US Tour Dates - Summer 2010

Talks and reviews about Libera concerts or public appearances

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tom413
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Post by tom413 »

I'm stealing some of Jenn's thunder since I got "home" first.

Tonight's show was another packed house . Once again
additional chairs were set up in addition to the pew seating to accommodate the crowd supposedly around 850 at floor level plus others up in the balcony (too hard to see how many to make an estimate). More importantly (to me anyway) is that this was also an artistic triumph with perhaps as good a concert as Libera is able to deliver at present and all of this being done with their leader (Mr. Prizeman) reportedly a bit under the weather. Perhaps Jonathan was as well as he did not appear tonight.

The stage area was not as wide as Preston Hollow's limiting some of the choreography and rendering the high soloist invisible to all but those with balcony seats but these were minor quibbles as all of the songs were delivered very well. It is because of nights like tonight that I make the effort to attend as many of these concerts as I can.

Off to sleep now, so I'll pass the baton on to Jenn for her comments. Was very nice meeting her and her parents these last two days.
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Jenn
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Post by Jenn »

Thanks for posting all the soloists! I was scribbling them down tonight (since I grabbed 3 or 4 programs, I was okay with writing on one :P) but was a little afraid to post them in case I misidentified someone.

I'm absolutely exhausted after these past couple of days of excitement. It's been the experience of a lifetime and I am just so thrilled that I got to experience Libera in concert twice. Meeting some of the people I've seen posting on this site was just as exciting, really. Everyone was so kind (my mom is not normally a very social person, but she loved you guys!) and to just be welcomed into the group was great. We experience something similar each year at a gaming convention (Blizzcon). Everyone there is there for a similar reason, we all play the same game(s) made by Blizzard. Most play the same game I do (and my mom as well), World of Warcraft. You can be the most antisocial person and come out of your shell when surrounded by people who share the same interest. Same can be said for Libera.

Tonight's host church was not as good as PHPC in my opinion. While I loved that the sound was better, I didn't really like the staff or how they were handling the crowd at first. I did love the provided free water, and how they did come through in the end with letting those who were there first line up first (okay, so I cheated a bit on that one. Making friends comes with benefits though, eh? hehe).

I can't come up with any complaints about Libera from tonight. My mom, who will normally cringe if music is offkey, was really enjoying it. She even got her own copy of New Dawn and is actually interested in copies of the albums I have. She wasn't planning on donating anything (I guess she knew I would), but she ended up putting the cash she had in the "pot" because they had already won her over. She was just in love with Cassius (he DOES look like Anakin from episode 1, the poor boy lol) and Ben (she says he looks like he has a secret while he sings). She's also become a Daniel fan, like me, because of the way he smiles and nods like he is so satisfied with the sounds of something.

The boys just did a great job tonight, they were spot on and gave a fantastic performance. And once again they were so friendly at the signing. I was amazed that Josh and Ben remembered me from last night. As many people as they see, I can't imagine how I would stick out! Daniel made me giggle a little because he was singing quietly to himself while in between items to sign. I asked him "Aren't you tired of singing tonight yet?" and he laughed and said no!

I think it is time to get some rest now. I have to be back at work tomorrow unfortunately. I did consider having someone work for me Saturday so I can drive to another concert, but when my mom reminded me of gas + hotel costs....I decided I really should just plan to go next year.

I'm proud to say I have brought two new fans to Libera since both of my parents really loved it. Both told me thank you several times for inviting them along. Can't wait til next time already!
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Post by JimmyRiddle »

That was a really nice story Jenn - glad you managed to bring both your parents along on different nights and enrol them into the Libera fan club ;)

Cheers tom413 for your replies to our questions...
tom413 wrote:Stefan (and all of Libera) was fantastic tonight. This was the best performance I have seen since the 2008 tour. Everyone did a stupendous job. Stefan had a particularly challenging situation tonight. Because of the layout of the church, he was unable to join Ralph up on stage for Mysterium, so Stefan delivered his piece right in front of the audience. I would think that had to be pretty intimidating, but he came through with flying colors.
My admiration for Stefan is growing with each day. He has a huge workload, reminds me of the contributions Tom Cully put in during concerts in 2007/8. However it looks like they are gelling better as a unit now, and this leads to promising times ahead.

Roll on St Louis!!
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Yorkie
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Post by Yorkie »

Thanks to Tom & Jenn for your great reports, they are much appreciated. I hope you continue to be active posters on the forum :D

What happened to F_d_L and Geozed? It sounds like last nights show was a belter and iirc Tom was in Ireland last year and those concerts were good (with the old guard at the top of their game and TC on the back row).

And Jimmy, I'm just hoping that Stefan keeps his voice until we have a chance to see them again next year!
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JimmyRiddle
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Post by JimmyRiddle »

Yorkie wrote:And Jimmy, I'm just hoping that Stefan keeps his voice until we have a chance to see them again next year!
Hope so! His credentials are clear as he's head chorister for Trinity School Boys Choir (another well respected choir) but it still asks a lot of him to perform at such a high standard infront of huge crowds time and time again.

I deciphered from FDL's & Geozed's write up over a French Dreams forum, that Stefan could not take to the stage during Mysterium and he was litterally stood right infront of them. They could hear his voice rather than what was coming through the speakers. Golden moments like that you could never get from watching a DVD.
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Jenn
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Post by Jenn »

Stefan's solo in Mysterium was one of the highlights of the night because of that very reason. His voice is beautiful!

