USA 2011 Concert reviews.

Talks and reviews about Libera concerts or public appearances

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labbie

Re: USA 2011 Concert reviews.

Post by labbie »

I had the pleasure of attending the Chicago concert this year and thoroughly enjoyed it. Last year's U.S. tour saw me attending the concert at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis. I remember that in Chicago, "Mysterium" was performed by Ralph and Luke and the other boys all on stage in front of the audience. Last year in St. Louis, Stefan and Ralph performed their solo responses from galleries on opposite sides of the cathedral, with everyone else on the stage. How was it performed in St. Louis this year? I don't remember seeing any specifics in the reviews.
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tom413
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Re: USA 2011 Concert reviews.

Post by tom413 »

I'm pretty sure that they were both onstage in St. Louis (and that Patrick will correct me
if I'm wrong :lol: )
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Jayfrog214
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Re: USA 2011 Concert reviews.

Post by Jayfrog214 »

Malibu wrote:
I introduced Libera to my parents a couple of months ago after they heard I went to the Canadian concerts. They seemed to like them, but I couldn't get a good read. I thought about inviting my mom to go to the Chicago concert, but ended up against it. Maybe I should have.
I had attempted to bring my parents into the Libera fold about 12 or 13 years ago....no luck. After my mom discovered Il Divo (another music group from the UK) she has been more open about music appreciation. I took her and my nephew to the Libera concert last year in Dallas and she, as well as my nephew, was hooked. She even spent about 5 or 10 minutes talking to Barbara Geraghty. This year they both attended the Frisco show with me and insisted we get the best seats we could. I am hoping to take my youngest nephew next time. He would have gotten a kick to hear that the youngest one onstage was the same age as he is.

On a side note, I now feel a bit foolish. I was trying to find out if Mrs. Geraghty would be there again this year so I asked this very nice but very busy gentleman if he was with Libera and he said yes, so I asked him and he said that yes she was with them again this year so I thanked him and walked off.....Mr Phillip, I wish I would have had my wits about me and known it was you so I could have truly thanked you for what you helped bring to us in the US!!!! Next time I will certainly do so......
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fan_de_LoK
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Re: USA 2011 Concert reviews.

Post by fan_de_LoK »

tom413 wrote:I'm pretty sure that they were both onstage in St. Louis (and that Patrick will correct me
if I'm wrong :lol: )
Confirmed, all the Mysterium this tour were sung by Ralph and Luke standing together in front of the stage. No ailse walk this year for Mysterium.

They use the high gallery in St Louis this year but not in the same way as last year.
This time it was the left gallery that was used, by the seven big boys when they sung Te Lucis :)
Lexi
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Re: USA 2011 Concert reviews.

Post by Lexi »

Houston was awesome!!! I wrote a review and posted my mom's pictures. We tried to get each boy individually this time.

We have a lot of driving to do. Some of my cousins are coming to visit me on Saturday and go to Shedd Aquarium. I'll put my pics up later. Maybe tonight. :D

http://mini-angels.blogspot.com/2011/08 ... ncert.html
http://www.mini-angels.blogspot.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
sweetangel16
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Re: USA 2011 Concert reviews.

Post by sweetangel16 »

Lexi wrote:Houston was awesome!!! I wrote a review and posted my mom's pictures. We tried to get each boy individually this time.

We have a lot of driving to do. Some of my cousins are coming to visit me on Saturday and go to Shedd Aquarium. I'll put my pics up later. Maybe tonight. :D

http://mini-angels.blogspot.com/2011/08 ... ncert.html
Thanks for sharing, Lexi :D. You and your mom should become Libera's photographers.

Charmaine
labbie

Re: USA 2011 Concert reviews.

Post by labbie »

Thank you very much for the information about "Mysterium" in St. Louis. It is great to see that from tour to tour, Libera always comes up with new ways of keeping performances exciting and appealing to their audiences.
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phlibera
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Re: USA 2011 Concert reviews.

Post by phlibera »

Thanks Lexi and The Mom for sharing. I love reading your reviews and you take good pictures. :) Another well-covered tour. Thanks to all the reviewers and reporters. :)
worshipper28
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Re: USA 2011 Concert reviews.

