Tigervixxxen attended the American Idol Live show in Denver Saturday night. Here’s her recap!
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On Saturday I attended the Idol show in Broomfield, Colorado. This was my third Idol experience as I have also attended the season 7 and 9 tours. My favorite type of music is rock and I gravitate toward the musician contestants but the purpose of attending the show was to have an open mind enjoy everyone’s performances.
The venue in Broomfield was in a northwestern suburb of Denver. For whatever reason the Idol tour has consistently avoided the main arena downtown but this smaller sized minor league arena was in a nice area and offered a bit more of an intimate feel than a larger arena. The crowd looked full through the floor and most lower bowl, the back may not have been entirely full at that point, probably 80-90% attendance. I’m glad that the Idols (as opposed to the SYTYCDers who I saw a couple years ago) got the memo to not say “What’s up Broomfield” because it would have gone over like a lead balloon as I’d doubt even half of the people in the audience were even aware of where that is.
The main preshow entertainment was Idol videos and Lee’s PSA for the Heart Foundation. It was really nice to see what Haley, Stefano, James Durbin, and Casey Abrams were up to in their careers but I don’t quite understand why those were the only Idols shown at least 3-4 times when there are dozens of other Idols with relevant current material. The audience basically revolted when a makeup commercial came on for 5th time so there is a point of over-saturation.
I was a bit worried about the new tour set up with the increase in group numbers because group numbers are my least favorite part of Idol by far. I will say I still prefer the reverse order of finish set up because it builds anticipation and allows each set to introduce a genre a style of performing where it highlights each person best. However, the group performances on tour are much more relaxed than on the TV show and also the focus on modern music helps bring the energy and fun to the show. The opening number “Sing” was my favorite of the group performances. I know a some reviews said that it was a low energy opening but I liked that it was low on the choreography, staged and lit well, and was an interesting song to hear everyone’s voices on. The worst number for me was the closer of the first half, the “Just the Way You Are/What Makes You Beautiful” mash up. The neon outfits and arrangement of those songs just really gave off a dated Up with People type of vibe. Following the darkly intense sets from Elise and Colton also did not help the transition to this overly chipper and earnest group offering. I was worried I would hate sitting through some of the really overdone pop songs in the set but most of them were different enough and it was fun to dance and sing along to them for a couple minutes.
Fans of Deandre have a lot to look forward to on this tour. His “Master Blaster” solo song gave the crowd some good energy and got them on their feet immediately. They stayed on their feet for the entire show for the most part except for the few obvious ballads. It was also nice to see Deandre backing up on many of the other songs as well.
The Hollie/Skylar “Un Do It” duet was a nice introduction to both of them and Hollie really pulled off the country vibe of the song. However their song should have been much later in the lineup as it was anticlimactic to see them both so early in the show. Erika’s solo song was truly one of the highlights. I am really very sick of Pink and Erika made me forget that she was singing a Pink song. I just wish that her song was placed elsewhere in the show (perhaps between Elise and Colton) because the impact of the moment was really lost with “Moves Like Jagger” immediately following.
The audience was really excited to see Heejun and it was nice he got one song to do a fun personality thing on. Maybe a ballad where he could focus on vocals would have brought the energy down, so I see why they chose “Green Light” for his set.
The energy really shifted when Elise’s set began. The beginning part of the first act was really focused on fun, light and upbeat songs. Elise brought more of a serious and rock edge, which was nice to see. Both “Whole Lotta love” and “Rumor Has It” were great showcases for her voice and style but I wish that she chose different material that would have been a bit more surprising. I also got the sense that Elise really flourishes with a band and a set longer than two songs would really let her feed off of the energy of the audience and build through the set.
Colton was a great follower to Elise in continuing with that rock style feel of his set and his opener “Meant to Live”. The highlight for the entire first act was Colton’s new song “Never Gone”. The song was a great mix of an intense piano beginning coupled with a nice rocking moment at the end. The song was catchy enough to sing along with him at the end and Colton’s emotion in the performance really sold the passion of the song. I agree with the reviews that said this song should have been the closer in the set because “Piano Man” was not comparable to the great impact of the previous song. It also seemed like the arrangement made “Piano Man” a bit faster and louder and took out some of the tenderness of Colton’s performance of this. I’m really glad Colton got the 3 song set to showcase the style of music and type of performer he is and it was a strong closer to the first act of the show.
