Glam Nation recap: Hyannis, Cohasset & Hampton Beach
Image courtesy of bubbywub
Sometimes, perhaps more often than we think, it is incredibly necessary to do the thing that makes no sense. As I sat on my flight 35 000K feet up had a moment of panic. Was I really on an international flight flying 2500 miles to hear a man sing? Yes and also no.
Yes I was on my way to Boston to go to the Hyannis, Cohasset and Hampton Beach shows, but I was also meeting up with four friends. I’d be spending time in a beautiful cabin right on the beach and in a very real sense, joining the Glam Nation in person as well as in spirit.
On the surface it makes no sense. I know that. But I also know what it feels like to dance with friends in the room where Adam is singing and I knew that I wanted to feel that again. I could hear the whisper of a siren call and I choose to walk toward it. It might make more sense to plug my ears, but I can’t. The song sounds like freedom and creativity and courage and letting go and I want to learn how to sing that song in my own life.
It felt like a gathering (even if I was on a plane and not frolicking with my forest friends) and I realized that is exactly what this is. The five of us are coming from five different cities in two countries, coming away to commune like our own tiny Burning Man.
As I was zipping up my make-up case to pack it this morning I had to laugh. Nestled in with the careful beiges and taupes of my workday make-up were false eyelashes, rhinestones and one little pot of incredibly fine glitter. This was the make-up of someone heading to a party, someone about to have a very good time. And it was mine. Barely halfway to my destination I was already glad I came.
I met up with Cheryl ( @cherylagogo ) and Andrea ( @oriharakaoru ) in Boston and we talked late into the night, our bodies already re-setting to concert time. We just made it out of the hotel in time for check out, ran around the city a little and in no time Birdie ( @painted_birdie ) and Peace ( @peacevehicle ) arrived to drive us to the cape.
Peace had a cottage right on the water, a shack she called it but could never be a shack. It was magnificent and beautiful and I was tempted for a moment to skip a concert and just stay there. I wanted to curl up in a corner with a blanket and a cup of tea and let the house tell me all its stories. It takes some time for five women to get glammed up for an Adam show so we each found a mirror and a corner of sunshine and dug in. I don’t think the cottage knew what to make of us. There will be glitter in the corners of the decks for years to come.
All glammed up we piled into the car, put Adam on (of course) and made our way to Hyannis. Hyannis was the first of the two circus shows with the rotating stages of doom. I have to say, this was my least favorite concert of the three, and my least favorite of all the times I’ve heard Adam sing. It was Adam, so it was still a great set but he was concentrating so hard on making the stage work that I swear you could hear him thinking.
Allison opened and the venue staff made us sit down. Boo hiss. Allison looked amazing and sounded fantastic. I confess I did not buy her album when it came out - Friday I’ll Be Over You is not my jam - but I was very pleasantly surprised with her other songs and her stage presence. I’ve caught myself singing “Robot Love” more than once. She is so confident on stage. I hope that gets to stick around in the music business. She is mad talented. (I wish talent & skill were enough.)
When Alli was done we used Orianthi’s set to go stand in the merch line. For an hour. But lines, as anyone who’s been to Glam Nation knows, can totally be part of the fun. Everyone I talked to in line had been to the show before. Is there anyone who only does Glam Nation once? We’re like junkies, but sparklier :)
In preparation for Glam Nation I made two small top hats (as one does) but when it came to show night I had a bit of a crisis of confidence. The hat would make me stand out, something I usually try to avoid. But part of Glam Nation is saying no to fear and voices like that, so I wore it, but not very confidently. As I stood in line, a gentleman passed by and said, “Darling your hat is fabulous” and I swear I grew about an inch taller. I don’t know who you were lovely man, but thank you.
Before we knew it, it was time. The lights went down, the temperature went up (god help us it went up, it was really, really hot in that tent. How does Adam not melt in his coats? How do the dancers dance in it?) and Adam appeared, at the top of the aisle at the back of the tent. I wonder what it was like for the people in that last row who turned around in the darkness and suddenly there was Adam, in full purple pimp coat, singing just two feet away?
The cheering roared, as always ,as he sang his way down to the stage. That boy really knows how to make an entrance. The stage was really tiny. I don’t know how the dancers had anywhere to put their feet. There was almost no play on stage that night - not just in Fever, but through the whole thing. Adam had audience on all sides and you could see him trying to find a way to make it work but even he has limits. The stage doesn’t actually rotate all the way around, it kind of sways back and forth, and inconsistently at that. Adam’s back was to me more than half the concert. (I couldn’t help but think of the “dat ass” macro and laugh.)
