American Idols Live! 2008 – Fresno CA

From livehead16′s youtube channel

Michael Johns pays tribute to Jim Morrison on the anniversary of his death by singing a bit of “Light My Fire” a capella

Jason’s SOTR

Carly’s Bring Me To Life

Hello, David Cook!

Thanks so much purplesmile. I never ever tire of hearing and watching DC. Love Love the little changes each time he does the same song.

Read a fan’s account of the Fresno concert and her meeting with DC on the org site. Was super super jazzed to read that songs from his second unreleased solo album will be on his post-Idol album…how cool is THAT?

He really was born to be on stage.

Liked seeing Jason’s dreads not tied back as much again. He sure is a nice lookin’ guy.

Read a fanà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s account of the Fresno concert and her meeting with DC on the org site. Was super super jazzed to read that songs from his second unreleased solo album will be on his post-Idol albumà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦how cool is THAT?

I read the same account, Layla. I can’t wait to see which songs made the cut, and how many of them will end up on the album. It’s a good thing we have the tracklist, so if DC doesn’t change any titles, we’ll know what originated on that unreleased 2nd album.

Nice touch with the jersey in Fresno, I’m sure the local fans were stoked to see David wear it. I just wonder – wasn’t it incredibly hot to perform with that on top of the jacket and tshirt? Did he have it on for the entire set?

Syesha’s blog on the Fresno show (among other things)…

Friday, July 04, 2008

Show 3

Listening back stage the audience seemed more quite tonight, but they had great energy. I still don’t feel like the dress i have is right for my set. I’m going to meditate on it so it will change. It’s doesn’t feel right to me and when it feels right the set will be better. So, until then i will work what i have and be grateful for it. They tried fixing my first dress several times, but it didn’t work. It was gorgeous, but risky business. oh lo!

So, I’m on the bus now. I really should be sleep, but I wanted to write my fans. You all are amazing. Thanks for understanding and loving me regardless! You all have been great! Please me patient with me as I’m on the road and trying to answer everyone as fast as I can.

So, me Chikeze and Ramiele made up a song..I will give details later….it’s too funny!LOL I had the giggles all night because of it.Oh Lo!

I love ya’ll soooo much….Goodnight…..well Goodmorning!

Syesha’s Thoughts:
I miss hanging out with my family and friends. Especially family.
“If you don’t speak up nothing will be done”
“Be good to yourself, before you think about being good to others. Love starts inside of you. To love others you must first love yourself”
“Appreciate the people around you. No one carries a sign saying “I’ll be gone tomorrow”. So, treat everyone like it’s the last time.”

Interesting reading thoughts from Shyesha — giving us a little insight as to what kind of gal she really is.

I’m going to try and be kind, so no tomatoes — but she’s really an “it’s all about me” kinda person, I think. Her quotes (all but one) are very self-centered… but I suppose she’s trying to overcome a crappy childhood that I cannot relate to. And, well, that’s a mantra kinda of thinking, is it?

But my dress, my dress, my dress and you love me regardless… and speak up or nothing will be done… she doesn’t come across as a giving sort…?

Interesting — nevertheless.

Um… still wondering if her fiance’ works for the telephone company or something…?

Some girl on IDF went to the M&G before the show and also after the party. Recap here She’s a Cookie fan so it’s more heavy on him but she talks about a couple of others a little, some cute moments with Michael and Archie. Whatever it was in the letter she gave Cookie made him cry for 5 minutes.

Here’s the account from the girl on dc.org that he told about the pre-Idol songs making the album. I’m trying to figure out what the hell he’s wearing. A plunging bright blue v-neck, Versace sunglasses, a bucket hat and what looks like about 8 necklaces. There’s one pic in particular where the smiley face sticker on his hat is prominent so it kind of adds to the whole adorable mess.

Trina, I loved that DC story!

This makes me laugh for some reason.. I’m either mean or sick.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=BuxmytjcmYs

Yeah Jolene: good idea-I’m hopin’ for a DC album heavy on HIS songs.

I know it’s a bit mean of me but this cracked me up:

Umà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ still wondering if her fianceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ works for the telephone company or somethingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦?

Sy is beautiful and has a good voice but honestly she seems completely ego-centric and self-serving a lot of the time. Perhaps it is her defense mechinism which stems from a shitty childhood.

I love the hot “mess” that DC can be with his necklaces and other accessories…IDK, it just suits him some how. I have a framed blow up of a Rollingstone cover in my TV room of Johnny Depp with all the accessories too…hey maybe true artists just like their bling and dress according to whatever pops in their artistic brain. At this point I would be disappointed if he dressed and accessorized any other way.

