St. Louis Concert

My parents went to the St. Louis concert, and this is what my mom thought of the concert:


We drove 4 ½ hours from Chicago to St. Louis. Downstate Illinois has a few large cities but mostly is farms, corn and soy bean fields, windmills and road construction.

We arrived at the Cathedral Basilica at 4:00 p.m. and parked behind the church. We saw a man getting something out of the trunk of his car, so I spoke to him. It was Patrick from the French forum! He is so nice!

The Cathedral is very beautiful. We were allowed to wait inside in the air conditioning and could see Libera practicing through the small windows of the interior doors! We could hear them as well! When I heard them sing “Libera,” I started getting VERY excited!

While in the lobby we talked to the nicest man who was setting out CD’s and posters for sale. I asked him if he was with Libera, and he said, “Yes.” We began chatting with him about Libera, and he answered so many questions I had. He said he used to live in Tulsa, Oklahoma! I was informed later by other Libera Dreams members present that it was Mini-Ben’s dad! I had NO idea! Ha!

We met so many great Libera fans! Patrick from France, Francis from Canada, Leslie from Canada, Tom from Wisconsin, Fred from Vermont, Dennis from Wisconsin, Luke (with the great camera) and his wife from Utah, Roberto from Maryland there with his wife and mother who is from Bolivia, Tom from Kansas City, a man from Denver, the lovely girls from Japan - Mina, Yuki, Koko and Momo there with her 2 friends! Sorry if I misspelled or forgot any names. They were all so nice and such great Libera fans!

At 5:00 p.m. we were asked to wait outside, and the doors were locked. It was quite warm. Dennis and later my husband, Paul, went and bought people bottled water, pops and M&M’s. At one point the very knowledgeable Libera fans quizzed me to see if I knew all of the boys’ names. I passed the test with flying colors! Whew!

At 6:30 p.m. we began to get our tickets ready to enter. I asked Dennis, “Why is my ticket green and your ticket is blue?” He said, “Hey! How did you get tickets #2 & #3?” I had not noticed the numbers on the tickets. They were tickets in order of sale time. Patrick’s was the next closest at #7. I guess that impressed them all, and I got a lot of Libera “street-cred” for being so fast to purchase. I may be a newbie, but I’m getting there. Wonder who got #1?

We entered at 6:30, and Patrick advised that we sit in the center as close to the front as possible. We sat in the 10th row, I think. His opinion was correct since it gave the best view, sound and overall effects. Most of the cathedral was full except for the far sides which had a limited view of the stage anyway and had to watch on a TV screen.

I will not go through all the songs and soloists, since that has been posted already. I will just give my thoughts on the concert as a whole. This was my first Libera concert, and it was better than I ever imagined. Many people are more eloquent than I, but words cannot express what it is like to hear and see them live. I liked the acoustics in the church. The songs just echoed beautifully. They were amazing! Wow, can they sing! I think their songs sound better live than on the CD’s! How is that possible? Listening to the Leiden concert CD, it always bothers me that the audience claps too soon. When a song ends, I just want it to echo out into silence, take a breath, then applaud. This concert was better, but I’d still like a longer pause to drink it all in.

The lighting was wonderful! Sometimes they glowed in colors of blue or red or yellow. Other times there were patterns of light on the mosaic ceiling and walls. This cathedral really let them make good use of the lighting, and it always coordinated with the song they were singing.

I also liked the choreography a lot! Their positions and use of their hoods was very effective. They started the concert with “Adoramus.” Stefan walked up the center aisle while singing a capella. It’s quite striking to have him walk right by you, and you can hear how clear, strong and pure his voice is! The other boys walked up either side aisle with their hoods up. Very cool!

I loved “Time” since Josh sang it. He has a beautiful, smooth, rich voice. Alex did a great job on “Agnus Dei.” I loved the harmony on that one. I can’t say enough good things about “Mysterium.” Ralph and Stefan sang from high balconies on either side of the church while holding candles. Their voices reverberated into the half domes above them. Some people were not able to see them, but the choir was singing on the stage, and Ralph and Stefan’s voices echoed high above you. Another great use of the church’s architecture!

I’m so thrilled that we got to hear Ralph and Sammy singing solos. They did an excellent job. And Matthew R-A on those high notes! Wow! On “Love and Mercy” there is something about that pause-echo before the last chorus that moves me every time. And then Mini-James sang that last “mercy and love…” all by himself! Such a strong, steady voice for such a little guy! He was great! The last song was “How Shall I Sing That Majesty,” and, as always, I cried. Just thinking about the words to that song makes me tear up. Add Stefan’s voice to it, and the tissues have to come out.

Some people complained that they could not understand it when the boys spoke because of the echo. I DID strain to hear some of their words, but I give a lot of credit to Josh. I understood every word he said. He’s an excellent speaker, so calm and poised. Ben and Kavana were so fun and funny.

Someone asked me if seeing them live changed my impression of any one boy. Daniel stands out to me, because his face is so happy and animated while he sings. He truly seems to be enjoying himself up there.

There was a Meet & Greet afterwards, and apparently for the first time ever, it was held outside! They were so nice to sit outside in the 86 degree, humid weather. They just smiled and rolled up their sleeves. All the boys were funnier and cuter in person and took our American-style of teasing them very well. They all have a great sense of humor.

I feel so honored to have gotten to see them and hope that they receive as much happiness from their U.S. tour as they have given to all of us. Thank you for coming and PLEASE come back again ANY time, ANY where!