In moments the show was over. We cheered wildly, were rewarded with Twentieth Century Boy (which YAY people are learning the words to even if Adam can’t quite remember them himself. ) We went and waited by the buses. Liz came out briefly but that was it. Security told us that Adam was tired, which normally I’d believe but this night I have to wonder if he was just pissed. So no Adam that night but we did meet up with Sarah ( @sucia_bonita ) and @bubbywub and Carolina aka ( @fiarra ). Good times. Wisely, they decided to come back to the cottage with us.
Who books these venues? Most of the time Adam has a decent sized, non-moving stage to work with but every now and then they throw him a rotating stage, an old slaughter house or a ballroom with a wedge shaped stage only slightly larger than a slice of pie. I am amazed and impressed that each time he makes it work, improvising on the fly and working with his musicians and dancers to crank out a show anywhere. We would see this skill in full effect the following night.
Back at the cottage after the Hyannis show there were margaritas and late night skinny dipping with glow in the dark algae (that were really tiny, non-stinging jelly fish shhhh). Tragically, my stomach decided it hated me and I had to go to bed instead :( I hated to miss out, but with two more concerts to go I did the smart thing and went to bed. In the morning it looked exactly like the morning after - a table full of empties and people sleeping EVERYWHERE. Perfect. Bubbywub made us an incredible feast of eggs and ham and cheese Panini. There was coffee and even waffles, the day was off to a great start.
Carolina, as you may know is the guardian of the Glam Kiwis - two little stuffed kiwi birds that are standing in for @_justjane and @atomicdawn who could not make the trip from New Zealand themselves. I made tiny versions of my top hats for the birds which I gave to Carolina that day. She loved them and tells me the birds were very pleased with them as well.
After a lazy morning and swim in the ocean it was time to don our glitter again and head up to Cohaset. It was another tent show, but a completely different experience.
Adam is very smart and you could see that on display for his second rotating stage in a tent night. I don’t know how long they worked on it, but Adam restaged the whole show so that at all times there was someone facing you, no matter where you were in the tent. The dancers rearranged, Tommy and Monte purposefully moved across the stage mid song. Adam turned while he was singing, even during the acoustic sitting on the stool parts. You could tell that a lot of thought went into it and I for one appreciated the effort.
The crowd the second night was younger, more creatively dressed and louder. Both circus tents have a lot of season ticket holders and the Hyannis crowd probably averaged about 65. If they were 65 year old Adam fans it wouldn’t have been a problem, but when it’s 65 year olds who are just here for whoever is playing that night….let’s just say they didn’t have glow sticks. Cohasset brought it’s A game.
At intermission we grabbed something to eat. What is it about food on the Glam Nation circuit? Birdie joked about the Glam Nation diet of “one meal a day heavily subsidized with alcohol” and she kinda wasn’t kidding.) After our snack we ran into some friends from TeamLambliff. I finally got to meet @maybe77 (hey girl!) @adamaddictrh and a few others. It’s always such fun to get to meet your friends in real life. @maybe77 had a glass of Champagne to celebrate completing her Big Bang, which was well deserved. (If you haven’t read it you need to.)
It was amazing to see how much more relaxed Adam was the second night. I think that first stage really bothered him. This time around he knew what he wanted and the whole show felt like it was back sitting in the palm of his hand. We got a kiss in Fever (yay!) and the whole tone of the show was lighter, more playful. He looked like he was having fun. Early on we realized that Adam had shaved part of his head again (did we ever find out if the rumor that he let a kid at Boston’s Children’s Hospital do it was true or not?) I remember thinking “I should tweet this” but I couldn’t take my eyes off the show long enough to reach for my phone. To everyone who tweets, photographs and video tapes the shows THANK YOU. I have no idea how you do it, but thank you.
It is interesting to see just how aware of each other each member is on stage. I remember during DTRH thinking that Tommy was too far away for the “it starts with his bass” line but by the time Adam got to that part there was Tommy, magically appeared out of nowhere tucked up under Adam’s arm.
People still yelled during Soaked (please, please STFU. He’s not going to marry you, OK?) but the sound was better, the energy was better. We got TCB again, although Adam I’m not sure how you “sting like a rat” tee hee. By the end of the night I felt like I’d finally seen Glam Nation the way it was meant to be seen, even if we didn’t get the projections. (The lasers were especially cool playing off the sides of the tent tho.)
