JLamb’s American Idol Tour 2009 Madison, WI Recap

A personal note…..I have been in the music business all my adult life….I mention this only because my opinions are no more valid than anyone else, but possibly, I can comment from a different perspective.

Firstly, the show was very late in beginning….in chatting with those seated around me (I do not live in Madison) I was told that traffic was ‘backed up’ and the audience was slow entering the venue…which ended up about 80% full.

My thoughts on the staging and presentation….the videos, light show razzle dazzle were distracting bordering on annoying. My major criticism was the ‘going to black’ (cutting all lighting) immediately after each performer’s final note of a song……thus not allowing the performer to take a bow, and acknowledge the applause of the audience…..this was most disturbing and really distracted from my enjoying the final moments of each performer…….song ends…..bang….lights out….he/she is gone! WOW!

Now a major plus….the band and backup singers are fantastic! Also the audience (after all, this is Wisconsin) was polite to the extreme, giving much attention and applause to all. Speaking of the audience….I was more than surprised at the number of adults in attendance. I expected to be engulfed by teenies and tweenies (and of course, there were some) but this was a much more ‘mature’ crowd than I had expected, and 99.9% stayed until the end of the show.

The show finally started and Michael took the stage. He has an inviting stage presence (like a big teddy bear) and an adequate voice. I would think that his best option for continuing in the business would be the ‘church’ market…..although he might do well ‘opening’ for a major player for as long as his idol days are still in peoples’ minds.

Megan….a lovely, beautiful young lady…..modeling career, possibly.

Scott….the first surprise of the evening. He was much more animated than on AI, and captured the audience’s attention, with a more forceful presentation than expected and singing in tune with a good song choice…..bravo, Scott.

Lil…….diva ‘lite’…..sorry, the performance was not convincing, and my mind wandered waiting for the performers to follow.
Anoop…..soulful, fine voice, had the ladies paying close attention….although the ‘cruise ship’ vocal did find me once again watching the audience.

Matt…..as they say in Wisconsin…HOLY COW…..where did this dude come from. Finally, after an hour of ‘warmup’ we have us a real entertainer. While on AI..it always seemed that his nerves ruled and his performances were all over the map……not so live…..this guy commands the stage. As has been stated often…his piano skills are remarkable. What really amazed me were his vocal gymnastics…they were ‘spot on’…..and his falsetto was dazzling. I would willingly and happily sit through a solo tour performance from Matt. His short set (along with another spot later in the show) was one of the real high points of the entire evening.

The first half closed with the first six on stage……the Lil, Megan segment was a travesty….Simon would have had ‘field day’……second highlight of the evening….the dueling pianos…Scott and Matt…AI really ‘blew it’ by not featuring this in the Finale…..these guys are spectacular…great skills, great chemistry, great vocals, high, high energy…..totally entertaining.

After a too long intermission. Allison roared onto the stage. She moved all over the bare stage, but just looked like she was running around without purpose or plan. While she has a great voice, I hope that she finds a great vocal coach to guide her so that she does not ‘blow out’ that voice before the reaches the age of twenty.

Danny then arrived…and because this is Wisconsin and because he lived and worked in two nearby Cities…..his welcome was warm and loud. Frankly, as I have read….he has been signed by a ‘country label’…..all I can say is Good Luck! If he had just sung and not spoken, I would have been more impressed, but he blabbered on in his ego-driven manner. His ‘sermon’ was long, annoying and completely out of place in this evening’s entertainment. His singing is interesting, the tonal qualities are unique, but he lacks any sense of phrasing, and singing in tune is not one of his strong points….as was the case with the first two female performers.

Adam arrived. I wasn’t sure of what I would think of his performance given all the hype that has been on this blog since the tour’s beginning…..but…yep….he is the TOTAL PACKAGE. I admired that his every move, every twitch, every gesture was planned, meaningful and presented to add luster to his performance. The voice is a superior instrument….much better than I had anticipated it being. His song choice was fine…..I was so looking forward to Mad World to hear pure singing excellence. Unfortunately, I had a woman across the aisle who had had one (or more) too many beers, and she could not keep her mouth shut. Before seeing Adam live, my thought was that I would never pay to see him perform solo…..wrong….I would be first in line….this guy a magic on stage. The second highlight of the evening was Adam/Allison, Slow Ride…..in a single word….WOW! This was a wonderful twenty minutes.

I had read so much about the energy level dropping when Kris arrived….wrong….Kris simply laid it out there…and we in the audience, ate it up. Mr. ‘Laid Back’ has a fine voice (the lower register is a complete and delicious surprise) and as on AI he knew just how to build his segment of the show. Because he is playing guitar and/or piano on each song, he does not move about the stage….and he does not need to….he holds our attention with the most convincing, emotion-driven presentation. I would hope to some day have the opportunity to hear/see Kris in a smaller venue where I could get close enough to enjoy how he completely ‘goes to another place’ as he sings. He is a fine young artist, and I give him every good wish for a long and successful career….I guess I had better preorder his CD! Bravo, Kris!

The Finale was what it was….one last look at these young folks. In total, the thousands of us leaving the venue were very happy people!

About mj santilli 34858 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!