then driving four hours back in the dark on unlit roads to arrive home at 01.45? You bet I would. But next time I’ll stay overnight.
Andy.
Last edited by Yorkie on Wed Aug 12, 2009 11:18 am, edited 1 time in total.
If I’ve got owt to say I says it, and if I’ve got owt to ask I asks it.
Thanks a lot for that detailed account Andy. It makes us feel as if we were right there with you.
Now you can say, You Were There...
I really hope they record Ed's Mysterium on a CD. I've only heard it once in a fan recording and it blew me away. I can only imagine how much more awesome it would be with a proper recording.
Thanks for telling us about Liam and Josh. I hope Josh's voice holds out until October, but there's only a slim chance, I guess, since he's also turning 15 like Tom. I was hoping Liam's treble voice would last until next year. Who knows, maybe it's just one of those days...
Anyway, I'm happy to hear miniBen's doing even better with his new role. I hope I can see them live this October.
"I'm drowning here, and you're describing the water!" - Melvin Udall
I try to be obsessed in a healthy, unharmful way 
And I'm fairly sure 1,000 posts is at least a year away!
It makes us feel as if we were right there with you.
