Rena’s American Idol Tour 2009 Tulsa Re-cap

By On 07/31/2009 · 16 Comments · In Uncategorized

First off, let me say that this was my first concert ever. I was really excited to learn that the top ten would be stopping in Tulsa during the summer. I would have gone last year, but I was in school when David Cook and the other idols came to T-town. Any who, the first thing I noticed was the BOK Center. It was big. And I’m sure that it wasn’t completely sold out. Before the show began, the overhead screens played videos from Chris Daughtry, Carrie Underwood and David Cook. The audience mainly consisted of teenagers and their parents. It was obvious who the favorite idol was: Adam. He had the biggest cheers whenever his face came up on the screen.

I will say this about all of the idols. All ten of them have improved greatly since their days on TV. It was a really nice change to see them be confident with their songs and having lots of fun without the worry of judges, pressure and competition. I will also say that the up-tempo songs were far better than the slower ballads.

I did not like the countdown method of introducing the idols. Michael’s opening song was great and had people cheering. His second song ‘Closer’  was boring and lost the audience.

Megan Joy has way too much pink. The outfit looked extremely tight and I have no idea how she can move around in that little thing. I’m really glad she chose Amy Winehouse’s ‘Tears Dry on their own’  which is one of my favorite songs and Megan should have done this for the television show.

Scott was amazing. He brought so much energy and charisma to the performance that it made you just happy inside. At least it did for me. I also noticed his sparkly jacket and yelled ‘Sparkles!’  (I love glitter and sparkly things). He was overall great and wished he’d done more. His joke was not very funny (because I’ve heard it before on youtube) and his British accent was spot on.

I think Lil outdid Adam on the sparkly outfit. I didn’t really like her opening number and I can’t stand Alicia Keys, so her ‘No one’  (?) number was kinda boring. However, I love Beyonce’s ‘Single Ladies’  and Lil did an okay version of it. I did not like the words on the screen as a sing-a-long and found that they were quite distracting. She had the most improvement in confidence and stage presence.

What’s up with Anoop’s cloudy entrance? The clouds made him look like he was some kind of joke and they couldn’t come up with a creative ‘#6′  entrance? His up-tempo songs were great and the slower ballads made me lose interest. ‘My Prerogative’  was his best number and I will say that he is an good vocalist. His outfit doesn’t suit his style though. When he took the time to talk to the audience, he paused when a group of people started cheering for him and you could tell that he was really grateful to be touring.

Matt is so adorable and funny and a great piano player. ‘Hard to handle’  was BRILLIANT and ‘Georgia on my mind’  was fantastic as well. He was also one of the top ten who has improved greatly with lots of rehearsal.

I did not like the version of ‘Can’t take my eyes off of you’  from Megan and Lil. The original is just too classic and shouldn’t be touched. Matt and Scott’s ‘Tell her about it’  was the best piano duo I have ever seen. They were having so much fun that even I was dancing. ‘Beggin’  was awesome as the Act I finale. It sounded so great from all the men who looked so sharp in their suits. During most of the show I was trying to take pictures and looking at the stage lighting (being the theater geek that I am). It was really weird to see the top ten a few feet away from me after seeing them for so long on the
television and computer screen. It felt kinda surreal seeing a somewhat ‘famous person’ .

Allison rocked hard. I loved her guitar playing during ‘So What’  and the song really fit her voice well. The fans onstage were a nice touch to the rocker persona. ‘Cry Baby’  was rather boring only because it’s SO repetitive. ‘Barracuda’  was awesome and made an excellent closing number for the little rocker chick. Her set felt too short though, but we got to look forward to ‘Slow Ride’ .

Danny is much better live than on TV. He got quite the applause. The song I was looking forward to was ‘Maria Maria’  which is one of my favorite songs. And he met my expectations on that song. He was really into the music and having so much fun. Danny’s vocals were perfect for the Latin-pop sound and his salsa dancing was quite good. Why didn’t he do this song on the show during one of the more open-ended theme weeks is beyond me. I think he really would have honored his wife if he had sung something Latin influenced. I also see why he’s a motivational speaker because everyone got a taste of it. He spoke about not letting tragedy define who you are and put you down from achieving your dreams. His final two songs put me to sleep. ‘Maria’  was the highlight for Danny Gokey.

