Check out Peter’s thorough recap of meeting the Idols in Pittsburgh! There’s also a bunch of swell photos at the bottom of the post…
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Hey everyone! My name is Peter, I am 15, and I did a recap last year for the Idols show in Pittsburgh! Well this year I’m back again to tell you all about my amazing experience at the Idol concert at the First Niagara Pavilion!
At first, as most of you know, it was scheduled for the Consol Energy Center on September 14th but was moved to the First Niagara Pavilion on July 21st. I originally had tickets in row F at Consol but then exchanged them for row D at First Niagara. I was so excited because I knew I had amazing seats! That goes to show you that everything happens for a reason! The date was changed and I got better tickets!
So I left for the First Niagara Pavilion at about 4. I live about an hour away but we stopped to eat. I went with my dad, my aunt, and our family friend and we were all so excited. We were talking about it at dinner mostly because my aunt didn’t get a chance to watch it that much because she doesn’t get home from work until after it’s over so we filled her in a little. We were so anxious to get there and see where our seats were so once we got there we went straight to our seats. Our seats were amazing! We were so close to the stage and at that point my heart was pounding with anticipation. We went to the merchandise stand and I got a tour book, a photo of Didi (my favorite), a photo of Crystal (my second favorite), a t-shirt, and a magnet. The show was about to start so we went to our seats.
The lights started flashing and everyone started screaming… THE SHOW WAS STARTING!!! I turned around and the place was packed. I know that the First Niagara Pavilion can hold 7000 in the seats and I’m guessing there were about 5500. After seeing pictures from past concerts I couldn’t believe how many people were there. The music started playing and the intro went on, and then it was on to Didi!!!
Now as I said before Didi was my favorite so I was super excited! I loved the song she started with because I felt like it was such a good way to start the show! It didn’t really get the crowd moving but it was still really good! I heard that Didi was doing Terrified and I couldn’t wait. It is my favorite song and her version is just perfection. I was singing along and I really feel that that is the kind of music she should be doing in the future. I see big things for Didi if she tries hard. I really hope she gets signed because she really deserves it. Didi was so nice to everyone during her set and she seems so down to earth. Overall it was a great way to start off an amazing show.
After Didi came Andrew. Now Andrew wasn’t my favorite throughout the whole season but I thought he had his moments. After this show I was blown away and he is definitely a great singer and he showed why he made it into the top 9. Andrew came out strong with Straight Up but I must say it wasn’t as good as it was on the show. It may also have been that everyone made such a big deal about it when he did it on Idol but it was still amazing. I wish he would have done it with a little less of the band but still, it was an amazing performance. His second song was amazing. Its one of my favorite Maroon 5 songs and he really did a great job. I wish he would have moved around a little more on stage throughout the show, he basically stood in one spot. I think Andrew has a very unique voice and he’s just an amazing performer but I’m not sure what genre of music he’s leaning toward. Overall tough, it was an amazing set and I think he sounded better live than he ever did on the show!
Next up was Katie. From the day I saw Katie’s audition of At Last I knew she would go far. She has such a powerful voice and she sounds even better live. She came out strong and really got the crowd on their feet. I wish she would have started out the show instead of Didi because she had a very lively set. She moved around a lot and her voice sounded great. I loved her first song Here We Go Again. It’s a great song and it’s just the type of music Katie should do! She had a powerful voice and I can really see her being as big as Demi Lovato if she gets signed to the right label. After she finished that song she talked to us a little. She is so nice to everyone and she seems so comfortable on that stage. Then she sang Fighter and I must say if she doesn’t get signed to a label after that I don’t know what will. She was rocking it. She was so energetic that even my dad got up and danced. She was by far the best of the 3 so far and I feel like she really got the crowd ready for the rest of the show!
Next up was Mr. Tim Urban. As soon as his set started all of the girls (some guys too, I may add) started screaming. I’m pretty sure I saw one girl crying but I don’t know if it was because of Tim or because she got hit with a beach ball (I’ll get into that later haha). Now let me say that at the beginning of the season I couldn’t stand Tim but as the season progressed I thought he got better and better and he became one of my favorites. His set was pretty good but I wish he would have done a slower song too. Better Days was good and it was a good way to start his set. I’m glad he knows how to move around the stage unlike some of the other Idols instead of just sitting there. How can the Idols expect the crowd to move if they aren’t. Sorry I’m getting a little off topic here. Tim’s second song was amazing. I love Viva La Vida and I feel it was a good choice for him. I hope he gets signed to a label because he improves every time I hear him sing.
