JohnM’s American Idol Tour Albany NY Recap

By On 08/21/2009 · 56 Comments · In AI Tour 2009, American Idol

What the heck am I even doing here? A year and a half ago, I barely knew what American Idol was. Lead vocals are usually the least interesting part of music to me — a fair amount of my favorite music is instrumental. I rarely pay any attention to lyrics. I don’t follow pop music, and thus there are a fair number of songs performed on AI that I don’t know. Heck, the night before the Albany show, we were at a concert by one of my all-time favorite groups, the Allman Brothers Band, who are the polar opposite of AI — loose, unscripted, very little singing, almost no banter, long guitar solos. Yet here I am. Huh?

Well, to quote Adrian Monk, here’s what happened. During Season 7, my wife got bored with TV because of the writers’ strike and decided to give AI a try. She got hooked on Cook & Castro in particular, became a major David Cook fan, and pulled our daughter and me into the vortex. We ended up going to the Albany concert last summer (even our non-AI-fan son went), and we enjoyed it quite a lot.

This season, I wasn’t going to get involved, but since my wife was watching the audition episodes and our daughter was tagging along, I figured it was a fairly easy (if sometimes painful!) way for us to share our passion for music. So I watched along — no big deal — I could keep half an eye/ear on it while doing something on the laptop.

And then it happened. I heard a singer who affected me far more than any singer ever has in my half-century on this planet, the best singer in existence as far as I’m concerned, and that singer’s name is not Adam Lambert. It’s Allison Iraheta.

Still, when it came time for the tour tickets to go on sale, our daughter (a major Adam/Allison fan) and I were having a hard time convincing ourselves that it was worth spending the outrageous amount of money to go see The Abbreviated Adam & Allison Show Plus 8 Other People We Could Do Without Except Maybe Kris. I felt that the talent in this year’s top 10 was far less deep than last year’s — in other words, that almost all the talent was concentrated in Adam, Allison and Kris. But our daughter won me over by saying, “But what if this is the only chance we ever have to see them?” So we sprang for four tickets again. But I felt sick to my stomach after spending all that money.

And so we found ourselves at The Times Union Center, or whatever they’re calling it this week (it was The Knick, then The Pep (Pepsi), and now The TUC). Now, this has been a miserably wet and pretty cool summer here, but in the last week or so we’ve had some brutally hot and humid days — and apparently the arena folks wanted to capture that fleeting summer essence in the building by not air-conditioning the place. So it was HOT! People were fanning themselves. On the upside, I saw one woman fanning herself in time to the music — bonus points!

Hey, did someone say “music”? Well, it’s about time we got to the actual show….

First, the set designer and video producer need to be taken out and shot. Most of us already know that a lot of the video background stuff is very distracting and counterproductive. But the lighting is really horrible too. There’s so much backlighting and so little spotlighting that it was often darn near impossible for fans in certain sections to see the performers at all in the glare. If you’re not in one of those unlucky sections, you’ll probably think the lighting is fine. We were unlucky.

Second, despite my earlier comments about this year’s lack of depth in the top 10, I came in with an open mind, ready to be won over by any of them, because last year we were impressed with how well everyone did, whether or not they were great on the TV show.

I haven’t read many recaps, so if I repeat stuff that others have said, well, I guess those are your universal truths….

I feel for the #10 performer, having very little fanbase and having to come out and try to get the crowd into the show. Last year, Chikezie did a very impressive job of this. This year, Michael Sarver, not so much. Oh, he tried, but he just has no knack for it. The pinnacle was when he tried to get us to stand up and party, and then immediately dropped into the extremely subdued opening to his second song — clueless. As for his singing, he was bland and boring on TV, and the same in concert.

Megan — ohh Megan — let us all just stare longingly at your stunning, slow-motion face for — how long did that stupid video intro last, 30 seconds?? What a waste of half a minute of my life. It just highlighted the entire reason she was in the top 13 — because Simon was thinking with his, um, hormones and wanted the requisite eye candy. As with Michael, I hoped she’d be better than on the show, and maybe she was a little bit better on her first song, but overall, nope. Zero stage presence, and one of only two performers who sounded out of tune to me on occasion. And her voice sounded even thinner than on the show — no body to it at all.

But there is one great thing about Megan’s set — the video for her second song. What a cheesy, goofy piece of work! I kept wanting to call Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons, and ask him if AI stole that video from some Simpsons spoof of the 60s. It also reminds me of Spinal Tap’s Listen To The Flower People. So bad, it’s priceless.

Still, the image that has stuck with me from Megan’s set is the image that *should* have been on the screen:
THIS SPACE RESERVED FOR JESSE LANGSETH

And then, the dramatic rise of Scott McIntyre from the netherworld of the substage. During the early episodes, I really thought Scott had good potential — a good pianist and a decent voice — but the potential went largely unfulfilled once the voting rounds started. Well, he was definitely better in concert — in tune and polished. Nothing to get excited about, but a nice job. I thought his little comedy routine fell kinda flat — which surprised me, because I thought he was very witty during the season.

