ETA: So her video wasn’t erased after all: “Time of My Life” and some banter.
Wordnerdarchie’s re-cap of the show comes by way of her son and daughter-in-law. She also hung out by the buses before the show to meet the Idols…
I reached the Target Center around 11:00 and went across the street to Block E. There were several groups of Archie fans wearing Archuleta t-shirts and caring a variety of fan paraphernalia. The mood was expectant and upbeat. Since Im primarily a Cook (secondary Archie) fan I proceeded to the second floor of Block E to meet up with my Yahoo Cook Minnesota Fan group comprised of fans from MN, SD, ND, & IA. Jen & Becky had managed to pick up a set of paddles (oars around 4-5 long) that we wanted to give to Cook in the hopes that he would use it in the Mavid. MAVID was written on the blades of the paddles, as well as our names & Word Nerd numbers (if we had them) and some additional artwork
The barricades were set up by the Main Ticket Office entrance. We went there sometime between 12 & 12:30. ( I lost track of time, sorryJ ). There were large groups of fans for Archuleta, Cook, Castro, Brooke, and some smaller groups for Carly. I did not see any organized fan groups for Syesha, Kristy Lee, MJ, Ramiele, or Chikezie, but Im sure there were some there.
I think the first one to come out was Kristy Lee but my memory isnt very good. There were too many exciting moments to experience and remember – order wasnt important to me. She looked FABULOUS. WOW! She signed autographs for everyone that asked, but did the line quickly.
The second to come out was David Cook. He walked briskly the whole length (just taking quick glances at the posters) so that he could start at the other end and work his way back. It just so happens he started at the main Archuleta fan group, since they had the first place on the barricade, and spent quite a bit of time there. Right next to this group was ½ of our group. He did accept our paddles and used them in the MAVID Dance. Yeah!
It was at this point that Archie must have stepped out of the bus at the other end of the line, since piercing screams broke out, and security guards covered their ears; since we were all standing under an overhang the sound reverberated quite loudly. Got to give it up for the Archie fans – they know how to make a LOT of noise. Cook stopped what he was doing and did some posing, sort of a like …let‹s bring it on…, similar to what MJ had done with Cook in Wash. DC. It was great to watch. I couldnt see what Archie was doing in response, since he was out of my line of site. Maybe some Archie fans could fill us in.
Back to Cook, he spent a tremendous amount of time with the fans. He was having his picture taken, giving hugs, answering questions, discussing their posters and shirt art, breaking out into a dance on one occasion, and autographing all kinds of things. I noticed his voice was a bit hoarse. When he got to my point in the line he signed some things for me, took a very nice picture and opened the musical card I gave him. He listened to it right away and started to …rock out to it. By this time Archie was up to us, so Cook held it up to Archie ear so he could hear it too. The expression on Archie face was priceless. It was something like – What in the world is this?
At this time Jason Castro went by, so I missed him. Sorry Jason fans. I was too busy with Cook & Archie. J However, when he came back the other direction I did get his autograph. Boy, his eyes are blue. He looked just like he did on TV, but seemed a bit tired. No surprise there, since we all know Jason likes to get his sleep.
Next person to come by was Brooke. What can be said about Brooke. She like a ray of sunshine. She was very nice and accommodating and down to earth. You got to love Brooke. Her speaking voice was VERY hoarse I thought. I had some concern about how she would sing later. Some of her fans were handing out glow wristbands to everybody to wear at the concert and I saw many of them wearing them. They even gave one to David Cook to wear at the concert
I stayed at the barricades until 3:00 but did not meet any others. From what I hear elsewhere, MJ & Carly did come out later. For those attending concerts in the future, please try to meet the idols in the afternoon. It is well worth your time and effort. They were great!!!!
