............................... http://www.adamofficial.com/node/615144

I felt that everyone did a personal best. Matt and Scott were terrific and Kris sang his litttle heart out. But Adam is just not from this world! While he was performing I kept trying to take it all in and remind myself how lucky I was to be able to see something/someone so amazing. When I got back home I got me and my family tickets to the Bridgeport show on the 10th. I just had to see it again.

I was fortunate to watch the American Idols Live concert a second time this summer, in St. Louis Aug. 29, and it was a surprise to me and a joy as well to see how much more all the Idols seem to be hitting their stride since I first saw them perform in Memphis July 26: http://www.adamofficial.com/reviews/memories-memphis-graceland-greets-st...

Of course the practice has helped. Memphis was the 15th stop on their 52-city tour and a city in which they were beginning to show a few signs of weariness. St. Louis was their 39th show and it seemed by then they were in full recovery, Adam especially delivering to St. Louis all the high notes he had left behind in Memphis.

I'm an Adam fan through and through, and this is the first year I have watched an entire AI season. But I am glad to say I have a growing respect and sensitivity for the others who are also living their dream and giving their all on a grueling tour in front of thousands of people nearly every night, only to be discussed and dissed ad infinitum in the media, forums, blogs and tweets. Some of these discussions have raised commentary to an art form in 140 characters or less. Others remind me how far we have yet to evolve as human beings.

The idols may have escaped the weekly judging of Simon, Paula, Kara and Randy, but they left that frying pan only to land in a fire fueled by what for most of them is one harsh review after another in city after city, many times by writers who seem to have only a surface acquaintenance with the show or even a disdain for it and their assignment. Those of us who are fans of the show or at least our favorite idol, can pretty much see right through their lack of research. Google search any of the cities on tour, click a link to any review or recap from that city and it's likely you will find something very much like this:

(Disclaimer: the next paragraph is a general tongue-in-cheek mashup of other recaps. Oddly, the most unkind reviews are often by newspaper people who seem to be the most uninformed and unhappy about their assignment, a sad irony that they are also the ones who get free tickets or at least special access and backstage interviews, wheras the online forum recaps are often snarky or full of inside humor from following the idols' every move.)

Adam Steals the Show
Even though Christian Kris from the Heartland won, we know he really shouldn't have because glam/gay Adam from freaky Hollywood is way better and he and his hair, makeup and outfit are what everyone has come to see. The first half of the show is boring. There's Michael the Texan, Megan the beauty, Lil the little, Scott the blind guy and Anoop the smooth Tarheel, all of whom who try to entertain us while we remain mostly seated and snoozing. Then Matt the guy with the hat that plays the piano like Jerry Lee Lewis suddenly jars us awake in time to go refill our drink. The second half is better because that young redhead Allison can rock beyond her years and Danny in glasses has us all clutching our heartstrings over his sad but touching back story and use of salsa and mimicry of other certain idols to rise from tragedy. Then the Adam Bomb explodes on stage in emo or Elvis hair, has his way with the audience and the microphone as Baby or Woman and leaves in a blaze of glitter. Kris comes on next and tries to do as well but fails because after all he's shorter and who can top Adam anyway? In the end it's disco balls and na-na-na and let's do it all again next year, same time, different idols.

(End of mashup. You get the idea.)

This one is typical and struck me as particularly cruel:

"Lambert wows Palace crowd ...

"Lambert of course lost "Idol" to Kris Allen, and the injustice was personified when Allen took to the stage at the concert's conclusion and gave an almost entirely charisma-free performance.

"There are "Guitar Hero" renditions of the Killers' "All These Things I've Done" with more passion than Allen's version had on Wednesday, and he did everything he could to rob "Hey Jude" of its splendor. Allen seems bland to begin with, but compared to Lambert, he's almost nonexistent." - Detroit News
http://www.detnews.com/article/20090827/ENT04/908270407/1424/ENT04/Lambe...

I beg to differ. Kris's set reaches its own heights in its own subdued way. This boy can rock, play guitar and look cute in plaid shirts and sneakers. And to me he has a quiet charisma as compelling as Adam's. And in St. Louis, especially, Kris and all of the other Top Ten Idols, including and especially those performing in the first half, clearly had plenty of appreciative fans in the house cheering for them. Michael, Megan and Lil all seemed especially surprised to be so appreciated, and Matt even sent out this short video "Bubble Tweet":

immattgiraud: Here is the NEW bubble tweet. We're loving this crowd. They are amazing. My latest BubbleTweet --> http://bbltwt.com/89wpp

Twitter of course is fast becoming our primary news source as well as a collective Zeitgeist of thoughts thunk out loud -- some clever, some funny or informative, others cruel, completely inaccurate or even disgusting. Some tweets arise simply from the heat of the moment, others reflect immaturity and a relative shelter of anonymity. They come from people who may be 12 or 50, telling the truth or simply teasing. As a whole I think most tweeters are actually kinder than professional reviewers, who I believe see kindness and decency as a professional bias, whereas Twitter is all about bias. It's a celebration of one's opinion with no expectation of objectivity.

Here's an example from the Aug. 29 tweets (mine among them) streaming from the concert floor in St. Louis to be copied and pasted across the Internet at large within seconds.
http://mjsbigblog.com/american-idols-live-st-louis-mo-082909.htm

• adam_hampton: Blind scott should fall off the stage for my entertainment.
• bkshatswell: Im far too critical of the non-winning contestants and shud be punishd for my lack of kindness. #fb
• lashes3699: its amazing how good these people are...you wouldnt know it by watching the show
• jamieminchey: OMG OMG OMG MATT I LOVE U OMG MATT!
• itsjuls: Something in the water here. First half really rocked! What did these guys do today? They all seem so stoked!
• glitteronmyeyes: Insert obligatory what hurts the most joke here.
• endofthisphase: everyone in my section just gave birth. and none of us are even pregnant.

