On Tuesday, September 1st, my dear friend Marcus and I got to see the American Idols Live on tour! (Tomkin took Chloe to her therapy dog class that night so we wouldn't fall behind.) Marcus picked me up, and we posed for a couple pre-concert shots.
(As a reminder--if you want to see any of these photos enlarged to full-screen size just click on the photo. Then hit the back button to return to the blog.) We went to
Peninsula Malaysian Cuisine for dinner. It was gorgeous out, so we sat outside. I hadn't eaten there before--it was wonderful!
After dinner we drove to downtown Minneapolis, parked the car, and headed for the Target Center. We had seats in the 16th row on the floor! We got there just a few minutes before the show started, and the place was bursting with energy. On a screen upfront, whenever an image of Adam came up, the crowd went wild! Finally the lights dimmed, and the show officially started....
First on stage was Idol #10,
Michael Sarver, who sang "I'm in Love with a Girl" by Gavin DeGraw and "Closer" by Ne-Yo. He got everyone up on their feet and seemed impressed with the crowd's reaction.
Next was #9,
Megan Joy. Ugh. She looked really weird in a hot pink dress with her hair all done up, and she didn't sound that good, either. I think she'd be better singing quirky songs at small venues. She sang "Put Your Records On" by Corrinne Bailey Rae and "Tears Dry on Their Own" by Amy Winehouse.
Scott MacIntyre, Idol #8, was up next. He sang "Bend and Break" by Keane and "A Thousand Miles" by Vanessa Carlton.
The first surprise of the night for me was #7,
Lil Rounds. Wow, did she put on a good show! She always had potential on "American Idol" but never quite seemed to hit her stride. But on tour she seemed really comfortable and got the crowd fired up.
First she sang "Be Without You" and "Just Fine" by Mary J. Blige and "No One" by Alicia Keys. But the best was when she sang Beyonce's "Single Ladies"--the crowd went wild!
Bringing things down a notch was #6,
Anoop Desai. I like Anoop and think he's got a beautiful voice, but he is BOOOOO-RING! I don't think he has the stage presence for an arena of that size.
He sang "Always On My Mind" by Willie Nelson, "Mad" by Ne-Yo, and "My Prerogative" by Bobby Brown. And he did a fine job...it was just a little yawn-inducing.
The next pleasant surprise of the night for me was #5,
Matt Giraud. He really came across as a great showman, and I enjoyed his set a lot.
He sang "Too Hard to Handle" by Otis Redding, "Georgia On My Mind" by Hoagy Carmichael, and "You Found Me" by The Fray. I wished he would have sung more!
Megan and Lil came back out and sang "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" by Frankie Valli. Megan apparently forgot the words midway through and started laughing.
Scott and Matt performed "Tell Her About It" by Billy Joel on dueling pianos. That was a really fun performance.
Michael came back to sing Elvis's "Suspicious Minds," and then Michael, Megan, Scott, Lil, Anoop, and Matt sang "Beggin'" by the Four Seasons.
With the first act done, it was time for a 20-minute intermission. I braved the loooong line for the bathroom (and spotted local Idol contestant
Casey Carlson). Marcus hung out and watched the music videos by other American Idols (like Daughtry and Carrie Underwood) and some Ford music videos. Then it was time for Act II....
Anyone who knows me knows that I love
Adam Lambert, and I think he is amazing and talented and wonderful. So I hope it won't sound blasphemous for me to say that the evening's best performance was given by Idol #4,
Allison Iraheta. WOW!
She came on like a rock-star powerhouse singing "So What" by Pink. Suddenly the rather subdued energy of Act I was replaced by a whole new rockin' ethos. She was AMAZING. And she's only 17! It's safe to say that Allison has quite a career ahead of her.
She also sang "Cry Baby" by Janis Joplin and Heart's "Barracuda." A flawless high-energy set.
The crowd went wild for
Danny Gokey, Idol #3, but I'm not a huge fan. Yeah, he's got a nice voice, but the whole time he was on stage, all I was thinking was "Adam is next! Adam is next! When is Danny done? Adam is next!".
He started with "PYT" by Michael Jackson, then sang "Maria Maria" by Santana.