IGetCranked, Honestly, after seeing the video of the “infamous” crying girl, I just wanted to slap her. I think her parents need to have her examined by a shrink!

I went to the concert last night…They were all very good.

Some surprises for me….MJ is very very very good. The band totally over played Carly………KLC was great……….Brooke looks like she can hardly walk and is going to fall down at any time……….Jason is very cute and has a beautiful voice. I could not understand what he said at all when he spoke …..
David A……..much better in concert than on TV, but he is very adorkable……David Cook was WOW WOW……great voice…..very sweet……great front man.

My ears are still ringing…it was very loud !

Layla, I sometimes have a penchant for the absurd. *goes to get examined with crying girl*

Ging! I love first hand accounts! Thanks!

I seriously never get tired of hearing David Cook sing Hello–he never sings it quite the same every time. That’s what I love about him.

I gather that last year’s tour the shows weren’t very popular (14 of the first 30 shows were below the 60% capacity mark according to wiki), what’s the attendence level like for the three shows so far? Anyone knows?

Hello, David Cook!

Thanks purps!

!!!

David your a S-T-A-R~~~

That is all.

Thx for the recap Ging……..
Michael got 3 verys before the GOOD . Ya Michael!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’m glad you enjoyed him and the others. poor Brooke, what was wrong
with her?

You’re welcome, Lisa.

Archie looked a little weirded out by Ashley in that video. Heh.

Jason apparating, err, daydreaming in Fresno…

Hazehel, I read in USA Today the Glendale show was “sold out”! How exciting! 12,700 capacity.

Thanks for all of the postings everyone! I especially love reading/seeing everything on DC.

How cool on the Michael John’s “Light My Fire” tribute. Syesha’s an interesting gal. DA sounds pretty impressive. Jason sure is a cutie, I’m sure he’ll do well for himself.

Thanks again everyone! And thanks to mj for having this blog!!!

MJ’s We Will Rock You/We Are The Champions (not the best quality)

My Hero – Fresno

*wonders how many shows livehead is attending*

Great to hear Glendale was sold out. (Thanks, coolcricket.) I’m interested in the attendance numbers, too.

I just watched the video of Jason in Fresno, and, the crowd wasn’t subdued. I heard lots of screaming. I’ve always thought Syesha was very self-centered. All she talks about is her clothes, her hair, her makeup, ad nauseum. It’s all about Syesha. Blah!

LOL purplesmile, I wondered that myself about livehead. AND he/she always seems to have great seats.

Thanks for posting “My Hero”. I read up above on Syesha’s blog comment about how the Fresno aud. seemed more quiet, but DC seems to knows how to stir them up!

My Hero – Fresno

*wonders how many shows livehead is attending*

So far, all 3 of them, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s just the beginning. And good for us – Her videos are unbelievable.
This one, in particular, is just ROCKSTAR start to finish… You really get a sense of what it’s like to watch David do his thing up on stage. It doesn’t hurt that it’s filmed from as close as you can possibly get to him without actually being on stage with him.

I can tell you that the crowd was NOT Quiet for Jason. Any one that states that was just not down by the stage taking in the experience. Maybe during his performance they were quieter, simply because they wanted to hear him. He Sang Beautifully and Ladies, kids of all ages were trying to get closer to the stage to see him. Some ladies beside me, were just staring and listening in awe ! I would say that Every Single Idol got plenty of Love. There were Fans of Everyone in attendance.

Thanks Ging! Good to hear from someone who was there. I wonder why Syesha made that comment then?

Ummm… am I missing something? Syesha’s blog said she thought the crowd was MORE subdued in general, not specifically for Jason.

Thanks for all the vids and recounts. Ging, you should write a full recap!

Livehead is a she, iirc, and she went to a lot of shows last year too. I’m not sure where exactly she lives, but I think she tries to make it to as many shows as she can.

I’m trying not to watch too many videos prior to my first show (2 weeks from tomorrow!!)l, but it’s really hard. LOL. All I know is, I wish Carly had been able to sing some Evanescence on the show. She sounded great in that video Purps posted upthread.

ETA: pj, that’s what I got from Syesha’s blog too. *shrug*

David Cook told us we would the loudest crowd…haha out of 3. I can tell you No one was subdued. The floor stood almost the entire second half. Everyone was loud and screaming. Peeps did quiet down so we could enjoy Jason and Brooke.

