Jen’s American Idol Tour 2009 Tulsa Re-cap

So far no one has done a review of Tulsa so I guess I’ll give it a shot.

Let me start by saying no I didn’t leave the show early & this is only my opinion so take my review for what it is. I’m not usually a poster mostly just a lurker and I think I’ve only ever made one comment before now. This was my 1st American Idol concert and actually I haven’t been to any concert since I was a teenager, mostly because of money & nothing came up that made me really enthusiastic about spending that much money to go to it.

This was also my 12yr old daughters very first concert although I must add she’s definitely not your typical 12yr old by any means in appearance, maturity, attitude, etc., so I had no concerns with any part of the show not being appropriate for her to see. She certainly comes across way worse stuff in movies, news, TV shows & songs on the radio.

We are definitely Adam fans but also enjoy others as well especially Kris & Allison. My daughter even voted for Allison during rock week & for Kris to get into the finals along with her votes for Adam, although she didn’t vote every week. I was a big Adam voter from the beginning but during the first few weeks also voted for others that I was hoping would continue on like Allison, Kris, Matt, & even Danny, who I’ll tell you up front I am now not really a fan of, but good luck to him and everyone else in their careers.

What I told my daughter is really what all fans should take note of: Just because we don’t like someone and they aren’t one of our favorites doesn’t mean they don’t have talent or aren’t deserving of their place on this tour or aren’t deserving of having success. So we will be clapping for everyone & there is no booing of anyone regardless of what you think of them because that is rude at hurtful & there is really no reason to act that way.

If you were at the concert & saw me you’d probably think yep thats an Adam fan because I was wearing all black & awesome skulls on my shirt & a killer skull necklace ( http://twitpic.com/bobxl ) but this isn’t an outfit I went out to get ‘for Adam’  its just the kind of thing I like along with black nail polish. The only thing I added to the look that isn’t something I’d normally wear out was the purpley glitter eyeliner I added on top of the purpley black eyeliner I always wear & this amazing glitter stuff I bought to put over my eyeshadow that was so cool that the next time I convince some of my (often boring these days) friends to actually go out & do something I’m definitely wearing the glitter. My daughter wore her awesome ‘Adam bear shirt’  ( http://twitpic.com/bicbj ) & she painted her nails black too for the occasion.

It was really kind of smoky looking in the lobby of BOK like maybe they got carried away during a rehearsal for Adam or something. One of the things I noticed was that most of the people were really dressed normal except for a few scatted people with a shirt supporting their favorite ( I saw a few Adam, a couple Kradam, & a Kris) but wasn’t really searching or counting or anything & I’m sure there were lots more I didn’t see.

But it reminded me of people making lots of comments wondering what kind of response Adam would get in this area of the country & I kinda wondered myself. I saw other comments about how this is a conservative Christian area & that definitely tends to be true a lot but I also think and hope that just like a lot of the rest of this country that in Tulsa & hopefully throughout Oklahoma that there are more people expanding themselves & their views & becoming more open to things in all areas of life.

I know for me that being a democrat in a red state and an atheist in the bible belt can often feel a little oppressive like if you speak about your views that there are often people to look down on you that you are not as good or that something is wrong with you for thinking the way you do. But luckily I have grown as I’ve aged & I think like Adam, I just want to be who I am and everyone can take it or leave it as they choose. I will add something I found interesting though – someone told me a couple weeks ago that Tulsa is right behind San Francisco in percentage of population that is homosexual, which kinda surprised me, but then again I really don’t get out much being a single parent with friends who never seem to want to get out & do something fun :-) so maybe there’s just a lot more to this town that just isn’t part of my normal experience.

We stopped at the merchandise table on our way in and I’d already decided to get 2 Adam pics (1 for me & 1 for my friend at work who couldn’t afford to come & loves Adam & is a big fan of the glambulge ‘ she cracks me up) & my daughter wanted an Allison pic too. I asked if she wanted a glow stick & she said no but I think she was having a momentary ‘I’m a little to cool for that preteen moment’  so I decided to buy one anyway and she ended up using it throughout the concert.

Any worries that had popped up were definitely put to rest when we went to find our seats & like was reported during the other concerts the big screams were out in Tulsa every time Adam’s image came up on the screen. I’m not someone that thinks Adam has to have the most attention everywhere they go but I didn’t want the city I live in the be an unreceptive or judgmental place for him or frankly anyone else. I didn’t see any signs of any protesters at the BOK Center in the area that I was in, so hopefully they didn’t show up.

