Denver, Colorado American Idol Concert
Just back from a road trip to Colorado.
I just want to report a few impressions of the recent Denver American Idol concert, which I attended. I had some preconceived notions to reconcile due to reading previous Idol concert reviews, and I was interested to see if the critiques were true. The first thing I was looking to verify was if any of the Idols rushed through their songs or were in a hurry to get off the stage, as some critics claimed.
I was in the fourth row, just a few feet from center stage; close enough to see the look in their eyes and the sweat on their foreheads. I can tell you that every single Idol seemed to be happy, appreciative, and in no way were they rushing along or lackluster in their performances. In particular, Lisa and Ace were simply glowing. Ace was in his hometown, he had tears in his eyes over the audience’s positive response to him.
Another thing I was looking for was whether Chris got the biggest reception, as many reviewers reported. He certainly was right up there on the audience ovation level, but the response may have had something to do with timing: Chris was the first one to perform after a 20 minute intermission, everyone knew he was up next and knew it was going to be loud. So when the lights dimmed and the first few bars of Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” sounded, the crowd went wild.
Did Chris get bigger cheers than Taylor? It was close--but for me, Taylor ruled the evening, even though as the Idol winner, he didn’t get any more stage time than the others. One nice touch was while Taylor was singing, the big screen behind him showed retrospective highlight clips of Taylor during the competition, which tied the concert to the TV show. All in all, the Idols looked just as they did on TV. Also, during their time on stage, each of them mentioned being in Ace’s hometown, which brought great cheers from the audience.
Some observations on each individual:
Mandisa- She had glittery diamond-like things glued to her eyebrows. She did a great job of starting the concert, getting the crowd on its feet with her energy and strong voice.
Ace- when he seductively removed his jacket after singing “Father Figure”, revealing his biceps and Bronco football shirt with the sleeves cut off, it was kind of hokey. But Ace looks to be a very nice and sincere guy. He showed his athleticism at the very end of the show by sprinting across the stage and leaping off the side ramp, making a huge arc in the air over the top of Elliott.
Bucky-Not a great mover on stage but he did a good job with his songs and was fun to watch. There is something appealing about his ordinariness.
Lisa- She looked fantastic and is very worthy of a stage and singing career. She had a huge smile throughout the night and did a great job at the piano with her two Elton John songs. Her voice was strong and clear, and she is amazingly beautiful.
Kellie-A bit stiff onstage but her usual chatty self and her singing came across very well. Her pairing with Bucky on “You’re The One That I Want” was somewhat awkward as neither her nor Bucky are good movers. I thought they would have worked out the choreography a bit better at this point because it was a fun song and had unrealized potential for well-done dance moves. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the duet.
Paris-Great stage energy and dance moves, she gave 100% of herself and handled the big stage venue as well as any of them. Paris and Lisa still proclaim to be best friends, and they seem like a good match to stay that way for a long time.
Chris-If you liked him on the Idol TV show, you’ll love him live in concert. He did a great job of bringing the concert to it’s highest levels without indulging in the strange song choices he made during the competition.
Elliott-Was chewing gum while singing. His duet with Chris was good, and he did a pretty fair job of keeping the energy going after Chris exited the stage. He was wearing a baggy Denver Broncos football shirt.
Katharine-I wasn’t a big Kat fan, but she went up a notch in my book after seeing her perform live. She has a good stage presence and looked fabulous. Her voice was strong and in no way did she seem like she was holding back in her delivery. I was wondering how she was going to handle the relatively sedate “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” after the level of energy had been raised by Chris, but she delivered it in a strong, upbeat style and it worked very well. I was impressed. She said she had never been to Denver before but her parents had met in Denver.
Taylor-the crowd went wild when he entered the arena from a faraway aisle to make his way to the stage while singing Jailhouse Rock. Having seen him in concert at Stadium Of Fire in Utah in July, I thought he was even better in this venue, surrounded by the energy of Idol fans. His spazzy dance moves are an absolute riot, I completely enjoy seeing this guy perform. Taylor totally appeals to me, as he has ever since I first saw him during the auditions of this year's Idol. I am a bona fide, certified, unabashed, unashamed member of the Soul Patrol.
Below are some photos of the concert, for even more (40+) photos, visit my photobucket folder.
