Here’s Lisa’s full re-cap of the Tulsa, OK concert
Ever wonder what a ray of sunshine is? It’s a friend waiting for you at the bottom of the BOK steps ready to take you away from humidity hell!
On our way back to Cass’s we were going to stop for food & a Dr Pepper! A gloriously cold Dr Pepper! Ahhh. First place was closed. WTH. Second place was closed. WTH times two. Third place was a charm. I grabbed a couple of authentic tacos and that nice big Dr Pepper!
It’s on to Cass’s & time to eat & take off makeup & wash my face so I can put makeup back on five minutes later.
I had no idea it was 5pm & no time to just rest. My hubby & son were waiting at Cass’s house & asked about the day. Hubby’s eyes started glazing over. He does not get the Idol craze, nor does he want to, lol. God love him though he has agreed to ferry Cass & I to the concert & pick us up! No parking worries!
More re-cap after the JUMP…
We get redressed in record time & now Cass is getting excited to go! Me? I just want the day to end. It’s been too long already.
We get to downtown Tulsa & the rain starts. It’s not heavy, but it’s steady. By the time he drops us off at the corner of the BOK it’s raining pretty good. The traffic is insane. Thank you hubby!!!!
I did hide my camera in my purse which I do bring this time. We finally make it through the throng of folks to the peeps that check your tickets. Sure enough she makes me open my purse to look for *camera’s* of course mine is zipped up in another side of my purse. How she missed it I have no idea it is not small. I believe they were looking for camera’s with the removable lenses which mine is not. Our tickets were printed out so they scanned them & on we go finally through those shining glass doors I have stared out all day!
The BOK was just finished & I believe the first concert there was the Eagles which unfortunately I did not get to see. The place is just beautiful inside. I don’t remember other concert/stadiums being that large in the food/drink area. It was really wide. There were even *bars* set up along the walls for mixed drinks! So on we walk looking like Goobers oohing & aahing over the architecture. I forgot to mention that Cass is a Structural Engineer who works for a firm a couple of buildings away from the BOK. I think her firm had something to do with the BOK. Cass was marveling over the building for a bit. I grabbed a bottle of water while Cass grabbed a beer although she was eying those bars on the side, lol. I decided I wanted to fangirl a bit & went to the souvenier stand. I must have debated & changed my mind 50 times on what I wanted before it was my turn. I thought well I will be silly & buy a program & a glow stick. Then I saw the t-shirts. I eyed the David Cook one, but the blue American Idols one was so pretty. Here is my turn. I grab the $35 David Cook t-shirt of course. Did I really just spend $35 on a freaking t-shirt? WTH.
Someone nearby says you can’t take the beer inside so Cass drinks it really fast & right about then we hear the show starting! By the by, that someone lied. Women were drinking beers in there all night long. I watched one woman come back after intermission carrying 4. After several tries to find an entrance to the floor seats we are told there are only two ways down to it so off we head to the nearest which was way back around toward where we first had come in. We are pretty near the top so we have to go down a couple of the side rises to get to the floor. Once there, they have two more staff members to once more check your tickets. I think that’s overdoing it a bit, but I understand their reasoning. We make our way down towards the stage. We are in the center section about 12 rows back. There are two more sections to either side of the stage in front of us. Our seats are smack dab in the middle of the row & smack dab in between sets of folks from a generation older than mine. The man next to me even had a cane. Thankfully he never hit me with it, lol. I turn around & there is Marcy two rows behind us so I wave at her & she waves back. Whoa, there is Chikezie. That was fast!
The crowd is on it’s feet for Chikezie. They are really loving them some Chikezie!!! What a beautiful voice he has! He puts so much personality into his songs. He had the crowd going! The second song I believe we mostly sat through, the third I was back on my feet along with the rest of the crowd cheering him on! So much for me being tired. Is Chikezie crying? I think he is… awww.
They introduce Rami! Wait!!! I’m still diggin’ Chikezie! That was too fast! Rami is soooo tiny! Wow! She packed a powerful punch with her first song & it was spunky! The crowd is on their feet through the first song. I want to mention here that they stand through every Idol’s first song. Rami’s Love Will Lead You Back was hauntigly beautiful. *Sigh* I love this song, always have & she is doing an outstanding job of pouring her heart out in this song. Wow! Crowd is loving them some Rami!!