Now we are on to the amazing Siobhan. I was surprised how many people were screaming for her even before her name was displayed. People were going nuts! I love Siobhan and I think she had the most powerful voice of the bunch. I was happy she started out with Paint It Black because it’s kind of like the signature Siobhan. She ended it with like a 15 second long scream which was genius. I still can’t believe someone can hit a note like that for that long. Her next song wasn’t my favorite but of course she was awesome. For the rest of her set I was basically just thinking about that note so I can’t remember what her 3rd song was called. It was amazing though. Great way to end an awesome set!! Siobhan needs to get a record deal!
Now I heard a few things about Aaron’s set so I went in with high expectations. Well I found out that my expectations weren’t even high enough for how great he was. Aaron was my favorite guy of the season. When he came out everyone was standing. He had so much energy on that stage and let me just say that he can SING!!! He did amazing with every song and he got the crowd moving. He seems so shy but when he’s on that stage he seems so comfortable and like he was born to perform. I really hope he sticks with country music because he will go very far. I loved when he sang Fast Cars and Freedom. I can’t say much more than that he was amazing.
Time for the first group song! They all sounded amazing singing The Climb. Didi, Andrew, and Tim are so good on guitar and I loved the sound of all of their voices blended together for that song.
***INTERMISSION***
During intermission I went back to the merchandise stand to get a photo of Aaron since he did so amazing and a key chain. I met up with some friends and they said they thought Tim was the best. We also found out about the public meet and greet…YES!!!!!!!
***INTERMISSION OVER***
Big Mike was up and I thought he had such a great voice on the show. He has soul and I love it. He did an amazing job with Woman’s Work. It sounded even better than it did on the show. I love his version of Ready For Love because he puts so much passion into it. I think its too slow though for a concert like this. He sounded great though. His last song was the best of the 3. I loved when he started rapping. It was so cool because it wasn’t something I’d expect from him. Mike will do great in R&B music and I hope he goes far. Overall it was such an amazing set.
It was time for Casey to come out and I was anxious to see if he was going to do a good job or not. I never thought he was the best singer but I always knew he was an amazing guitar player. His first song was really good… no it was better than good it was AWESOME!!! I felt like for most of the song he barely sang but his guitar playing was amazing! He has serious skills and if he doesn’t become a professional singer he should become a guitar player professionally. His second song Don’t was my favorite performance of his of the season. He did an amazing job and it showed me that he’s not only a good guitar player but a great singer too. His duet with Big Mike was amazing. There’s not much more to say about it than that. Their voices sound great together and the crowd even sang along. Casey’s last song was great and I felt like it was a good way to end the set. Overall Casey was amazing!
In my opinion Crystal was the highlight of the show! She has such an amazing voice and she is an amazing performer. When the intro for her came up on the screen everyone was screaming and clapping. This was the set I was most excited for. She came out singing What’s Up and she was great. I had to stand up for her set because it was just too amazing. When she was done singing her first song some interesting things happened. First Crystal saw that beach ball I was telling you about earlier. She said “Throw it to me! I want to play, don’t leave me out of the loop haha!” She caught the ball and hit it as hard as she could. So we got to see a concert and a volleyball match all in one set! Then Crystal saw a guy holding up a sign. It said it was his 21st birthday so Crystal said happy birthday to him. The whole crowd got silent and they put him on the jumbo screen and he started screaming “I LOVE YOU. I LOVE YOU…”! Funny thing is he sat next to me last year! Haha what are the chances! Crystal started he next song which is my favorite, Come to My Window. I love her version of it and her harmonica playing is great. My aunt was astounded that someone could play guitar, play harmonica, and sing at the same time! I was definitely singing along to this one. Next was Up to the Mountain. I really liked it and it was kind of different that the version she sang on the show. I liked it even more. Now Crystal’s last song was the way to end a set. It was fun and it really kept people wanting more. Piece of My Heart was a great choice for Crystal and I loved every minute of it! Crystal’s set was amazing and she seems so down to earth. She was born to sing and she will have a long career in music!
