Philippines 2011

[dani]

i seem to recall barney saying he's been in the group for three years for some reason...

That makes sense as i guessed he was about 12. So 9-12 is 3 years yet he has never been on a album till this one . Maybe his family didn't want him traveling at such a young age or something.

[john45]

p.s. is Mrs B enjoying the beach resort in Cebu?

Like the boys, Mrs B was very reluctant to leave the Shangri-La - it truly is a magnificent resort. I hope she will be placated by a few days cooling off in the Cameron Highlands before we return home next Friday.

http://www.cameronhighlandsresort.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

John

[phlibera]

Wow! Awesome welcome. I wish I could've gone to Cebu, too. It's such a lovely place. So funny how that lady tried to get Stefan to dance. And he did!

That lady must be a true Cebuana because audience participation is the essence of "street dancing" for the Sinulog festival.

And love that line/circle dance that they did in the airport! I never get that kind of welcome when I transit by Cebu.

Haha. If you transit by Cebu via international airport during Sinulog, you'll be treated with that kind of welcome. But for the circle dance, you'll have to get your fellow passengers to dance also. You can't form a circle by yourself.

[carina_gino20]

Haha. If you transit by Cebu via international airport during Sinulog, you'll be treated with that kind of welcome. But for the circle dance, you'll have to get your fellow passengers to dance also. You can't form a circle by yourself.

I've never been to Cebu during Sinulog. Would love to experience how humongous a festival it is, first-hand. Is that circle dance a common thing in Cebu?

[phlibera]

I wonder what time they went to the airport last Wednesday. I was there around lunch as well. I saw long queues but no angels.

I had a flight to catch earlier today over at Mactan Cebu International Airport and I saw them in the queue. I thought for sure they are going to spend the whole of Saturday in Cebu to enjoy the beach (apparently not based on their latest blog, they stayed at Radisson Blu, a hotel near SM Cebu since Friday). At the airport they were in their Libera (blue) uniforms, but I didn't take any pictures because I wasn't sure if it's frowned upon or not. It was refreshing to see the chaperones not in black.

[phlibera]

I've never been to Cebu during Sinulog. Would love to experience how humongous a festival it is, first-hand. Is that circle dance a common thing in Cebu?

I've been working in Cebu for four years now and I only truly got to experience Sinulog twice (the first time in the parade with the company's float and the second time as a photography enthusiast trying to snap a lot of pictures with my other other photography enthusiasts colleagues, also during the parade). That's about it. Every other year I skip it by just staying home or going to the cinemas while the rest of Cebu do the street dance.

Actually, it was the first time I saw some people dance around in circles to the tune of the Cebu song. I think it's a brilliant idea whoever thought of it!

[dani]

I suddenly thought that maybe Jacob did not make this tour do to voice change. He is about 14 and his voice on jubilate deo sounds like it may of peaked . Just a guess tho.

[hannah_kirstin]

RE Jakob's voice, could be true. Sounded a bit strained during Moody Church performance. You'll find out soon enough, as St. George concert is less than a month away.
So happy to see the boys thoroughly enjoying themselves! Cebu people make Manila people look like a boring crowd. Noticed too, Carina, that they skipped Tuesday (PICC concert) in their blog. We weren't a boring crowd, right?? For my part, I loved every second of it!

[Julia]

Mabe this was already said, but on a video I watched, Daniel said that he didn't really know where Jacob went, and also said that he guessed he just couldn't make to this tour...

[dani]

Mabe this was already said, but on a video I watched, Daniel said that he didn't really know where Jacob went, and also said that he guessed he just couldn't make to this tour...

Yeah i saw that and it made no sense. Surely they are friends mostly in that age range so i assume they get told not to say anything to fans. Because they would know if Jakob was busy with school or voice change. Why would it be a secret?!

[phlibera]

I agree. For example, Alex said Sam had loads of schoolwork to do. That's why he couldn't make the tour. He said Sam would have loved to come.

