July 6 Manchester New Hampshire Show

VIDEO!

I have three videos to post tonight:

Exhibit #1:  Why Taylor Hicks is AWESOME.  Check him out performing Takin’ it to the Streets.  Taylor performing a very sexy Don’t Let Me Down.  And, finally the boys singing Patience.

 

Recap and Pictures

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Tonight’s show:  Traffic was BRUTAL.  It took me 30 minutes to drive the last 4 miles to Manchester.  Then, it took me another 20 minutes to park–blocks away from the Verizon.  As a consequence, I missed both Mandisa and Ace.  BOO.  I think I need a pointy pose to cheer me up! 

I’m working on videos and and pictures right now.  My seats were off to the left side (as you can see) but right up front.  Sweet.

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Tonight’s show was pretty much a carbon copy of last night.  The sound still sucked, but at least I could see without people in the way. 

When I took Lisa Tucker’s picture, I swear she looked straight into my camera!

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Bucky Covington came over to our section and made eye contact with the some in the front row.  One was a little girl who he sang straight to in the sweetest way.  Most of the Idols came down to the front of the stage and shook hands with folks in the front row. No, I didn’t shake hands with anybody.  Well, Kellie almost.  She smiled right at me.  I should have said, “Hi Kellie, I’m a blogger and I’ve written a bunch of mean things about you!”  Ha.  This is one reason why I’m not too upset about not getting backstage…

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Kellie Pickler told completely different anecdotes tonight.  She canned the routine about how her fly was open during the finale, and she did not talk about her wisdom teeth.  She babbled for awhile, almost as if she was killing time.  It was kind of weird.  She really does seem more sincere on stage than she did on the show.

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I took this picture of Mandisa during the encore group sing.  I have one more show.  Note to my friend who is coming with me:  I’ll be in Cambridge to pick you up at 5:30 sharp!  I PLAN on seeing Ace up close and personal tomorrow night. 

Ohhh.  I like Mandisa’s glittery eyebrow stuff! 

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Speaking of Ace Young:  Ace wearing his beanie.  Later, he threw it out into the audience.  This was during the encore medley as well.

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I could not get a good picture of Paris Bennett while she performed solo.  That girl just did not stand still!  Of course, that was also before I figured out that if I used a higher ISO setting, the photos would be less blurry in the low lighting.  Duh!  This photo was also taken during the encore.

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I got some really nice photos of Chris Daughtry.  He stands still! Ha.  I have a funny story about a fan.  Chris was singing…”Renegade” I think, and suddenly this person comes flying over the seats and lands right next to me, screaming, seriously looking like she was ready to jump the guard rail in front of our chairs.  She looked at me, sort of crazily,  and I noticed that she was probably at least 40.  Hee.  I laughed and gave her a knowing look.  Finally, the guard came over and made her get back in her seat…

The crowd LOVED Chris.

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Here’s another picture of Chris.  Just because.  Chris opened the the second half to a really REALLY exited audience, and that reaction set the high energy level for the second half of the show.

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Chris and Elliott Yamin singing “Savin Me”

 

 

 

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Elliott is really learning how to work the stage!  He moved from one side to the other, and wasn’t stiff at all.  He loved the crowd reactions and seemed to be having a ball up there.  He was the most relaxed I’ve ever seen him.

 

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Another of Elliott…

 

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Check out the girls! HA HA!

 

 

 

 

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The last part of the show was really “The Taylor Show”.  Even if I didn’t like his music, I would still enjoy watching him perform.  It’s obvious watching him that he THRIVES performing in front of an audience.  Like I said, he did not disappoint.  I look forward to seeing him perform when he tours next year.

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This year’s show was really like a rock n’ roll concert.  Well, I guess as much as an AI concert can be!  Certainly, while watching Chris and Taylor, I felt like I was watching a rock show (Bo had that effect on me last year, too) Even the R&B singers sang some rock–Elliott rocking out on some Nickleback with Chris and Lisa singing Elton John tunes.

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One more of Taylor…

I have to mention again that the band was REALLY good.  That guitar player is HOT.  He played some really fine solos during Bucky and Chris’s set.  Taylor made sure to thank the band a few times.

At this point, I can’t imagine watching an entire season of Idol without checking out the tour afterward.  It’s cool to see the kids off the show, and sometimes they surprise you.

Those of you still interested who haven’t purchased tickets yet–keep checking Ticketmaster before your show, as they continue to release tickets running up to the date of the performance.

a great big thank you to LA for the awesome photo touchups…