I am not stickly a David Cook fan as I enjoy so many of them…but I have never heard anyone better in concert than he. AS he was going down on the lift after they did the last group song, just as his head was about to disappear, he blew a big kiss……..it was a very nice Goodbye.

I will try to write a better recap, but it was a 2 1/2 hour drive. I spent the night in a hotel and just got home. I am sleepy !!

I am not stickly a David Cook fan as I enjoy so many of themà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦but I have never heard anyone better in concert than he.

Loved reading that line.

Looking forward to your recap!

Maybe the crowd was subdued for Syesha.

Maybe the crowd was subdued for Syesha.

Somehow, that wouldn’t surprise me at all. And since she’s very “me me me”, I doubt she’d even notice if the crowd was subdued towards anyone else. *snerk*

Sorry, I just… I don’t get how she came in 3rd, and nothing I’ve seen since the season ended helps me make sense out of that.

Thank you for my dose of DC on the 4th of July.
I think my favorite part of the Hello video is around the 2:56 mark when you can clearly hear a male voice going, “Yeeeaaah!”
And….during My Hero, I love seeing around the 3:30 mark a man pumping his arms in the air while the older-looking woman beside him is standing perfectly still. I think Cookie, when he’s rocking out, appeals to the male audience a lot more than some would like to believe, and will do so even more the more he gets to do his thing.
He certainly commands the stage, doesn’t he? I hope Nigel is watching some of these videos and wondering what he was smoking when he said DC needed more personality. If he had any more charisma and stage presence, I think he just might explode.

The performers have in-ear monitors and, according to the L.A. Times’ blogger, San Diego practically blew the roof off the place for Carly and she said that she could hear was the bit that leaked in through her microphone.

It really has to get loud for the performer to hear the audience, they would almost have to feel it, I suspect. I think Syesha was judging from the response for the other performers from backstage.

Some of the good seats for Fresno were getting dumped in the 24 hours before the show so I suspect it was just a smaller crowd at that venue.

Thanks for the Carly video purple :smile_wp:

Nigel’s idea of personality consists of being tied and gagged to a chair, grabbing one’s self, and, turning green like the hulk. So, yeah, if we use those definitions, Cook definitely needs more personality.

A little Q&A type thing the Fresno Bee did pre-show with a few Idol’s

http://www.fresnobeehive.com/archives/2008/07/american_idol_t_19.html

I borrowed this review from the AI boards. This was written by an unbiased fan. A male at that. I don’t know what Syesha was talking about, unless the crowd just wasn’t into her.

#
Posted: Fri, Jul 04 2008, 1:22 AM
Well I just went to the concert and will do my best to give you my impressions.
I have to be honest that I was on the fence on whether to even join my wife for this one. We watched every episode of the show with our 3 kids but I was not sure that it would be worth it to cough up the 60 bucks per ticket for a live performance. In the end I decided to build up some spousal equity and go to the show.
Save Mart Center Holds around 16,000 fans for a basketball game. I was very curious how many the AI concert would draw. Most of the lower bowl was sold out with very little of the upper bowl open for fans. Still there were more people than I expected. I would guess around 10,000. It looked very close to the attendance that Carrie Underwood had for her concert a little while back. The stage and band set up was very very basic. The band and back up singers were very good. This concert had one of the youngest crowds I have ever seen. You could spot some grey hair here and there, plenty of middle-aged fans, but the arena was full of preteen, and teenagers. We had a father behind us that looked like he had taken his daughter and 5-6 of her friends. This was a fairly common sight all over.
10)Chickeze-I was not a big fan of his but he did bring a lot of energy. 3 songs and I did not think any were memorable.
9) Ramiele- Not much positive to say about this performance at all. It was the quietest the crowd got all night. She seems like a nice girl but it just was not very good.
8)Michael- This is where the show really started to pick up. Huge reaction from the crowd. Unlike the first two his vocals were strong and clear over the band. He is also the first one of the night who looks very comfortable on stage. He did a great job with his Queen combo, Its all wrong but its all right, and Dream On. He even sang a little of Light my Fire but I missed the tribute he was giving as the 14 year olds behind me were yelling to loud. Anyway, he was great.
7)Kristy-She looks hot. Gets a nice reaction from the crowd. Its tough coming from a Carrie Underwood concert as Kristy is just not in that league yet. The crowd rose to its feet for God Bless the USA but I think it was as more as a sign of respect for the troops she dedicated the song to. Overall I thought she was just ok.
6)Carly- A decent reaction from the crowd. Does a good job with her Evanescense song. I do not know what it is but it seems like she rarely picks the right songs for the great voice that she has. Overall she did a good job with her 3 song set.
5)Brooke-Comes up from the stage on the piano and does a great version of Let it Be. She lost her shoes and tells everyone that is why she is barefoot. Although the next two songs were not as good as Let it Be you could defiantly see that Brooke has a niche and should have a good shot at a contract.
Group song- I am very relieved that there were only two of these all night(group songs are usually spent fast forwarding on my Tivo about 30 seconds in during the season). This one actually turns out to be decent. All 6 sing U2′s. Michael and Carly are very good. Michael was the standout of the first half of the show.
Intermission–I am not sure how much Activision is paying to promote Guitar Hero but it had better be a ton. Two guys come up on stage for far to long and play Guitar Hero. The crowd seems fairly patient but I thought it was terrible. I like GH as much as the next guy but it was to long.
4)Jason- For the first time tonight I see why they even bothered to hire security for the concert. The girls go wild for this guy and signs pop up around the arena. He is the exact same guy you watched on T.V. If you liked him on T.V. you will love him live. He sings Over The Rainbow, Crazy, and Daydream. It is this part of the concert that I begin having as much fun watching the “super fans” as the performers.
3)Sayesha-Very pretty girl. Looks like a star when she flashes her smile. Gets a nice reaction from the crowd. First two songs were just average for me. Does a great job with If I Aint Got You.