[dani]

I agree. For example, Alex said Sam had loads of schoolwork to do. That's why he couldn't make the tour. He said Sam would have loved to come.

At least he gave a answer about his brother. It would of been quite LoL if he has said he had no idea why Sam could not come.

[labbie]

I would also think that it had to do with preserving the privacy of the boys' personal lives as well, as has so often been the case with other members who have missed tours. There are quite a number of reasons as to why someone may miss an appearance or tour. As I am so fond of saying on this forum, "Only time will tell".

[phlibera]

Originally posted in AV Yahoo Group

Libera: The Christmas Concert
October 28, 2011
Waterfront Hotel Cebu

Just Some Thoughts (Not A Review)

Note: I started writing this Saturday around after midnight after
returning from the concert. Slept. Flew (by plane of course, I don't
have magical powers yet). And finished it after arriving at my home
city (further south of our country than Cebu). I'm home for the All
Saints/All Souls holiday next week.

INTRO

Back from the concert and have just packed my bags for my flight south
of the country later this morning. It was one hurried packing. I hope
I didn't forget anything (made only a mental list of what to bring
because I was too tired to make a pen and paper list). We usually do
this in the Philippines, that is, return to our home cities during All
Saints and All Souls. And we do this traveling home thing about thrice
a year (Holy/Easter Week, All Saints, and Christmas). I also go home
in between, of course, but the three occasions listed above are
usually the time that most Filipinos go home to their hometowns.

Anyway, I forgot to bring a pen (again!) to the concert for my notes.
So I'm so sorry that I won't be able to describe the concert song for
song like the wonderful reviews of Carina and the others. I'll just
try to remember as much as I can and write it here.

THE VENUE

We arrived at the venue around ten minutes before the scheduled start
of eight o'clock. We were only able to leave work at around 7:30pm
because we had some Halloween activities/festivities at the office.
When we entered the Pacific Grand Ballroom, we thought we were among
the last ones to enter, but apparently we were not. I saw some empty
seats and was a bit worried that the concert wasn't sold out. But then
I remember outside, before going in, a man was asking if I have extra
tickets to the concert. As I think about it now he looked really sad
and I have a feeling he wasn't asking it for himself. It was a bit sad
to tell him that I didn't have any extra tickets. That means he must
have at least tried to buy a ticket at the box office and was turned
down. Sad sad sad. I'm truly sad now that I have time to think about
that encounter. For him to be approaching random strangers to buy
extra tickets I could only imagine what attending the concert meant to
him or maybe his children. Sorry about suddenly becoming sentimental.
I was supposed to use this anecdote to deduce that the venue was sold
out, that and the fact that they opened up the balconies to the public
(which weren't listed in the original seat plan provided by the
Arts Council of Cebu).

THE STAGE SETUP

It's a matter of preference, but based on what I've read about Manila,
I have to say I like the setup for Cebu better. There was no large
screen in the middle of the stage. At the background, only the
musicians and a black void (which transformed into a starry black void
for at least two songs, "Sanctus" and was it "Eternal Light"?). Nice
touch! No screen to distract us. And when they turn on the "stars", it
was amazing and (along with the trademark Libera harmonies)
mesmerizing to look at. At both sides of the stage were two screens
used to show the sponsors before the start and during intermission,
and alternating between closeups of the choristers and their usual
video backgrounds for the songs. I prefer this setup. Two side
screens, no middle screen.

LATE START

The concert didn't start until after around twenty minutes after the
scheduled start. I could hear some people loudly complaining among
themselves about how long will they have to wait. I'm not sure whether
to blame the late-comer VIPs (like in Manila), but I could see that
the VIP area was pretty much filled by the time we got there. But
when I looked back, some people were still streaming on to
their seats past 8:00 o'clock. Didn't really mind though because we
were almost late ourselves. We passed the time talking about the
souvenir program: who's in, who's out, who were here last year, who
are first timers.