I was amazed how long the line was to get into the arena. It took us over 20 minutes to make it through security, but it was definitely worth it. I do believe it was close to being a sell-out. Even some of the obstructed view seats were sold. Oh, and by the way, we had floor seats in row 3, which I thought was great until Security had me erase my videos. Can you say …BUSTED? The good thing was, that other people got really good videos of the MAVID, using our group oars that we gave to David at the barricades. Whoo, Whoo!!!!J
Now for the performer evaluations. Im a believer in full disclosure. Im a huge Cook fan, and very biased. Therefore, I am not going to give my opinion of the concert because you all know what Ill say about you-know-who. Instead Im going to paraphrase the comments made by my hunky, musically inclined, 27 year old son and his gorgeous, also musically gifted 27 year old wife. (Like I said before, Im very biased.). They‹re from Philadelphia and you know how harsh fans are like there. Since they did not watch American Idol at all, they dont have any kind of personal relationship with the idols, and are a wee bit harsh in their critique on some occasions. Please, please dont shoot the messenger.
Well here it comes, compliments of my daughter-in-law . I asked her to rate each one from most favorite down to least. The comments are hers but sometimes she just listed her complaints and not what she liked. (Remember: Eagle fans would rather boo than cheer) Again, take a deep breath before blasting me, these are not my opinions.
1. David Cook – Great singer, wonderful in drawing in the crowd, humble performer
2. Chikezie – Possessed great pitch, super with opening the show and getting the crowd involved
3. Kristy Lee – Solid performance, and very good looking
4. David Archuleta – Was coughing (This is me talking now …she had nothing else to add, so fans, dont hate her, she really a nice person, at least she has him in the top 5)
5. Jason Castro – not enough crowd interaction
6. Michael Johns – Just ok
7. Brooke – sounded like she had a sore throat
8. Carly – off- key
9. Syesha – looked like a hoe (Me talking again – …that really was her word and she does mission work in the inner city of Philadelphia, so she knows what they look like…)
10.Ramiele – weak singer
Ok, now let all chill, repeat Comfort Fedoke a few times to calm ourselves. Here we go, now for my son. (He really does have a great ear for music. I thought he should have gone into record producing, but when does a son ever listen to his mother? Oh, I know, when Beth Foraker speaks, David Cook listens.)
My son rankings and comments follow. Drum roll please!
First he said that overall he was VERY impressed. He been to many concerts where the singers/bands sound terrible in comparison to their recordings. He thought that the sound technicians were great, and that the music didnt drown out the vocals. He also thought all 10 did either good, great or exceptional. He had no complaints about their overall performances, just noted a few areas for improvements. Wow, when did he become such a softy? Are my son and his wife playing good cop-bad cop? Is this the twilight zone? Well enough of my ranting. Here comes his ratings.
1. David Cook – thought his version of My Hero was right on, said it sounded just like Foo Fighters, which for him is a huge compliment. Was still humming Billie Jean 2 hours later – always a good sign. Liked Cook jokes and how he commanded the stage.
2. David Archuleta – talented, but his problem with coughing was distracting.
2. Jason Castro (yes, a tie for second – he couldnt differentiate between them). His crazy was just Craaaaaaaaazy good.
4. Chikezie – his high notes blew him away. Best pitch of the night. Didnt like his kind of songs.
5. Michael Johns – mixed feelings, liked his voice but wished his rhythm was better (both vocally and dancing, if you want to call what he did dancing)
6. Kristy Lee – vocally ok, but doesnt like country
7. Brooke – weak in upper register, hoarse
8. Syesha – big voice but hated her style of songs and attitude (Me talking again – “You notice he didn’t have the same opinion as his wife about her appearance, hmmm”)
9. Carly – good high notes, but bad low notes, very pitchy, not impressed at all
10. Ramiele – did nothing for him
Well, there you have it. Take it or leave it. My husband also listed an order of finish but I dont know if you want to hear his. (He actually has Kristy Lee #2 – He very visually oriented – so sad for me. I wont subject you to the rest of his ratings, but he had Cook #1. He knows who he has to keep happy. Hee, hee, hee. If you want my biased opinion, just let me know, and I‹ll give it.
