ShariG met the Idols before the concert…by accident. She happened to be staying at the same hotel. After the concert, was she finally able to give hometown boy David Cook the gift bag she brought with her to two prior concerts? Read her detailed re-cap below to find out…
I am a huge David Cook fan. Love the guy. So, from the time he said his dream was to perform at the Sprint Center I have been planning a trip to Kansas City to see him in person. When the schedule for the tour came out I booked my flight and hotel. Got tickets at the presale and here I am. This is my third concert. I attended in Chicago and Indianapolis and both times brought a gift bag for David C and he didnt come out before the show and I couldnt get close enough after the show to even shout …I love you, Cookie so on my third try, I was still lugging the same gift bag.
My flight out of Chicago was delayed for an hour and I figured I would miss the before concert autographs. When I got to my hotel I dropped off my suitcase and was heading to the Power and Light district in front of the Spring Center to find the crowds. As I stepped out of the elevator there was Michael Johns looking very tired and very sexy stepping out of the elevator next to mine. We talked for a few minutes and he said they had gotten in at 5:00 in the morning and he had just gotten up. Soon after out walked David Archuleta, Brooke and her husband, Kristy Lee, and Carly. I was wearing my David Coook t-shirt and a huge smile and they all stopped to say hello except Carly who walked past me as if my obvious American Idol fangirlyness wasnt completely obvious. I did not ask for autographs or pictures. Just commented on how much I had been enjoying the performances and wished them luck.
The I walked to the venue just blocks away. On the way a long black stretch limo with tinted windows passed. It was David and his family returning from the dedication in Blue Springs. So I was excited that I might actually get to meet him this time and give him my gift, hand made from my heart. But he didnt come out. I am told he had press. In fact the girl next to me at the barricade said he was being interviewed on the radio by some girl who had won a contest. So I chatted with Jason, Kristy Lee, Brooke, Archie before the concert. Michael came out for a few minutes and was called back in before he got to where I was standing.
I did have fun chatting with fans at the barricade though. One girl had a great picture of David taken at her wedding where he was the soloist. This was before he moved to Tulsa. he looked like he did during Happy Together. Very cute. Very young. She said her sister was a classmate of David in college, both in graphic design. Another woman showed me a cute picture of David with a group of kids including her daughter when they were in seventh grade. So cute. He had on sun glasses, but already had the David Cook smile. There were a million David Cook signs and posters and t-shirts. The town, too, was ready for Cookie. As I pulled into town on the airport shuttle one big building had WELCOME DAVID C in big letters across the windows and the huge electronic billboard at the Spring Center said Welcome Home David Cook with a great picture of him.
So, on to the concert. It was packed to the rafters and a very lively crowd, clearly very pro David Cook which made me feel right at home immediately. Chikezie absolutely rocked the house with his set. People were shouting out CAUGHT UP and were on their feet. He is great at getting the party started. Ramiele was 100 times better than when I saw her in Chicago. She was confident, her voice was strong, and I thought her performance was great. She didnt even have the back up singers dancing with her anymore. She really sounded great tonight.
There was a huge roar from the audience when Michael Johns came out. He might have been tired, but you would never have known it in his performance. He sounded great. I particularly like the slower bluesy IARBIAW, but he rocked out on the other rock anthem songs as well. He is definitely a crowd pleaser. I think other than the Davids and Jason, Michael and Carly received the loudest crowd reaction.
Kristy Lee sounded good and looked good. I think she should do Cowboys second and end with God Bless the USA, because whether you particularly like that song or not, it is her strongest performance and it is good to end with a strong one rather than a song no one really knows. She is a sweet girl though and gives so much time to greeting the fans.
Carly looked and sounded good. I have always loved Crazy on You, but tonight I liked Drive All Night, too. Most of the performers talked about it being Cookie hometown, which got a reaction from the crowd.
Brooke is such a sweetheart. She sounded fantastic and just is the most likable person on the planet. Let It Be remains her strongest performance, but she has fun with 1234 and Yellow is growing on me.