deleted

Hi y’all,
Here’s all the Fresno concert videos on one page. I’ve added credits this time, since I’ve gotten some flack. These are NOT my videos, all I did was gather them together. Only Castro is complete as of now.

Peace. : )

this is a david cook fresno songs montage . its not a good quality video but after the first song you can see the crowd barking and him tossing the jersey into the crowd:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=UVUxTm3OIX0

this is montage for most of the idols songs in fresno .. not good quality though:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=WrH-wDxeyZ0&feature=user

Skylight, you left out the Davids.

Anyway, any impression of the crowd can’t measure it against the other crowds unless they attended previous concerts.

From the account of the girl who talked to the Idols out by the busses:

I talked with him about Analog Heart how amazing it is and then he said that some of his songs from the album that never got released were going to be on his new album! So excited to hear that!!! But Better Never than Late won’t be on it.

This will make Cheese and Chachi happy.

There were Davids in the show? LOL I kid. Sorry, I thought I got the entire review. Here are the Davids:

2)Archuleta-Comes up from the floor on the piano and the place goes crazy. All of the haters need to prepare themselves for this kid to be around for a long time. He knocks the cover off the ball with Angles and Apologize. Two of the best performances of the night. Although he is clearly uncomfortable between songs and he ends with his weakest song he still gets the loudest reaction of the night. Great job over all.
1) Cook- If the crowd is not as loud for Cook as Archuleta it is very close. He enters wearing a FSU Bulldog baseball shirt(very smart move as we just won the college World series). Gives one of the best performances of the night with Hello. He is very comfortable up on stage. At one point he says he wants to video this great crowd all for himself and whips everyone into a frenzy as he pans a camera across the crowd. Seems like a solid bet that Cook will be a star after 3-4 more solid songs that include Billy Jean.
In hindsight it was definitely worth going to the concert(3 hours long). There were some great performances. All the Idols were very appreciative and nice. You get a chance to hear many types of music done well and the “people watching” is off the charts funny. The good far outweighed the bad. After a couple of drinks at a bar I thought I would give this review and encourage other people who are on the fence to go to this concert.

This is my recap. I hope I am putting it in the correct place. I don’t mind if others post it other places.

They performed in exact order with an announcer counting them down

“NUMBER 10 Chickeze”…. I enjoyed him. He sang well and always had that killer smile. You could tell he was so happy to be there. I was happy for him.

9…. Ramiele…..Just kind of Boring. I was one of her fans, but I was disappointed

8…..Michael……..Big Roar from the crowd. I really liked MJ on the show and thought Simon was too hard on him. His vocals were great. He was a showman on the stage. It doesn’t hurt that he is just Great to look at. He was one of the best of the night. You could hear every word he sang over the band. It”s All Wrong but It’s All Right was simply HOT HOT

7……..Kristy…..A big surprise for me. She looks great on stage and sounded very good. I listened to a local News review in my hotel this morning and they stated that she stole the show. I wouldn’t say that, but she was very good.

