Another Atlanta Review

This time this review is from "Tom 413" another member of Libera Dreams. I thought having two different view would be interesting to post.

I haven't really done any kind of opinion piece on the tour yet, so here goes.

Fair warning it will be novel length.

Atlanta was the most impressive facility on this year's tour. Upon arriving and meeting up with Geozed, FDL and LiberAeterna we sought out Cindy Gregg who gave us our tickets and proudly showed off the concert booklet for the night. Atlanta definitely produced the nicest book of the tour by far - this was a program worthy of a pricetag however all who attended received one free. After receiving a mini-tour of some of the buildings, I went to stow mine away in the car so that it would be safe.

It was clear that Atlanta did not have a plan for the logistics of handling the early arriving crowd. The disadvantage of unreserved seating is the need to be in line early to claim the best seats, but there was no place set aside for us to line up. Libera management really likes them to practice in peace far away from the distractions that the fanbase can offer (if you were at the Crystal cathedral last year you might have an idea why) so it becomes a logistical question of where to place the people to achieve everyone's ends. In Dallas we were allowed to wait just outside the entrance of the church until the boys arrived, then we were moved into an adjacent room with the door closed. In Fort Worth, that room was quite far away from the church but open for business all day. In St. Louis we were sent to the steps at 5:00pm, but allowed air conditioning in the vestibule until then. In Nashville it was a vestibule again until Mr. Philipp rescued the increasingly sweaty fanbase (I switched shirts before that concert!) and had us moved inside to the autograph room.

In Atlanta we were invited to go across the street from the church entrance to a nice lodge with wi-fi and food and drink available. It was a great space to visit with all of the early arrivals but it made some in our group extremely nervous that we couldn't see whether any line was forming. FDL has these recurring nightmares of busloads of concertgoers who linejump him.

After changing into more appropriate concert attire, I used the need to stow my casual clothes as a reason to head over to the church and see what was going on. Fortunately I ran into Mr. Philipp on the way to my car and apprised him of the situation. When I got back in the building he advised me it had been taken care of and we shouldn't worry. This news was sufficient to leave us seated in air conditioned comfort across the street with newly made friends from Japan and Mexico. As the clock struck 5 however we could take it no more.

We walked over and still found no line set up (the doors opened at 6 mind you) so after consulting with Lydia, our kind hostess, we started one. We probably did so not a moment to soon as once it was started the line began to grow. While in line we noticed Audrey Winkelsas, who appeared with Libera in the Hour of Power last year, and her family in line.

Once inside I was disappointed to find that some of the best seats had been reserved and that some church members who used a different entrance close to the front took out the very first row on the left side. Fortunately this row did not go all the way to the aisle so Geozed and I still got our unobstructed view. It did however send FDL over to the right side of the aisle for the first time in the series. When one of the local violinists who had reserved the two spots up front needed three, Lexi and Lauren were able to move into those seats.

The concert had the same set lists and the same messages as did the other four. However due to a peculiar sound mix, I was able to hear Sam, Cassius, Kavana like never before. The sound in general came off a bit muted which was extremely good news for the hyper-animated Ben and his epic story of Libera's journey home from the Philippines. I thought the audience responded to him better here than anywhere else on tour.

As to the songs, I thought the solo through the crowd bit done at various times in the tour on Adoramus/Libera and Mysterium was a big hit. Mysterium's performance most nights was pure theatre with the battle of ahhs between the powerful Ralph and Stefan who holds his notes longer. The organ performance generally added to the mood as did each of those hoods being put on and heads bowed at the conclusion of the song with a great segue into Gloria (hoods off, smiles on!) which brightened up the mood considerably.

Ralph, Kavana and Mini James greatly improved on their Far Away from Dallas to Atlanta it was a highlight most nights.

I was quite pleased with the performance of Agnus Dei. I must single out Jakob for his growth as a performer during the tour. Jakob had key parts in this song, Time, Going Home, Ave verum and How Shall I Sing That Majesty. I really enjoyed his voice in Lead Kindly Light which was not performed and was pleased that he got as much front and center work as he did on this tour.

I was very happy to hear The Fountain played in concert. The live version starts with the piano intro familiar to all Barry Manilow fans before the chorus takes over. This is my very favorite song from the Peace CD and it seems quite a workout for Ralph as Ben is only able to partially support his work.

Which reminds me.....I don't believe that anyone else has mentioned that Sammy's solos are generally done without support. RP must have had great faith in him to leave him out there like that in only his second year on the road. Sammy did quite well throughout the tour.

No matter what song is being sung, my eyes will probably be on Kavana first. I have thoroughly enjoyed watching Flynn and to a lesser extent Kavana in past years, but Kavana ratcheted up his enthusiasm level this year to new heights. Giving him the "conductor" speech was a really good move because he leads with such flourish.

Circumstances placed me right in front of him in Dallas and I spent the rest of the tour trying to get that same seat. Only in St. Louis was I thwarted. Daniel also has a stage presence that commands attention and when the two of them are placed together, it's hard for me to divert my attention. My most joyous moment of the entire tour was watching the two of them belt out the chorus of Amazing Love (video of the song, not of those two, available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPeC6Pri_pM&feature=related though the church's rendering was more lively than it is on this video) in Nashville during the Awakening service while most of their fellow choristers stood beside them tight-lipped.

Getting back to Atlanta... I gained a new appreciation for How Shall I Sing That Majesty as a finale in Atlanta. The final notes and the lighting combined to have a real powerful effect on me, either that or it was the knowledge that the tour was ending.

In the autograph line LiberAeterna, Lexi, Lauren and I deliberately hung back toward the end of the line looking to extend our experience as long as possible. The boys were downright jovial receiving the public as they were looking forward to a small vacation before heading home. My one mission in line that night was to make sure I wished Ralph a happy birthday (it's today!). He seemed a little choked up about the birthday wishes; I hope he wasn't a bit homesick having to celebrate his birthday on the road. We assured one another that a good party was awaiting him back home and Lexi put him back on track by turning his attention to the surprise that awaited him here.

Liam got me on track by teasing me about the latest blog (I had tried to get him to spill the beans as to who wrote it when we were in Nashville). I still think he's behind it and its been said by others that we will be told who wrote it eventually, but in the here and now Liam was having fun with this, suggesting some of his neighbors as possible authors instead. I enjoyed the banter with Libera's old guard (Liam, JB, Alex, Tiarnan) in line the last few days and this was a good way to close out my experience this year.

It was an amazing adventure which covered 13 days and 3972 miles (that's 6392 km) all by car. I have travelled to see Libera before but never for this long. I am thankful for the kindness extended to us by most of the venues and by Libera management, in particular Steve Philipp, whose support of the most dedicated fans should not be overlooked. I am grateful for the friendship extended by all of the people who helped me pass the time waiting. Getting to know each of you and spending time hanging out with you is almost as much fun as a Libera concert!