Lil was someone I always tried really hard to like, but every time she performed on the show I found my mind wandering to other things. I never thought she was awful, as many people apparently did, but I also never heard anything to catch my attention. Same thing in concert — perfectly acceptable, but nothing to hold my interest.

However, again the video screen provided a valuable service. I know that a lot of people think it’s stupid to put the Single Ladies lyrics up on the screen, but I for one can now sleep better knowing that the non-verbal part is spelled “Wuh-oh-oh” rather than “Uh-oh-oh”. Thanks, AI.

NOOOOP! Anoop Dawg! The Noopinator! This is a guy who was a real favorite of mine during the early episodes — I thought he was going to end up being one of my top people of the season. But he seemed to have a hard time finding himself. And I ain’t no fan of ballads, and as the judges stuffed him into the ballad box, so to speak, I got frustrated and lost interest. But in concert, he was the first performer of the night to show some real presence and connection with the music. I would’ve preferred another upbeat song instead of two ballads, but he did a very good job, and I think he deserves a shot at some sort of career in music. Weird sneakers, though — what’s with that silver band at the top? It looked to me like he was wearing a bicyclist’s pant clips.

I felt that Matt got too many chances on the show. It always seemed like maybe he did have good potential, but he just couldn’t deliver on Tuesday nights. Still, it was clear that he could tickle them keys, and I know that people have said good things about his tour set, so I was very hopeful that he would indeed deliver in concert.

Man, did he ever. Among the seven performers that 19 didn’t sign, this is the guy who deserves a real shot. Great connection with the music, great connection with the audience, a real showman, funny, the first performer who got my blood flowing — and he banged the crap out of that piano! Excellent. Hard To Handle was definitely one of the top performances of the night. Georgia was very good as well — and he pulled off the nearly miraculous stunt of actually breathing life into a Fray song! Same kind of piano rocker energy that Billy Joel and Elton John had in their heyday. Well done, young man, and good luck.

Two comments on the bottom 6 medley: Michael actually delivered his lines with some good soul — a surprise there. And Anoop — the glasses? No, no no…. He looked like an IRS auditor.

Intermission. Massive bathroom lines. Not that I had to go, and not that I would have had to wait in line, being a guy and all. But I did accompany my daughter to within half a mile of the bathroom before she gave up and decided to hold it until after the show.

And then it was time for my girl — the greatest singer I’ve ever heard, in case you forgot my introduction from HALF AN HOUR AGO (yes, I know I’m an old windbag). Allison is the only one whose Youtubes I’ve watched, so I knew what to expect. I’d been looking forward to hearing that big voice on the big sound system, and it didn’t disappoint. One or two of the other performers might feel the music as much as she does, but no one feels it more. As my wife likes to say about great musicians, it just flows through her, and in her case, it explodes out of her. I’ve said it before — she owns the stage. And in particular, she owns the WHOLE stage — I don’t think anyone else covered all of that area, giving everyone a good look. Speaking of which, it seemed to me that many of the performers spent a lot of time on stage left, which was kind of annoying.

Cry Baby is definitely Allison’s best song, followed closely by Barracuda. Many of us fans have noticed that she’s been leaving out a lot of words on So What lately, which can be disconcerting, and some think it’s to help save her voice for recording. She did seem tired during her banter section. My wife recalls Cook and Archie being very tired by this time last year too. This recording-and-touring thing that AI does is just crazy. On the other hand, one of the Allison faithful has pointed out to me that Pink herself leaves a lot of the words to the backup singers during her concerts, and sure enough, Youtube confirms that, so maybe it’s just the way Allison feels like doing it these days.

Those of you who’ve seen an AI concert know that your favorite’s set goes by in the blink of an eye. And so, on to Danny we went. I was one of those who were sucked in by the editing job of the early episodes. Not his backstory — I couldn’t care less about that — but his singing. They did a good enough job of choosing good singing clips that I thought I was going to like him a lot. But during the voting rounds, I found him to be fairly reliably out of tune, out of breath, and out of good voice, not to mention singing annoying songs, so he ended up being very near the bottom of my list. Unfortunately, the same problems were there in Albany. He didn’t reach some of his notes, and his voice was raw on some high ones. PYT was fun enough despite the vocal problems, but the rest was just kinda there. And it was tiresome to hear him keep telling us over and over to “make some noise”. I’ll make noise when I’m really into the show, thank
you very much. And shut the hell up with Preachfest ’09! On the upside, though, I thought (shockingly) that he actually did a passable job on his little Latin-flavored dance. I can’t believe I just said that.