SOUVENIR PROGRAM

I could now see why some were upset that they had to pay 200 pesos for
the program in Manila. It's basically just 24 pages long and only the
first 12 pages are Libera related. The other 12 pages were all ads of
sponsors. Personally I'm okay with it. It was sold for only 100 pesos
in Cebu, but even if it cost me 200 pesos, I'd still be fine with it.
It's the sponsors that made this tour possible. I am under no illusion
that ticket prices alone could cover the cost of the whole tour.

THE CONCERT

The first half was great, but the second half was excellent as
probably all the initial nerves settled down as the show progressed.
I thought the second half was smoother, perfect execution after
perfect execution. Bravo! Time seemed to quickly fly at the second
half of the program.

SOLOS

I think all the solos were brilliantly executed. I don't know if MRA
sung solos back in their first visit here in 2009 as back then I
didn't really exert any effort to put a name to a face. Back in 2009 I
could only recognize Tom, Ben, Liam, JB, Sam, Josh and Tiarnan. At any rate
even if he did sing solo I wouldn't remember so it's just the same as
saying it's my first time hearing him have solos. It was nice to hear
Carlos singing a solo now ("Ave Verum"). I like the beat of "Ave
Verum" and I'm happy I finally got to hear it live. Daniel, too, was
great. If I'm not mistaken he sang the same song back in their 2009
visit, but at that time I didn't know his name. Luke also did a great
job with his solo. Amazing. Just last year it was his first visit in
the Philippines and he and Cassius left the stage for some of the
songs. Now he has both a concert and an album solo. Eoghan, too, did
great. I watched "Glory To Thee" on Youtube, but it was much better
live. I'm sorry if I forgot anyone else, but as I've said above, I
forgot to bring a pen. "O Come O Come Emmanuel" in Latin is stunning. It
might be common in UK and other countries, but it's the first time
that I heard it in Latin. Having said that, I wasn't sure why Daniel
wasn't singing this in the concert as he was the one singing the solo
in the album. But the combination of Josh and Ralph's voices was also great.

Being able to put a name to a face really made a difference. I
appreciated this concert even more than the first one I attended back
in 2009.

RALPH

Ralph had a lot of solos. I counted five solos including "Himig ng
Pasko", not to mention backing other people's solos. He himself was
backed up by somebody else in "The Fountain", a song that I thought
was a particularly taxing song to sing solo, second only to "Song of
Life" (where he also did the solo), the latter with it's fast pace and
long solo verses. That kid is a trooper. He was tired (he said so
himself at the signing afterwards) but still all smiles and attentive
and conversing with the fans at the M&G.

STEFAN

Stefan, if I counted correctly, had four solos ("Exsultate", "Eternal
Light", "How Shall I Sing That Majesty", and "White Christmas") aside
from providing his signature high notes for the other songs like
"Carol of the Bells". I've said in my sort-of-cd-review of the
Christmas cd, I'm no music expert so take my thoughts with a grain of
salt (or lots of it). But I thought all four solos were perfect as
were the whole choir! Of the four, "Eternal Light" stood out the most
for me. I thought it was the best song of the night. And I believe a
lot of people agreed with me because aside from the one at the end of
the concert, this song got the loudest applause. Stefan, without
doubt, is the best soloist of the current group. Watching him nail his
solos with such ease was, for me, the highlight of the evening. The
side screens that showed closeups of the soloists helped. I was truly
in awe.