After the show we tried to hit the barricades but the event staff were not having it. We were forcibly kicked out not half an hour after the show ended. I was trying to talk to some friends in the parking lot and they kicked us out. The tent was no where near anywhere so we ended up just getting back in the car and leaving. I heard after that there were several people I knew there that I just didn’t get to see. Boo :(
Back to the cottage we went to talk late into the night again over snacks and beverages. I think we started heading up to bed around three in the morning, which is typical for a show night. It always takes awhile to come down from the high of the show itself. I wonder how long it takes Adam, the band and the dancers to fall asleep on show nights? Are they so tired it comes easily? Or do they sit up late on their buses, chatty and jittery coming down just like the rest of us?
The next night we had to say goodbye to Birdie (boo) which was hard and not just because she was reading us fic in the car on the way to the airport and the story wasn’t finished yet. Pod fic is great, but having someone read fic out loud to you while you giggle with a car full of friends is even better-er.
We got to Hampton Beach late. It was a GA show and the line was HUGE. It tugs my heart every time to see such a dedicated crowd show up for Adam. Friends of ours had been there all night (and were rewarded with front row yay!) I can only imagine what it means to Adam to know that people are willing to go so far out of their way for him. I had a feeling, to quote the Black Eyed Peas, that tonight’s gonna be a good night. And WOW. Just wow. If you have not participated in a GA show for Glam Nation you need to. Yes you have to stand for 4 hours and can’t go to the bathroom and it’s almost impossible to get a drink and the guy behind is going to grind his dick against your ass. (I so should have punched him but I was so shocked I just stood there.) But none of that matters because it’s going to be AMAZING.
I fully expected to be at the back of the room, but to my great delight the stage was along the long side of a long skinny room. With a little maneuvering I found myself dead center, at the back sure, but with a perfect sight line to center stage. Some days I do love being 5’9”. We lost Peace for a little while, but thankfully found her. Flailing together is so much more fun.
Allison was wonderful yet again and this time I had to stay for Orianthi (her last night on the tour as it turned out). I have to agree with everything that has been said about Ori - she is one hell of a guitar player but she’s no frontman. Her songs did all sound similar until she went into the guitar solos that were amazing. I really, truly think she needs to be someone’s Monte. Put her on guitar and let her anchor the sound and I think she’d be legendary. She’s wasting her skills trying to focus on words and stage banter. She should just play and the world would stand still to listen.
They reset the stage and finally it was time. I had high hopes for this venue. The energy in that ballroom was nuts. Adam came on and you could tell from the moment the light hit him that this was going to be a completely different show. He sang Voodoo and you could feel his smile and hear it as much as you could see it. Adam has often talked about the energy exchange between him and the audience, how he takes what we give him and gives it back. You could really, really see that in play over these three shows. What a different the right crowd makes.
The dancers were in fine form this night, I’m sure they were also happy to have a little more room to work with and a stage that stood still. It’s funny to think back to those early pre-Glam Nation shows where the dancers felt in the way. Now I can’t imagine Adam on stage without them. They bring a whole new depth to the show. (And holy shit Terrance’s body should get it’s own billing it is entirely unfair that he gets to walk around in a body that looks like that O.O )
In between “Voodoo” and “Down the Rabbit Hole” Adam purred “Welcome to Glam Nation!” and it felt exactly like I’d jumped down the rabbit hole and found myself in another world altogether. I don’t remember him saying that either of the two previous nights. There is something about being a part of this tour that feels like joining a tribe. We are all, together, the Glam Nation. As one pithy posted on TeamRatbert put it so perfectly, we are “one nation under oh my god”.
Adam wiggled his finger at us as he sang “step right up to the freaky intangible” and I swear we would have followed him anywhere if there was any room at all to move. The whole flavor of the show went from playful and energetic to playful and blatantly sexual. You could tell from the moment Adam stepped on stage that we were soooo getting a kiss tonight, and we did, but that was just the beginning. He ran a hand possessively down Tommy’s chest in DTRH, after opening oogling him while Tommy played his solo. (Really, can you blame him? The rest of us were doing exactly the same thing.)
The Hampton Beach stage was short, so there were no projections again and only a very small set of stairs. I wondered if it would get in the way of the "Fever" shenanigans, but I needn’t have worried.
The opening beats of “Fever” pounded and I couldn’t help but hope it was going to be a good one. I have no idea what is or is not going on between those two but I do know this: they are showmen the pair of them and they seem to really enjoy their work. Thank you boys. It was great for me.
Right at the beginning they did this little stepping toward each other thing and I was reminded once again of how often they look like a National Geographic mating dance. I wonder if they play with that ahead of time “hey what if I did this?” or if they just let the music take them away? They seem very in tune with each other, very comfortable. I am thrilled for Adam that he has someone to play with on stage and thrilled for Tommy that his first major gig is such a fun one.