AND THEN…. IT WAS TIME FOR…. THE GREATEST BEING EVER CREATED IN THE HISTORY OF THIS OR ANY UNIVERSE…. otherwise known as Adam. Well, personally I wasn’t peeing in my pants or anything. But yeah, the guy is a great performer and is certainly in control of the stage. Whole Lotta Love was a real home run — and I never even liked that song. Did get a little OTT at the end, but it was really rockin. We were surprised at how little he moved around the stage during his set — maybe that had something to do with the local newspaper blogger calling him “subdued”. We actually thought that was a fairly accurate description, at least in comparison to the huge, bold persona that has built up. But his voice does plenty of moving, even if his feet don’t.

On Starlight, and a little bit on Mad World, there was something strange that I haven’t figured out — his voice sounded strangely thin, with no bottom end at all, almost as though he was breathing a hint of helium. Maybe it was the hot air in the building! Anyway, I really wonder what caused that, because I didn’t notice it in WLL, Slow Ride, or the Bowie medley. Arena sound can be pretty weird sometimes, and very location-dependent. Unfortunate, because it distracted from my enjoyment of Starlight.

I said it 30 years ago, and it’s still true — Slow Ride is a mind-numbingly boring song. But Adam and Allison made it work on Rock Night — it was the moment of the season in my book — and they made it work again in Albany. Both of them really came alive when they had each other to play off, and it was one of the best performances of the night.

I have to say, I liked Kris’ intro, with the letters of his name smacking into place and then exploding — that was fun! And the guy delivers. He sneaked up on me over the course of the season, and by the end I realized what a talented guy he is. As with Allison and Matt, you can see that the music really flows through him. It should have been obvious to everyone by the end of the season that he’s more than “just a folkie with an acoustic guitar”, but he really puts that notion to bed in concert, from song choice to delivery. I had heard that he switched to guitar during Bright Lights, but I had no idea that he played lead — that was very cool. He’s not a guitar god, of course, but he did a good job playing lead, and it turned the last section of that song into a rockin time. I really like his rendition of Heartless, and I was pleasantly surprised by Hey Jude — another very boring song, but one that he managed to bring to life. He
also worked the stage well. A good, varied, energetic set to close the evening.

So, for the most part, the night turned out as we expected, with the Big Three delivering the goods and a few being just kinda there, but it was very nice to see Anoop and especially Matt do so well.

Oh yes, one last thing, as if this isn’t five times too long already — Danny, and everyone else — it’s not “AL buhny” or “ALE buhny” — it’s “ALL buhny”. OK? Thanks!

 
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
Reddit Facebook Twitter Delicious Mixx StumbleUpon Digg
  • Leslie91791

    I stayed up late, midnight in L.A., to see if videos were posted yet for the Philly concert. They were, but I also got to read your Albany re-cap. That’s All-buhny, right? Thanks for taking the time to give us your opinion. I wonder if the heat in the arena affected the idols performances. Would have me!

  • HannaB4

    Thanks for the recap. Sounds like you had fun even though it was expensive fun. :)
    I’m kind of surprised you didn’t think Adam moved around much. From the video posted on the TALC forum tonight it looked like Adam covered the stage pretty well during the Bowie medley. Maybe it’s a different perspective when you’re actually there.
    Thanks for taking the time to post the details! ;)

  • liasdpride

    I loved your review! Thanks for sharing it with us. Matt has always reminded me of Billy Joel. I am so excited because I am seeing Matt in Pittsburgh on Saturday from the second row smack dab in the center and then going to Cleveland the next day. I can’t wait! Unlike you though I have always been a huge fan of Matt’s and was estatic with all his saves. IMO he deserved them. Which I believe is very apparent now.

  • CindyM

    Thanks for the recap! Loved hearing that you enjoyed the top 3 and love that your favorite exceeded your expectations!! Yay Allison!!

  • Cheetara86

    Hey, thanks for the recap..Loved your description of allison

  • Truthiness

    Excellent to hear from the Allison fans. Thanks so much for sharing your wonderfully snarky recap. And yes, I agree, Kradison had it going on.

    And yeah, what was up with the lack of air conditioning? that’s totally not cool. Sorry you guys had to suffer through that through the show. But hope besides that, and lack of women facilities, that you guys had a good time overall.

  • Grass-Chip

    Megan ‘” ohh Megan ‘” let us all just stare longingly at your stunning, slow-motion face for ‘” how long did that stupid video intro last, 30 seconds?? What a waste of half a minute of my life. It just highlighted the entire reason she was in the top 13 ‘” because Simon was thinking with his, um, hormones and wanted the requisite eye candy. As with Michael, I hoped she’d be better than on the show, and maybe she was a little bit better on her first song, but overall, nope. Zero stage presence, and one of only two performers who sounded out of tune to me on occasion. And her voice sounded even thinner than on the show ‘” no body to it at all.

    But there is one great thing about Megan’s set ‘” the video for her second song. What a cheesy, goofy piece of work! I kept wanting to call Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons, and ask him if AI stole that video from some Simpsons spoof of the 60s. It also reminds me of Spinal Tap’s Listen To The Flower People. So bad, it’s priceless.

