July 14 East Rutherford,  NJ Idols Show

Read Leighann’s recap of the Hershey show.  And read Daisy’s of the Albany show–right after Gray Charles’s recap.

Were there any Constantine sightings at the NJ show tonight?  Supposedly he was in the audience…

Jersey’s Recap:

Well, I was at last night’s show at the Continental Airlines Arena, on the 14th, and I agree almost 100% with MaryS’s review of the night before. Just a few things to add. I went with my sister and her daughter, ages 7 and 5. The 7 year old’s favorite is Katherine and she bought a Katherine shirt ($35) – she was disappointed that Kat wasn’t there but did know ahead of time because I told her. Her response, “that’s OK, I like Kellie too.” The guy in the souvenir line ahead of us dropped $180 on t-shirts! I guess I know where they’re making their money on this tour!

The place was completely sold out, just a smattering of seats here and there. I went expecting there to be a lot of Mom’s and daughters, which there were, but I was surprised by the diversity of the crowd. I think the arena staff expected the same thing I did because some of the men’s rooms were converted to ladies rooms for the night. It was a little disconcerting to walk in and see a line of urinals lining the walls and only three stalls. More than one person went back out to check the sign – even though the room was obviously full of women! I think the only demographic completely missing was high school aged boys. I was actually surprised by the number of 20 – something couples.

The crowd was very responsive to everyone. Stood for everyone – except Elliot. That may have been because everyone yelled “Everybody get up” except for Elliot. Don’t get me wrong, Elliot got a good response, his songs just aren’t conducive to standing. Ace and Chris clearly had the squeal factor. The loudest cheers were for them and for Taylor’s entrance and harp playing.

A little note on each performer:

  • Mandisa – stick to singing.
  • Lisa – cute.
  • Paris – cut the Beyonce act, Midnight Train to Georgia was much better.
  • Ace – was surprisingly good. I wasn’t a fan on the show – but he is definitely entertaining.
  • Bucky – he actually got a pretty good response from where I was sitting. He sounded good although I agree Superstition seemed a little long.
  • Kellie – she sounded fine. She seemed tired; her comedy routine was non-existent tonight (what, is she the only person without a New Jersey joke?)
  • Chris – great on Whole Lotta Love. The crowd loved him. He started off Renegade a little flat but quickly corrected it after a few lines. Funny note, he threw three of four picks into the crowd throughout the show. From where we were sitting, (on the right side of the stage, lined up exactly with the aisle between the stage and the first row of seats on the floor) you could see that none of the picks made it to the audience, they all landed in the aisle between the stage and the first row. Event staff had to pick them up and hand them to people.
  • Elliot – he hit all his notes but I think Elliott’s voice is showing a little wear. He sounded a little horse tonight, especially when he was speaking.
  • Taylor – he was great. People loved his entrance. Loved Hollywood nights, the crowd stood throughout Taylor’s performance. It seemed the crowd favorite from Taylor’s set was Hollywood Nights and Takin’ It to The Streets. I was surprised by how many people were singing along with Do I Make You Proud.

Just a couple of “heard in the ladies room” comments to add:

Before the concert started, someone’s cell phone rang and her ringtone was “Do I Make You Proud” – that got a chuckle from those of us present. The girl (in her 20’s) said “guess you all know my favorite now”.  Heard in the ladies room on the way out – “Did you miss Katherine? I didn’t, I don’t want to hear Over the Rainbow”. General agreement all around – Kat better get her butt on tour fast.

PS: I didn’t see Constantine and I did try to check the first few rows. If he was there, I don’t know where his seats would have been. Maybe I just missed him.

Jokiebird’s recap:

  • Mandisa: Voice was overpowered by the band. Disappointed in “I’m Every Woman.”
  • Ace: He’s so pretty. Much better than I expected. The taking off of the jacket was so cheesy and contrived. My friend and I rolled our eyes and giggled.
  • Lisa…is Lisa.
  • Paris: She can’t sing her age, it’s impossible for her. She’s such a natural performer with such a great voice. She just needs to age into it and she’ll be fantastic. Fun to watch.
  • Bucky: OK, seems like a sweetheart. Happy to be there, I like that.
  • Kellie: Dressed like a biker slut. Hair extensions (forced by AI after her haircut?). So out of breath after song #1 that she spent five minutes breathing hard and saying “Wow” and “Gosh” over and over. Good vocals.
  • Chris: Angry rocker man. But I SAW HIM SMILE. Once, and it was tiny, but I swear I saw it. I would enjoy him so much more if he would at least pretend to have a good time. He does sound great, though.
  • Duet (Elliott/Chris): Yes, hit of the show.
  • Elliott: Love him–he’s so obviously appreciative of being able to perform. A thousand times more comfortable on stage that he was on the show. Great to watch, amazing vocals. Still a little too much on the vibrato but getting better.
  • Patience, fine, girls medley, ick.
  • Taylor: Yummy yum yum if he’d spotted me and asked me to be his wife, my husband would have been toast. Just kidding, mostly.  Jailhouse Rock was my least favorite, What’s Going On was awesome as was DIMYP and Taking It to the Streets. Rockin’ guitar and harmonica. Not too many crazy dance moves, and no shouts out to the Soul Patrol (making up for the overload during the show, probably). Mesmerizing to watch and I can’t wait for his first full show.
  • Pointy Poses: Missed ’em. Had a friend with me that has a 6:15am flight to Tampa so we wanted to be on the first bus back to Manhattan. Wasn’t sad.

    Fake backup singers, annoying. Cute crutch they all had with their shout-outs to “Jersey.” “Hey there Jersey!” “How’s it going, Jersey?” “Jersey girls can sing!” Intermission way too long, in fact I can’t figure out why they even had one. It wasn’t for costume changes. I thought they were going to redo the stage setup, they didn’t.