My favorite performances from the first half were Colton’s “Never Gone, Erika’s “Glitter in the Air” and the “Sing” opening group number.
Jessica had a nice set for her fans to open the second half of the show. I wish that she was saved for later in the segment because it was a bit anticlimactic and the runner up should have some excitement built for audience interest. I don’t mind as much that she was a part of the group numbers but her solo songs should have waited until later. I liked Jessica’s youthful energy on “Moves Like Jagger” and was hoping for a solo song that delivered that. “Proud Mary” really got the energy up and the crowd was into it with her very much. Vocally Jessica is always very strong and the audience responded to that.
Skylar and Hollie both has very strong two song sets. Skylar got me to love her style of country rock and “Gunpowder and Lead” is a fantastic pick for her in concert. I’m beyond sick of Adele but Hollie really impressed with “Rolling in the Deep” as she displays nice confidence on that song and sells it so well in her style. Their “Undo It” duet should have fit somewhere within these two sets.
The audience really responded to Joshua as “Runaway Baby” was a great opener for him. On the TV show this song was a bit too over the top for me but in concert the energy really works. The highlight of his set was “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” and the audience was on their feet getting into the intensity of Joshua’s performance. It should have closed his set as the duet with Jessica that followed was a shift in tone and vibe. I know the duet is a favorite for their fans but I wish they had chosen a different song, perhaps one that was not shown on TV because the focus was really more on the dated arrangement than the chemistry they both bring to the song.
I was glad that the audience had not seen Phillip at all yet in the concert because that anticipation built up to see him was palpable. That was much more exciting to me than to see him for a minute or two in some group number. I liked some of Phillip’s other up-tempo performances better on the TV show (such as “Beggin’” and “Still Rainin’”) but “Superstition” made a great opener in concert. I was really glad at the choices Phillip made in the rest of his set as the moodier acoustic songs, which is how I like him best. Any R&B translated acoustic is always a treat and “Nice and Slow” delivered on that promise with the bonus of some very amusingly provocative lyrics. The duet with Elise was a fun way to incorporate a duet in the set though I may have preferred to hear “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around”. The closing 1-2 punch of “Volcano” and “Home” was an excellent highlight as the former was a transcendent intensity filled moment and the latter was an all-encompassing emotion of the artist and audience experience. Phillip announced they were filming his set for inclusion in the music video for “Home” and I’m really looking forward to how the performance translates to film.
The final group numbers of “Raise Your Glass” and “Glad You Came” were fine and a nice way to end the show. I think it would have worked better if the whole group came out and sang the ending of “Home” to really end the show on that emotional high. However it was nice hearing “Glad You Came” as my current favorite guilty pleasure pop song.
Favorite performances of the second half were a tie between Phillip’s “Volcano” and “Home”, Skylar’s “Gunpowder and Lead” and Hollie’s “Rollin in the Deep”.
After the show there was a barricade set up right outside the entrance of the venue. Most of the crowd wasn’t aware of these Idol traditions and had no idea why anyone was standing by it. This area doesn’t get the Idol tour very often nor is the show covered much in the media so I don’t think of it as a very Idol crazy crowd. There were very few signs, costumes, bags of gifts or any other indications that people were just crazy over certain people. A nice congregation formed around the barricades and all the Idols except Skylar (it was mentioned she wasn’t feeling well) were out and signing within 15-20 minutes after the show ended. The cameras were following Phillip as he went by the barricades so my assumption is that will make it in the music video at some point. As someone who is very proud of my home and city its pretty cool that this was the location for the video. Everyone was very kind and patient signing for the fans.
Overall I had a great time at the show and am glad I went. Everything felt very easy and went smoothly. The show goes by very fast and gives a little taste of everyone and their styles. I recommend everyone to give consideration to attending if the tour is in the area.