He talked about following your dreams and not giving up and then sang "What Hurts the Most" and "My Wish" by Rascal Flatts.
And then, finally, it was
Adam Time. When the lights dimmed and people knew Adam was next, they started to yell and scream. It was definitely the loudest and longest reaction of the night. Adam burst onstage wearing a fabulous coat, singing "Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zeppelin.
I actually got a little weak in the knees, it was so amazing to be seeing and hearing him in person.
What a voice and what a stage presence! He was sexy and raunchy, and the crowd loved it. For some reason, his next song was "Starlight" by Muse, which I actually found to be a little dull. (The song itself--not the performance.)
"Mad World" by Tears for Fears was an obvious choice, and he sings it beautifully, but it definitely brought the crowd's energy level down.
Allison came out to sing a "Slow Ride" (by Foghat) duet, which was awesome. (In concert, especially, the rockin' songs are the best!)
Then Adam finished up with a David Bowie medley: "Life on Mars," "Fame," and "Let's Dance." He is such an amazing singer and performer!
I think my problem with the set (though I hate to complain, because I still loved it) was that Adam tried to show every facet of himself, and it ended up feeling a little schizophrenic--he was rockin', then sensitive and theatrical, then glam. And, yes, I embrace and celebrate each style of his amazing talent, but I think it would work better over a two-hour solo concert rather than a 20-minute set. All that said, it was still an incredible experience to see/hear him live, and I can't wait until he goes on tour again! (Perhaps with Allison as his opening act....)
Oh, yeah, and there was one more guy--the actual "American Idol,"
Kris Allen. As you might imagine, his set was a little anticlimactic. Yes, he's a talented guy and the crowd gave him a warm reception, but his vibe is just a lot more subdued than Adam's.
He started with "Heartless" by Kanye West, then did "All These Things That I've Done" by The Killers (a replacement for the horrible "No Boundaries" song he was originally forced to sing).
Next he sang "Ain't No Sunshine" by Bill Withers, followed by Matchbox Twenty's "Bright Lights."
He finished his set with the Beatles' "Hey Jude," and I'll admit that it was pretty cool. There were 10,500 people in the Target Center, and a great many of them were swaying, singing along, and holding up their cell phones (the modern equivalent of lighters).
All the Idols came back on stage for the grand finale, a performance of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" with a little bit of Steam's "Na Na Na Na Goodbye" mixed in. It was quite a spectacle, with lights and disco balls and thousands of bubbles raining down onto the crowd.
And, then, after three hours of entertainment, the concert was done!
I asked Marcus if he would be willing to hang out outside with me and wait for the Idols to come out (along with hundreds of other people).
We very patiently waited for over an hour before any of the Idols finally started to file out! (Marcus was such a trooper!) We got moved around by security and managed to get pretty good spots a couple rows from the barricade. A guy came around selling merchandise; lots of people had pictures, magazines, or other things for the Idols to sign. I started to get restless, but I hated to leave after we'd already invested so much time! And I knew that Adam didn't always come out to see the fans, but I was really, really hoping he would. (And so were lots of Adam fans around us!) Finally, after a long wait, Scott MacIntyre appeared. The crowd went wild to finally see an Idol! Each performer who came out walked down to the end (near where we were) and then made their way all the way back.
After a little while longer, Lil and Megan made the rounds.
Allison was the next one out. (They all signed a bunch of autographs but stopped for few or no photos.)
Then came Kris, which made the crowd very happy.
Out next was Danny.
Then it was Matt. (Just talking about him made the teenage girl standing next to us start crying--let alone actually getting to see him and get his autograph!)
Next Michael Sarver came out.
All we had left were Anoop...and ADAM. But then the security guy came around and said that was it; the Idols were done. Of course the crowd wasn't happy about this, and everyone started chanting "Adam! Adam! Adam!" but to no avail.
By this point it was almost midnight, and I'd been standing in heels for nearly five hours--my legs and butt were burning, they hurt so bad! I snapped a couple photos of the tour buses, and then we headed for home.
Sure, it would have been fun to see Adam up close, but the whole night was still a blast. The show was awesome, and the whole event was an amazing experience! (BTW, Adam's CD will be released on November 24th. Woo hoo! I hope he promotes it with a tour....)
