OMG Sparkles is BAAAACK. If you haven’t read her recap of the Milaukee Idol show? Do yourself a favor and READ IT NOW!!! You’re welcome. Our awesome clown also attended the Idols live show in Chicago IL the following day. I present to you…Sparkles Chicago/Rosemont Recrap in 3D!
My photos: American Idols 2011 Chicago :: Sparkles 2011 Chicago picture by Sparkledonia – Photobucket
My videos: ConcertCameraCat’s Channel – YouTube
This would be my second American Idol concert this week and thus result in my 11th recrap (crappy recap). What I love about American Idol concerts is that they are welcome to all. That reminds me of a quote from that great American philosopher The Statue of Liberty who once said “give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to rock!” Well actually, you can’t be so poor that you can’t afford a ticket. And going to a concert when you’re sleepy is just a big waste of time. But yes, Lady Liberty knew what she was talking about when it came to rockin’. And that’s what Sparkles was going to do. So continue on, dear readers, and savor every word of my manifesto. But don’t forget to put on your special glasses because for the first time ever, it’s in 3D!!!
A lot goes into a little excursion like this. I always go for a nice walk on one of the local nature trails the afternoon of the big concert. It’s a good way to get rid of some of that nervous energy I always have before spending the evening in a darkened room with thousands of strangers. And then it was time to get myself all clowned up for my Idols with my big ass clown shoes, my big ass rainbow wig and my big ass. Yes, Sparkles has quite the ample booty but as Mr. Sparkles always says, there’s just more of Sparkles to love.
Tonight I would be attending with my usual partner in crime James (who I will call JP so as not to confuse him with James Durbin). Like a lot of people, JP had no interest in last year’s concert. He couldn’t attend the Milwaukee show this year because of work but he quickly agreed to the Chicago show because it was on a Saturday. He didn’t watch the TV show much but he saw most of them when they were on Leno after being eliminated. He liked Pia the most and said she had the best voice. Of course her looks probably didn’t hurt either.
On our drive down JP wanted to know all about the Milwaukee show I had attended two nights before. Actually his exact question was “how did Glenn Campbell do?” I knew he meant Scotty and I was temporarily distracted by the thought of him dressed up like the Rhinestone Cowboy. Sparkles loves her the sparkly attire and that would make Scotty some serious jail bait. JP and I had attended the Season 7 concert at this venue a few years ago. JP reminded me that the Allstate Arena was by O’Hare airport and said “don’t you remember all of the jets flying over us in the parking lot?” Um, no. He then went on to say that this venue is older and built mainly of wood. Once inside, JP even pointed up to the ceiling where you could see that the structure was wooden. Sparkles’ eyes haven’t glazed over this much since we took a road trip from Las Vegas to Death Valley and JP started talking about sea level. Men and clowns definitely have different interests.
The last time we were here our seats were in the lower level and about half way back. JP was very surprised when we went to the front floor section. We were 8th row but almost dead center which put us 3rd row behind the extended center stage. I told JP that he might want to put in earplugs because at the Milwaukee show the loud bass was thumping in my chest and damn near caused a saline tsunami in my implants. Since Sparkles is the friendly sort, she always talks to the people sitting around her. I also do it to build a rapport so they don’t want to report me to security if I do something wrong like record videos or take off my pants. Next to me were a young couple who were maybe 16 – 18 years old. I asked her who her favorite was and she replied “Naima’s my sister.” Never one to be upstaged I quickly responded “Carrie Underwood’s my mom.” I could tell she didn’t believe me so I then stammered out “I’m Chris Daughtry’s hair stylist.” Strike two. Finally I came up with “would you believe I’m Brian Dunkleman’s ex wife?” And we have a winner, although I’m pretty sure she had no idea who Brian Dunkleman was. I mentioned that I was at the Milwaukee show and Naima was one of the highlights. She said that the other night was the first time Naima had seen her kids since the tour started. I said that must be tough but at least she’s doing what she loves and making some good money. She smiled and nodded and I was tempted to ask her how much Naima was making per show. I knew info like that would be dissected on this blog for hours, maybe even days. But it was one of the rare times that Sparkles was polite and kept her trap shut. Throughout the concert I noticed that her faves were Naima (obviously), hometown girl Haley and especially Stefano. Also, she plugged her ears when James screams at the end of “Uprising” and she looked pretty bored during Scotty‘s set. But they stayed until the concert finished and then I saw her show an usher her backstage pass and ask where to go for the after show meet and greet. Alas, poor Sparkles had only the crowded parking lot and long ride home to look forward to.
I pretty much said what I thought of each Idol in my Milwaukee recrap so I won’t go over all of that again. But here are a few things I noticed. The crowd stood up a bit more at this show. Unlike the Milwaukee show, there were quite a few murmurings of “her again?” when Pia came out for her second solo song (this was clearly a Haley crowd). The crowd faves seemed to be Haley (duh), Scotty and James. However, the crowd showed appreciation for all of the Idols. From our seats I never saw security people and no one was stopped from taking photos or videos. I took video of the songs I didn’t record in Milwaukee and I also did a few again because I wasn’t happy with them (thanks for moving around so much Paul). And I also wanted Haley’s full hometown set as well as Casey’s, James’ and Scotty’s for all of the YouTubers so I didn’t take a lot of photos the second half. But now between Milwaukee and Chicago I have the full concert (with a few duplicates).
By pure luck Sparkles managed to get in the right line and get out of the parking lot very quickly and without incident. Except, that is, for getting cut off by that car with Illinois plates and one of those “coexist” bumper stickers. Apparently Sparkles is allowed to coexist in their world but only if it’s with a perpetual view of the back of their heads. We ended up having to turn the opposite way of the freeway and my navigation system took us home along a highway instead. We weren’t sure where we were and I probably repeated a dozen times that “the compass says we’re gong north so that’s good.” But it ended up being a pleasant drive through small towns with names like River Woods and Libertyville where people were siting outside of bars and restaurants enjoying a nice Saturday night. And we missed one of the tolls too, not to mention all of the crazy Chicago freeway drivers. We finally got back on the freeway near Gurnee Mills mall and then it was smooth sailing back to Wisconsin, a welcoming place where they don’t charge you to drive on their roads.
The show by the numbers
Temperature at show time: 90
Miles from my house to the venue: 108
Amount paid in tolls: $3.80 (two for $1.50 and one for 80 cents)
Time the show started: 7:17 PM (just like the Milwaukee show)
Time the show ended: about 9:50 PM
Cost of my diet Pepsi: $4.50 if I’m remembering correctly
City the show was at: the tickets say it’s Rosemont but my nav system said it’s Chicago. It’s literally right next to O’Hare International Airport so I’ll go with Chicago.
So that’s how it all went down. Not a very long recrap by Sparkles’ standards so check out the Milwaukee one if you really need a bigger Sparkles fix. But don’t forget to leave a comment first because that’s the only way to guarantee that Sparkles will recrap again. Sparkles was very happy to see that 2 lurkers registered to post their very first comment in the Milwaukee recrap. But that doesn’t mean that Sparkles is satisfied with that. So maybe at least one more lurker is out there and ready to join the Sparkles Club, a magical place where lurkers finally register, Idol fans unite and pants are always optional. Until next summer, ciao (that means goodbye for those of you who don’t understand Spanish).