It’s hard to say what’s hotter - the way Adam can’t stop running his fingers down the side of Tommy’s face or the way Tommy looks up at Adam, looks away, looks up again. He really does ‘look up at him from under his bangs’, just like in fic which is both luzly and hot. They kissed, the crowd screamed. Consider these fans well serviced.
“Sleepwalker” began and I was reminded again how much better I like this song live.
I don’t know what it is about it, I used to skip over this one on the CD but live it’s like a living thing that comes out of the dark and haunts you. The edges of it wrap around your shoulders til you shiver, but in a good way. It could easily be a fourth ghost for A Christmas Carol - the ghost of love lost, and broken hearts. I wonder how different the tour arrangement is from the studio recording? The album version never stays with me but live, it’s a song you’d follow right passed the gates of hell before you even realized where you were.
“Whatdaya Want from Me” should be boring by now, but it’s not. How many times have we heard this song? I must have 20 different live versions of it from the international promo but every time Adam sings it, it’s fresh and new and lovely. He’s like a surgeon carefully slicing open his own chest to show us his beating heart, to remind us that he’s just a guy, still tragically human just like the rest of us. This song, more than any of the others, is the peek behind the curtain, a reminder that Adam is not actually a glittery alien, at least not all of the time.
And then there’s “Soaked”. How do you describe something as beautiful as “Soaked”? I’ve always found the strings on the album version really abrupt at the beginning so this acoustic treatment is right up my alley. Someone described this song as a the closest thing to opera on the tour and I have to agree with that. This could easily be sung by the lead over the body of their fallen lover, just before the curtain falls on act 2. It is powerful and painful and beautiful and flawless, tragic and lovely. I am always surprised to find that my eyes are dry at the end because it feels exactly like crying.
“Aftermath” is another song I’ve come to love on tour. I don’t know if it’s the placement on the album that bothers me or if it’s simply that Broken Open completely undoes me so by the time I get to “Aftermath” there’s nothing left to give. On the tour it’s perfect - careful and hopeful. This is not a Disney optimism, this song is someone who has looked reality square in the eye and said “ok, I can work with that.” It is anthemic and I know Adam doesn’t want to be political, but this song is a theme song whether he wants it to be or not. Somehow I doubt he minds.
“Sure Fire Winners” tucked Adam’s heart safely back in his chest and brought the sexy back. The first thing you notice is the costume change - Adam is now wearing what he wears for the final number and a voice somewhere in the back of your head reminds you that act 3 just began. It is always too soon. On the “where did all their pretty boys go” Tommy presented himself to Adam and there was a moment where Adam was thisclose to putting his fingers in Tommy’s mouth. There’s still a few weeks of tour left. . . I’m just putting that out there.
With “Strut” Adam brought out the pimp cane and honestly, how far into the planning do you think he was when he announced, “I want a pimp cane.” I’m guessing not too far :) But hey, the man knows his way around it, I say give him a cane. Strut is so much fun I manage to forget that Kara DioGuardi of PACKAGE ARTIST fame had a hand in it. I will always love the bridge of this song “I’ll be your mirror, darling let your hair down, show me what you’re working with and let me see you sSSTruuut!” That’s Adam in one line, and my own experience with Glam Nation all rolled in to one. I had never worn rhinestones before this night, but I will wear them again (and I totally quoted “I’m gluing rhinestones to my eyelids bitch!” and giggled as I did just that).
I have a love/hate relationship with “Music Again”. I love the song, I hate the it’s the almost last one in his set, the harbinger that it’s almost time to go home. Monte was incredible, as always, and I will never get tired of watching Adam watch his friend rock out. I love that he has someone so solid up there on stage with him. Tommy lights him up, Monte holds on to him so he doesn’t fly away. I think Adam relaxes into the music more with Monte there with him. (I am incredibly jealous of Allison that Monte has been teaching her about music all summer. What an amazing teacher he must be.)
And then it was time for “If I Had You” how could it be time already? They turned the audience lights on and Adam liked that, he said he could see us. He thanked Orianthi - who came out for a quick bow - and then introduced the band. I love how when he’s introducing Tommy Adam actually pauses for a moment to let us cheer. Tommy laid his head on Adam’s shoulder - awww - if he’s not the cuddliest man on the planet, he’s definitely top 5. Pretty kitty indeed.