6…..Carly…..Another roar from the crowd. She was Loud ! To me the band was to loud during her set and it was difficult to hear her vocals.

5….Brooke….The crowd gets quiet when Brooke performs. Brooke has a very nice voice. I thought her 3 song set was very good.

Chickese, Ramiele, MJ, Kristy, Carly and Brooke Do a group number before the break.

4….Jason- Our seats were on the floor, maybe 20 rows back. My Friends and I went down to the Stage when Jason was doing his set. The ladies in the outside front rows were Jason fans. They were sweet and let One of my Friends in front of them to take pics. One of them said to me, Oh MY he is just wonderful ! Jason was wonderful. His voice was beautiful and his person just GLOWED. We listened in awe to his songs and then screamed like teens. It was not just the 3 of us going wild for Jason. There were many screaming girls. He had that sheepish smile on his face the entire time he was on stage. ahhhhh Love Jason.

3….Syesha-Again the band gets very LOUD. She does a good job. Nothing outstanding to me.

2…David A… another huge roar from the crowd. He did a fantastic job. Pitch perfect and clearly heard over the band. He was embarrassed with the screaming for him between each song and acted very adorkable.

1… David Cook… David Cook Was King ! Great Singer…Nice Guy……Great Performer…..His Hello was indeed one of the best of the night. Billy Jean was his encore. Loved it ….The crowd was wild and on their feet his entire set. ( I guess crowd loudness is entirely an individual perception)

Then when you think it is over, they all come out and do one last group number. I really liked it.

They all exit the stage. David Cook is being dropped down on a lift and just before his head disappears, he blows a big kiss to the crowd.

It was fun. I enjoyed it very much. The Band was very very loud. My ears are still ringing !

Ging, thank you so much for your concert review, I had a great time reading it! It’s nice to get the many different perspectives and see where they differ and where they coinside.

I have 15 days before it’s my turn to see them and I’ve only watched the David Cook videos. I need to have everything else be new for me to be able to wait until the end to finally see him. I could never in my life, though, not watch everything I could of him. It’s going to be sooooo awesome!

Syesha, to me also, seems rather all about Syesha. I found it most telling what she said when they asked about IGB experiences. I was gobsmacked!

Thanks for your recap, Ging.

Am I the only one to think that DC’s very first “hello” performance (on AI) is his best “Hello” performance of all? I think at that time round, there’s some subtle bitterness in his interpretation which is exactly what “hello” is about. He’s right at the time after Simon told him he had no charisma and he talked back and I heard also that he broke up with his girl at that time. It was all the right mood.

But in these few performances in the tour, he’s estactic and somewhat witty (and he even cheered the crowd). It was still very good but he’s so aware of his charm that the “hello” mood is kinda gone, imho.

I know, I know, I am the only one who thinks that way. Just want to voice out .

But in these few performances in the tour, heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s estactic and somewhat witty (and he even cheered the crowd). It was still very good but heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s so aware of his charm that the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“helloà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  mood is kinda gone, imho.

Oh, I agree that mood-wise, the best Hello was definitely the one he did on Idol, but I think that’s only natural… Now it’s an opening number for his set on a huge stage, he has to interact with the crowd, he has to acknowledge the setting he’s in. What David does, is fit the songs he sings to the environment and crowd he’s singing them to. The people at the show don’t get to see his performances close-up like we do with the fan videos, so he has to project and be “larger” than he would when there’s a TV camera documenting every nuance of his performance.

Oh, for those who haven’t read it yet, and for those who read it yesterday, The IDF fan who was at the meet and greet added wonderful pictures to her account. Probably the most moving and funny tour experience I’ve read yet.

Thanks for the Fresno links and the IDF link. I agree with the dad’s comment that the two Davids are in their own league. Seeing most of Cook’s Fresno performance, I was impressed with the strong vocals. I was a fan of Archie during the show and I used to get annonyed with the Cook (real artist, musician) vs. Archie (robotic, pagent boy, no soul) comments. Both these guys respect each other’s music because they were the class of the field in S7. They are both talented artists in their own genres.

Thanks for the information, cookcricket. It looks like this year Idol tour is doing better than last year, none of the shows were sold out last year. I had a look at YouTube at some of the performances from last year, and I have to say that I don’t think I would have enjoyed the show much, but this year I think most of the performances are really good and worth seeing.

HI, for the archie fans, his fresno vids are on this youtube page

It’s also up on my blog, but you may want to visit jesusluvsme3′s page to say thanks! The vids are taken like from a million miles away (jk) but the audio is good.