Cass is not a happy camper. There are two women in front of us. One is actually taller than me & the other has her hair ratted. Yes you heard me right. She has her bangs ratted & poofed like they did in the 50’s/60’s. A truly WTF. So Cass is shorter, by alot & having a hard time seeing the stage. She gives up to watch the monitors all the while kinda eying the women. I am pretty resourceful & if I can not see, then I hit my toes. Hmm, that is why my toes hurt this morning. I am also good at dodging between people to see. .
Michael Johns!! Ok this is going too fast. Someone slow them the crap down please! I am trying to savor my first AI concert! STOP THE CLOCK ALREADY! OMG Michael Johns is freaking awesome. His voice booms & carries out over the arena. The crowd is on their feet & roaring their approval for MJ! I’m still standing & I am sure the man with the cane is not loving my backside but I don’t care. Dream On was also just knock you on the floor get on your feet freaking flipping amazing. However… & I hope I can find a vid because rat girl & amazon woman kept getting in my vid, his *It’s All Wrong, But It’s All Right* was out of this world. I can not put down in words what Michael did to that song last night. So much Star power. He poured his heart & soul into that song. When the guitar player came out to play with Micheal, I believe Michael was on his knee’s. I was dodging Amazon woman so it was hard to see, but all I could see was the top part of Michael & it. was. intense. OMG. So much emotion poured forth from that Aussie man. Cass was in Heaven. I worried she was not breathing. I thought I should check. I looked close, ok she is breathing, phew. David Cook spraying Michael with Silly String, Classic. Oh how I will miss these two. Can they not tour together please???? The friendship these two share, omg. Michael left Tulsa wanting more & the sooner the better! Come see us SOON Michael!
The acoustics at the new BOK were spot on. Marvelous! Kudos. If you get a chance to see a show there, GO! Best I have heard in any arena & I have been to many over the years.
The crowd pretty much sang along with all the Idol’s & the Idol’s loved it!
Kristy was up next. The crowd was on their feet for a bit. God Bless the USA roused Tulsa. We are in the heart of the good old USA & darned if we don’t love that song! We sang along on our feet! Her next song was good.
Cass is really getting upset with the peep’s in front of us. It’s weird but their heads seem to merge into one for some reason. I feel bad. If that is not bad enough one row in front of them is the Giant from the HIlls. I am here to tell you right now, that man is over 7 feet tall, no lie. He was not blocking my view though. I asked Cass if she wanted to switch seats, she said no she is enjoying watching the monitors. She is loving the concert apart from the two in front of us.
Carly is up! Lovely voice. I am not a big Carly fan as most know, but man can she sing. I am trying to say nice things about all the Idol’s so I will say that I loved Carly’s Crazy on You! Amazing! I was of course on my feet singing along, lol!
Next up is Brooke. Ooooo she & her piano are rising up out of the middle of the stage. Nice effect! I love Brooke! My camera does not, but I do! Stay away from the yellow colors Brooke!! The background effects are stunning, Brooke’s haunting voice over the arena is more stunning. She is singing her heart out on Let It Be, we are on our feet singing with her & I do believe I have tears in my eyes. Yeppers I do. At some point there are these stars in the background that shoot out & look like they are coming at you. Well…. The two girl’s in front of us, their *mother* I guess decides to start picking the stars. She is sitting to the right of ratgirl. He arms high in the air picking stars. Cass is totally freaking out now. I think these peeps are scaring her. Just truly weird to see someone sitting in front of you arms stretched to heavens trying to pick stars out of thin air. Looked crazed I tell ya. Scary stuff. Brooke does the 1, 2, 3, 4 song has the crowd snapping their fingers. Next is Yellow & she sings the hell outta that song.
I also want to add that each & every Idol thanked the band & staff & asked us to & we did. They repeatedly thanked Tulsa or said something about Tulsa. The girl’s all looked wowed because the crowd loved them so. Was special. awww.
The 6 Idol’s (I refuse to say bottom) came back on stage to sing Pride. Yes it was a tad weird moment in the concert, but the song was lovely.
Intermission. Time to hit the bathrooms. We make our way up from the floor & fight our way up the sides to the top. I would like at this moment to say a special thank you to the BOK staff for turning a lot of the men’s restroom’s into *women’s* for last night since apparently there were alot more women! You could quickly get in & out if you were smart & walked for a bit you could find the shorter lined bathrooms.