Caren
I just want to report a few impressions of the recent Denver American Idol concert, which I attended. I had some preconceived notions to reconcile due to reading previous Idol concert reviews, and I was interested to see if the critiques were true. The first thing I was looking to verify was if any of the Idols rushed through their songs or were in a hurry to get off the stage, as some critics claimed.
I was in the fourth row, just a few feet from center stage; close enough to see the look in their eyes and the sweat on their foreheads. I can tell you that every single Idol seemed to be happy, appreciative, and in no way were they rushing along or lackluster in their performances. In particular, Lisa and Ace were simply glowing. Ace was in his hometown, he had tears in his eyes over the audience’s positive response to him.
Another thing I was looking for was whether Chris got the biggest reception, as many reviewers reported. He certainly was right up there on the audience ovation level, but the response may have had something to do with timing: Chris was the first one to perform after a 20 minute intermission, everyone knew he was up next and knew it was going to be loud. So when the lights dimmed and the first few bars of Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” sounded, the crowd went wild.
Did Chris get bigger cheers than Taylor? It was close--but for me, Taylor ruled the evening, even though as the Idol winner, he didn’t get any more stage time than the others. One nice touch was while Taylor was singing, the big screen behind him showed retrospective highlight clips of Taylor during the competition, which tied the concert to the TV show. All in all, the Idols looked just as they did on TV. Also, during their time on stage, each of them mentioned being in Ace’s hometown, which brought great cheers from the audience.
Some observations on each individual:
Mandisa- She had glittery diamond-like things glued to her eyebrows. She did a great job of starting the concert, getting the crowd on its feet with her energy and strong voice.
Ace- when he seductively removed his jacket after singing “Father Figure”, revealing his biceps and Bronco football shirt with the sleeves cut off, it was kind of hokey. But Ace looks to be a very nice and sincere guy. He showed his athleticism at the very end of the show by sprinting across the stage and leaping off the side ramp, making a huge arc in the air over the top of Elliott.
Bucky-Not a great mover on stage but he did a good job with his songs and was fun to watch. There is something appealing about his ordinariness.
Lisa- She looked fantastic and is very worthy of a stage and singing career. She had a huge smile throughout the night and did a great job at the piano with her two Elton John songs. Her voice was strong and clear, and she is amazingly beautiful.
Kellie-A bit stiff onstage but her usual chatty self and her singing came across very well. Her pairing with Bucky on “You’re The One That I Want” was somewhat awkward as neither her nor Bucky are good movers. I thought they would have worked out the choreography a bit better at this point because it was a fun song and had unrealized potential for well-done dance moves. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the duet.
Paris-Great stage energy and dance moves, she gave 100% of herself and handled the big stage venue as well as any of them. Paris and Lisa still proclaim to be best friends, and they seem like a good match to stay that way for a long time.
Chris-If you liked him on the Idol TV show, you’ll love him live in concert. He did a great job of bringing the concert to it’s highest levels without indulging in the strange song choices he made during the competition.
Elliott-Was chewing gum while singing. His duet with Chris was good, and he did a pretty fair job of keeping the energy going after Chris exited the stage. He was wearing a baggy Denver Broncos football shirt.
Katharine-I wasn’t a big Kat fan, but she went up a notch in my book after seeing her perform live. She has a good stage presence and looked fabulous. Her voice was strong and in no way did she seem like she was holding back in her delivery. I was wondering how she was going to handle the relatively sedate “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” after the level of energy had been raised by Chris, but she delivered it in a strong, upbeat style and it worked very well. I was impressed. She said she had never been to Denver before but her parents had met in Denver.
Taylor-the crowd went wild when he entered the arena from a faraway aisle to make his way to the stage while singing Jailhouse Rock. Having seen him in concert at Stadium Of Fire in Utah in July, I thought he was even better in this venue, surrounded by the energy of Idol fans. His spazzy dance moves are an absolute riot, I completely enjoy seeing this guy perform. Taylor totally appeals to me, as he has ever since I first saw him during the auditions of this year's Idol. I am a bona fide, certified, unabashed, unashamed member of the Soul Patrol.
Below are some photos of the concert, for even more (40+) photos, visit my photobucket folder.
Caren