I still dont quite understand why Michael Johns gets the big introduction in the group number and no one else does, but hey, he is a hottie with a great voice, so it isnt a problem.
The second half was really, really strong as always. Jason was his usual laid back self singing the heck out of Over the Rainbow, and my personal favorite of his Crazy. I liked his entire set and enjoy watching the big monitors to see his facial expressions. He is really fun to watch and got a great crowd reaction from the ladies.
Syesha just sings her face off every night. I dont know what it is about her that there seems to be a distance between her and the audience. But she did a nice job on Umbrella, sang Since I Dont have You better than I have heard it before, and just rocked the house with Listen. The audience roared its appreciation after the last song and I think she was touched.
Archie seemed to have a little bit of a throat problem from time to time tonight, clearing his throat away from the mic on occasion. But, he still was his charming, adorable self and sounded strong. I love his genuine niceness during the autograph time and it also comes through from the stage. He is just a nice kid. I dont think he sounded as good tonight as in Chicago and Indianapolis, so think he may still be getting over his cold. I dont understand why he doesnt sing Stand By Me last since it is much more of a crowd pleaser than the down tempo song he is currently closing his set with. All in all, I really like Archie and even on a down day his voice is better than most anyone else in the world. Just a beautiful tone and he sings with so much sincerity.
Then came the deafening roars of approval for David Cook. Oh my goodness it went on and on. It was fantastic. By the time it gets to DC, I am usually hoarse from all of the screaming for the others and dont have much voice left, but tonight it didnt matter. There were thousands of others there who love him as much as I do. He was visibly touched, but stopped towards the end of Hello to ask the audience to calm a bit. He said he couldnt concentrate. It was kind of sweet really. When he introduced TOML, he wanted to thank everyone for the support and got choked up, but he sang the heck out of the song and the audience was right in there with him singing along. I was screaming so loud my voice didnt work at all after the show was over. The applause and screaming went on throughout most of his set with everyone in my view at least on their feet throughout. He said someone had taken his belt in Oklahoma City and was having trouble keeping his pants up until someone from the audience threw him up a belt. LOL He asked everyone to sing along to Dont Want to Miss a Thing, and they obliged. There Goes My Hero was dedicated to Adam and at one point he asked the audience to give his mom a round of applause. I absolutely love There Goes My Hero. He is the consummate rock star during that song and well it just rocks! When he left the stage the screams got louder and really didnt subside. Kansas City loves Cook!! Billie Jean was great as always.
I left before the end of Dont Stop the Music to try to get a spot along the barricade. Dave, the security guy, said he would be out after the show because he hadnt made it out before the concert and I didnt want to miss my chance to actually see him up close, get his autograph, and give him my gift. After about an hour Kristy Lee came out followed by Brooke and Archie and Jason. Then a while later out comes David Cook. I honesty think my heart missed a beat or two. He started down towards my end and I got my much anticipated autograph. He was still talking to the girls next to me when he got to me about a gift they had given him. They were from South Carolina. He was really rushed so I didnt get to talk to him, but got some nice pictures and an autograph and told him how proud I am to be his fan, handed him my gift bag and he was rushing on to the next person. But, he looked happy and truly appreciative of the fans and their support.
The only other thing to mention was that I got to talk a bit with David mother, step father, and brother Andrew at the break. They are all nice and so proud. Kimberly Caldwell was with them and I have to say she is much smaller in person and very nice. I asked for her autograph and she was just as nice as can be having her picture taken with fans and signing autographs when asked. She really was very sweet and not at all like the kind of harsher person she sometimes appears to be on Idol Tonight. She seems to get along well with his family, which would be important to him, I think.
Anyway, it was a great concert for Cookie fans especially, and to top all of that off, when I got back to my hotel, Kristy Lee, Brooke and her husband, Syesha, Carly, Ramiele, and security guy Dave were going into rooms on my same floor. I assume David C. went home to Blue Springs with his family, but I saw Jason and Michael J. going up one floor higher than mine. It was a great night all around for this AI fan and David Cook supporter.
