American Idols Rocked The House In Reading, PA

If you are an Idol fanatic, you know that watching the show just isn't enough. You need more. You need YouTube clips of Clay Aiken singing in school and homemade t-shirts declaring you allegiance to Glambert Nation. And you know that when the American Idols Live tour hits a town near you, you will sell your soul for tickets.

Because the Idols Live is insanity. It just is. We sat behind a crazed fan who brought printouts of photos blended with a scrapbooking program to create glorious Adam Lambert collages involving the words "ring of fire." She was hoping to run into the Glamorous One, and we sat in the seats where that could of happened!

Beside the seats we were in, there was a curtained doorway with a metal gate. Before the show even started Matt Giraraud (the faux-Timberlake guy) popped through the curtain wearing a fake mustache and eyebrows. The one girl in the group in front of us managed to get a picture with him and promptly broke into weeping and shaky texting. Major fan craziness!

Throughout the show, Alison Iraheta popped her adorable little face through. I waved like a four-year-old meeting Mickey Mouse. Micheal Sarver also kept peeking through, who has lost some weight and gotten even roughneckedly hotter. And Crazy Glambert Grandma claims to have caught a glimpse of my sworn enemy/doppelganger The Gokey through the edge of the curtain. Basically the best seats in the house.

We were also somewhat close to the stage, where the real reason we came was happening. The show counted down the contestants in order of vote-offs, so we started at number ten, Micheal. Like I said, looking very hot. He sang two songs, Gavin DeGraw's "In Love With A Girl" which was hot and NE-YO's "Closer" which was decent. He also frequently commanded he crowd to make some noise, which got a little annoying.

Megan Joy followed, her hot pink dress and heels made her look like Tattoo Barbie. She also performed two numbers, "Put Your Records On" which was really good and Amy Winehouse's "Tears Dry On Their Own" which had the f-word redacted. Both suited her unusual way of vocalizing, and I was pleased to see her for once.

After Megan sauntered offstage, Scott McIntyre rose from the floor at the piano to perform. It was a dramatic way to enter, and his version of "A Thousand Miles" by Vanessa Carlton was stellar.

Lil Rounds had one of the hottest video openers, her picture was reflected in her sunglasses. She did a Mary J medley that was smoking, her shoes were on fire. She followed that with "No One" by Alicia Keys and did a very good job also. Closing with Beyonce's "Single Ladies" she told the crowd she worked with the original choreographer for the performance, which led to a major letdown. It was really basic movements, I wouldn't even call it dancing. But her vocals were amazing and that's what counts!

Anoop then rose from the floor to perform his heartrending version of "You Were Always On My Mind" followed by another ballad before closing with a crowd-pleasing "My Perogative." He is a showman, working a stand-still behind the mic for "On My Mind" and really rocking the stage the rest of the set.

Matt Giraurd, pegged all season as a smooth r&b man and blasted by the judges every time he strayed from that sound, opened with The Black Crowes "Hard To Handle" and rocked the fuck out of it. He slipped behind the piano after that for "Georgia On My Mind" and The Fray's "You Found Me" - another song disliked by the judges but loved by fans like me. I think it was a bit of an F-You to Randy and Kara, and I heartily approve.

All the Idols that had already performed returned to the stage in a variety of combinations (including Scott and Matt on dueling pianos!) which was capped with all six doing The Four Seasons' "Beggin'" which was soulful and beautiful.

After an intermission, Alison took the stage. She opened with Pink's "So What" which fit perfectly into her wheelhouse. She followed it with Janis Joplin's "Cry Baby" and Heart's "Barracuda." She picked songs that worked well with her rough yet soaring voice.

Then came Gokey. I promised not to be rude when he came out, and since he came out with the only one of his performances I didn't hate I didn't. He opened with "P.Y.T." from Micheal Jackson night and did it well. Then he destroyed Santana's "Maria, Maria" with a awful, horrible attempt at Latin dancing. At some point, he straddled his mic stand like a male stripper and ripped off his jacket. Yeah, "role model." He followed that with a pair of trite Rascall Flatts jams, with a moment for him to spout off about going through hard times and being yourself and blah-blah-blah. So over him...

BECAUSE IT WAS TIME FOR GLAMBERT!!!!!! Adam roared like a mighty train of rock as he pummeled the stage during "Whole Lotta Love." He wanted to give us every inch of his love and just bent us over and did just that. He followed that with Muse's "Starlight" which he sang in a higher register than I've heard him do before. He also reprised "Mad World" and brought Alison onstage for their Foghat duet. I though that was the end, but no. He launched into a David Bowie medley, starting with "Life On Mars" and "Fame" before tearing the shit out of "Let's Dance." During the course of the medley he lost his jacket and picked up some hip gyrations that just screamed electric sex. It was epic!