Now onto Adam. You could just feel the anticipation for this guy while Danny was on his last song. He got the biggest cheer and most of the audience was on their feet. His set was very theatrical and somewhat over the top. But that’s to be expected from Adam. ‘Whole Lotta Love’  somehow didn’t have that same sexual drive and power when he performed it on TV. ‘Starlight’  was an interesting song and diffidently not my favorite. I did enjoy the disco ball/stars effect. ‘Mad World’  was very lovely and I really liked the camera work for the screens during this song and the smoke. What surprised me was that
some people sat down during Mad World. Everyone got back up again during ‘Slow Ride’  with Allison. This is where Adam and his little sister were most comfortable onstage and really having a ball. I laughed so hard when someone threw a red bra onstage and Adam and Allison kicked it around like a soccer ball. Adam threw it back at them and the song was even better just because of the hilarity. I also really like the lighting for this song at the end with the smoke. Their hug is adorable too. Adam’s finale David Bowie medley’ ¦ well let’s just say he was working the stage. He is my favorite idol this year and seeing him perform as well as he did just makes me look forward to his new music in the fall. I will also say he is a very good vocalist.

Kris Allen was my other favorite. All of his songs were BRILLIANT. I didn’t really understand the curtain drop. He rocked the electric guitar, gave his all on acoustic and played with such love on the piano. ‘Heartless’  was AMAZING!! I love that song and all of the songs Kris did. ‘Bright Lights’  by Matchbox 20 was excellent, “Ain’t no sunshine” – perfect and ‘Hey Jude’  was one of the highlights because I was singing along and enjoying him so much. Kris is an extremely talented performer and I would not miss him if he came to Tulsa again (the same goes for Adam). It was also nice to see the other idols up there with Kris during ‘Hey Jude’  and enjoying the moment with him.

I could see the lift had almost come up too soon before the other eight idols were finished with ‘hey Jude.’  Matt and Scott were hiding and it was really cute. ‘Don’t Stop Believing’  was a fun closing number and I certainly had fun trying to take pictures of it (and kinda failed). Overall for my first concert, it was a fun night and I anticipate good things to come from these young performers. Will I go to another AI Live show? Probably not, but I would see Adam and Kris again if they came back to Tulsa.

 
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  • BootStar

    Great recap, Rena! Thanks.

    I went to my first and only Idol concert last year and kind of feel the same way about attending another. I’m going to see Cook’s solo gig tonight (have seen him once before and took my son to see Archie last month), and I’m looking forward to seeing Adam’s, Kris’s and Allison’s solo tours down the road.

    I just can’t talk myself into spending a $100 to sit through that 3-hour slogfest again, not when there are so many other good concerts to see. Very grateful to all those who do go and share their recaps though!

  • alison8701

    thanks for the recap! Any chance of you posting a link to your photos at some point in time?

  • TwigLA

    I very much enjoyed your recap, Rena. I got into it and it was a fast and precise read. :)

    I tend to agree with you on Starlight. I’m not a fan of it or the performance, but have been afraid to say so.

    I think that they are all really showing who and what they are from what I can see on the videos. I’ve found something to be impressed by in each of them.

    I was a bit afraid to get to the Kris part since you showed a definite preference to upbeat songs and performances. Very pleasantly surprised in such a positive review. I agree :)

  • Michelle

    Thanks for recapping! Very succint and flowed well so it was easy to read. Kris *is* brilliant, isn’t he? :D

  • ck2

    Though the impression to some in Tulsa may have been that people were standing awaiting Adam’s entrance – I recall everyone on the floor standing throughout all of Danny’s songs and chanting “Danny” to perform an encore. No other Idol (even Adam & Kris) got that response from the Tulsa audience. Danny’s “What Hurts the Most” was wonderful and quite far from being bored, I was brought to tears. What a voice!

    I would imagine that though the young girls were screaming at Adam’s pictures being flashed on the screen before the show started, they had to have been bored during most of his songs, as few of them have no idea about Led Zeppelin much less any song by David Bowie. I thought Adam did a great job with them all. We loved Adam’s shiny rodeo-style belt buckle!! haha! Perfect for an Oklahoma crowd!

