The screen(or screens?) were completely inadequate. I saw only one and it was very low, useful to people on the floor or in the first level, facing the stage. It was at a really bad angle for those of us on the sides or in the two balcony levels. Bad job, Staples.

The band was way too loud, especially after intermission, and it overpowered Allison and Danny. CryBaby was clear and great and Allison’s appearance and stage presence have improved so much since May. But I was glad I had heard Baracuda on Tonight the night before, because I couldn’t hear her voice over the band at Staples. Same thing on several of Danny’s songs. Adam barely managed to overcome the band and crowd’s screams on Whole Lotta Love. Thank goodness Starlight and Mad World weren’t the type of song the band overdid. I too was afraid for Kris having to follow Adam, but we all knew it would be a mellower vibe and he got just as much love, but of a calmer type.

During the first half, Scott was surprisingly good and Matt really does have star quality. Anoop sounded great on Always on My Mind, but the dark loop of suspenders hanging below Anoop’s butt looked ridiculously hilarious from the side view. I didn’t get into Lil’s performance but that may be because I didn’t know the songs she sung. But the dueling pianos were wonderful and Matt was exciting.

At times I felt angry at Ticketmaster for our horrible “best available at any price” seats that cost $161 for 2. But I know Adam will never play a small venue again. After waiting 13 months for David Cook to finally do a show in California, I decided bad seats were better than none. And they were.

THIS!!! I’m glad anoop is gettin some love. And thanks for reviewing ALL the contestants and being fair.

I am too! Almost everyone says Anoop doing a great job.

It seems Adam is in a diffrent tier above the others. He is a great talent.

Wonder if AI is regreting gutting Alexis out of a top spot?

Thanks, Kathy!

Thanks, Kathy, for your recap, too. I also love Heartless and Ain’t No Sunshine, but am really excited to hear Kris sing Bright Lights and the No Boundaries replacement song. Can’t wait to hear the guitar solo which sounds fantastic on the you tube videos. Glad you enjoyed his performance.

Michael Sarver just sort of appeared. There really wasn’t any way to let people know the show was starting. No fanfare or hoopla. They showed his image on the screen and the next thing you know, he’s on stage. He looked great and has a nice voice. He dedicated the first song to his wife. It was so hard to see him because some woman came in and started looking for her seat. She and her 2 daughters were lost and kept trying to say that we were in their seats. We told them over and over that they were our seats. The usher assisted and told us that they had duplicate tickets printed. We later found out the had the row behind us. In the meantime, we missed the entire MS set.

Megan appeared in a Legally Blonde costume, with the addition of a complete tattoo sleeve, which took away from the style and glam, IMO. She sang horrible and people were rolling their eyes and looking at one another in disbelief. it was really, really bad. I mean, honestly. As she ends the song, she bumps the mic into her teeth. The lights go out and she screams out “CAW CAW”. Yes, CA CA sums up her set.

Scott steps on stage and says hello to the fans. He sings ‘A Thousand Miles’  and he sounds really great live. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed him live. He can really sing, and he was great.

Lil’ Rounds is next and she’s sporting a Beyonce hairstyle, long hair with bangs. She sounded very current and strong. I was dreading her at first, but she really did a great job. She did Beyonce’s Single Ladies and did Beyonce’s moves. She may do well with a label afterall.

Anoop did always on my mind and was kinda meh…. he then did My Perogative. It was okay.

Matt started ‘Hard to Handle’  and was great. he also did Georgia on my Mind and sported his fedora for the “fans”. He sounded great. He also did You found Me. He sounded really great.

Group number time. Megan and Lil’ opened with ‘You’re Just too Good to be True.’  I was embarassed for Megan. It sounded like a goat singing. It just didn’t make sense. Scott and Matt had a piano play off and it was really cool.

Allison was awesome. She can really sing and she has so much stage presence and confidence, not for a teenager, but just in general. she really seemed natural on stage. Did ‘ Rock Star’ , and made you believe it then ‘Cry Baby’  and finally ‘Barracuda.’  She was probably the best of the night.

