I didn’t think I could be more excited to be attending the second show of the AI Tour (thanks Spense!!!!) until I found out at the last minute that we would be attending the after party!!! So, I headed into the concert venue excited and expectant. I had heard the spoilers and had some idea of what was in store for us.Â
More from PJ’s recap after the jump!
I knew, for example, that the “janitor†sweeping the stage before the show was actually Blake. The people behind us joked, “Is that Bo Bice?†since the janitor sported long, brown hair underneath a cap. Sarah and I wondered if the guys might take turns “playing janitor,†but we decided it was Blake based on his stature and, as Sarah pointed out, his butt (sorry Blake! We know you’re not an object!) Blake stripped off his janitor jumpsuit and the show started out with a fun, energetic group medley to “Let’s Get it Started†by the Black Eyed Peas.
Unlike last year, the show mixes up the performances and group numbers randomly, with Blake “closing†the first half and Jordin closing the second half of the show. I don’t think I can even begin to remember the exact order, so I am going to just give my general impressions.
Blake - After the demise of my initial fave, Brandon Rogers (who I wish had made the tour), I was all about Blake. His mini-set began with his incredibly sexy Blake-ized version of The Zombies’ “Time of the Seasonâ€Â followed by a short tutorial on his loop pedals and how they work. Except they didn’t. So, he proceeded to play his guitar and sing Maroon 5’s “She Will Be Loved†straight. He sounded great, but I was a bit disappointed after how lovely it sounded with the loops on the Mike and Juliet Show. My guess is that most of the audience probably didn’t notice. I hope he works it out, because that is something I MUST experience live. Blake finished his set with his signature performance of “You Give Love a Bad Name.â€Â Great beatboxing. Great energy. Great performance. The crowd loved it. At the after party, Blake was such a good sport to pose with our Team Plaid sign as long as we “didn’t sell it.†I didn’t get the impression that Blake reads Team Plaid, but he mentioned that Kristi had told him something about it. He only read ricky.org and MJ’s.  He also told us that he just finished recording 6 songs for his album in 8 days. I didn’t think to ask him about a label. Duh. He also posed for pics with us and knew where to stand for the best lighting. Blake, call me. :).
Chris Sligh – I love Chris Sligh’s voice and he didn’t disappoint with his solo performance of Mute Math’s “Typical.†He sounded great and I loved seeing him rocking the guitar. I thought both he and Gina sounded fabulous on their duet of “Thnks Fr Th Mmrs.â€Â   He seemed most comfortable with his guitar and played it on several numbers throughout the evening. One of my favorite moments was the comedy routine with him, Sanjaya and Phil while the stage hands prepared the set for a new number. Let’s just say it was a hair joke at Phil’s expense. I won’t spoil it for you. At the after party, I learned first hand what an incredibly nice guy Chris Sligh is. Nice, seriously funny and generous. Oh, and refreshingly honest… no wonder he keeps getting himself in trouble. ;-) He reads MJ’s blog and even did a pointy pose for Erinn. Very cool guy. PJ = Sligh Fan Forevah!
Chris Rich - I’ve always thought Chris seemed like a nice guy and thought his friendship with Blake was adorable. However, I didn’t really care for his run on the show and I never voted for him. Not even once.  I now officially change my tune. When he came out in a suit and sang with Melinda and Lakisha on “Heard it Through The Grapevine†he not only looked hot, he sounded great with them. Yes, Chris Rich sounded great with the show’s two powerhouse vocalists. And his duet with Blake? Fabulous! Definitely a highlight of the show for me. Their friendship translated into a lot of chemistry on stage. So much hotness on stage at one time was almost too much to bear. /fangirl off. I will admit he returned to “nasally is a form of singing†in his duet with Jordin, but I’m not mad at him. I hear he’s a madly talented songwriter, so I can’t wait for his post-Idol stuff. Oh, and backstage he couldn’t have been sweeter. He made the goofiest face when I took his pic with Sarah. Too bad I cut her out of the picture. It was dark. Or maybe I was too focused on his hotness? Did I mention that he was hot? Chris, call me. Just don’t tell Spense ‘cuz she’ll beat me up.
