Idol Chatter

Emily and I drove to Sacramento last night to take in the American Idol tour concert. Even though we didn't have floor seats, we still had a good view of the stage, and the big screens also gave us some closeup shots of the performers. Em definitely had a good time.... plenty of screams and whoops from her throughout the night, mostly whenever Blake or Chris R. were on stage. Those two did a very cool number in which both of them did a bit of beatboxing. Blake did his fabulous version of You Give Love a Bad Name; it was even better than the first time. We were also treated to Phil's *awesome* rendition of Blaze of Glory. He totally rocked it. Emily and I both agreed that Phil had the best stage presence of anyone, although Blake seemed fairly comfortable interacting with the crowd as well. As far as the rest of the guys went, Chris Sligh was able to show us his mad skilz on guitar, and Sanjaya served mostly as window dressing for the show. He was showcased very little... and that's OK. :)

Now as to the girls... When they first came out, one of my first impressions was that Haley was a bit overdressed (for her, anyhow). As the evening went on, her wardrobe began disappearing. Emily said she was just too "Playboy bunny." I am inclined to agree. On the other hand, Gina looked and sounded great. Kiki looked quite glamorous, and I think she's been going to speech therapy. I watched her singing/talking on the big screen and her lisp was not noticeable. She did a great job with I Will Always Love You. Melinda was fabulous as well. She was showcased performing Natural Woman. There were several group performances ... fun stuff! All of these performances led up to the last few songs of the night by Jordin. Jordin seemed to be having a little bit of trouble with her voice. Her first song was I Who Have Nothing, and there were a couple of spots where she cracked a bit. She also did Broken Wing (big surprise there, huh?) and of course, ended the show with This Is My Now. I absolutely love that song. Afterwards, there was the obligatory encore, which involved each performer returning for 30 seconds or so of one of their showcase numbers, and then everyone joining Jordin for This Is My Now. All in all a fun night. Emily was quite jealous of the folks on the front row, especially after Blake jumped down from the stage to the small barricaded section between the stage and the front row. Folks who got seats to the very side of the stage were also treated to lots of handshakes from the performers. I guess we know what to try for if we can't get floor seats for any other concert we get to attend there!

If you'd like to see a much better review of one of the other stops on this tour, look here.