Seoul Concert

Oh my word! Libera had their final Asia Tour concert tonight at the Sejong Arts Center in Seoul, and it was amazing! The concert hall was nearly sold out with the main floor and two balconies quite full.

From the beginning of Dies Irae, the sound just hit me between the eyes! It was so much louder than any other venue I've ever been to. I sat on the right side for the first time during this tour and on the 4th row, so I had an entirely different view of the stage. There again was a screen behind the stage that gave the Korean interpretation of the words to the speeches. Some of the scenes on the screen during the songs looked new also, but maybe that was because I could see better.

When Ben started his first speech, the audience laughed and clapped at everything he said in Korean.

All of the songs were excellent! I think the lighting was better, too. I noticed at the end of Salva Me that all the boys were lit in blue light except for Michael U-R who was lit in red light for his final Salva's.

During Jude's speech he told us that the string quartet was called SM Quartet.

How Shall I Sing That Majesty gave me goosebumps tonight! And not just because the air conditioner came on. lol

Michael U-R and Cassius are really great speakers and actors. They got a great reaction from the audience with their "lovely white robes and massive hoods" speech. Such hams! :D

Far Away with Isaac's solo was just lovely. At the beginning of The Fountain, when Josh played the opening chords, I couldn't see the piano, but he really banged them out, and I remember thinking, "Oh, that sounds like a really nice concert grand to get to play on!" Matthew J sang beautifully, as he has consistently during the entire tour.

In Ciaran's speech, he finally said his name for the first time. Yay! And he has beautiful diction. Just saying. :) When Libera sang the first 2 vocal exercises, the audience clapped along in time! How Can I Keep From Singing has a line "No storm can shake my inmost calm while to that rock I'm clinging..." It's hard to explain, but the boys really emphasized that word "shake" in a way that made me feel the shake in their voices. So cool!

I'm so happy to have heard Eoghan sing Glory To Thee in the US 2011 Tour, Singapore 2012 and now on the Asia 2013 Tour. One of my favorite soloists! :D

The last song, Exultate, was great! The audience applauded loudly, and then it was time for the encore "The Moon Represents My Heart." A Korean university student named Ashley told me that the audience may not have reacted as enthusiastically as the Taiwan audiences, because Koreans might not have realized that the song is in Chinese. She said it could have been in Latin for all they knew. lol Well, that might explain it. :D

And then it was time for the 2nd encore song, Libera. But wait! What was this?! Isaac walked way out to the very front of the stage. I thought he was going to make a presentation to someone or give flowers to Robert Prizeman. The lights went down with only a light on him, and he sang "Danny Boy" a Capella! My green, Irish eyes were smiling, but then quickly they were crying! A lot. I cried my makeup off. lol It was so special. I felt like he was singing it just for me. Is anyone else Irish? I found out John from Canada is Irish. Anyway, it was a stunning extra surprise for the 7th and final concert of the tour.

After a 3rd encore song - Libera- they got a standing ovation! Well-deserved!

Afterwards there was an autograph signing with 15 of the 16 boys who did not sign autographs in Bundang. Only Bertie was missing. The line was so amazingly long!

The line...

...and more line...

...and the line going up the stairs...

...line upstairs as far as I can see! :D

I asked Matthew R-A what they were singing in the 2nd vocal exercise tongue-twister. He said it was "Pick a copper, pate a kettle." What? Did I hear that correctly? I really need to brush up on my British accent. lol

I got to meet Kavana's dad. He is so nice and understandably proud of his son. He said that Kavana's voice is so much deeper now, but he still can hit the high note in the final "Libera." Wow!

I also met a woman named Rebecca who is from New York City but now lives and works in Seoul. She came to the concert because she heard a radio interview of 4 Libera boys. An English-language news radio station interviewed Kavana, Cassius, and she thinks Ben and Marc or Michael. She said the boys were so funny, and she's going to try to get a copy of the radio interview to share with everyone! :D

It was wonderful to see Lala, Elliot, Bonjun and friends from San Francisco at this concert and to spend the last 2 weeks seeing the Libera "superfans" and meeting so many new fans.

Well, I'm off in just 8 hours to join my husband in Tokyo for 4 days. Poor Lexi continues to work away at university. But she has only 3 more weeks of school and then she'll be home for the summer.

Thank you, Libera, for 7 magical concerts. Each one was different from the rest and uniquely special in its own way. Hope you enjoyed your tour of Taiwan and Korea. We're looking forward ton your blog and tour pictures. You'll have so many great stories to tell your family and friends. Have a safe trip home! :D