Also as far as the stupid twitter reports about people booing Adam or anyone else, I heard nothing at all. If anyone heard anyone boo it would’ve had had to be a person right next to them because it was so loud in there that all you could hear was the screaming and the music. The only thing close to booing was the usual Anoop chants that sound way too much like a boo and I only heard those a couple times during part of his set.

Here is the view from out seats – http://twitpic.com/bomrw ‘ it was better in person than it looks in the picture. Also someone reported that it was sold out. I don’t know about that but it was definitely very full. There were empty chunks up in some of the top tier sections that I could see before the show started but lots of people were still making their way in when the lights went down for the show to begin. The timing of that text contest kind of sucks cause the concert is starting and you are trying to mess with your phone for this text trivia contest.

Michael – I thought he was great and I really wasn’t big on him at all during American Idol so I was pleasantly surprised to enjoy his performance so much. I thought it was a great start to the concert. He sounded better than he ever did on TV & I thought I’m in Love With a Girl was the better of the two for him. He was good on Closer but I don’t think style wise it fits him as well.

Megan – I thought her voice sounded really good but the Barbie goes hooker look and all the pink really takes away from her performance. She should have stayed with a more quirky look because it goes along with her unusual voice much better.

Scott – While he was good in his set I was never really a Scott fan. To me he’s kind of off-putting because he comes across as too ‘ not sure how to put it ‘ high on himself maybe. His jokes about the high five aren’t as funny to me & they are to him I guess and I don’t remembering it being quite as big of a deal with the media as he seems to remember but hey maybe I’m wrong. Also I really didn’t like the visuals they used for him at all.

Lil – She sounded very good as well and I definitely enjoyed her more than I did on the show. I was a little worried during Single Ladies though. I was kinda worried she was going to out risqu Adam for this show cause she did some giggly cleavage shakes that looked a bit dangerous, but luckily everything stayed where it was supposed to. I also agree with what others have said that they don’t like the words up on the screen. Frankly if you don’t already know the words to that song then you probably aren’t likely to sing along & I don’t think having the words up is going to change that.

Anoop – That whole cloud thing was weird and when his head appeared in the clouds it made me think of this being a tribute to him after he’d died or something. It distracted me enough that I didn’t realize for a second that he was already out there singing. My daughter decided to take a bathroom break during My Prerogative ‘ guess she’s to young to appreciate that song but I did and danced around in my seat to it. There was of course the Anoop chants that sound too much like booing and I’m sure that’s what it sounded like to people who aren’t knowledgeable about previous tour stops.

Matt – I thought he did a wonderful set & it was definitely the best of the first half. His first song really got things going & he really sounded good. And he was wonderful on the piano. They way he was so comfortable talking to the crowd while he played showed he definitely had experience doing that although to a small crowd as he said. I thought Georgia was beautiful & I’ve always liked that song for some reason whoever sings it & I thought he did a great job with it. While the Fray song isn’t my favorite for him, it was also very good. I can’t imagine that with how well he’s been doing on the tour that there won’t be some great things to come in his future. I also really enjoyed the group number that ended the first half and thought they all did really well.

During intermission I didn’t take my planned bathroom break because the woman (around same age as my mom I’d guess) sitting in front of us turned around & started talking to us because we were the first and second rows behind the floor seats & she wanted to know how well we could see when all the floor people stood up. We could see just fine except maybe some feet on occasion but she was having a little more trouble seeing over a few tall people. She also wanted to make sure that she wouldn’t be blocking us when she stood up for Adam. I assured her that we would be standing up right behind her and not to worry about us. She drove down from Kansas for the show & brought her son with her who said he thought he’d have to chain his mom to her seat during Adam. I informed him that there would be no sitting for Adam & we’d all be standing & screaming. And while he went off to the bathroom or something I gave her the scoop on some Adam tidbits she didn’t know about cause she seemed to not be the Internet type. She was also wearing an Adam is my idol t shirt.

Allison – She really rocked it during her set. It definitely had the most energy to it up to that point. I thought all 3 of her songs sounded really great although doing the raspberry is a bit goofy to me but it seems to fit her personality. When she did that my daughter gave me this look like what the hell was that which cracked me up. I can definitely imagine her doing some Pink style songs. I loved her singing Cry Baby its such a great song for her & it reminded me of her singing it and crying when she got voted off. When I first heard Allison was doing Barracuda I didn’t think I was going to like it, but I loved it. I think that was my favorite song of her set she sounds so amazing. I wish she wouldn’t flail quite so much but other than that she was great. She’s definitely giving off the I’m a rock star & I’m not a little girl who’s gonna put up with a bunch of shit from anyone vibe and I loved that. Can’t wait to hear what she does in the future and looking forward to her coming back out to sing with Adam.