    Still, the image that has stuck with me from Megan’s set is the image that *should* have been on the screen:
    THIS SPACE RESERVED FOR JESSE LANGSETH

    Whoah this person is seriously a Megan Joy hater. Calm your ass down. Sheesh! Get a grip! :thumbdown_tb:

  • Cheetara86

    Whoah this person is seriously a Megan Joy hater. Calm your ass down. Sheesh! Get a grip!

    It is harsh, but it is his opinion

    I liked megan better when I saw her live…

  • SAQUA

    I went to one of the idol concerts and i thought megan joy was good. But we all have our opinions i guess. :neutral_wp:

  • Grass-Chip

    Megan ‘” ohh Megan ‘” let us all just stare longingly at your stunning, slow-motion face for ‘” how long did that stupid video intro last, 30 seconds?? What a waste of half a minute of my life. It just highlighted the entire reason she was in the top 13 ‘” because Simon was thinking with his, um, hormones and wanted the requisite eye candy.

    This person has obviously had issues with attractive girls. He’s acting like Megan joy is the hottest bitch in the world. Betch please, calm down. :dry_tb:

  • lakers24

    Thanks for the review. I’m glad you went with an open mind but sorry you didn’t really enjoy many of the others. Anoop is my favorite, so I’m glad you at least thought he did well.

    IMO, I think they’re all talented. They all bring something different. And regarding Megan, I think she has a great voice, very unique.

  • PRMari

    Great recap John, it’s nice to see the Allison fans representing!

  • MrsB

    Good Morning John! (up early this am – storm freaked the pooch out)

    First off, you have the BEST personality ever and it really shined through in your recap!

    Secondly, hearing from a Hubby & Daddy was a thrill for me – I get you loud & clear $$$$ these concerts are expensive!

    Lastly, if there was any way possible to have you and your family come visit, I would cook up a feast & we would do our best to entertain the heck out of all of you! :smile1_tb:

    I absolutely LOVED your recap – thank you for sharing!!!

  • agathe.hb

    Really enjoyed your recap – very insightful and funny :)
    I loooove Allman Brothers too :)

  • http://www.last.fm/user/RemusL/ RemusL

    JohnM, very entertaining recap! Glad you had an enjoyable evening, for the most part.

    The helium voice effect in Starlight and Mad World has been noticed by others as well. I thought I heard the same thing at the Hamilton concert. When I checked out my videos at home (they’re on YouTube along with the rest of the concert – your fave Allison too! – if you’re interested), that effect was absent.

    Grass-Chip, are you Megan’s mother? :lol_wp:

  • https://twitter.com/draddee Sunn

    LOL!!! Your so funny. I loved, loved your recap. Your dry sense of humour is just my cuppa.

    Thank you so much John for a really fun concert experience. I agree with many of your point, as well as disagree with some. But what’s a little difference of opinion when it’s presented with such good natured and witty style.

    Thank you so much john, for putting a smile on my face by taking the time to share with us.

    Good morning to you.

  • Scamp

    Why would a Joan pretend to be a John to write a review? I see don’t point to it.

  • Susan M.

    Lulz, John! I was cracking up all through this. I loved your sarcasm and assessments of the vast majority of the details. Yeah, I can’t believe more people don’t give Megan’s second video a huge WTF. I sat there the whole time thinking, “What are they doing?”

    I also really enjoyed your musical take. You sound like a great dad and husband. Thanks for sharing!! And man, I would have died with no a/c.

  • ross

    I thought the lighting was great. (In Boston, anyway.) If the performers weren’t lit well, I didn’t notice it. And I enjoyed most of the effects. The fog, the black and white moving graphics during Beggin’, the way Adam was shown on the tall screens to the sides of the stage in one of his songs. I thought the swirling stars were beautiful during Starlight (or was it Mad World?). I especially loved the raindrop effect during Anoop’s set.

    The heat must have been brutal for you and the performers.

    Thanks for the recap!

  • webster

    Thanks! I’m totally with you re the relative unimportance of lead vocals. And alas, probably more sucked into AI. So sad. So very sad.

  • Vada

    John, I love your review and agree with you for the most part..

    Re: Kris:

    I had heard that he switched to guitar during Bright Lights, but I had no idea that he played lead ‘” that was very cool. He’s not a guitar god, of course, but he did a good job playing lead, and it turned the last section of that song into a rockin time.

    Thank you for saying that so well. As a Kris fan, I was surprised and delighted that he played lead guitar on this song. Of course, that unleashed a deluge of fans of others, to tell us that Kris is no Eric Clapton. To that, I say well duh!. He isn’t the greatest guitar player to ever live, but he is very good and a lot of fun. That is plenty good enough for me, especially since he is a singer first, and the electric guitar is just part of his amazing skill set.