    Overall me & my family were impressed with the whole show and enjoyed the Top 10 countdown style of performances, as it helped build up anticipation to seeing the best singers. But it also reminded us of why Alexis Grace’s voice should have been there instead of Megan’s…

  • Mary102

    Great recap, thanks for sharing! I loved the fact that, even though you admitted Adam and Kris were your faves, you wrote in a rather matter-of-fact, understated manner, especially about Adam, which was a refreshing change of pace :-)

    It was really weird to see the top ten a few feet away from me after seeing them for so long on the
    television and computer screen. It felt kinda surreal seeing a somewhat ‘famous person’ .

    I feel the same way going to these concerts! I just get a kick out of seeing them live, after watching them and following their journey on TV. AI just so brilliantly builds that “relationship” between the audience and the contestants, and then to have it all culminate on the tour is sort of a surreal experience in and of itself.

  • ShariG

    Hi Rena, Thanks for taking the time to recap your experience at the concert in Tulsa. I was there last year for David Cook and company and had the same “Wow, this place is big!” feeling. It looked to be sold out last year, but it was David Cook’s adopted city so maybe that is why. I’m so glad that you thought Kris was “brilliant”. I think so too so it is nice to read when someone else shares that appreciation. I hope you get a chance to see both Kris and Adam again when they come back to Tulsa as I am sure they will. Tulsa is a great music town.

  • Janie

    Thank you, Rena, for your recap – sounds like you had a lot of fun! I’m wondering how old you are since this was your first concert and you were in school last year and had to miss the tour? Anyway, good job!!

    I will also say he is a very good vocalist.

    I think so too! Such an amazing voice – I think his voice is even more spectacular in person than on tv.

    I just can’t talk myself into spending a $100 to sit through that 3-hour slogfest again, not when there are so many other good concerts to see.

    BootStar, if you still have a chance, go see the show! I couldn’t believe 3 hours had gone by and could have listened to more! I understand what you’re saying about ticket prices, though, so choices must be made.

    I recall everyone on the floor standing throughout all of Danny’s songs and chanting ‘Danny’  to perform an encore.

    Really, ck2? I’ve haven’t heard that mentioned before. Must have been a lot of Danny fans there …

  • Squirrely

    Great recap!

  • jordison

    Allison rocked hard. I loved her guitar playing during ‘So What’  and the song really fit her voice well. The fans onstage were a nice touch to the rocker persona. ‘Cry Baby’  was rather boring only because it’s SO repetitive. ‘Barracuda’  was awesome and made an excellent closing number for the little rocker chick. Her set felt too short though, but we got to look forward to ‘Slow Ride’ .

    Thank you for a nice review Rena.

    Cry Baby is a song that needs a great performance to make it a great song. It may be repetitive, but it’s the buildup of intensity and emotion that sells it. Nobody, but nobody, could sing it the way Janis Joplin sang it, and when she was at her best, this song was absolutely mind blowing. Her intensity level was off the charts – so high you might expect her to have a stroke. If you can, check out some videos of Janis performing at various venues. You may notice that she improvised quite a bit, took liberty with the lyrics, etc., so there were many different versions, but all very intense.

    Now no singer in her right mind should now try to sing this song, because of the emotional bar set by Janis. But then along came this gutsy 16/17 year old named Allison who had the “balls” to stick to her guns, against the advice of some, and take the risk of singing Cry Baby in competition on AI rock night. Allison obviously knew Janis’ songs and mannerisms well and apparently has a deep connection to her. But, really, this could have been “musical suicide.”

    But – she nailed it. Amazing. Impossible.

    One major problem. There is no way a 1.5 minute cut version of this song can get to the intensity level of a full version. A lot of the really powerful stuff (listen to the studio cut) had to be left out. This might be why the judges weren’t all that impressed.

    So, for whatever reason, Allison was eliminated. But she then delivered a knock out exit performance of the same cut version of Cry Baby, arguably one of the best exit songs ever performed on AI. She gave so much of her guts in this delivery that it made its emotional impact in the short 1.5 minutes.

    Now I agree that Cry Baby might not be the best choice for the tour. Unless Allison is planning to spend a career doing Janis Joplin covers, which we know she isn’t, it may not be wise to do a song like this that is so vocally challenging – perhaps dangerous. Apparently she’s had to pull back on the vocals a little bit during the tour – including cutting the ending for a number of performances – in order to protect her voice. I doubt that Janis Joplin could have sung Cry Baby on this tour and still have a voice at the end.

