Update:
Wow. What a night. The Idols show was…well the Idols show y’all have been reading about and experiencing the last two months. No giant surprises to report. I tried to take a lot of video, but my camera batteries went dead in the middle of SOTR. As a result, no video of Taylor. Sawwry. Really.
Ok. First. I think Gray Charles wants to kill me. Like really.
- I was running late, met GC about 15 minutes late.
- I lost the lens out of my glasses and had to search the sticky venue floor for it. GC found it.
- I left my pocketbook behind during the Meet and Greet. GC and Jena had to wait while I retrieved it from security.
- I left the keys in my car with the ignition turned. My batteries were dead. GC had to drive me to my hotel.
In other words, Gray Charles is my hero (well, today anyway). And I’m an idiot (well, today, anyway.) On with the show.
Like I said, no giant surprises. Here’s a bulleted report:
- Driving to Syracuse with Gray was way fun.
- The venue was small, and the building was an older, sorta cool art deco building.
- Jena (who was way fun too) and I tried to eat at this very popular BBQ place, but there were like, a zillion bikers parked out front, and we thought we’d never get seated, so we left. It turns out, the bikers are always hanging out in front of this particular restaurant. Weird.
- We saw Elliott and Bucky at the buses before the show signing autographs.
- Our seats were floor, about 8 rows back.
- The peeps in front of me were Highrollers. They told me 70 High rollers will be in Wilkes-Barre for the concert next Sunday. My video of Ace kind of sucks, because they were right in front of me blocking my view of Ace.
- Speaking of Ace. When he stripped off his jacket during Father Figure, he was wearing a black tank top. Just. Oh. My. Gawd. That is all.
- Kelly wore a white tank top instead of the red bustier she wore the last time I saw her. She’s still stiff on stage, but is flirting with the band when she performs and actually looks more comfortable up there than before.
- Lisa was visibly surprised by the audience response to her performance.
- Katharine’s voice has improved a lot since her first performance in Washington. She didn’t hold back, and sounded in good voice. She jumped around so much during Think, I couldn’t keep the camera on her. She got a great response to SOTR.
- Elliott’s hair is longer. Katharine’s hair is shorter (no more big and sexy).
- Gel report: Taylor wore Gel!
- The audience was somewhat sedate. They didn’t stand and scream very much.
- The kids were playful with each other and goofing around during Living in America. It’s obvious they’ve been doing this together for awhile.
- The onstage patter: There was some talk about the tour winding down–lots of thanking people for making the tour special.
- Ace wore an orange Syracuse university T-shirt during the encore.
- The make-up person’s mom and her friend were sitting near us and also attended the meet and greet.
- Taylor, Ace, Bucky, Mandisa, Lisa and Chris attended the after show meet and greet.
I thought maybe the kids would be phoning it in by now. They weren’t. They’re still showing up and bringing it. Tonight’s show was as good as I’ve seen it so far. The second half of the show still rocks. Taylor was tired, but still animated and as entertaining as ever.
The Meet and Greet
- Security took us back into a blocked off hall-way where the Idols came through to chat with everyone. Ace, Lisa and Mandisa were taking pictures with fans and signing autographs. Taylor came through the crowd and then made his way back to us. He signalled to the three of us, and he took us to a little area back stage to chat. Very cool.
- On Taylor: He looks youthful in person. I think he totally looks his age, except for the gray hair, of course. He’s slimmed down during the tour. He’s tall and kinda lanky. He is handsome.
- At Meet and Greets, I either say nothing or babble like an idiot. Hmmm. Tonight I babbled. Ha.
- Taylor talked a bit about the LiMBO gig in Georgia last week, and said his performance was very much like the way he performed pre-idol.
- He’s planning to make the LiMBO show in Wilkes-Barre next week.
- I asked him about the November 14 release date for his record. He said no, and that if I’d read that somewhere, it was old information.
- He’s got a GREAT sense of humor.
- He was patient and very friendly.
- He’s got some corporate gigs lined up, and it sounds like he’ll be hitting the road sooner rather than later.
- After Taylor took off to meet the bus, we made our way back out to the M&G area. I made a point of saying Hi to Ace. Ok, I can’t remember what I said, but I think I sounded insane. And I think I have a little crush on him. Hee. I got a hug.
- I just missed Chris. He arrived after I ran out to look for my purse. Damn. I wanted to check out his guyliner! Heh.
- I had a blast. Jena and GC are cool.
That’s everything I can remember now. It’s very late, but I wanted to get some thoughts down tonight. I’ll have video and pictures tomorrow night. Unfortunately I got NOTHING from Taylor’s set or the meet and greet. Ah well…
September 17 Syracuse, NY Idols Show
Later tonight, I’ll have another edition of MJ’s big adventure. Today, I head out to Syracuse New York to see the Idols show. What’s more, I’ll also be attending the Meet and Greet beforehand. Yipeee!!!
On the Road with Gray Charles
Yep. Me and GC. On the Road to Syracuse. And we’ll be attending the concert together. With Jena. Ya’ll can look forward to three Rashomon-like accounts of exactly the same thing.
Yes, GC yes, I’M LEAVING NOW. I won’t be late. See ya.