I was concerned that Kris Allen, this year's winner, would be a letdown after all that showboating. But he opened with his revelatory "Heartless" from top three week. He added more instruments from the live TV version, but not the sleepy lounge sounds of the iTunes studio version. Rock guitars swelled on the chorus, as well a violins. It was massive and perfect for an arena tour. He actually skipped his coronation single to do The Killer's "All These Things That I've Done" which rocked really hard. I didn't expect that from him. When I saw the piano rise behind him, I knew it was time to weep. Kris pulled no punches on his stellar take on "Ain't No Sunshine" and it felt so much more powerful live and in full. After that, he slipped a little with Matchbox 20's "Bright Lights" and the overplayed Beatles classic "Hey Jude."

The rest of the Idols joined him at the end of "Hey Jude" and then rocked out on "Don't Stop Believin'" It was the perfect song to end the night, and after three hours I was never gonna stop.

David Cook LIVE! At Dickinson College

Last night, I saw the Man Of My Dream, the current Idol champ, the Word Nerd himself - David Cook. The blistering rock show took place at Dickinson College before a sold out crowd, with Ryan Star as opening act.

Ryan was a perfect opening act, his modern rock sound a perfect match for my beloved Cookie. I knew his closing song, "Back Of Your Car" (and it's sexy opening line "It's the perfect time of night to be taking off your clothes now") from his stint on CBS's Rock Star: Supernova so had high hopes that he would have the same energy level as he did then. My hopes were exceeded, every song bristled with rock star swagger and oozed sex appeal. From the opening rock anthem "Brand New Day" to the humorous "Psycho Suicidal Girl" with it's acoustic opening verse and chorus that opened into a cavalcade of electric guitars and drum to the emotion-drenched love song "Last Train Home" with a great drum beat, every song was rock n roll at it's finest. Speaking of finest, Ryan may even be as hot as David. Compare and contrast:

After the short set from Ryan Star and his band we were treated to a really hot roadie/tech in plaid with great hair and glasses and beard (and a bunch of normal looking ones) setting up for the David Cook show. Seriously, if that hot roadie/tech is reading... call me.

Then David and band enter the stage to "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley. Don't ask why, it was just cool as fuck. Just like David... He opened the set with "Heroes" and started a recurring theme of sounding amazing live when he just sounded decent on CD. You may recall that I was annoyed at the mix on the CD, the vocals seemed buried in the instrumentation. But live, Cook's vocals were strong and clear.

The band was tight, providing two back up guitars, a bass, occasional keyboards and drums. David played guitar on most of the songs, which included a track from his unreleased Axiom Heart disc as well as "Life On The Moon," "Mr. Sensitive" and new single "Come Back to Me." The early stand out songs were the hidden track "Kiss On The Neck" which roared like a beast and current single "Light On" but there were no bad songs in the bunch. A heavy rock cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Little Lies" was the only nod to his American Idol past, I was hoping for "Always Be My Baby" but it would not have fit well with the very strong modern rock vibe that the show provided. Ending the set was another cover dedicated to the teachers in the audience - a cover of "Hot For Teacher" which was loud as hell but got the crowd moving. For an encore, the drummer return with a striking drum solo before the band launched into the heaviest song on the record, and new rock radio single, "Bar-Ba-Sol" and finally shut the show down with "A Daily AntheM" which had the crowd waving and singing the "oh, oh, oh, oh" from the end for a long time.

All in all, the show was tight, David's banter with the crowd and his band members was easy-going and endearing and the music rocked my socks off. Even if he wasn't fine as frog's hair I'd probably still have had a great time. And at only 15 bucks, it was totally worth it. David Cook with opening act Ryan Star is currently touring, check out the dates at his website.

PS: American Idol Recap coming this afternoon/evening!

Full Post: Reba + Kelly = AWESOMENESS PERSONIFIED!

OK, let's just lay this out there: I am not an unbiased journalist. I make no pretensions to have gone into Reba McEntire and Kelly Clarkson: 2 Worlds, 2 Voices concert in Reading, PA with an open-mind, I knew it was going to ROCK OUT LOUD! And it did.

The show start with a comedy set by Reba co-star Melissa Peterman. She was pretty funny, and got big laughs when she made some local flavor jokes about Al's Cabaret and mock-flirted with a bald dude named John in the front rows.

But it was country legend Reba and pop superstar Kelly that we were dying to see, and they were worth the wait! Opening with Reba doing a few a Capella lines from the Patsy Cline classic "Sweet Dream" before Kelly joined in with the Eurythmics hit of the same name, the duo set the tone for the country/rock hybrid to come.

Reba had the larger catalog of hits to pull from, and the two harmonized in classic duets like "Does He Love You" and made a logical extension of the harmony-heavy "How Blue" while Reba brought the house down with a solo rendition of "The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia."