Danny Gokey, came out with ‘ PYT’  I wasn’t liking it. He tried to get the crowd going with “this is for Michael Jackson” but itwas just okay. ‘Maria Maria’  was okay, but it sounded like he was screaming his lyrics. Out of all the idols, he’s the only one who seemed to be literally yelling the lyrics. He did 2 Rascal Flatt’s songs. I love Rascal Flatt’s. He did the best on these 2 songs.

Adam was next. He was good, but I didn’t know the songs he was singing, so it was hard to really enjoy it. He did his Mad World, which I knew from Idol and that was good. He did ‘Starlight’  then ‘ Life on Mars’  He closed with ‘Fame’  and removed his jacket. He’s a handsome guy and he was fun to watch, but I’m not into his music. I know others are, so I’m not knocking it, just saying it’s not for me.

Kris opened with Heartless. There were two motel type signages on either side of the stage, reading “Heartless”. I didn’t like it on the show, but live it was pretty good. Ain’t no Sunshine was also very good. He ended with ‘Hey Jude’ .

And then it ended. As abruptly as it started. It was strange. Probably one of the least satisfying concerts I’ve been to. Paled in comparison to Seasons 5, 6, & 7. There were hardly anyone wearing AI shirts or colors or holding posters. There were a few rainbow flags and homemade posters, but for the most part, I felt like it was dull.

There were quite a few empty seats, and lots of people left after Adam. In L.A. though, because of the traffic and things, that’s not uncommon for people to leave 10-15 minutes early to try to avoid the gridlock.

I was disappointed in this concert. I have to say the best of the night, in my opinon were Matt & Scott’s piano set, and Adam & Allison’s duet. Allison was my favorite performer of the night, with Adam probably second.

Megan didn’t come out at the final curtain call or should I say curtain CAW?

Thanks for the review. Fan reviews are always so much better. I mean, sure, a lot of times people review with their apparent biases, but that’s natural. But a lot of newspaper reviews leave out idols completely. I’m primarily an Anoop fan with love for some others, and complete indifference toward well, the majority, but it irks me when some reviewers like, don’t even mention Scott or whoever. Hellooo. I know that a few key people are considered the main attraction, but it is NOT the Adam Lambert Tour Feat. Some Other People. It is the American IDOLS Live tour. They are all there. seriously. Even if you say something bad, the reviewers should at least acknowledge their presence. What’s worse, a bad review or no review?

Scoobyld has great videos of the concert on youtube. Well, video portion maybe not the best due to autofocus problems. But the sound is great. I WANT ‘Bright Lights’ from this performance.

I hope fans don’t throw anything at Kris. The lift is open during some of his songs to bring up the piano. If he takes one step back, it could be ugly.

yeah, i don’t like to see that. The trap is like 2 feet behind him. Well I guess he’s all used to it now but I was fearing that he might forget with the excitment level

Thanks for the review Kathy.

Just so you know, it’s actually “Whole Lotta Love” and “So What” (as opposed to Rock Star) .

I agree about mostly everyone though Adam’s not my type so my love for him was a bit less than yours. And that’s kinda sad about Sarver, I actually also thought he was a lot better live.

and yeah, bandzilla was on RAGE mode during the closing group number’ ¦you couldn’t even hear adam’s glory note.

This was tragic. I stuck around for the glory note and couldn’t remotely hear it! Argh!

And I really like like this video somebody posted of “Heartless” on youtube — one thing that’s great is how Kris is learning how to create his own drama and intensity onstage, in his own fashion. You really see it here — and musically his rendition of the song just gets better & better:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwF8_H36EWg

I always wondered, if/when the idols get their solo tours-which ones would you go too?

Adam and Anoop for sure….and prob Allison and Matt…

I read that one of Allison’s friends supposedly threw boxers up on stage at her as a joke. But I didn’t see anything from where I was sitting. Did anyone else who was there see this?

There is actually video of slow ride where you see the boxers flung on stage..have to find it

Love your review of Allison…

I always wondered, if/when the idols get their solo tours-which ones would you go too?

(The one thing I really really hate about living in L.A. is the traffic. It took me 75 minutes to get from my place in Hermosa Beach to Staples Center)

got you beat, it took me an hour and 40 min from my office in Santa Monica

and yeah, bandzilla was on RAGE mode during the closing group number…you couldn’t even hear adam’s glory note.