Sarah caught the show in Tampa last night from the 6th row. Sadly, her concert buddy Spencer couldn’t make it due to babysitter problems… I’m sorry, Spence! Read Sarah’s account below…
So the first thing I have to say is thank GOD for sunshine. I saw my first glimpse of it in FOUR DAYS as I was arriving in Tampa this afternoon, and it immediately put me in an even better mood than the one I was already sporting from having scored last minute tix on the 6th row floor on the …Mavid Side of the stage.
The next thing I have to say is that Tampa LURVES them some David Cook. Other people got plenty of screams too, but the ones for David Cook were seriously deafening. I, ahem, did my part to add to the love he was receiving, but seriously – it was insane. He even made a little comment about it on stage – something to the effect of thanking people for the cheers and stuff, and then saying …it kinda weird ¦ the two people preceding me both have connections to this area, but I dont. But I have been here before. Family vacation. Heh. His banter was cracking me up. One particular thing – after he finished the whole filming the audience thing, he comes back and says, …so someone out there while I was doing this had a …marry me Jason sign. I didnt realize we looked so much alike! Crack. Me. UP! He also took me to the other end of the spectrum – getting all teary eyed when he talked about Lindsey Rose – the little girl from Tampa with leukemia whose father is a personality on the Tampa Fox station, and gave him the orange bracelet he always wore on the show. It was so sweet – he dedicated …My Hero tonight to both her and his brother.
More recap after the JUMP…
Yes, the Mavid …dance was karate chops. MJ had a piece of cardboard that said …DC on it, and DC karate-chopped it, and vice versa. Sweet.
Random observations – besides that the words …we will rock you were on the screen behind Michael during his performance to begin with, it really bugged that them flashing up was out of sync with the singing. LOL. Other than that, Michael was great. I really enjoy him, but I definitely prefer when he sings bluesy stuff.
Archie got great big cheers for …Stand By Me. That was probably my favorite of his songs. He did a really great job with it – and all of his songs, really. He was really out of breath between songs though, but sounded great singing. He also got a ton of love from the crowd tonight. I think the biggest non-teen Archie fan in the world was sitting behind me. My ears were ringing from her, and from all the squealing.
Carly can freaking wail. I. lurve. that. woman. ‹Nuff said. …Crazy On You was the first time on the show that I really started coming around to her, and it still rocks my world. She killed it. She said that some of her husband family was in the audience tonight. Awwww.
Ramiele stage presence has grown leaps and bounds. She sounded good on the first two songs, but I just think the Maroon 5 song was an ill-advised song choice for her. Her family was sitting a couple rows up from me, I think. At least, it looked like her dad, and there was a girl with them who looked just like her.
Weirdly, Kristy got a bunch of cheers (not that she not good, just that it kinda surprised me). It seemed to kind of surprise her too – at one point after a song and sustained cheering she kinda had this look on her face like …Wow. Seriously? You like me? She got sass and can work the stage pretty well, but she does still have that weird wide-leg stance.
Jason is a pure bundle of joy. I just lurve him to death. Jason cracked me up with the way before he started SOTR, he just kinda deadpanned …thanks for coming to the second half of our showwww in the way that only Jason can do. I missed his banter between SOTR and Crazy because I was saying bye to Spense. :)
Brooke sounded really great, and she just a joy on the stage as well. I think as a whole set, I like hers the best. The songs just all fit her so well. …Yellow was a highlight. Love her version of that. And I cheered extra loud for her for you, Spense. :)
Chikezie is really seeming to come out of his shell. One of my favorite moments of the night was when they each come to the end of the front catwalk the finale time, he just kinda stops and does the robot during his face time. A. dor. a. ble! Love him. He was really good tonight. Full of energy and a lotta fun.
Syesha got a lot of love from her hometown crowd. She said her family was in the audience and she seemed really glad to have them there. Honestly, I know everyone likes …Listen, but I like …If I Aint Got You better. Just my personal preference. IMO, she gets kinda screechy on …Listen. But she was really good.
I think that it. Not sure how good my pics will be as, though I had great seats, I have a crappy camera. But I got a ton of them, so hopefully some will turn out. The teenage guy sitting next to me with the …Marry Me Carly sign (which she acknowledged, but then had to disappoint him by saying that she already married, lol) seemed to be taking some good pics and videos, so if they end up on youtube, and you hear some insane screaming (omg I even squealed a little *hangs head in shame*), please try to ignore it. LOL.
OH! Corey the Warm Up Guy made a hilarious comment during intermission when he was doing the Air Guitar Hero things with the kids. One of the kids, a little boy, got up there and Corey asked his name (dont remember), his age (8), and …what he does (swim). So Corey was like, …so you wanna be Michael Phelps, huh? and the little boy like …YEAH! And he was like, …so in *tries to calculate years and fails*, so yeah, you could be over in China now, competing ¦ only youd have to be a Chinese gymnast. My friend and I DIED out laughing. I think that the only truly funny thing Ive ever heard/read Corey say.
I had a blast, but it would have been even better if Spense hadnt been stuck at home. :( Im glad I was able to call you with a little Jason love though. I felt so badly that you werent there. :(
Now, Im back to the rain (Im ready for Fay to get her ass OUT of Florida). Yay. At least I got a brief break from it and a fun night at the show. :)
