If I had to guess I would say that Atlanta was the least attended of the shows. This was really unfortunate because there were some really good things that occurred during this performance. As John previously mentioned. the most notable was for the first time in my memory and perhaps the first time ever in a Libera concert, a standing ovation was given in the middle of a show.
Danny Boy was just that good. Sam, Alessando, Camden, Alex and Isaac should be very proud of themselves. Isaac, who is almost always serious looking during a concert, did allow himself a small smile after he was in position for Exultate.
For this concert, I got to sit on each side of the stage for half the show. The first three rows at this concert were blocked off for PBS. This left me sitting in row 4 on the right side for the first half of the show. Thanks to the generosity of Georgia Public Broadcasting's number one French supporter, I was able to enjoy the second half of the concert with a relatively unobstructed view on the left side of the stage. It was relatively unobstructed due to a staging problem which has developed particularly at these symphony hall venues. The stage is so high that RP has to be positioned on it - dead center. This makes for an obstruction for those who have perfectly centered seats. It was definitely better to be off center for every show, but it was the most distracting in SA and ATL.
Personally, I thought this was the best delivery of
Always WIth You and
America the Beautiful that I saw while on tour. Gabe definitely nailed the most difficult part of his solo, being on stage all alone to start the second half of the concert with the opening lines of AWY.
How Great Thou Art and
Going Home also got big murmurs of approval in addition to the applause. It seemed what the crowd lacked in numbers they made up for with enthusiasm. This contributed to my good feelings about
America the Beautiful performance as I could sense the third standing ovation of the night was building before the final note ended. It was the perfect spirit raiser for the last song of the tour.
I also have to add a kind word for Ciaran's speeches. His ability to get maximum laughter from his lines is due in no small part to his
superb comic timing.
Lastly, as Surpinto mentioned, the boys were presented with money from a tour sponsor. They each received a million dollar bill and a two dollar bill.
Several of them weren't entirely sure that the $2 was real currency.
At many of the concerts fans and/or sponsors provide the boys with small gifts. The wristbands in Chicago and the Texas Ranger badges in San Antonio were also examples of this.