Danny ‘ I started out liking him at the very beginning & voted for him a little in top 36, top 13 & 11 weeks. I think his story got pushed to much, & to me he was sounding the same week after week and I lost interest especially because the style of his singing really wasn’t meshing with what I like. In addition to that he was always so cringe worthy when he spoke (& mostly still is) that I wanted to fast forward & not listen to him. When he made comment about not wanting to sign with a Christian label because he didn’t want to exclude people but then I heard he was doing his preaching segment during the tour it made me cringe yet again. Cause guess what that makes some people feel excluded.

Don’t get me wrong I think everyone has a right to what ever they choose to believe in & should be able express it how they chose to- within reason & respect to others. My real issue is that fact that he made that statement & then chose to do something I feel is contradictory. But I am very happy with the fact the reports are it has been toned down a great deal since the beginning of the tour & now it doesn’t seem too bad.

I am not really big on PYT in general and I did take my bathroom break halfway through PYT since I didn’t get to during intermission. While making my way to the bathroom something someone tweeted at a previous tour stop popped in my head ‘pee for Gokey’  which had me laughing at myself. But Danny sounded good through the bathroom speakers. I got back to my seat during the next song. He sounded good, he’s just not for me. He got lots of cheers & there were more people standing for him than for anyone that had come before him.

And a woman a few rows up & across the aisle screamed ‘I love you Danny’  at the end of one of his songs. It was a little disturbing to me. Not because it was for Danny but because of the tone of her voice when she said it. It wasn’t in the tone of the excited screams of appreciation like for Adammania that would soon come (but not soon enough), it was a slightly desperate, I really think I love you though I’ve never met you but I might start stalking you & collecting pieces of trash you might have touched & try to yank out a piece of your hair as you sign autographs & put it under my pillow every night tone that gave me a creepy little shiver. Anyway, I really wasn’t paying a lot of attention to his little speech when he gave it anyway because I was thinking that it was almost time for Adam to start but I did notice it got some of the people that were standing for him doing that church revival arm sway.

Adam ‘ I swear the moments of darkness between Adam and Danny seemed like it lasted a long time. As soon as the lights went down we were on our feet along with the Adam fan in front of us and a good majority of the rest of the crowd waiting for Adam. The rest of the people behind us in this section were rather boring and didn’t really seem to get up or excited for anyone that I noticed. The people behind me got a nice view of the skulls on the back of my shirt dancing around for Adam throughout his set. The screaming was insane it was so loud. I won’t make a judgment as to how loud the screams were for Adam vs the screams for Kris during his set because hey I was screaming right along with everyone else & lets be realistic when your head is filled with your own screaming your ears can’t be depended on to be an accurate judge. But I will say it was the loudest thing I’ve heard in my life.

Whole Lotta Love was amazing and I didn’t really notice that he changed parts of it, I was just so focused on watching and enjoying him sing it. My daughter had no comment or reaction to him playing with the mic stand which means she probably didn’t even really notice it because the meaning behind it isn’t something she’d really get anyway. As far as singing Baby or Woman, I think he should sing whatever he likes and baby does apply to everyone which I think is kind of nice. So I am perfectly happy either way he chooses to sing it.

My daughter & I both love Starlight by Muse so we were very excited about Adam singing it. She absolutely did not want to hear him sing it until she heard him sing it live. She was so funny, if I was watching a clip of him singing it at one of the other shows she’d yell at me to turn it off before she’d come in the room. He sang it amazingly & I loved the starlight effect.

Mad World as always was so beautiful and haunting. I was worried I would be sick of hearing it by now because I’ve heard it so many times, but he sings it so amazingly that I’m not sure that’s possible. It seemed like his voice with a little higher pitched overall both signing & talking than what you always heard on TV and all the you tube videos etc and my daughter said something about it too but I can’t remember ever seeing anyone else comment about that. It makes me wonder if it was maybe its the acoustics in the BOK because I also thought Kris sounded a little different too but I don’t know.

Slow Ride was great and so fun. I love they way Adam and Allison interact with each other & look like they are having so much fun. We could actually see the bra flying through the air landing on the stage and it was funny that they kicked it back & forth before he picked it up and swung it around & flung it back. And you could see whoever got a hold of it in the crowd swing it in the air a couple times too. Their hug at the end was very cute & the perfect ending to the song. The Bowie Medley was amazing & I love it every time I hear it & he keeps throwing in little changes here & there which is nice – & keeps us all watching videos from every tour stop to see what he’s doing.