Gina - I did vote for Gina a few times. I thought the show edited her a bit unfavorably to seem a little witchy in the beginning. I didn’t watch the auditions last year, but this is someone who seemed to really want it! Well, I’m so happy she made the tour because she kicked it with Sligh on “Thnks Fr Th Mmrs,†sassed it up with the girls on “Lady Marmalade “ and blew me away with Pink’s “Who Knew,†a song she wanted to sing on the show but couldn’t get cleared. Go Gina! Go Gina!  And the after party? Once again, incredibly nice and funny. About her mom wearing a red shirt with “Gina’s Mom†written across the front, she joked, “Not at all obvious!â€Â She sat at a table with Sanjaya and seemed a bit protective of him. She also did something incredibly nice for Sarah. I like Gina Glocksen. :)
Sanjaya- The boy has some serious Michael Jackson moves (and I mean that in a good way!) Dude can moonwalk. I thoroughly enjoyed his performance of “The Way You Make Me Feel†and I appreciated how he interacted with the fans at the side of the stage. Oh, and when he ripped off the bottom of Melinda’s skirt off during “Proud Maryâ€, I KNEW this show was going to be fun. Okay, the move was a bit awkward, but it’ll run more smoothly as the tour progresses. I think Sanjaya has a ton of potential to grow into a very entertaining performer. After all, HE’S only 17. Off stage, guess what??? I sound like a broken record, but he’s an extremely sweet kid. He looked adorable in his hat and that smile speaks for itself.Â
Lakisha Jones.- I think Lakisha peaked on the show too early, but I have to say she delivered on “I Will Always Love You.â€Â Typically, this is not my favorite type of song as I’m not a fan of belters and glory notes. BUT, she gave me chills with this performance and received the only standing ovation of the evening. She had the audience in the palm of her hand. She also shined on “Lady Marmalade.â€Â I regret that I didn’t get a chance to talk to her backstage. From what I understand from others, she was very gracious.
Melinda Dolittle – I thoroughly enjoyed Melinda’s medley with Lakisha at the beginning of the show, and I loved that she showed a playful side with Sanjaya (see skirt tear mention above). Her delivery of “Natural Woman†was spot on. I’m upset they cut her “Killing Me Softly†duet with Blake. I hope I get to see it at a future concert. BTW, I can see why Simon was so upset. If I could change the results of AI post-show, I would give the crown to Melinda. She was fabulous and completely sweet in person. No, it’s not an act. She’s gracious and humble for realz. She’s also itty bitty. I had no idea she was so tiny in real life. She brightens the room with her smile.
Phil Stacey – Phil killed with “Blaze of Glory!†He also delivered one of the most poignant moments of the show when he rose from the pit on the riser, surrounded by the girls, dressed in his Navy uniform to the tune of “The Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy.â€Â He then launched into a flawless version of “America The Beautiful.â€Â The boy can sang! And guess what? He couldn’t have been nicer. He seemed really close to Chris Sligh and he mentioned to us that most of them entered the competition at the request of others with little expectations. He said that he thought he should have gone home instead of Haley, and when he didn’t, the pressure had lifted. He said he hadn’t seen his wife in two and a half weeks, but would be seeing her later that night in Jacksonville. Phil = genuinely good guy. Side note: he wasn’t as tall as I thought he would be.
Haley- she sounded good on “When God Fearing Women Get the Blues†and her part on “Life is a Highway.â€Â  And the TV does not lie… she has nice legs. I didn’t really get a chance to talk to Haley after the show. But she’s even prettier in real life.Â
Jordin- Well, I confess to using Jordin’s set to take a bathroom break. I don’t think I’m qualified to review her set for that reason. She finished the show with an encore of “This is My Now,†a song I despise with the heat of a thousand suns. In fact, the entire encore disappointed. All the Idols returned to do snippets of their solo performances. How lame is that? I would have preferred a group number, complete with a pointy pose. After all, this is American Idol! BTW, I didn’t meet Jordin, either.
The show was a TON of fun and I can’t wait to see it again. I wonder if they plan on changing it up each night?. The set design was much nicer than the tinfoil stage of last season’s tour and the costumes were superior as well. I encourage everyone to check out the tour if you can!!!
Great recap, PJ!
I’m glad you had such a good time.
And everyone keeps mentioning the Gina thing… I am gonna have to finish part 2 soon. LOL.
I’m really enjoying reading all these recaps. Thanks, PJ.
(BTW, any chance on us getting an update on Operation Destroy Fugly Hat (ODFH)? You guys were so close. Surely, you could have arranged a little accident for that hat? If you couldn’t burn it, perhaps a spilled crantini would have put it out of commission for a while)
LOL, Kirsten. Aside from the fact that I’ve started to develop a fondness for Fugly hat, the after party was sans beverages of any kind. Besides, even though I don’t believe for a second that Blake is actually 5′7″, he’s still taller than me so arranging such a “spill” would have likely landed in me in jail ala Jessica Sierra.
I forgot to mention a Sanjaya detail. At one point in the concert he tripped a little, but recovered nicely. He mentioned it at the after party and asked if we noticed. When we admitted we did, he said something to he effect that it would have been better if he had completely fallen. I am paraphrasing, of course. LOL.