The gist of all this is to consider how these idols, all 10 of them still new to the sheer scope of their exposure, have managed to carry on and improve despite all the grind and chatter and lack of sleep. I hope it's because they have chosen to pay only selective attention. They have given us all a lesson in how to sail our ship so we reach our destination no matter which way the winds are blowing. Sometimes you have to tack.

I hope they are consoled and recharged by the audience, their paychecks and the fact the end of the tour is now in sight. Likewise, I hope they all will be able to live happy and successful if less hyped post-Idol lives.

I really do hope we will see them all again.

------------------------

AFTERWARD: ADAM AT THE BARRICADES

Since the Idols did not come out post-show in Memphis because they had to catch a plane to Florida, I decided to brave the crowd at the barricades in St. Louis come what may. After asking security, we learned that the barricades were being set up inside the venue lobby. As much as I hated to, I left during All These Things That I Have Done, which is my favorite Kris performance, determined to get a front row spot along the barricades. I did, and I'm happy to report we could hear the rest of the concert from where we were standing. There were already maybe 50 people there so we made our way down to the far end of the barricades and hoped for the best,

We had been there about an hour and a half and the line was by then about 8 people deep when Allison came out and walked all the way down to the far end where we were standing. We also met Megan and Scott and Matt and Danny, who wasn't really paying attention and actually signed my group picture twice. The people behind me were holding fast to their positions and security people were in front of the barricades checking to make sure they weren't being pushed forward. The most difficult part for me was people behind me shoving their rolled up posters onto our shoulders, hitting me in the face, blocking my view and generally annoying me. We asked them nicely to move their posters and hand them to us when the idols came by and we would get them signed for them, but they kept pelting us with posters anyway. The girl next to me threatened to bend one if they kept it up.

People from behind were also asking us to hold out their many photos and cameras and it was impossible to also hold my Rolling Stone, my camera and a group picture for my friend who had felt faint from the heat and unfortunately left just before they all came out. We tried our best to accommodate everyone and it seemed the idols were taking their time and getting to everyone. The group behind me were all waiting for Anoop, and I don't think he came out. We left after Adam anyway so we did not see Anoop, Kris, Michael or Lil.

Then Adam, who had been slowly but surely making his way down the line amid occasional outbursts of screams, came around this huge column blocking our view to face a surge of pushing and screaming once everyone on our end could see him at last. He raised both his arms and motioned for people to move back, and a lot of us were asking people please not to scream. I was afraid Adam would get within a few feet of me and have to leave. Fortunately, everyone calmed down and before I knew it Adam was right in front of me.

I think by then I was observing myself from somewhere out of body because here was someone I admired so much and who I had seen so often on television and in videos and now in two concert performances standing right in front of me. I tried to focus my attention, but it was very difficult in the crowded setting. I was resting my Rolling Stone and a group picture on the barricade in front of me and as Adam arrived I just said something like, Hi Adam, how are you? I looked into his beautiful eyes but not nearly long enough and told him thanks for making me and so many other people happy, and he said something like, Aww, thank you. I looked down to watch him sign my magazine, but I advise you not to do the same. Keep looking at him! Adam smiled at me again and continued down the line. I was in a trance and finally realized I should hold up my camera and take a few photos. Security had turned down the lights, which I think helped to calm the crowd the way our teachers did in grade school. But my iPhone camera does not have a flash and is generally a pretty crappy camera for anything other than shooting in daylight within 12 feet. Still, I at least got some of my own photos and I will also treasure those that others with good cameras are sharing.

Adam took a lot of time to speak with everyone. He was gracious and beautiful and completely present in the moment. He is one of the most talented performers, but he also has some of the best people skills I have ever observed. I know I am very lucky to have spoken with him, and I hope there will be additional opportunities to do so in the future.

I also was very happy to be with several others from this site (Beresfordlane, Ihaveitbadforadam, her friend Marti, and CougarAdamFan) as we celebrated and toasted Adam pre-concert with aptly named "Eroticoladas" at nearby Union Station. I tried to tweet often enough during the concert to offer some sense of the night's experience while not draining my battery before Adam's set. My iPhone photos, such as they are, are all located here: http://twitpic.com/photos/itsjuls. We are determined to all meet again for Adam's solo tour!

So excited that it is only hours away. First of 3 concerts I am going to.
I drove down from Minneapolis to visit my family in Spingfield, ILL and bought tickets
for my sister and her family so they would go with me. Got 7th row floor tickets for her and me and got my ADAM T-Shirt ready to wear. Hope to see you guys as we are going early.

I wish there was some way they could tell us when and where we could go to meet up with Adam and the A.I. crew when they get to St Louis. I know they do meet and greet in each city. BUT as Adam fans it would be nice to get a heads up so we get the chance to really meet him.

The Scottrade Center is the OLD Savvis, Kiel Center, not the old Arena/Checkerdome. That venue was brought down a few years back & was located across I-40/I64 at Forest Park. Scottrade is located at 14th & Clark Downtown St. Louis by Union Station.

At the Scottrade's Center that used to be the Arena that used to the Checkerdome? (ha ha) Got to love St. Louis! I wasn't aware of the A. I. tour date til now...hmmm!

My son and I will be there with great seats. Be ready to party in the Lou.

I will be ther with my friend, my daughter and her son! We can hardly wait and will be armed with plenty of signage for Adam. I think St Louis is one of the largest fan support areas for Adam. Let's be sure he knows we're there for him!! It's a great idea to meet up before or after the concert....let's figure out how.

I am going with my friend and my two daughters- lets all try to meet up beforehand! We will be there supporting this angel of a man! Bring your signs for ADAM!