Post by worshipper28 »

Have read al the reports from al the concerts With google translation also from http://libera-passion.exprimetoi.net/t7 ... a-ete-2011" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and http://mini-angels.blogspot.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and this forum
So Thanks everybody enjoyed them all
Greetings from the Netherlands With every day raining weather
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emmaclaire
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Re: USA 2011 Concert reviews.

Post by emmaclaire »

Really quick question. Who does the high notes at the end of How Shall I Sing that Majesty?
Thoughts of love surrond you
Everywhere around you
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maartendas
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Re: USA 2011 Concert reviews.

Post by maartendas »

danncer96 wrote:Really quick question. Who does the high notes at the end of How Shall I Sing that Majesty?
According to fan_de_LoK on the French forum it was Jakob.
Which makes me the winner 'cause that's what I said right after the Moody Church footage 8) :lol:
You raise me high beyond the sky
Through stormy night lifting me above
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emmaclaire
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Re: USA 2011 Concert reviews.

Post by emmaclaire »

maartendas wrote:
danncer96 wrote:Really quick question. Who does the high notes at the end of How Shall I Sing that Majesty?
According to fan_de_LoK on the French forum it was Jakob.
Which makes me the winner 'cause that's what I said right after the Moody Church footage 8) :lol:
Well then he can SING!
Thoughts of love surrond you
Everywhere around you
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Jenn
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Re: USA 2011 Concert reviews.

Post by Jenn »

Boy can he! He's tall enough to be in the back with the big boys, but SAINTE VACHE!! his voice is amazing. He did quite a lot of the high notes throughout the concert.
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emmaclaire
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Re: USA 2011 Concert reviews.

Post by emmaclaire »

Every time I hear the ending of How Shall I Sing that Majesty I get the chills, only to hear that live. It's amazing.
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phineaspgage
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Re: USA 2011 Concert reviews.

Post by phineaspgage »

A 4/6ths Tour Review

I attended the first four concerts of Libera's 2011 USA tour, hence four out of six shows and a "4/6ths" review. These were in Minneapolis, St. Paul, Chicago, and St. Louis. I also attended the Moody Church service in which Libera performed the morning of their Chicago concert in Rockefeller Chapel. I have no qualifications for writing a concert tour review, as I have no formal training in music. I knew nothing of the treble choir tradition until I found Libera, and my own preferred genre of music is best described as blues/rock, which I play and sing poorly. My metaphysical understanding of the world is Zen Buddhist, colored by behavioral neuroscience, so I hold no specific theological embrace of the themes about which Libera sings. I am not musically discriminating. I experience music on an intuitive and emotional level, outside the realm of words and analysis. I must reread my concert program to recall in which order songs were performed. I forget which boys sang which parts, and I frequently confuse the newer members with one another so I'm not even sure who is singing while they're on stage. If someone drifted a little off pitch or suppressed a cough during a performance, it was likely lost on me. I have no business writing a review. Yet I cannot help but write as a means of striving to understand my experience.

Libera touches something within me that is far beyond my comprehension. They heal what has been broken, soften edges made jagged by hardship and struggle, release tension born of stress, and bring hope to the places where fear and dismay have made their homes. I will remember this tour as one of the most precious experiences of my life. I do not travel well. I'm bashful, reserved, and easily intimidated. I do not care for long drives or stays away from home. Yet I drove over 2800 miles for four concerts and a church appearance, lived in hotels among strangers, spent my next year's entertainment [and a good part of my food] budget. Yet, upon returning home I still found myself checking flight schedules to see if perhaps there might be some way to make the Texas shows after all. It isn't just that I've never been this fanatical about anything before; its that I've never cared about anything this much before. Christian scripture promises that though there will be many false prophets, we will be able to recognize those who reveal the truth when we encounter them. We will know them by their fruits(1). Anyone present in any of those four venues witnessed Libera's fruit directly and experientially. It was undeniable.

