Well, just like last year, while waiting for the Idols to come out in the afternoon, I got another bad sunburn. I arrived at the Nassau Coliseum around 12:30 PM. There were approximately 100 people already waiting by the ramp. That number grew to about 200 as the afternoon wore on. The barriers were 30 feet farther back from the ramp than they were last year and there were five security guards instead of two.
Long Island local TV news station was there for a short while. Fans were there from all over the country. There was even a group of girls there from Finland. I also met a group from Boston who I had met last year. The woman, Laura, even remembered my name. Some of the Idols had street teams there. David Cook Street team gave out free copies of Analog Heart. Michael Johns street team were giving out pictures with some info on the back and signing people up for his email list.
I was the only vestige of Season 6 there. I wore my Chrissligh.com t-shirt and carried my handbag with Chris’s “Running Back to You” CD cover on its face. I gave out paper with Chris Sligh websites listed on it to some of the people who noticed my handbag and remembered him. This bag is now a running joke on Chris’s blog. I call it “Chris” and I take him everywhere with me. When he has an “adventure” I post about it on his blog and everyone has a good laugh.
click the thumbnails for full size photos
More Recap after the JUMP…
The buses arrived just after 2:00 PM. The Idols that came out to sign that afternoon were David Cook, Kristy Lee Cook, David Archuleta, Brooke White and Jason Castro. David Cook spent the most time with the crowd. David Archuleta skipped around the crowd and Jason only came part way down our line, before going back the other way, so I didnt get good pics of either of them. They were all done by 3:45 PM. I had intended to go home for a couple of hours before returning for the concert, but when I got to my car, I found out that my car alarm wasnt working and I was stuck. My husband joined me at the venue around 6:00 PM and fixed my car problem.
The concert was pretty good. The arena wasnt sold out, but it was pretty full. There was a lot of screaming and a lot of young kids. The crowd was on its feet most of the time. The Idols all gave great performances. For the first half of the program, the half of the top 10 contestants performed solo in descending order (Chikezie, Ramiele, Michael, Kristy, Carly). Each performed 3 songs. Then there was a group number before the intermission. The performances continued by Brooke, Jason, Syesha, David A and finally, David C. The Davids had an extra song or two. There was one last group number at the end. All did a very professional job. However, I liked last year format better with more group numbers. The …countdown format just added to the show predictability and boredom. I wish there could be more spontaneity to the show. It seems like every word and movement is scripted.
My husband was allowed in with his digital SLR camera, but shortly after the show started, security threatened to confiscate it, so we mainly used my crummy camera. We didnt take any movies this time. I was too busy obsessing about why my photos werent coming out and so did not pay full attention to the singing. After the show ended, we went out to the ramp, since I wanted to get more photos (I had no meet and greets). However, the crowd was several rows of people deep, and we decided to go home because I wasnt going to get close enough. It was a very long day, but the Idols put on a good show, making it worthwhile. However, I have to admit that last year was more exciting for me!