  • Allison

    Still, the image that has stuck with me from Megan’s set is the image that *should* have been on the screen:
    THIS SPACE RESERVED FOR JESSE LANGSETH

    How true! My daughter expressed the thought that Jesse should have been there instead of Megan many times, and she was a big fan of Megan’s during the audition rounds.

    And nobody’s hating here. Just stating the obvious.

  • ianaleah

    The part about Anoop’s shoes, huh ? Was wondering, and at that point, yep, what a man ! Well, it is always interesting to read recaps. So true, Kris,Adam, Allison, Matt make the concert wotth attending.

  • MissyMusic

    Vada, will you be my new BFF? You seem to think just like me! lol

  • olivian

    Thanks for the recap, and I’m glad that your favorite was everything you hoped she’d be and more. :)

    with the Big Three delivering the goods and a few being just kinda there, but it was very nice to see Anoop and especially Matt do so well.

    I agree with this–Kradison are just on their own level and already seem like fully formed artists (still developing, of course, but with definite styles and–ugh–”artistry”), and among the rest Matt especially was impressive.

    But Adam and Allison made it work on Rock Night ‘” it was the moment of the season in my book ‘” and they made it work again in Albany. Both of them really came alive when they had each other to play off, and it was one of the best performances of the night.

    Are you Slezak? :) That performance was probably the most purely joyful moment of the season. Plus, Adam’s and Allison’s voices are so distinctive and different that the combination of them is thrilling, even on a repetitive song.

    He isn’t the greatest guitar player to ever live, but he is very good and a lot of fun

    I love Kris’s instrument playing because even if it’s not technically “the best” it’s very good and it’s (more importantly) very expressive.

    If your daughter is an Allison fan like you, and an Adam fan, I hope she enjoyed the concert too.

  • becausehelives

    I liked ur adrain monk intro cos it one of my fav shows. that had me smiling thru the recap. thanks.

  • Squirrely

    Thank you John – I do like hearing a man’s point of view of these shows. It’s nice you got to share it with your family.

  • ravengirl

    John, LOVE the snark and the brutal honesty. No sugar coater, you, and I like that. I agree with the Megan stuff, much to the disappointment of those on this thread who apparently now believe you to have issues with pretty women. I, like you, have issues with pretty women with mediocre talent.

  • poporange

    I enjoy reading fans reviews also newspaper critics one because it give different views of the American Idol show..I won’t be going because not into this season enough to put down the money in this economy . I was interested in Anoop near the end Allison grew on me but mostly Adam.The minority not hooked on the Alanlaopossa greatness just think he was just cute and musically/entertain quality did not move me enough..I am glad those of you that do go will have fun and enjoy your favs..

  • tinawina

    Great recap, very funny! Thanks!

  • Q3

    JohnM – thanks for your review. It was fun and a different perspective.

    should have been obvious to everyone by the end of the season that he’s more than ‘just a folkie with an acoustic guitar’ , but he really puts that notion to bed in concert, from song choice to delivery. I had heard that he switched to guitar during Bright Lights, but I had no idea that he played lead ‘” that was very cool. He’s not a guitar god, of course, but he did a good job playing lead, and it turned the last section of that song into a rockin time.

    I agree, for me, Bright Lights was the highlight of Kris’ set. I think it is more about how much fun he has playing than the quality of his guitar playing.

  • Yss

    Great recap! I agree, Kradison is just in a different league…they, along with Matt, are amazing!

  • KG

    I’ve watched all 8 seasons of American Idol. Matt is the ONLY contestant I ever picked up the phone and voted for. I’m glad others are finding out what an amazing talent he is. I knew it all along….. :) Thanks for the recap, John.

  • MissyMusic

    I’ve watched all 8 seasons of American Idol. Matt is the ONLY contestant I ever picked up the phone and voted for. I’m glad others are finding out what an amazing talent he is. I knew it all along’ ¦.. :) Thanks for the recap, John.

    KG: I was overwhelmed with Matt’s talent at the Boston concert. What an entertainer – the complete package! From the voice, to the mad piano skills, to the attitude and to the energy – all outstanding. I will admit, however, I was not a fan on the show. Sure, I thought he had talent, but as others have said, I think his nerves got in the way. I couldn’t understand why he was saved by the judges. Now I COMPLETELY understand what the judges were seeing in Matt and the reason for the save.

    No doubt about it – this guy needs to be signed to a contract stat!

  • washpd

    A very enjoyable recap, John. Thanks for sharing your experience with us. You are definitely not the first person to notice the “helium” effect, or the “chipmunk” effect, as some others have called it. For a while there were some who were insisting it was the result of some/all of the performers using AutoTune, but Dave Kokoki, the tour musical director shot that down very quickly, and said that NONE of the performers use AutoTune, and that everything is absolutely live. So, who knows what is causing it?