The lights went dark and the music played for about 10 seconds. All the girls were screaming (some even started crying) because it was Lee’s turn! Now I really like Lee and I think he has a good voice. He will do well in his music career and I can’t wait to hear what kind of music he comes out with. Lee wasn’t my favorite on the show but I grew to like him more and more each week. Lee really blew me away though in this show! He came out with Beautiful Day and I loved it. He changed it up and it was a great way to start out the set. I do have to say one thing that I noticed at the concert that I never noticed on the show. Lee makes some weird faces when he sings but if it makes his voice sound as great as it did at this show then he better keep doing it. His second song Rocket Man was really good but I can barely remember it because his version of Halleluiah left me in Awe. That performance was the most amazing thing I heard of the night. I love that song and his version was great. Next was Treat Her like a Lady. I love the version on the CD so I was sure I’d like this one! I was right because it was great. He really moved around on the stage and got the whole crowd dancing. Lee ended his set with Use Somebody which is one of my favorite songs. I really like Brooke White’s version but Lee’s was amazing too. He did a great job with his whole set and after that show I am an even bigger Lee fan.
It is now the final song. I was upset that the show was almost over but I knew soon after I would meet all of them. It’s My life by the guys was really good. They sound great together. The girls all came out then started singing My Life Would Such Without You. They too sound great together and I think it was a nice song to sing because they all kept pointing to different fans telling them that their lives would suck without them. The guys joined back in and I felt it was a great way to end a show. At the end of the song Andrew pointed to me and my dad and sang to us. I know he was pointing to us because there was no one in the row behind us, no one to the left of us, no one to the right of us, and no one in front of us. Wow we were isolated haha. They all walked off the stage smiling and waving. They seem to have so much fun on stage and they really want to perform for their fans.
***END OF SHOW***
Well, that’s the end of my recap. I hope you all… WAIT!!!! I forgot to tell you about the meet and greet!!!! So we went outside and saw huge barricades set up by the exit. We waited there for about a half an hour and 4 idol came riding up on this little cart. It was Katie, Casey, Aaron, and Andrew. They started on the complete opposite side of where I was but then the second cart of Idols came out and started right by me. That was Didi, Lee, Mike, and Siobhan. Crystal and Tim walked up on their own, a few minutes later. Didi was the first to pass me and I got her autograph. I wanted a picture but my camera was in my bag and I couldn’t get it in time. She was talking to everyone and was so nice. She started telling the girl next to me this story. She said she was at a meet and great and a little girl came up to her and said, “Didi can you sign this for me.” Didi said sure but looked at the picture and it was of the top 9…. Haha. Didi said, “do you still want me to sign it?” The girl said, “Ya, why not.” I thought that was such a funny story. We kept getting Idol traffic jams which were a little hard to deal with. We never knew who was going to get to us first. Casey, Andrew, and Lee all came next and Lee signed my book then I went to get Casey’s and he skipped my whole section. I screamed his name and he signed mine out of all of the 20 people that were in the same area as me. Andrew too skipped my section. I called for him but he looked at me then kept walking. It kind of sucked but my dad got him to sign the mini poster that came with the CD. Katie, Mike, and Tim all came around and signed the photos. They were nice to everyone and Mike even got a picture with my aunt. Next came Crystal and she was so nice to everyone. She took time to make sure she got everyone’s photos autographed and she accidentally skipped me. I had the photo I bought there of her and I yelled her name. She said, “Oh sorry did I miss you?” She took my photo and asked if I wanted it signed out to anyone. I’ve never had that happen at an Idol show before. She signed Hey Peter! Mamasox xoxo. Everyone signed their full names but I guess it’s because it was such a small meet and greet. Next Aaron and Siobhan came over to sign. Siobhan was taking so much time with everyone it was crazy. She just finished when they were making everyone go in. She signed my book but said she didn’t have time for a picture. Aaron signed my photo and book and said he’d come back for pictures. He did so I got a picture with him! All of the Idols were so nice and I can tell they really care about heir fans. It was such an amazing night full of great music, amazing seats, and an awesome meet and greet.
Thanks everyone for reading my recap. This time it really is over. I hope you enjoyed and as much as I enjoyed writing it and going to the show. Sorry that it was so long. Thanks again for reading!
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