(As a reminder--if you want to see any of these photos enlarged to full-screen size just click on the photo. Then hit the back button to return to the blog.) We went to Peninsula Malaysian Cuisine for dinner. It was gorgeous out, so we sat outside. I hadn't eaten there before--it was wonderful! 
After dinner we drove to downtown Minneapolis, parked the car, and headed for the Target Center. We had seats in the 16th row on the floor! We got there just a few minutes before the show started, and the place was bursting with energy. On a screen upfront, whenever an image of Adam came up, the crowd went wild! Finally the lights dimmed, and the show officially started....
First on stage was Idol #10, Michael Sarver, who sang "I'm in Love with a Girl" by Gavin DeGraw and "Closer" by Ne-Yo. He got everyone up on their feet and seemed impressed with the crowd's reaction.
Next was #9, Megan Joy. Ugh. She looked really weird in a hot pink dress with her hair all done up, and she didn't sound that good, either. I think she'd be better singing quirky songs at small venues. She sang "Put Your Records On" by Corrinne Bailey Rae and "Tears Dry on Their Own" by Amy Winehouse.
Scott MacIntyre, Idol #8, was up next. He sang "Bend and Break" by Keane and "A Thousand Miles" by Vanessa Carlton.
The first surprise of the night for me was #7, Lil Rounds. Wow, did she put on a good show! She always had potential on "American Idol" but never quite seemed to hit her stride. But on tour she seemed really comfortable and got the crowd fired up. 
First she sang "Be Without You" and "Just Fine" by Mary J. Blige and "No One" by Alicia Keys. But the best was when she sang Beyonce's "Single Ladies"--the crowd went wild!
Bringing things down a notch was #6, Anoop Desai. I like Anoop and think he's got a beautiful voice, but he is BOOOOO-RING! I don't think he has the stage presence for an arena of that size. 
He sang "Always On My Mind" by Willie Nelson, "Mad" by Ne-Yo, and "My Prerogative" by Bobby Brown. And he did a fine job...it was just a little yawn-inducing.
The next pleasant surprise of the night for me was #5, Matt Giraud. He really came across as a great showman, and I enjoyed his set a lot. 
He sang "Too Hard to Handle" by Otis Redding, "Georgia On My Mind" by Hoagy Carmichael, and "You Found Me" by The Fray. I wished he would have sung more!
Megan and Lil came back out and sang "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" by Frankie Valli. Megan apparently forgot the words midway through and started laughing.
Scott and Matt performed "Tell Her About It" by Billy Joel on dueling pianos. That was a really fun performance.
Michael came back to sing Elvis's "Suspicious Minds," and then Michael, Megan, Scott, Lil, Anoop, and Matt sang "Beggin'" by the Four Seasons.
With the first act done, it was time for a 20-minute intermission. I braved the loooong line for the bathroom (and spotted local Idol contestant Casey Carlson). Marcus hung out and watched the music videos by other American Idols (like Daughtry and Carrie Underwood) and some Ford music videos. Then it was time for Act II....
Anyone who knows me knows that I love Adam Lambert, and I think he is amazing and talented and wonderful. So I hope it won't sound blasphemous for me to say that the evening's best performance was given by Idol #4, Allison Iraheta. WOW! 
She came on like a rock-star powerhouse singing "So What" by Pink. Suddenly the rather subdued energy of Act I was replaced by a whole new rockin' ethos. She was AMAZING. And she's only 17! It's safe to say that Allison has quite a career ahead of her. 
She also sang "Cry Baby" by Janis Joplin and Heart's "Barracuda." A flawless high-energy set.
The crowd went wild for Danny Gokey, Idol #3, but I'm not a huge fan. Yeah, he's got a nice voice, but the whole time he was on stage, all I was thinking was "Adam is next! Adam is next! When is Danny done? Adam is next!". 
He started with "PYT" by Michael Jackson, then sang "Maria Maria" by Santana. 
He talked about following your dreams and not giving up and then sang "What Hurts the Most" and "My Wish" by Rascal Flatts.