    And, FWIW, I agree with you about Megan. I haven’t been to a concert, but I watched her on the show, and I’ve watched some of her tour videos, and she just really does not have the voice to carry this off. I think she actually has an interesting, quirky tone to her voice, but she just doesn’t know how to control it, use it, or keep it in tune, really. Maybe she could do something really good if she had some good vocal coaching. At any rate, I certainly didn’t take your ciriticism of her as you having issues with pretty women! ;)

    I’m also happy to see more and more people being won over by Kris. I think he’s really showing that we saw only a small part of what he could do when he was on the show. He has a wider vocal range–he’s used way more of his lower register on tour than he did on the sow–and an affinity/ability to carry off more rock songs than his was able to demonstrate on the show. I am really looking forward to his album.

  • Sassycatz

    I felt that the talent in this year’s top 10 was far less deep than last year’s ‘” in other words, that almost all the talent was concentrated in Adam, Allison and Kris.

    I’ve thought this from the get-go. The media machine, AI itself, and some fans have talked about how talented everyone was in Season 8, but I thought Season 7 had it all over Season 8. The talent in AI 2008, with some slight variations, went deep that season all through the top 12, at least. That’s why 1) I had no problem going to last season’s AI concert, and 2) I was so impressed with David Cook’s win because he had to find a way to best a very strong field, while in my opinion, Kris’ only real competition was Adam and Allison. (Let me add, though, that this doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate Kris’ talent. I just think he didn’t have to “knock out” as many people to get to the top as Cook did.)

    I agree with the Megan stuff, much to the disappointment of those on this thread who apparently now believe you to have issues with pretty women. I, like you, have issues with pretty women with mediocre talent.

    Who win out over others with more talent because of their so-called ‘package’  potential. I agree.

    I agree, for me, Bright Lights was the highlight of Kris’ set. I think it is more about how much fun he has playing

    I’m not going to an AI concert this year, but I did get to see Kris (and David and Adam) in Central Park during GMA, and this was so obvious. The poor boy was bopping about the stage, like nervous energy looking for something to lay his hands on. When Kris’attention wasn’t fixed on David, getting to play and sing, he was glued to Neal luxuriating in the guy’s talent. Kris looked like he wanted to wrench an instrument out of somebody’s hands!

    Anyway, thanks for the review.

  • FifthHouseSun

    Outstanding review. Clearly, you’ve been using your smooth way with words a long time. Thanks for bringing it here. And, IMHO, if it’s interesting, and engaging, and full of discovery – and this certainly is – nothing is ever too long. Great job.

  • tinawina

    I’ve thought this from the get-go. The media machine, AI itself, and some fans have talked about how talented everyone was in Season 8, but I thought Season 7 had it all over Season 8. The talent in AI 2008, with some slight variations, went deep that season all through the top 12, at least.

    Wow. Me too. I really thought Season 7 had very few people you couldn’t envision making it all the way to the final 2. I think the right 2 ended up there, but it had more to do with the fact that they held up best under the pressure and chose songs well that showed off their voices, not because there weren’t other very talented singers with charisma. For season 8, I felt like there were people with talent but not exceptionally so, and the others really weren’t that compelling. Only Kradison had everything to me.

    The poor boy was bopping about the stage, like nervous energy looking for something to lay his hands on. When Kris’attention wasn’t fixed on David, getting to play and sing, he was glued to Neal luxuriating in the guy’s talent. Kris looked like he wanted to wrench an instrument out of somebody’s hands!

    That is part of what makes Kris so compelling to me. He comes off as a musician more than a singer/performer, and no I don’t mean that as an insult. He can sing very well. But its like he’s there to make music. That is what he loves. Allison loves getting inside a song and busting it out, it seems. Adam lives to perform. And Kris wants to create a song from scratch, then play it for you with his hands somehow as well as his voice. Does that make sense? It makes him giddy. Gotta love that.

    As meh as I am about this season, I do really like these 3. They have a lot of promise, and they will be fun to track in the fall.

  • sidewalkstory

    Still, the image that has stuck with me from Megan’s set is the image that *should* have been on the screen:
    THIS SPACE RESERVED FOR JESSE LANGSETH

    haha, love the snark. And loved Jesse Langseth too.

  • Eileen99

    One can never have too much snark, especially of the good-humored variety.

    Totally agree that Kradison is in a class a cut above the rest (although I like Danny, too; he just is a little ill-defined at this point). For me, the concert reveals the huge gulf between the Top 4 and the rest of the pack, with Matt being sort of in the middle between the two groups.

    We’ve had some incredibly awesome reviews lately! And I love that we got an Allison fan’s review :-)

  • luvadamlambert

    Personally I think season 8 was the most talented ever jmo. thanks 4 the recap! I loved it! I’m glad u liked ADAM!!!

  • smartcookie

    It also reminds me of Spinal Tap’s Listen To The Flower People.

    Best reference EVER!