    So, why, I’m guessing, did Allison choose this song? Most likely because of her deep connection to Janis Joplin, and for all this song represents for her AI experience – sticking to her guns and delivering a dynamite performance, proven by the exit version, in spite of criticism and second guessing.

    I agree that Allison’s set was too short, only really showing one dimension of a very talented performer. But, that statement could be true of many of the others on the show as well. Fourth place gets you 3 songs, and that’s the way it is. Ideally, however, it would have been nice, in the middle of the set, for her to slow things down with a less intense, more soulful song. The Allison we know from the amazing Cyndi Lauper duet never gets to come out on the tour.

    Well, hopefully her album will be able to show the rich texture and subtlety of her voice, as well as the high energy.

  • will

    I’m unclear if Rena means it was her first AI concert or first concert of any kind?

  • Janie

    I’m unclear if Rena means it was her first AI concert or first concert of any kind?

    Ohhh, I hadn’t thought of that, Will - she probably meant Idol.

  • jenscooby13

    Rena – thanks for the great recap. It’s good to hear from others from Tulsa. I agree I’d probably not go to another AI show again cause it would take another really special performer to grab our attention again to make it worth it & I won’t be holding my breath on that happening anytime soon. We are definitely hoping to see Adam back in Tulsa solo in the near future and likely Allison & Kris as well.

    Though the impression to some in Tulsa may have been that people were standing awaiting Adam’s entrance – I recall everyone on the floor standing throughout all of Danny’s songs and chanting ‘Danny’  to perform an encore.

    CK – I also hadn’t heard anyone say that before & u couldn’t hear that where we were sitting. That’s why it’s always nice to hear the impressions of multiple people.
    But isn’t most of the floor standing for the whole show? That’s the impression I’ve gotten of most venues & in Tulsa it appeared that with a few scattered exceptions, that almost all of the floor seats were standing up for eveyone throughout the show & it’s the other non floor sections that tended to get up & down with different Performers and/or songs. Maybe there are more people sitting down in the middle of those floor seats than were visible.

    I don’t think you have to know Led Zeppelin or Bowie to enjoy someone singing one of their song. I mean if you are a fan of Adam you know Whole Lotta Love regardless of how familiar you are with LZ & if you have to already know about a song to like it then no one would enjoy any new song that comes out on the radio. I think one of the great things about Adam singing Starlight on the tour is that it has introduced people to Muse that hadn’t heard of them until Adam sang their song on this tour.

  • justjude

    Rena, thanks so much for your well covered re-cap. I’m living vicariously through you all.
    I’m glad Danny got some love from the crowd cause he needs it! Karma has been biting his butt for a while now. His voice is good and I’m sure that his charisma is getting better.Perhaps he will finally no longer be defined by his own tragedies.
    Agree with most of what Jordison said about allison. She is one of the few people that can channel Janis. That became very clear to me when she sang
    Cry baby with tears streaming down her face. That was one the shows moments I’ll never forget as I felt almost sucker punched and cried myself. I would love to find that performance for the pod. She got CAREER that one !!!
    Matt is shining with big exuberant sound and vocals now longer tentative.
    And of course, as an adam fangirl (heavy breathing) and Yeah for Kris, no heavy breathing but adorable. Adam amazing vocals along with that ..IT..factor will keep us captivated for years to come and so will Kris. YAY, KRADISON!!!!!
    .

  • jack5791

    You wouldn’t go see another AI Live show? I think this one seems like one of the better shows (although I haven’t been yet so I can’t judge!) Glad you had a good time :)

  • Grammie Kari

    The Allison we know from the amazing Cyndi Lauper duet never gets to come out on the tour.

    That duet was one of the highlights of the Finale. I hope when Allison releases her album that we see all sides of her.

    When he took the time to talk to the audience, he paused when a group of people started cheering for him and you could tell that he was really grateful to be touring.

    I do believe Anoop appreciates his fans! Me? I love his ballads, but it’s nice to hear the guys are doing great with the dancing. Of course, Adam is fantastic and Kris is doing a good job!

    Good review, Rena! Thank you.

    ETA: Season 7 was my first AI concert. Although it’s a tough choice, I think I liked Season 7 a bit better. I understand what you mean, Rena!