The Bowie number really makes me even more excited to hear his new stuff when its finally out. And Adam dancing around the stage during his last song is like the icing on the cake. He’s really so entrancing when he’s performing that I feel like I really wanted to pay more attention to some things but once he started performing you couldn’t really focus on anything & are just taken in by his voice & mesmerized with his performance that ends way way too quickly. When he descended into the floor the screams were so loud that I couldn’t even hear him say ‘Thank You Tulsa’  from where we were. I only know he said it from the videos people posted.

Kris – We stayed on our feet for Kris to come out. My daughter loved Heartless & its one of the only AI songs I bought on iTunes that was not Adams. He sounded wonderful and there was also lots of screaming for him as well. We sat down during heartless and it looked like lots of others did as well but there were still people standing and I don’t think it was because they weren’t into it, his set just doesn’t have that same get on your feet and scream vibe to it. My daughter wanted to sit so we sat & by this point I need a rest cause Adam wore me out a little & I definitely needed some water after the screaming for Adam (which I’m sure my daughter rolled her eyes at a couple times but I didn’t look to see ‘ she’s at the don’t be embarrassing in public mom age). Plus I figure the boring people sitting behind me could use a break from getting a view of my back.

I loved All These Things That I’ve Done and I’m really glad he added that to his set because he does an amazing job with it. I danced around to it in my seat and sang and clapped along. I think adding that song made me like him more than I did and actually makes me think I’ll be more likely to enjoy & buy his music in the future.

When Hey Jude started I was actually thinking wait that wasn’t enough songs but it was, it just went by so fast. My daughter waved her glowstick in the air and I waived the lighter on my iphone, which made her laugh & we got out of our seats again. Most everyone was on their feet for the finale although the boring people behind me still stayed in their seats. I didn’t really notice anyone leaving early except someone with a wheelchair and you can’t really blame them for wanting to escape the crowd in a mass exit at the end but I guess they weren’t Kris fans cause they missed almost his whole set which is too bad.

The group Don’t Stop Believing was fun and as always Adam & Kris were the best part and they always seem to be having fun together. Adam toned it down on the high end in his parts as he did a few times in his set, but who can blame him. He needs to take care of his voice and we were the 2nd of 4 shows in a row plus he isn’t really getting the days off to rest since he & Kris & Allison have lots of other things to be done.

The whole show went by way way too fast and I wished we could do it all over again. It was madness outside because the doors everyone was exiting though was the same area where they were going to be coming out to sign autographs so it was craziness. People were trying to get out and at the same time people were trying to get a good spot to stand. Plus they hadn’t set up all the barricades yet because of people leaving so then they finally had them all out but everyone was too close. They were trying to tell everyone to back up so they could move the barricades back but people were really not listening.

They kept saying that no one was going to come out until they were moved further back and people at the back would move back but the people in front of them didn’t move. This was not well planned and you really kinda can’t blame the fans for being afraid to move & lose their spot. It was also funny that every time one of the doors opened people would start chanting for Adam. He obviously wasn’t coming out the door ‘ its all glass you can see whose there ‘ so that was amusing. Maybe they think he’ll be able to hear them way back wherever they’re doing their after show meet & greet, but its not like its gonna really get him out there any faster. One girl tried to start a chant for Kris and a few others joined her but they were drowned out by the Adam chanters. Her boyfriend (or whoever) laughed at her & sarcastically said oh yeah you won, which was pretty funny & she just gave him this shut up look. I didn’t stick around for more of the fun although during the hour or so it usually takes before they usually come out to see the fans security must have figured out how to get the crowd to get back enough for everyone to come out.

I’m actually kind of sad that the day of the concert has come and gone. I got to see Adam and everyone else and it was really great but there has been so much anticipation and excitement for it to get here that I’m kind of sad to not have all that going on now & to kind of be going back to normal, if that’s even possible. But I’m sure it will all be back when Adam goes on a solo tour. If you want a little bonus check out the cake I made using Adam’s beautiful tattoo as an inspiration for the design http://twitpic.com/ap8sq It was for my mom’s birthday because she loves & collects Egyptian stuff & Adam’s tattoo was the first thing that popped in my mind when I was thinking of a design.

Hope you enjoyed my review. Sorry it was so long & rambling, definitely longer than I’d ever imagined it would be. I hope all of the top 10 have a great future & I can’t wait to read everyone else’s review when the tour gets to their city. The fans at the BOK center in Tulsa were great & showed love and respect for everyone & I personally did not witness anything negative which was really wonderful.

About mj santilli 34830 Articles
Founder and editor of mjsbigblog.com, home of the awesomest fan community on the net. I love cheesy singing shows of all kinds, whether reality or scripted. I adore American Idol, but also love The Voice, Glee, X Factor and more!