And then, finally, it was Adam Time. When the lights dimmed and people knew Adam was next, they started to yell and scream. It was definitely the loudest and longest reaction of the night. Adam burst onstage wearing a fabulous coat, singing "Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zeppelin. 
I actually got a little weak in the knees, it was so amazing to be seeing and hearing him in person. 
What a voice and what a stage presence! He was sexy and raunchy, and the crowd loved it. For some reason, his next song was "Starlight" by Muse, which I actually found to be a little dull. (The song itself--not the performance.)
"Mad World" by Tears for Fears was an obvious choice, and he sings it beautifully, but it definitely brought the crowd's energy level down. 
Allison came out to sing a "Slow Ride" (by Foghat) duet, which was awesome. (In concert, especially, the rockin' songs are the best!) 
Then Adam finished up with a David Bowie medley: "Life on Mars," "Fame," and "Let's Dance." He is such an amazing singer and performer! 
I think my problem with the set (though I hate to complain, because I still loved it) was that Adam tried to show every facet of himself, and it ended up feeling a little schizophrenic--he was rockin', then sensitive and theatrical, then glam. And, yes, I embrace and celebrate each style of his amazing talent, but I think it would work better over a two-hour solo concert rather than a 20-minute set. All that said, it was still an incredible experience to see/hear him live, and I can't wait until he goes on tour again! (Perhaps with Allison as his opening act....)
Oh, yeah, and there was one more guy--the actual "American Idol," Kris Allen. As you might imagine, his set was a little anticlimactic. Yes, he's a talented guy and the crowd gave him a warm reception, but his vibe is just a lot more subdued than Adam's. 
He started with "Heartless" by Kanye West, then did "All These Things That I've Done" by The Killers (a replacement for the horrible "No Boundaries" song he was originally forced to sing). 
Next he sang "Ain't No Sunshine" by Bill Withers, followed by Matchbox Twenty's "Bright Lights." 
He finished his set with the Beatles' "Hey Jude," and I'll admit that it was pretty cool. There were 10,500 people in the Target Center, and a great many of them were swaying, singing along, and holding up their cell phones (the modern equivalent of lighters).
All the Idols came back on stage for the grand finale, a performance of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" with a little bit of Steam's "Na Na Na Na Goodbye" mixed in. It was quite a spectacle, with lights and disco balls and thousands of bubbles raining down onto the crowd. 
And, then, after three hours of entertainment, the concert was done!
I asked Marcus if he would be willing to hang out outside with me and wait for the Idols to come out (along with hundreds of other people). 
We very patiently waited for over an hour before any of the Idols finally started to file out! (Marcus was such a trooper!) We got moved around by security and managed to get pretty good spots a couple rows from the barricade. A guy came around selling merchandise; lots of people had pictures, magazines, or other things for the Idols to sign. I started to get restless, but I hated to leave after we'd already invested so much time! And I knew that Adam didn't always come out to see the fans, but I was really, really hoping he would. (And so were lots of Adam fans around us!) Finally, after a long wait, Scott MacIntyre appeared. The crowd went wild to finally see an Idol! Each performer who came out walked down to the end (near where we were) and then made their way all the way back.
After a little while longer, Lil and Megan made the rounds. 
Allison was the next one out. (They all signed a bunch of autographs but stopped for few or no photos.) 
Then came Kris, which made the crowd very happy. 
Out next was Danny. 
Then it was Matt. (Just talking about him made the teenage girl standing next to us start crying--let alone actually getting to see him and get his autograph!) 
Next Michael Sarver came out. 
All we had left were Anoop...and ADAM. But then the security guy came around and said that was it; the Idols were done. Of course the crowd wasn't happy about this, and everyone started chanting "Adam! Adam! Adam!" but to no avail. 
By this point it was almost midnight, and I'd been standing in heels for nearly five hours--my legs and butt were burning, they hurt so bad! I snapped a couple photos of the tour buses, and then we headed for home. 
Sure, it would have been fun to see Adam up close, but the whole night was still a blast. The show was awesome, and the whole event was an amazing experience! (BTW, Adam's CD will be released on November 24th. Woo hoo! I hope he promotes it with a tour....)
1 comments:
I would've loved to have been there with you!
Love,
Mom
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