Larry's Portland OR Recap

Here I am, sitting in the doctor's office the day before THE BIGGEST CONCERT OF MY LIFE (OK, a slight overstatement, but hey, it's my 12 year-old daughter's first big concert). Pneumonia?!!! In both lungs?!!! Shoot me up, doc, I got a concert to attend. And so she did, and gave me some more horse pills, which worked their magic well enough to drag myself into the Rose Garden Arena for a night of cheesetastic entertainment.
 
And boy were we entertained. Rather than report on each performer, I'll give you my highlights and lowlights.
 
Awesome stage, and the band was kicking tonight. The drummer in particular, but the guitar player rocked the house as well. Unfortunately, they ended up being Bandzilla all night and they cranked up the singer's mic so much that they ended up sound like they were shouting.
 
I loved Mandisa's shout out to the youth in the audience, hopefully some of them actually listened to what she said. Great outfit for her, silver top, back pants.
 
Nothing to say about Ace, other than the ladies next to me were enjoying themselves way too much.
 
Lisa Tucker rocked the house! Far and away the best performance of the evening, hand's down. I wish she would have waited a few years because she would be closing the show instead of being filler. I'm not sure what it was exactly that impressed me so much. She's so genuinely sweet and you could tell she really enjoyed what she was doing, not just putting on an act, well, except for the dance moves to Waterfall. Reminded of two 16 year-old girls in their room late a night during a slumber party.
 
Paris needs to sing and not dance. She has way too much talent to cover it up by shaking her booty all over the stage.
 
The next big highlight for me was Bucky's rendition of Drift Away. I didn't recognize the name of the song, but when I heard it, I'm glad he chose to sing it. That's his genre, and he worked it. His stage presence was vastly improved from the TV show.
 
Lose the fake hair, Kellie! I liked the Momma Kellie haircut she got after she got kicked off the show. The red bustier made an appearance. God bless America! Went well with the Bonnie Raitt "Something to Talk About" tune she sang, which was clearly her best performance of the evening.
 
Chris "the one trick pony" opened up the 2nd half and was a ladies favorite but left me yawning. After hearing him sing for a couple of weeks on the TV show, I recognized him for what he is, someone who can knock 'em dead if they stay in their genre, but very one dimensional. He does have a great rock voice and I finally figured out what was being talked about in A Whole Lotta Love :)
 
My man Yamin! We listened to Moody's Mood for Love right before we left and boy did he do it good last night. He's relaxed, and he's clearly enjoying himself. I will definitely buy his CD when it ships.
 
Katherine did what's she's done all tour, and I still get emotional hearing SOTR. She had a gorgeous long black dress that was almost backless, which definitely got my attention. Good voice, too! In fact, I think one of the reasons she, and other previous Idols, didn't win, is because they are "too" good. They are technically excellent singers, but that's not what the average American is looking for, they want excellence, but they want to be entertained, too. I might admire her vocal abilities, like the octave leap she pulls off in Think but to others she just doesn't reach out to them.
 
Which is why Taylor won, and why he should have won. He is a very good singer, not as good as Katherine, but he knows how to entertain. Great harmonica right at the end.
 
And then they all came out, did the encores and we went home. It was worth every penny we spent, and if they have as good a group next year, we'll be back.