    Or maybe this one is:

    THIS SPACE RESERVED FOR JESSE LANGSETH

    No, I’m going with the Spinal Tap one.

    Thanks for the recap/review. It was a delight to read!

  • FolkFan

    Thanks for the recap. Very enjoyable to read.

  • Reflections On Life

    THIS SPACE RESERVED FOR JESSE LANGSETH

    This season was odd in that there were only 3 women in the top 10.
    Plus, only 1 of them (Allison!) deserved to be in the top 10 at all. The other two were just taking up space on the tour. I can think of so many women from the top 36 who should have been in the top 10 instead of meghan & lil – jesse for sure, also alexis, mishovanna, kristen. they would have made for an awesome tour!
    :jittery_tb:

    Lead vocals are usually the least interesting part of music to me

    Same here. Unless the singer has power, conviction, and soul, I’d rather here the band jam.

    And then it was time for my girl ‘” the greatest singer I’ve ever heard

    JohnM, I love that Allison has made such a huge impression on you! But I wonder why you find her so unique? When I heard Allison, I thought she was the 2nd Coming of Bonnie Raitt, and almost certainly what Bonnie Raitt sounded like when she was 17. In fact, listen to her sing “I Can’t Make You Love Me” – doesn’t she sound like a slightly-less-raspy Bonnie? Just wondering what your thoughts were on this…
    :ponder_tb:

    FTR Allison was my favorite this season too, followed by Kris, then Adam, then Matt, then Anoop. :clap_tb:
    I couldn’t figure out why the rest were even in the top 10… :doh_tb:

  • http://www.GuanacosOnline.org/roquesite roquemocan

    Yay for Allison stans representing! I think she is unique not only in her way of singing and her recognizable voice, but in her quirkyness too. She is just herself.

  • dave858

    I watched the vids, they must be different then live….I would disagree with you on a few of your observations….but, different strokes for different folks , thats what makes the world go round…….

  • JohnM

    Hey guys, thanks for all your very nice comments. A few replies….

    ross: I thought the lighting was great. (In Boston, anyway.) If the performers weren’t lit well, I didn’t notice it.

    Yeah, as I said, you wouldn’t have noticed it unless you were in one of the unlucky sections that were caught in the backlighting. If you happened to look around the arena at certain times and saw some sections here and there that were pretty brightly illuminated while the rest of the crowd was dark, that’s what I’m talking about. It made it extremely difficult to see the performers.

    But I agree that the other lighting effects were very cool.

    olivian: If your daughter is an Allison fan like you, and an Adam fan, I hope she enjoyed the concert too.

    Yes, she had a big smile on her face. We were probably 150 feet away, so I was looking through the binoculars occasionally, but she refused the binos whenever I offered them to her, because she wanted to see her heroes directly, without anything in between her eyes and their true essence! Good thing she doesn’t wear glasses like me….

    ravengirl: John, LOVE the snark and the brutal honesty. No sugar coater, you, and I like that.

    Funny you say that, because in general I’m terrified of upsetting anyone and will talk all around a topic in order to avoid offending people. But I’m so passionate about music that my “filter” seems to switch off!

    ravengirl: I agree with the Megan stuff, much to the disappointment of those on this thread who apparently now believe you to have issues with pretty women. I, like you, have issues with pretty women with mediocre talent.

    Exactly. It’s funny — I was thinking that I would have been raked over the coals for being a shallow man if I had blabbed on about how Megan is so gorgeous or something, and instead I got raked over the coals for making fun of that attitude — didn’t expect that!

    I don’t care what a musician looks like (after all, I spent two hours Tuesday night looking at the Allman Brothers Band from about 40 feet, and they ain’t pretty!). I happen to think Allison is a beautiful girl, but all I care about is the voice. She could look like Jabba The Hutt for all I care.

    washpd: [Kris] has a wider vocal range’“he’s used way more of his lower register on tour than he did on the sow

    Yeah — I was glad to hear that, since I’m a fan of lower registers (a big part of my Allison love). I knew Kris had that low end — just listen to his speaking voice — good to hear him use it.

    Also, that reminds me — I forgot to mention in my recap that another impressive thing about Matt was his range. There was one low note he hit (don’t remember where) that seemed way lower than I recall him hitting during the season. Another tidbit that elevated him in my eyes.

    sidewalkstory:
    “THIS SPACE RESERVED FOR JESSE LANGSETH”

    haha, love the snark. And loved Jesse Langseth too.

    Actually, I didn’t intend that particular bit to be snarky (well, okay, a little) — I was feeling very wistful as I wrote it.

