Tamera’s recap from the Elliott Yamin concert at the Maryland Theater in Hagerstown, MD 11/5/07
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I had previously been to only the season 4 Pop-Tarts tour. Tonight was my first individual …Idol concert. And I was PUMPED to see Elliott! My dear hubby was enthused about seeing one of his fav Idols. (His #1 fav is Bo Bice) No pictures because hubby left the phone that takes pictures at home.
Venue is in a restored historic circa 1915 theater. It is absolutely gorgeous’ gilded carvings, box seats on sides (think the old guys in the box seats on The Muppet Show) The acoustics are phenomenal.
The crowd was pretty mixed age wise. There were quite a few 30+ guys with their significant others. There was a big contingent of seeing teens. Our seats were in the center 5 rows from stage(about 20 feet) The stage is low (eye level) which made it feel very intimate. In front of us were contest winner and VIP seats.
First up- Josh Hogue and Trey the guitar player. His set was acoustic. Is Josh cute or what?? He was wearing a newsboy cap. He commented on how awesome the theater is. First song- …Take it or leave it. WOW’ he has a nice growl in his voice and a great falsetto. Audience seems to really be getting into him. 2nd song- …360 about ex-girlfriend. Nice harmony with Trey. Josh falsetto is good- great control. Song #3- …Work that body Josh joked it was his peeping Tom song. Elliott’s guitar player wanted to know why Josh never dedicated a song to him’ Josh said this one was for him’ he was imagining him in his underwear-very funny. Song has a nice funky vibe to hit. Josh sings acapella at end and WAILS.
Josh had big news! He SIGNED his recording contract today in Hagerstown- will be in LA in Dec/Jan to record for Spring 08 release. AND he confirmed that there WILL be a duet with Elliott on the album. He also announced he is the first artist signed to a corporate sponsorship with Geico so watch for him in commercials next Spring. He next sang a new song hed just wrote called …Try. It has a very bluesy/rootsy sound. I loved it. Last song was …Aint No Sunshine. OH. MY. GAWD. He blew the roof off! Really soulful. He wailed w/o mike at end and his voice was unbelievable! The crowd went wild- he made himself a ton of fans who will be waiting for that album.
Next up- The Last Goodbye. Whoa’ screeching teens go nuts when they come out. They are kinda cute in a generic pop-band way. They were sporting an array of trendy hairdos. I have no idea what the name of any song was- it was kinda unintelligible. All the songs sounded the same.
Let me preface this by saying I love a wide variety of music. I even like some rap/hip-hop, bluegrass, jazz. But in all honesty- IMHO this band sucked. My hubby had in earplugs and he TOOK A NAP during their set. The teens were enthusiastic but a majority of the audience didnt seem too impressed. Evidently this band has a hit single called …Pictures of You.
The band itself seemed rather mellow and laid-back. But the lead singer was spazzing around and twitching like hed main-lined Red Bull. His voice sounded like his underwear were too tight when he went into falsetto. He moved around like David Byrne of Talking Heads and Joe Cocker. When it was finally over the teens squealed and the rest politely applauded.
Next up’ ELLIOTT! Oh how cute, he just peaked out from side- now he waving and making finger puppets. Josh Hogue came in and is sitting in the box seat like the old dudes on the Muppets.
Lights down and here comes the band!! Here SWAY! He looking good! Band starts to jam and are they RIGHT! Crowd jumps to feet and goes wild!
Here comes the MAN! Elliott is wearing jeans, brown leather jacket and black polo shirt. Whoo-hoo does Elliott look HAWT?? He beaming.
#1 Alright’ way better then album version. Funky white boy, indeed! He has grown so much on stage, he looks so comfortable. Did I mention he looked HAWT???
#2- he dedicates to military. It …Find A Way. E is sounding fantastic with the acoustics in the place. His voice just soars. He tends to squint his eyes shut when he sings which is so freakin adorable. Wow, he scatting- awesome!
#3- asks if any romantics in the audience- …You take my breath away. Am I having a hot flash? Cuz this boy is sex on a stick. The women are going crazy.
#4- …Ill be loving you forever E walks around and gets funky with the band. Sway is getting his groove on, too. Sounds fantastic!
#5- …Im the Man. His voice is so expressive and pure. If you close your eyes, youd swear were listening to someone like Marvin Gaye. He has that classic …soul vocal.
#6-…Free- he dedicates this to everyone who follows their dreams- because he is proof they can come true. He really puts his all into this song. Elliott voice and Sway voice really blend together well.
#7-Elliott asks where his ladies are cause this songs for them. …Sharing the night together Whoa-sexy sexy sexy melt. I think there were about 500+ women in the room whod take him up on the offer to share the night.
#8-…Trainwreck E OWNS the stage- he is working it. No more scared Amish Leprechaun! Introduces the band. E is wailing now!
#9-…Ghetto Boy Wow the band is ROCKING. E is playing air-guitar-how cute! Great interplay with Sway during ad-libbed parts.
#10-…Wait for you- crowd goes NUTZ!’ this is better then album version! Crowd singing along. He is so endearing- thanks local radio stations and fans for making his dreams come true.
E plugs charity …Life for a child which will bring Diabetes meds and equipment to poor kids world wide. Shows his insulin pump and sincerely tells how blessed he is he can get meds and how he wants other less fortunate kids to get the treatment they need. Proceeds from T-shirt will go to fund. As a diabetic myself I applaud all he does for the JDF.
Song #11- he introduces his new single …One Word This version is a faster more jazzy one then the album. It really jamming- I love it!
#12- …Movin On. Funky Funky Funky! The audience is rockin out. Elliott is dancing around and Sway is groovin. Sway comes center stage and ad libs with Elliott- WOW! They are scatting!! Everyone is on their feet dancing!
Elliott thanks everyone for coming and leaves the stage. We have a …curfew law here and it was 11pm so no encore. Huge crowd waited in lobby to see if E comes out. We waited around but finally left. 4:30am was coming too soon.
All in all Id rank this concert right up there as one of the BEST Ive ever been to. And to think Our Dread Lord thought Elliott wouldnt be marketable. Bite his gold single Clive!!
