Hello all! I've been lurking on the site as a guest for the past couple months after hearing that Libera would be coming to the US and close to home. I thought I'd actually register and leave some impressions about last night's concert in Tulsa, as I appreciated reading all of the ones that others had left of the previous concerts. I thought I'd just post a few things that hadn't been said yet, as others have very eloquently given song-by-song reviews much better than I ever could.
Bottom line: this was the best concert I have ever attended or been a part of (I used to be an instrumental and choir performer as a kid and through college). It was my first Libera concert, so I'm sure others have had the same experience their first time seeing the group live. If you have the opportunity to but are on the fence about going to the St. Louis concert, just go. It's well worth the effort/time/money to get there. I've seen many Youtube videos of them performing and always wondered if they sounded so great because of having backing tracks while singing or something, as they always sound so perfect. Well, they don't. They really are that good.
I still am not sure how in the world this area of the country was so lucky to have a world-class group come here, considering Tulsa is a city of only 400,000 people, compared to the millions in cities like LA, Houston, and St. Louis. The church was packed for the concert, which was really inspiring to see, as we in the Midwest are generally not known to the rest of the country for being the most "cultured." If a city of 400,000 can draw as many people to a concert as it sounds showed up in LA, that gives me hope for future tour locations. The person next to me, who was a member of the church where the concert was held, made the comment that it "was like Easter" there in terms of attendance. It sounds like many people came to the concert from that congregation after hearing them during the services in the morning. I drove for a few hours to get there and bumped into people who had come from Houston and Dallas.
For those who don't know, there was a tornado that hit part of Tulsa in the middle of the night (early Sunday morning), with about 25 injuries or so (no deaths). Libera wasn't staying anywhere close to where it hit. I asked a few of them about it, and Peter energetically spoke up that he had wanted to see the tornado and was disappointed that he hadn't. The woman behind me in line and I explained that a tornado warning to people in the Midwest does not mean "go to shelter": it means go outside and try to see the tornado and film it. Peter would obviously fit right in.
Speaking of the autograph session, none of the boys seemed tired, and all seemed very engaged in talking to their fans. I was especially impressed with Tadgh, who was actively asking people questions ("Which song was your favorite?") and Merlin, who asked my son his name and if he liked to sing. Leo wins the award for the largest signature, as he signed the back of the program and took up about 1/3 of the page. I'd be happy to scan a copy of the autographed program here, but I'm not sure if that is allowed or desired.
The concert in Tulsa was free, and they gave out thick programs with all of the lyrics, background about the group, pictures from recent performances, etc. It sounds like this was an extra cost at the other venues; again, I have no idea how they managed to have Libera come to Tulsa and cover all of these costs. I'm not sure if it would be allowed to post any of the pages from the program after the concerts are over, but I'd be happy to if it is and anyone wants to see what they included. The venue had various colored LED lights around the stage and on the back wall that would change for different songs and even to accent certain words or phrases. They then had equipment that could project various things over the entire back and sides of the auditorium, such as stars, stained glass windows, etc.
Something that hasn't been mentioned in other reviews here is how great the instrumentalists have been. Most are different in each city, though a few seemed to travel with the group. These were very professional musicians who backed them and sounded great. I was also impressed with the people who handled sound, as the balance between instruments and vocals, at least where I was sitting (second row), was perfect. They also knew exactly where to increase the volume of soloists or add in effects (like on Taichi singing "Salva me"). The only minor criticism in this regard is that the sound wasn't switched over to pick up speaking voices better, so it was sometimes tougher to understand the speeches that the boys made.
At the end of "Exsultate," the standing ovation was instant. Usually I've seen crowds where a few people stand up, followed by a few more, and then the whole crowd is up after a few minutes. In this case, the second the last note was sung, the entire crowd jumped up to show appreciation, which was only broken by the start of the encore. Something that those from other countries on here may not know is that the Midwest of the US is known for being rather conservative (we're in what's known as the "Bible Belt") and fiercely patriotic. So, they sang "America the Beautiful" to a patriotic crowd, which caused most in the audience to stand back up through the song with hands over their hearts. At the end of the song, the projection was of a waving American flag. I think this was a deeply moving moment for everyone there. I think the applause would have continued indefinitely had Libera not waved goodbye and left the stage.
As a side note, I took my 8 year old to the concert to try to get him inspired to sing. His review of the concert was that it was "epic"; and he wants to find a "team" (choir) to join. Parental goal accomplished.
Just my random observations and experience. For any other forum lurkers who haven't done so but can, I'd highly recommend seeing them live.
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