Background: I’m a 51-yr old working mom of 3 boys (23, 20 & 6’â€yes, that’s 6, not a typo and yes, he was a surprise). I enjoy all types of music except for rap and hip-hop but tolerate some of it due to the two oldest kids. (Grew up with parents listening to big band stuff to my 3 older brothers listening to 60’s Stones, Doors, Airplane, Hendrix to my favorites of the 70s, glam of the 80s, etc.).
Husband and I have been fans of AI since Season 2 (enjoy the entertainment ) and I’ve had my favorites (Bo, Carrie, Elliot, Brooke, DC & others) but this year I gotta say I became The fantard, mostly because of one Adam Lambert. Love the voice, the story, the man, the performer. The hub likes Alison. However, getting him to go to an AI concert was not going to happen so I went with Son No. 2’s girlfriend (I’ll call her CC). Since I bought the tickets over 4 months ago, I sure was hoping they wouldn’t break up. (Although Son No. 2 said he would go with me if that had happened. He’s the same one that showed me how to download Adam’s stuff so I think he understands my obsession.) What was great about going with CC, although she loves the show (and Adam), she doesn’t follow the blogs and/or vids so did not know anything about the idols and their songs/performances.
Our Arrival: The Arena is a newer facility but they sure haven’t figured out how to deal with the friggin’ traffic. Because I’ve been to a few events there, I did know what to expect but there was also a baseball game right next door which probably made things worse. CC and I got there about 6 pm, watched the local telephone union hand out flyers, waited to be ‘swiped’ by the guards, checked out the mdse (did not like Adam’s T-shirt plus hub is unemployed and we have to watch the pennies) and then found our seats–floor, right side, about 25 rows back–not bad and we could see the stage.
The 3 young girls in front of us were apparently brought to the show by an older brother who was completely disinterested in an Idol concert and I think he texted during most of the show. The lady next to us was a 65-yr old music teacher that travelled from the Hartford area because she missed the concert there in August. She was fun to meet and loved Anoop the best but enjoys AI. The group behind us was of mixed ages and generally screaming for Adam and a few for Alison. We did see Nick Mitchell (Normund Gentile) come in and he was taking pictures with people. I still wonder if he had just sang (no comedy), if he might have gone further in the competition as I thought his voice was ok.
The Show: From Bpt. being so close to the end of the tour and reading the blogs on Thurs. morning, I sure was worried about the sickness that was going around and possibly not having any of the idols be able to perform. However, no one sounded sick to us at all–I thought they all sounded pretty strong. Let’s not forget, the majority of these crowds have not watched 40+ shows of videos and have nothing to compare this event to the others and unless your seats were that good and you were at the M&Gs, you couldn’t tell if they were pale from being sick or it’s the lighting. As to Kris, more about that later.
Show starts about half hour late (see above about traffic) but we’re pretty excited and didn’t really mind waiting. The same videos were annoying after 3 or 4 times and, yes, lots of screams for Adam when his face shows on the screen. I think we added to it a few times but mostly found it amusing.
Finally, Michael Sarver comes out and my ear plugs go in (I’ve already got some tinnitus-so I’m cautious these days). I especially liked Michael and I thought he did a terrific job starting things off.
Megan comes out and I thought she sang her two songs quite well. Definitely her style of music and she is quite beautiful. The full tattoo always distracted me on TV but it’s not as noticeable on stage.
Scott follows and I enjoyed his second song better than the first. I do have a soft spot for singing piano players (Elton, Billy Joel) and I certainly feel Scott‘s got talent.
Lil comes out with her powerful voice but CC and I were a little bored with her songs. She looks good and if I had a preference, I liked her ‘Single Ladies’ the best (would have preferred without the flashing words’â€like was anyone really reading them?).
Anoop sounded great on ‘You Were Always on my Mind’ , but I wasn’t nuts about the other ones. He’s got a great R&B voice and is very smooth.
Matt was fabulous on ‘Hard to Handle’ and loved the piano playing. At this point, Matt mentions several being ‘under the weather’ but I’m not really noticing it. I also enjoyed ‘Georgia on My Mind’ but he loses me on the Fray one–CC felt the same and she is a Fray fan. The group number looked fun for them and once again, the AI fan in me just loves that stuff. Although I indicate at the top of this recap that I tolerate rap, I’ll listen to Anoop sing it anyday!
Intermission is nearing the end of 20 minutes, the lights are still on and all of a sudden Kris is standing on the stage and I know this is not good. I’m kind of looking around and note that the crowd is really still milling about and it’s almost like no one thinks he’s serious. All a bit strange. We’re bummed as I really wanted to see him live.
Alison comes out and rocks the place and it is LOUD (even with the plugs in). I look forward to seeing her journey from this tour. ‘Cry Baby’ was clearly my favorite.
Danny was great and we enjoyed his set. I particularly liked his last song. His infamous speech was not really that bad but I think he could definitely make his point quicker. CC thought he was the only one that really connected to the crowd.
After reading the many recaps and reviews, the ‘Adam’ crowd does go nuts as they anticipate his arrival. Although I’ve watched the vids, it’s certainly a whole different vibe hearing and seeing it all for real (surreal, definitely’ ¦). LOVED WLL. I did notice the ‘helium’ sound on Starlight and some of Mad World but probably the majority of the crowd wouldn’t even know what we all have been talking about here and just think it’s his voice which isn’t really how it should be. Slow Ride w/Alison was really enjoyable’â€love their chemistry and the fun they have with it. Bowie medley and including his dancing w/the red boa was so Adam. I just love the way he commands the stage and has so much fun doing it.
I can’t believe his 20 minutes is up and there is no Kris to follow. Watching DSB was sad for me to not see Kris come up with Adam who sings Kris’ part but in a lower voice. Enjoyed the Adam/Danny dancing, saw Adam kicking stuff off the stage and so glad he hits the glory note. (Maybe to make up for Kris’ absence?)
I would note I wish there would have been a bit more time between each set to allow each Idol their own applause. With all these shows, I think they deserve it. All in all, a great form of entertainment and I wish nothing but success for all of them and am excited to see how their futures develop. I’m also feeling, as I finish this up, the reason I’ve been blessed with my third son to keep me young so that I can take him to Adam and Alison’s solo concerts and, therefore, appease this addiction I think I will have for awhile. This mom will certainly rock on’ ¦.