Time to head back. Ut oh, the ticket gestapo want our tickets again & that lady remembered me from earlier (cause we talked). I quickly got mine out & had it ready. Cass could not find her’s. She said, Help! Cass finally pulls it out of her purse & the gestapo let her pass. She did not have to pay a fine nor head to jail, cool! We make our way back to our seats just in time for Jason.
Oh wait. Where are the two merging girl’s? Hmmm I look around. Cass is ecstatic. The girl’s are missing. Oh no, wait. They are standing at the end of the row. Why don’t they sit down? I look closer. You have got to be kidding me. I know where they have been. Rat girl went to the restroom to further tease her bangs. Now the top part of her hair is teased also. Ugh. Please go away soon.
Jason!! Now I love Somewhere Over The Rainbow. I am not ashamed to say it. I. Love. It. Mr. Castro you did the song justice plus some. I recorded the whole song, I need to see how it turned out. Oooo Jason your voice is soo fine, but so is the man, heh. Crazy, wow!!! Jason is on fire tonight! The crowd is on their feet off & on!! Daydream, this is another of my faves of his. Verdict: Tulsa loves them some Jason Castro!!!!
Rat girl & Amazon woman are back.
Syesha. Gotta say sumpin nice. Tryin. Ok she has a lovely voice. Why do I feel she is mad at me so she is screaming at me? I do not care for Umbrella at all. The *ella ella ella* is grating on my nerves. Please God let it end soon. Please. I glance over at Cass & she is checking out the ceiling with an engineer’s eye. Syesha is a beautiful girl, lovely voice. I am just not into the song’s she is singing. Ok don’t want to make any Syesha fan’s mad but oh well here goes. Syesha’s last song. She started out talking, by that I mean it was almost a lecture/preaching. Telling folks to listen to their heart yada yada. My eyes started glazing over. My mind from this point on wanders.. I think about how the night has flown by. Syesha starts singing. WTF. Why is she screaming at me? Did she think I did not get what she was saying before the song? I got it, & I moved on. I think about the David’s again, wow almost time!!! Syesha senses that is what I am doing so she lays it all on the line. She digs down from somewhere in her soul & she pours forth the most heart wrenching singing yet. Lordie. Syesha just layed it all on the stage & burst into tears before the song ended. I am on my feet clapping & yelling for her! The crowd heard you Syesha & they love you & are right here with you! Kudos. That was lovely!
And now…..
Archie! OMG The crowd loves them some Archie! David hauntingly sings Angels & we are on our feet. What’s more most of us have either tears in our eyes or like Marcy, running down our face. Cept the star lady. She has officially gone to church, no lie. She is praising the heavens. To each their own, but she ramps it up & it is OTT. UGH. I love David, don’t get me wrong but from this lady you would think he is the Messiah & she is really turning me off to her. Not David. I must ignore this woman. Back to David. This kid is a star. He will be a huge star. He is just starting & my how he has grown since the show ended! Wow! Apologize was just lovely too, I still preferred Angels. Stand By Me. Archie just came into his own. He owned this song tonight. He knew it, we knew it. He entertained, he came out of his shell, he worked that stage, he worked the crowed, he worked the song. Phew. Phenomenal. Archie has arrived!
In the meantime…. Cass is still loving the show.
It’s time. The concert is almost over & it is now time. I don’t know whether to be happy for my feet who are screaming, my hands who are stinging or my voice which is surely to be hoarse tomorrow or sad that this night is nearing it’s end.
There is the intro that I have followed & adored all the tour long. *Helloooooo…. Helloooooo* David echo’s…
And the star rises from the middle of the stage & Tulsa just went through the roof. Our adopted son has come home. Oh do we love him. The crowd roars on & on & on. David sings those words we have all come to cherish. Hello, is it me your looking for? Why yes Mr Cook it is, how did you know? We sang with him, we swayed with him. We soaked up every lovely note that echoed forth from David. Man I am tearing up right now just remembering back to last night at that exact moment. David had come home. He was singing for us. He was every thing we knew he could be & more. He was a Star & he was here, Rght Here, In. Tulsa. On. Stage. At. That. Exact. Moment. I keep getting a fleeting memory of something I heard long ago. About how if something is sent out across the universe it returns in a multitude. (I’m sure someone here knows the exact phrase). That is what happened last night in Tulsa. David Cook sent it out, & it returned to him in multitudes. The crowd never sat down once. Not one time. Even the man with the cane. David was infectious. He was emotional & for this one glorious night, he was ours! We hung onto every syllable that came from David. We noted it in our brains, opened the doors to our hearts & stored it in there for safe keeping to be brought out later when we needed something special. David getting choked up pretty bad at the end of Hello tonight & all it means & the tour/idol & all it means blazed hot & heavy through his veins.
