Supabenben’s Greenville, SC recap:
I went to the Greenville show last night and thought I’d share my review! I won tickets through a local radio show and was excited to see Chris Sligh rock all the Greenville faces off!
I videoed a lot of the good acts and will post tonight on You Tube and send links. Not the best quality of course, but will give you an idea.
First for the good parts. Chris Sligh, of course rocked. I loved “Typical” and his duet with Gina was very well done! His guitar solo for the girl’s song was amazing and didn’t get the applause that it deserved. Overall, I think Sligh and Phil carried the show. Their experience and fundamental excellence anchored the rest of the acts. I absolutely LOVED “Hey Jude.” Sligh rocked the guitar on that number too. That was the song where all the guys played instruments. I was laughing at Sanjaya and his cymbal, that was pretty funny. That band act was an absolutely awesome idea that worked really well.
I haven’t watched Idol in the past and wondered if it would have even been possible to pull something like that off with talent from past years? I would have liked ore dialog and “crowd connection” time with Sligh since he’s local. They stuck to their schedule and script pretty firmly. Most of the Idols did try to mention Greenville and plug that it was Chris’ hometown, which was nice. I guess I’m just too used to local concerts where the artists can pretty much do what they want.
Besides Sligh… Blake, Phil, Chris R. and Gina were phenomenal. I would go to their concerts. Although maybe not Chris R. since he’ll probably go down the “boy band” road. I knew Blake would be awesome, I just really like his song choices and creative style. Blake pulled off a nice act similar to what Phil Keaggy does in concert. He uses a loop recorder to do all the parts of the song himself. He did well with it, but I’m sure will improve down the road. He sang portions of a Jamiroquai song, which I love, and sang a Maroon 5 song early on. I guess I made too many positive comments about Blake because my wife wants to get me a Blaker Girl shirt now!
Chris R., Phil and Gina severely impressed me with their performances. They are really, really good live. They connect with you, are very easy to understand and can really sing well. I predict Phil will be the breakout star. He will sell more records than anyone! Gina was awesome. She isn’t pop, so won’t sell a ton, but she’s the best female rocker out now. Chris R. sang very well, and might be one of the best stage performers in the show. He rocked the drums too.
Now for the negative:
Like any mishmash show (that’s my word for concerts that jam a bunch of artists together) I could do without a number of acts. I yawned through the diva songs. Well done, but not my cup of tea. That would be Melinda, Lakisha and a little bit of Jordin and Haley. I admit they can sing, but just not my style. Of course, Jordin wrapped up the show with 4-5 numbers. She did well, but again, not my style. (Can you tell who I voted for?)
I smiled through most of Sanjaya’s time in the spotlight. He is just one intriguing and highly marketable, dude. He is a perfect mix of Michael Jackson and Barry Manilow. (Notice how creepy, yet successful both of those guys are!)
I couldn’t understand a word of what Haley sang. My wife heard something like “lock up your husbands” so that was the end of it for her. She is the eye candy of the show. I guess that’s a valuable part.
If you’re going to a concert, try to get tickets close to the stage. It’s worth the extra $20. Our free tickets were a ways back, but still had a great time.