I was a little active on the forums around the time Peace came out, disappeared for a while and came back for this tour. I plan on sticking around now though. I underestimated how nice it is to talk to fellow Libera fans. Since most people just don't "get it".
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tom413
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Post by tom413 »

Yorkie wrote:Thanks to Tom & Jenn for your great reports, they are much appreciated. I hope you continue to be active posters on the forum :D

What happened to F_d_L and Geozed? It sounds like last nights show was a belter and iirc Tom was in Ireland last year and those concerts were good (with the old guard at the top of their game and TC on the back row).
I'm not really a steady poster, but I do my best to share what I know when I know it. Most of the time however someone else here beats me to it! :)

Sadly I was not in Ireland last year, but I have been to all the American concerts apart from Buffalo and Pittsburgh (which ironically are the closest locations Libera has performed to my home in Wisconsin - at least until Thursday...) so my comparison is against all those shows. The 2008 series was very strong with Josh, Liam, Ben, Joe, Ed and Tom in full form. The concert last night was to that standard.

As to FDL and Geozed they were there (in fact they sat just behind me and in front of Jenn and her mom) they may not be posting much today as it is a heavy travel day for them. They were headed off to Paris (Texas) and then to Memphis by car; those travels will fill up their day quite nicely. I am still hanging out in Dallas today before making the trek to St. Louis tomorrow.

FDL was a little grouchy becuase like Jenn he was unable to raise an internet connection at Arborlawn. His opinion as to the differences in event management seemed similar to hers as well. Since I am "old school" and didn't come with any internet devices on my person I didn't mind. :)
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music4
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Post by music4 »

If anyone is interested Libera 360 now has the pictures from the Meet and Greet at Fort Worth concert. Also a picture of one of the new choir member Matthew Jensen. All the pictures are found under "members albums" the pictures are from Todd Preston. It also looks like one of the current choir members is wearing glasses.
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tom413
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Post by tom413 »

JimmyRiddle wrote: I deciphered from FDL's & Geozed's write up over a French Dreams forum, that Stefan could not take to the stage during Mysterium and he was litterally stood right infront of them. They could hear his voice rather than what was coming through the speakers.
Sorry if I wasn't clear enough on that point in my brief writeup.
After Stefan had walked up the aisle, he could not continue straight to the stage without first jumping over the string section as that is where they were positioned. So he delivered his portion of Mysterium directly in front of the audience. I agree that it was a real treat for those of us fortunate enough to score premium seats.

Some other little odds and ends I picked up from last night's M&G.

I noticed Sam was wearing a wristband (bracelet sounds too girly :) ) with Philippines inscribed on it. I thought the Filippino fans might like to know that.

The "new" Matthew is known as MJ so as to distinguish him from Matthew Rangel-Alvarez.

To underscore the need for funding assistance for Libera, Arborlawn's pastor (?) told the audience that the flight costs for this adventure were in the neighborhood of 75k. It was also stated that there were 34 people that made up the Libera entourage this time around.

Callum was very visibly assisting with stage management and video taping duties. Nice to see him continuing to work with the group!
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tom413
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Post by tom413 »

music4 wrote:If anyone is interested Libera 360 now has the pictures from the Meet and Greet at Fort Worth concert. Also a picture of one of the new choir member Matthew Jensen. All the pictures are found under "members albums" the pictures are from Todd Preston. It also looks like one of the current choir members is wearing glasses.
Thanks for the tip. Actually I recall seeing four of the current members wearing glasses: Sammy, Henry, Cassius and Tiarnan.

The guy who did the three part Libera M&G video at the Crystal Cathedral on youtube was in Dallas and Fort Worth as well. I suspect he videod his way through the line, so he may be a source for more when he returns home.
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Post by JimmyRiddle »

tom413 wrote:To underscore the need for funding assistance for Libera, Arborlawn's pastor (?) told the audience that the flight costs for this adventure were in the neighborhood of 75k.
It's a travesty in a way that they are financially burdoned so heavily for just wanting to spread their amazing music and concert staging to people all around the world.

Thanks for clearing up why Stefan had to solo mysterium infront of the audience.
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Post by dani »

75k has got to be in $$

Which is why i said earlier on in the week its amazing they take such trips when they will never ever recoup the costs.
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Post by phlibera »

tom413 wrote:I noticed Sam was wearing a wristband (bracelet sounds too girly :) ) with Philippines inscribed on it. I thought the Filippino fans might like to know that.
Hey, that's nice to know! :D I hope he's still with the group when they return to the Philippines. :) And Josh and Liam to so that Yorkie would pay up... Hehe... :)
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Yorkie
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Post by Yorkie »

Thanks for the updates Tom. Sorry I placed you in Dublin last year, I thought Patrick mentioned he was meeting up with somebody who he first met in Dublin & 2+2=5.

75k (even in pounds it's £50k) for flights alone! Add hotel, food & bus travel and that is quite some bill. Libera the charity are not generating that kind of cash. Either there is another pot of money somewhere or they have a donor (it doesn't seem like it is EMI) picking up most of the cost.

Thank goodness you Americans are just suckers for a cute, singing British boy & can't resist opening your wallets :D
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Yorkie
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Post by Yorkie »

phlibera wrote:
tom413 wrote:I noticed Sam was wearing a wristband (bracelet sounds too girly :) ) with Philippines inscribed on it. I thought the Filippino fans might like to know that.
Hey, that's nice to know! :D I hope he's still with the group when they return to the Philippines. :) And Josh and Liam to so that Yorkie would pay up... Hehe... :)
Did I mention that you would need to travel to a UK concert next year to collect on the bet?
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