Kelly is no stranger to hits herself, and Reba and Kelly really had fun with her rock-flavored singles like "Walk Away" and "Since U Been Gone." I was surprised at how brilliant Kelly was on one of her weaker singles, "Never Again" - it definitely works better live than on disc.

Both ladies have phenomenal voices, so I was not at all surprised that the slower duets that really showcased the vocals were the standouts. Reba's "The Greatest Man I Never Knew" and Kelly's "Beautiful Disaster" were amazing, but the cover of Patty Griffin's "Up To The Mountain" (which Kelly had previously done solo on Idol Gives Back) was truly transcendent.

The big moment, though came at the end. During the encore, the two performed the country radio hit duet version of "Because Of You," which I don't like as much as Kelly's original solo version. I was afraid that would be the end, and I'd leave the show with a bad taste in my ear. But then, it came: the greatest song about whoring oneself out ever. Yes, that's right! "HERE'S YOUR ONE CHANCE, FANCY DON'T LET ME DOWN!" I could die now, happy. The two of them, pouring every ounce of vocal strength into Reba's best single, the band really cooking (like they were all night) and the crowd going wild. It was a worthy end to a magnificent show.

Even if you strip away the hit songs, the vocal calisthenics and the rocking 10 piece band; you would still have two entertainers who have amazing chemistry, who really seem to appreciate and like each other and obviously feed off each other's energy. The two of them on tour is a perfect storm, one that could not be recreated easily. I really hope this is not the last time Reba and Kelly work together!

3.12 Live @ MCC Harrisburg

OK, back story: I met Deb at church shortly after I started attending MCC over the summer. She is super nice lady, and she complimented me on my glasses, which y'all should know is a easy way to get in my good graces! Turns out, she's a member of this really great trio called 3.12 and she invited me to one of their coffeehouse appearances a while back. I could only make it for a half-hour on my lunch break so when I heard of their Common Hope concert I knew I had to be there!

At the show Saturday night 3.12 really brought it all to the table: full band, two original songs and over a dozen covers of CCM, pop and Broadway tunes. Opening with a cover of Krystal Harris's "My Religion" before segueing into "Seasons Of Love" from Rent, Deb, David and Jason's polished and professional vocals were well-served by the addition of a band. Midway through the first set they really hit a high mark with a stunning version of Seal's "Love's Devine" featuring Jason on lead vocals over acoustic guitar and a tribal beat. The trio followed that with a southern gospel vamp on the modern standard "Bridge Over Troubled Water" before introducing their stellar band. A few songs later, including the original "Bold New Song," and the first set ended.

After the snack-filled intermission, during which time I picked a copy of 3.12's Christmas EP available at their website, the early highlights included a faithful cover of Sheryl Crow's "I Shall Believe" and hymn medley. The true standouts were a dramatic and moody piano ballad original "Not Afraid" and a really delightful variation on Avalon's massive 1998 hit "Testify to Love," which started with an acoustic guitar reminiscent of Wynonna's version for Touched By An Angel before veering into an arrangement similar to the hit version. Those two performances created a one-two punch that lead to the finale: my favorite gospel standard, "His Eye Is On The Sparrow" that truly exemplified 3.12's motto: "Healing Music For Wounded Souls." If you enjoy harmonious adult pop, you really should check out 3.12 at a coffeehouse near you.

The Snoods LIVE @ Starbucks, July 26, 2008

I finally made it to an entire appearance by The Snoods last night. Every time I've seen them I either had to leave early, or got there late. But my friend Beth and I made it to Starbucks for their acoustic set early, and stay the whole way through, yay!

You may recall I reviewed the debut CD by The Snoods in April, and I've been a fan of the band for a while now. Here's my problem: on disc, they rock. The songs are hooky, the playing is tight and while the vocals are a little weak, they are quite serviceable. I really do love the album!

But live? They really could work on stage presence. I was easily distracted, and could barely hear the vocals or the weak attempts at patter between songs. I don't get a youthful energy from them, which I would expect from guys still in high school. Maybe I'm expecting too much from a group of teenage boys, I just hoped for more. Maybe the regular, non-acoustic sets are better? I'm really hoping to check out one of those sets soon. I still love the songs, so all is not lost.

The Snoods is available via iTunes and other download sites now.

The Snoods Live Acoustic Set @ Starbucks

I missed most of it, which bums me out, but I caught the last couple songs of The Snoods acoustic set at Starbucks tonight. These guys really are talented, you should take a listen at their MySpace. The standout was "Yam 51" and "Yam 52" written by Zack Fox, with Chris Bemis on sax. The saxophone worked well with the acoustic guitar, drum and vocals, not overpowering like brass so often does. Slightly proggy, but with a definite classic rock feel, it sounded perfect for a coffeehouse. The band real plays so harmoniously, it's hard to believe they are all still in high school. I can't wait for the CD to drop!