A STANDING OVATION

There was only one standing ovation. And it was at the end of the
regular setlist, end of "How Shall I Sing That Majesty". The first
encore, "White Christmas", I thought was excellent and I was inching
to stand, but seated 8th row from the front, I didn't see anyone from
rows 1 to 7 stand and I thought what's the use. But the applause were
long and loud, so it was okay. The second encore, "Himig ng Pasko",
got the usual applause in the middle of the first part of the song as
people recognized the tune. It's the same as in Manila, from what I've
read, except that in Cebu the applause came a bit later, not
immediately after recognizing the tune. I guess we were deciding
whether to clap or not. In the end we gave in and applauded. There
were a lot of mini applause (not so loud) too after the choir finished
singing each verse (funny really) and people shushing them to silence.
I can't recall exactly how many times this happened because I didn't
count, but at least three times, I believe, maybe more. It's a bit
funny really, the constant applauding and the shushing (not the
song), thinking about it now. The audience really got animated on this
part of the concert. Haha. The song itself was excellent. Not perfect
Tagalog pronunciation, but I myself don't have a perfect Tagalog
pronunciation so there you go. The song's only English line ("And a
happy Christmas to you") delivered by Isaac was too cute. Haha. I
don't know if it's really part of the song or was just added there to
truly end the concert, but it was a brilliant move! The applause only
died down when they left the stage.

THE SPEECHES

The speeches were good. Some new. Some old. Right at the first one
(Cassius and Barney), their speeches were interrupted by applause
twice, I think, maybe more, which threw each of them off a little bit.
It was all good really. Nice interaction with the audience. The
reaction of the audience caught them off-guard. Still, based on the
Manila reviews I've read they were able to deliver what they were
supposed to in their speeches. Liam, too, was interrupted by applause
in his speech (by his die hard fans at the right side, lol). "Hi, I'm
Liam." And then boom, his fans exploded in applause! Haha. It threw
him off a bit. His voice reminded me of the voice of the actor playing
"Draco Malfoy" in the movies. When Josh was introduced as one of the
older members, a group of fans at the left side were applauding
leading me to conclude that the number one fans of the older members
grouped themselves in either the left side or right side of the venue.
The applause interruptions during the speeches were all good, I
thought. At least it showed we were paying attention. The speeches
were turned into the fun part of the night. To the delight of some
foreigners in the row ahead of us, which turned out to be Stefan's
parents and brother, if we weren't mistaken, that is, because we only
came to that conclusion because the "brother" had some semblance to
Stefan and the "mother" was carrying a package that says, "To Stef",
which my sharp-eyed friend spotted as they stood up at the end of the
show to leave the ballroom.

I have to give the best speech delivery to Jude Collins (spoke clearly
and naturally and with conviction, which surprised me because I knew
he was one of the youngest members of the group right now) with Liam
coming in at close second. It's not a contest I know.

END

Excellent concert! Loved every single minute of it. Nobody does it
like our favorite group. Overall, I thought the staging this year was
way better than last year's Manila-only mini-shows and the first Cebu
concert two years ago. They continue to improve in this aspect. I'm
excited what they'll introduce next (in terms of staging) in April
2012 for Japan.

I've read PolyEast Records will repack the Christmas album to include
"Himig ng Pasko". I'll buy it as soon as it's released. And thank you
for reading this far. I hope what I wrote here gives you some ideas on
what went on last October 28, 2011 at the Waterfront Hotel Cebu with
our favorite group.

Thank you Team Libera for all your hard work and for visiting us
again. To the parents for allowing their sons to spend time with
Libera and agreeing to send them on tour here. The posters were right.
Nothing compares! Thank you also to Mr. De Ocampo and the rest of the
organizers for including Cebu again this time around. Salamat.
Mabuhay!

Here are some pictures my friend took on the 28th. I had my camera
with me, but it didn't take good photos under low light conditions.
Some of her shots were blurry (during the signing). The area where
they held the signing was dimly lit and she realized that the flash
was too harsh for the boys at arms length so she stopped using flash.
There are some good pictures, though, particularly of Barney and Jude,
and Stefan, of the stage, and of the crowd.

https://picasaweb.google.com/1156950522 ... directlink

[dani]

I hope you dont mind me posting this picture Phlibera as i am just wondering what the boys name in the middle is?

https://picasaweb.google.com/1156950522 ... 6142892322" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I feel like Yorkie now as i dont know half the young boys names