Oh My Gosh - the American Idol concert!!!!!

I've been itching to update about the AI concert on Tuesday night but just haven't had a chance until now. So here goes.....

I had to drive up this time as Don still can't see well. I hated that but luckily Don can still navigate so we got there without any problems. We parked in E-Center parking at $10.00 a carload. We got the closest spot we could to the center but it was still way away from it. No matter! We were very excited to experience floor seats for the first time!

So...floor seats. Not so hot. The guy next to me sat with his legs splayed open the entire time, crowding me and not allowing me to sit straight forward...the woman in front of me knocked her full lemonade over when the first act came on and didn't even know it. It decided to make a beeline for me and puddled right at my chair, so for the rest of the concert I couldn't put my feet down or my purse on the floor! There were many stupid people who clogged the aisle next to Don and even when security came and asked them to sit down, which they did often, they would come right back out into the aisle as soon as they left. There were two young teens who continually did this until finally their mother and grandmother came out and stood with them, arms folded, just in case the big bad security guy came back again! Honestly! Then there was the 6'3" guy two rows in front of me who constantly blocked me. I had to watch most of the concert on the screens but did catch some good glimpses of the artists. Lastly, I asked security if they would clean up the lemonade and they said sure and then never came! So - not a big fan of the E-Center.

The fun began when they started putting pictures of the AI contestants up on the big screen before the concert began. When they put up Adam Lambert's, you should have heard the screaming! It was deafening! That was fun to hear as I still can't understand why Adam came in second this year.

So my favorites were Scott McIntyre (who was fantastic at the piano and vocally, and amazing in that he could join in the production numbers since he's legally blind), Allison Iraheta (who has grown up so much from the 16 year old she was when she started on the show) and, of course, the biggest favorite of all, Adam Lambert. We didn't even get to see Allison, Danny, Adam or Kris until after intermission. Allison started and then came Danny...didn't think too much of Danny's voice in person, but he's a nice guy and very likable....and he got to introduce Adam. Adam started out with Whole Lotta Love, did Mad World, and a medly of David Bowie songs. He was soooooo amazing, words cannot describe. What a talent. I hope his future success reflects what a great singer he is! The crowd roared for him, over and over again. We stood up the whole time while he sang, craning our necks for a good look. The excitement was palpable. When Kris came on, it was definitely anti-climatic, at least for me and Don. The crowd liked him, you could tell...but they were not as excited for him as for Adam, not by a long shot. Plus he is boring.

We actually left our seats while Kris was singing and went to the top, so we could get out asap, but waited to see if they'd bring Adam back on, which they did, for a group song. Then we bolted out of there, ears ringing. We were back in our car at 10:10 and in the aisle to get out....but there was absolutely nobody directing traffic and it took us over 1/2 hour to even exit the parking lot. That was maddening. People were trying to push their way in front of us and I got lots of use of my horn. Hey, I'm not a Jersey Girl for nothing!

So ....concert.....A and E-Center, F. We will have to really be impressed by next year's AI crop to go back to the E-Center. This is the second time we've had a bad experience there! However, if Adam Lambert comes back for a solo tour.....I'm sure we'll brave it again!

It was more fun than anything else we've done all summer, except vacation with our family in Scottsdale. I'm so glad we got to go!