Actually, I was so unprepared for attending the after party that I’ve subsequently thought of many questions for all of them that I wish I had asked.. Ah, hindsight.
It is such fun to see how perceptions have changed for each one of you. Thanks for the wonderful recap, pj!
LMAO. Yeah, didn’t we actually see the bar where she was arrested? Heh.
Gina also asked us at the Meet and Greet if we saw Sanjaya trip. She said they laughed about it for a while.
And much word on the being unprepared. I’d find myself walking up to them with best intentions and a grin on my face, but then being like “uh. could you sign my program? thanks. will you take a picture? thanks.” I actually practiced what I was going to say to Melinda while she was talking to Gina’s mom. I was so scared I was going to leave something out and I really wanted to tell her how incredibly amazing I think she is. So yeah… But, something about Sligh, Phil, and Gina put me right at ease. It was cool. At least I wasn’t a total nerd. Heh.
I was fangirl extraordinaire with both Blake and Chris R (still not believing this one. I’m telling you peeps, he won me over big time, and that was before I realized how hot he really is in person. Star has the texts to prove it. LOL.) - but I was especially fangirly with Blake. *sigh* I’m such a dork. LOL.
Hmm. Now I’m thinking it was Gina who asked us about Sanjaya tripping and Sanjaya who said it would have been cooler if he had completely fallen. Gah. I need a do-over so I can ask the right questions and also not be such a dork, too.
I remember telling Sligh I liked his blog and he quipped something like, “You’re the only one!” I also managed to ask Blake about his album, but besides that, I was a total fangirl. Oh, well. It was a great experience. :)
When we were talking with Gina, she said “Hey did you guys see Sanjaya trip?” then she giggled (and so did we). Then, we talked with Sanjaya he also asked “Hey, did you guys see me trip?” We said yes, we all laughed. Then, I think he said “It would have been funnier if I had just gone ahead and fallen on my face” or something to that effect.
Oh, they’re long gone from my inbox, so I guess I won’t ever be able to blackmail you. Teehee!
I did, however, save that Cake picture you sent me! SAVE ME LB2!!!!!
Anyway, I love MJ’s Tampa crew. Your recaps make me feel as if I was there. TEAM PLAID! ♥
I’m not sure if I can, star! Chris may be this year’s Ace for you as well. But I will be a cakebusta! for life.
Star, you can thank Spense-friend for the Cake pic. I thought I should torture you.
The gist of the texts will be in MJ’s and Team Plaid’s archives for a while now though, I guess. LOL.
Love all these recaps..Thanks for writing them.. AND…does anybody have any Chris R pics they can email me? LOL
Spense, yes! I’m glad I didn’t totally make up that about Sanjaya referencing his tripping on his own. LOL.
LB2, you can be a cakebusta and still appreciate Chris Rich. I promise. Not that I’d try to recruit you or anything. ;-)
Yeah, come aboard ya’ll! The Team RoundHead bandwagon has so much room, we can’t be picky. Up until last week - there were only about 4 of us passengers.
This reminds me - for you and the other 3 Chris R. fans on this board - if you get to a show - buy a program! The hotness that eminates from his section was making us all swoon. Seriously, I was this close to saying the “th*d” word.
Here’s the pic of Chris that I cut Sarah 1/2 out of… cropped even more to take her out of it. I even cut part of Chris out, but you can still get the gist of his expression.
http://img341.imageshack.us/my.php?image=chriscropxs6.jpg
Not that I’m a fangirl or anything. Never!
Geez Louise PJ. You cannot give me a lifesize shot of the sparkly eyes without warning. I nearly had a panic attack.
PJ, I’m an official h8er after this, first the chi-town T concert and now this. What is a girl to do? I’m glad you ladies had a fabulous time.
What the hell is Sarah doing to the poor guy to cause that expression on his face? No, no - don’t tell me. He is over 18, right?
LOL RSF. Yes, but still too young for me. Damn. ;)
I’d love to meet them but sadly I’m closer in age to their parents so it would be so bad if I was fangirly, lol. This way I can just pretend and picture it.
Glad to hear you had a blast, pj! :)
Great recap pj! I’ve read Sarah, Pj’s, on to Spense’s! You’ve got some catching up to do MJ! (j/k)
Great recap! I’m totally stoked about the Greenville show tonight in the hometown of Chris Sligh!
THANKS FOR THE TIP! I defintely will!!!
THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOVE HIS EYES.. Love that Pic!!!
I can’t wait to hear about this. I hope Chris gets a big warm hometown welcome.