We help David sing Hello, he is emotional but then again so are we. David wanted to show us love & show ALL of his fans all over the world love & he did.
The Time of My Life. David’s Mom & Kimberly are in the front row. David’s brother Andrew & David’s friend’s are in *Boxes* up on the side. **Andrew could have been in the front row & just went up the sides for that one moment**. Andrew comes down the sides at the right moment in the song & the two reach out to grab hands. OMG. Talk about emotional! David waves to his mother in the front row. The Magic Rainbow that could, did & will chug on & it is simply … Beautiful. David is pretty emotional tonight. What a whirlwind for him
My Hero: *Alright, ah wow..it has been one of the most frustrating, unerving amazing years of my life & to have it end here is pretty poetic. Mom I love you. Andrew I love you. All my friend’s up there *could not catch it*..& I love you guys & I love everybody here… I am not here without Tulsa, so thank you so much.* Then he dedicates the song to Adam. David is emotional before the song starts. We are emotional before it starts. He sings the song to his brother with conviction & emotion, the emotions running across his face as he looks back to the stage after his walk to either side. WOW. As his emotions came bubbling over he leaps off the stage & takes his own Hero walk all the way to the back of the arena. For me this is almost like his walk through that stadium in KC for him. Here was the city he came to, to try to break into the business & here he was returning as a Hero. At first when he jumped off the stage I thought he was heading up to the box seats. Then I glanced over at Cass & there was David! I had been straining to see him go up the sides & he was right there to my right! WOW. RAWK STAR!~ Oh how adored this man is.
Cass has forgotten about the ratgirl merging heads women & is enamored by Cook. She has not sat down & is screaming & clapping right along with me & the rest of the crowd. He is just a force to be reckoned with. What a STAR!
I have no idea how he made it back from the very back of the arena in time to do Billie Jean & I knew it was coming. He must have hoofed it pretty fast.
Billie Jean: So this is it. Oh Lord no, don’t let it end now. Please. This night is simply amazing. I don’t know what to say about Billie Jean. It was beautiful. Haunting again. I was mesmerized so I am trying to think back. I was lost completely in that Cookie moment I think. Him breaking the guitar with AC on it brought me back to reality as I gasped along with the rest of the crowd. I have been trying to think of the reasoning behind the busting of the guitar. Was it because the last show of the tour was done? I know I think about things like this too much, lol. Then David was gone. *sniff*.
Please Don’t Stop The Music: They all finally got into the hijinks of the song. Michael Johns at his best dancing with Kristy was hilarious & girl has some moves too! Micheal up on the top of the catwalk strutting his moves. Archie was a bit stunned by the silly string & it threw him off for a bit. He finally got into the spirit! Yay Archie! David & Michael with the underwear, *Classic* & I am so glad the staff silly stringed them all. This group is so tight with their friendships & you can tell they love each other. Best Season EVAH. I say that being a total Season 5 groupie but this Season was OTT.
They all came back down the front catwalk again. When the Idol’s finally get back to the top, the song ends, they hug hard & you can bet there were tears! Streamers & confetti were dropped from the ceiling onto the crowd on the floor.
The Tulsa concert is over. The Season 7 Tour is over. My first AI concert is over & I am here to tell you it was one Helluva concert!
Cass & I joined the legion of fans trying to get out of that sardine arena. When we made it to those shinny doors *sniff, I will miss em*, the rain was coming down hard. We did not open up the umbrella’s because we could see other people’s brella’s getting broken, etc. We walked the one block in the freaking hard driving rain & were soaked rats by the time we reached my hubby. Soaked, tired, & extremely happy.
I would not have missed it for the world.
I also wanted to say a huge Thank You to MJ for all she has done over the years for American Idol, for the contestants & for us reader’s. Thank You!