I wondered before leaving whether four "repeat" performances would be too much. I thought I might be sated of the thirst that Libera quenches. Not so. Not hardly. Not even close. Instead I found that seeing Libera perform live 2-3 times per week is just about right for me. I suppose it would cut into their schedules a bit, but perhaps there is room for negotiation? In Zen Buddhism, each and every moment is understood to be a mirror or window into the self. In this respect, the several shows yielded tremendous spiritual fruit insofar as the experience changed with the venue and my own internal state. I got to see where my own points of tension and resistance lie by watching my reaction to the music. Another way to say this is to borrow from the inside cover of the Luminosa CD the quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson: "The light by which we see in this world comes out from the soul of the observer." Everything is a projection of our own hearts and minds.

In Minneapolis I endured an aching pain in my back. Years of meditation has taught me that there is nothing physically wrong with my spine. Instead, the resistance to beauty, love, and tenderness I acquired through a tough working class background has led me to block the expression of emotion. I needed to weep, but was resistant to do so in public. It is a foolish but persistent habit now well beyond the pale of conscious choice. The boys finally wound their way into my heart by the third concert, when the souring highs on "Stay With Me" broke the dam and tears began streaming down my face. This is what is supposed to happen (to me), and usually does at home when I'm less guarded and can let myself feel fully what Libera are expressing. Weeping in public is new to me and requires courage. As Stephen Phillipp stated in the Songs of Praise special, "If there is truth behind something,...it bears witness in the hearts of individuals that hear it." Bearing witness cannot be accomplish through recounting a series of songs and stage movements; it is accomplished only by entering fully into the experience and allowing Libera to work their magic.

There is something powerful and profound lurking beneath the surface. It is evident in the enthusiasm, the joy, and the playfulness of the boys, as well as in the quiet professionalism of the musicians and supporting crew. In Minneapolis I arrived at the Cathedral early in the morning to see the venue, locate parking, and meditate in that magnificent space. The crew started moving in equipment. I briefly met Stephen Geraghty and Ben Crawley, who were both friendly and pleasant despite the heat and the magnitude of the task before them. At midmorning they were setting up; Stephen would still be performing 10-12 hours later. Sam Coates and Ben would also be on the job for a very long day, orchestrating the stage show and managing the sound, tasks for which enough credit is rarely offered. A published review has suggested that the microphones were too "hot" (turned up too high). Humbug! Angel voices are delicate and sometimes voiced softly. Each venue is different acoustically, spatially, and technically. A minor miracle is achieved each time the audience experiences a seamless arrangement without hint of the challenges in distributing power, positioning speakers, lights, and equipment, and ensuring all the "moving parts" to Libera come together for the show. The shows all looked and sounded magnificent.

With the solid foundation of behind-the-scenes support, the music and the choir were each spectacular. Mr. Prizeman's creative blend of ancient with modern, convention with innovation creates a musical experience that would itself be worth the price of admission. At the same time, if all the instruments were removed and the boys were left to sing a cappella, it would seem that nothing was lost. The two together are not merely additive in effect. They are synergistic. St. Louis was unique insofar as the Cathedral draws an audience of benefactors who support the concert series but who may as individuals have no prior familiarity with Libera. During the interval I overheard two of them conversing over their inability to reach a third party by phone to tell them what they were missing. One wondered aloud, "How would you even describe the experience we're having if you could reach her?" Libera had effectively rendered her speechless.

Libera to my mind is witness to a spiritual truth gleaned by all the major faiths of the world but sometimes lost to the faithful beneath the rigors of dogma, convention, and ritual. The ground of our being is established on a foundation of incomprehensible, awesome and eternal love. Achieving "greatness" in this world does not require doing what is hard, reaching into the distance, or becoming something "superior" to our mundane selves. Rather, our greatest achievements come from being genuinely, completely, and earnestly the people we feel called to be. Doing what you love and generously sharing your joy with others is the recurring and simple message, but one by which it is quite difficult to live in a world that constantly demands we be what others ask us to be. The Libera boys express this truth every time they sing, thank their guests at a meet-and-greet, or tape a promotional video for release on their website or YouTube. Their joyful hearts shine through.

Thank you, Libera.

Michael

1 "By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?" (Matt 7:16; NIV)
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