After the intros, Adam decided he was in the mood for a little experimentation. He said “I feel possessed to do something really weird right now”. He asked us if we’d heard about him kissing people in the audience - um yeah, Adam, we might have heard about that, a little - He reminded us that peer pressure is not cool, and the if we weren’t comfortable that was ok, and then proceeded to invite us all to lay a big, wet kiss on our neighbor. “Make a friend!” he encouraged us. From what you can see on the videos it sounds like maybe the people down front didn’t get into it but back where I was standing, we were all over it. I have, possibly the shortest kissing history on the planet, but what can I say, the spirit moved me. I turned to a friend and doubled the number of people I have kissed in my lifetime. Then I tripled it.
I think Adam would have approved.
The rest of IIHY was wonderful, eve tinged with the knowledge that it was almost over. Little did we know Adam had one hell of an encore planned. After the lights went down we screamed and screamed until he came back out and screamed again when Monte started in on the opening bars of Twentieth Century Boy. And then what happened. . . .well. For anyone who is still waiting for the sextape this came pretty damn close.
Adam went down on his knees, then bent backwards till he was completely doubled over and kept going until he was writhing on the floor, never missing a note. From my spot at the back I couldn’t see any of this happening, but I could feel it. The room went NUTS and I’m fairly sure most of us are now pregnant. Holy shit. I have no idea how he’s going to top that, but it’s Adam. He’ll find a way. With that the show was over, but the night still had one more treat in store.
Cheryl announced that as soon as the show was over she was going to RUN for the barricades in one last attempt to get Adam’s autograph. She wasn’t kidding. By the time Andrea and I got to the barracades there was Cheryl and Peace right up at the front way down on one side. We joined them, giddy and hopeful and I tried not to hope too much. It had been a great show and I knew Adam had to be exhausted but still. . . .maybe. Allison came out, but she didn’t stop. Orianthi walked by and so did Tommy with Lane - but he was heading somewhere else. He was wearing his trusty black and gray stripped sweater tho. It was like all the photographs of him came to life right in front of me. It turned out the end we were on was the gate so a lot of people came by.
Monte came out to sign and so did Tommy a little later but they both stayed farther down the barricade where the larger crowd was. Then, just a few minutes later a roar went up from the crowd. To our delight, Adam had come out to sign. I tried not to get my hopes up - only LP had made it all the way to our end of the barricades but as Adam got closer and closer it looked like maybe this was really going to happen.
Before I knew what was happening, there Adam was right in front of me, a couple of inches away. And wow, fuck he’s beautiful in person. And tall, just like everyone always says. I had the CD booklet from FYE in my hand and he signed it (YAY!) and he put his hand under mine to steady it while he signed (glambert moment, I know, but I don’t care). He stayed for a minute or two signing everything he could reach, including one girl’s arm just under a tattoo of the A from this tour. (At which point Adam’s wrist ran over mine…he has the softest skin.) I managed not to say anything stupid and resisted the urge to flash a camera in his face 30 bagillion times. Mostly brain just kept looping “I just met Adam. I JUST MET ADAM!!!” For a brief, brief moment I existed in his reality. How cool is that? Afterward I found out that Andrea managed to say something really epic to him so she gets extra bonus points. I think I temporarily forgot how to make words. As you can see, I was pretty happy about getting his autograph :)
After an adventure in a biker bar later that night (the ONLY place still serving food at 1 in the morning in Hampton Beach) we headed back to Peace’s house for some well deserved sleep. The next day was too wet to sail so we went for an epic dinner breakfast (biggest pancakes EVER) and drove around the little beach town where she lives. It was gorgeous and we played in the ocean like wild free things.
All too soon I was back on a plane flying 2500 miles home, tired and happy with my memories and a certain autographed CD booklet safely tucked away. On the flight out to Boston I wrote a list of 10 things I wanted to do on this trip:
1. I want to dance
2. I want to say yes
3. I want to smile
4. I want to be a voice in the crowd cheering so loudly that Adam cannot hear the doubts in his own head.
5. I want to embrace
6. I want to make other people smile
7. I want to see from a new perspective
8. I want to be generous
9. I want to add to the party
10. I want to step into the world of this experience fully, honestly and freely
Flying home, I took out my list and was thrilled to see that I could check each one off. This trip was everything I could have hoped for and more and I will take Glam Nation with me as I slip back into my regular life. To the girls who went on this adventure with me, I miss you already. When can we do this again?
As I was getting ready for this trip people kept asking me, “Why are you going to see the same show three times in a row?” I tried to explain that it’s never the same show but I think Adam is something you have to experience to really understand. The videos are incredible, but there’s something ephemeral and indescribable about being in the room where that man is singing. It is completely worth traveling 2500 miles for. It wasn’t the smart thing to do but it was absolutely necessary. I’m so glad I jumped down the rabbit hole.