    Reflections On Life: JohnM, I love that Allison has made such a huge impression on you! But I wonder why you find her so unique? When I heard Allison, I thought she was the 2nd Coming of Bonnie Raitt, and almost certainly what Bonnie Raitt sounded like when she was 17. In fact, listen to her sing ‘I Can’t Make You Love Me’  – doesn’t she sound like a slightly-less-raspy Bonnie? Just wondering what your thoughts were on this’ ¦

    Yeah, you know, that’s an interesting subject. To begin with, I’m not sure if you were comparing Allison’s ICMYLM to Bonnie’s original specifically, or just to Bonnie in general, but I went back and listened to Bonnie’s original after Allison did it on the show, and I just thought there was no comparison. (And I have a lot of respect for Bonnie.) I thought Allison poured tons more emotion into it, and in a good way. I also loved the little flourishes / grace notes she added instead of singing single notes.

    But the foundation of Allison’s appeal, to me anyway, is her rich, full-bodied tone and relatively low range. I’m definitely not a Bonnie Raitt expert, so frankly I don’t know what she would have sounded like at 17, and maybe Allison sounds more like her than I realize, but she’s one of many (most) singers who just sound thin to me when compared to Allison.

    Sorry for getting all Allison-wonky here, but you asked! I imagine that the individual characteristics of all singers, including Allison, can be compared pretty closely to singers who came before them — “Her tone is very similar to X”, “Her runs are very similar to Y”. But the thing about Allison is that she’s (forgive the over-used phrase) my perfect storm of vocal characteristics. I love low range — check. I love rich, full-bodied tone — check. Improvised flourishes, without being showy. Super-soulful inflection. Subtle volume control. Power. I can think of other singers who have those individual characteristics (Christine McVie for rich tone, Grace Potter for soulful inflection), but somehow she has exactly the right mix of exactly the right characteristics that I’ve never heard before in my life. I realize it’s just a personal-preference thing, but it’s as though lightning struck about half a dozen times in exactly the same place — so improbable that it took 50 years for it to happen to me.

  • PRMari

    Oh John, how much do I love how much you love Allison? I completely agree with you on your assessment. She for me as well has the perfect combination of factors that I enjoy in a singer and a performer.

  • adh1018

    Great review, John! I enjoyed reading it, especially since it was coming from a male’s perspective. Thanks for sharing!

  • JOJOSIE

    Seems like the men in my life also love Allison but certainly not to the degree you do. She seems like she has more men fans, and that may have shown in the voting as she struggled for votes on the show and I believe most men do not vote as much as women do, I differ in opinion from you, in that to me the vocals are the most important part. If you have great vocals the band is only secondary. From that you might know I’m a big Adam fan. In all the season of Idol and I’ve watched them all, he to me, is the most talented vocalist to every be on the show. I love Taylor and Cook but Adam is going to be hard to beat. I really enjoy your re-cap as it’s the most OTT Allison love I’ve heard, if you were an Adam fan that OTT view would almost be expected. :lol_tb:

  • ianaleah

    Thanks for recap. Wanted to say one thing I have always thought, but never said. I love Adam but hate hate hate the “Fame” dance part of the Bowie medley. It looks like a cheerleader choreiography then the hand on hip and raised other arm to lead off the “Let’s Dance” part looks like typical leader of aerobatics. The dancing in “Let’s Dance” part ot the Bowie medley is truly very sexy and seems very natural-like a great dancer in a club at night could do those moves and seduce the whole crowd. I read that Adam had fun with the “Fame’ dance so I support his having fun more than my liking the choreography. But, since most of audience is female, I bet most like the “Let’s Dance” moves better too. Scortching hot moves in Let’s Dance” are why I watch the videos, cuz I’m really actually loving the singing for “Life On Mars’ as the best part of the medley..

  • bebe

    Thanks for the great recap. I saw the show in Portland and noticed that same helium quality during parts of Kris’s set as well as Adam’s. It’s been commented on only a few times during the tour so I’m chalking it up to arena acoustics.

  • kradamour

    “Thank you so much John for a really fun concert experience. I agree with many of your point, as well as disagree with some. But what’s a little difference of opinion when it’s presented with such good natured and witty style.”

    ITA! and this was decidedly witty. Thanks!

  • justjude

    Good review John. I know That a lot has already been said, but it is so great because of the personal little bits of backstory etc. So thanks for the shout out to allison as being the BEST for you. Adam was #1 for me followed closely by Allison and Kris and then Matt,Anoop and then the rest….some have pleasant voices but may not be Top 100
    material.
    I’m glad you treated the whole family! So great to share a experience worth discussion all the way home
    Tee Hee, I must admit I was almost slightly weirded out when you Opened a paragraph with Megan…Oh Megan….That was too funny and true….So thanks again!!!!!!!

  • JohnM

    justjude: Tee Hee, I must admit I was almost slightly weirded out when you Opened a paragraph with Megan’ ¦Oh Megan’ ¦That was too funny and true’ ¦

    Ahh, good — mission accomplished! :biggrin_wp:

  • Grammie Kari

    Say, maybe Anoop can get a sneakers commercials? Thanks for mentioning his sneakers! LOL.

    Thank you for your recap, JohnM!