Wednesday was a day full of Adam Lambert sightings and events for Carol & Lila, admins of the Adam Lambert Official Unofficial Fan Club, and a few others of us who were lucky enough to join them. We were high on excitement, anticipating seeing Adam live twice on Wednesday, February 9, 2011, as members of the audience on television’s “The Talk” and “Extra”.
I hadn’t attended an audience taping since I was a child, so the whole process interested me. We drove to the CBS lot at 9 a.m., parked, and walked to where they were checking ID’s, searching our purses for contraband, and walking everyone through a metal detector. Then we walked some more to a “holding room” – simply a room filled with benches and chairs – and lots of Adam Lambert fans.
The holding room already had a party atmosphere. Everyone was chatting, laughing, and taking pictures. No pictures, cameras, or visible cell phones were allowed on the set, so now was the time to take photos of each other. I saw some familiar faces from Adam’s concerts, and chatted with various people. People had flown in from all over just to see Adam Lambert on “The Talk”. Chicago, Mexico City, New York – no distance was too far for fans to go to see Adam even for just a few fleeting minutes.
A few CBS “nannies” dressed in red jackets and black pants babysat and entertained us with antics while we sat there… and sat there… and sat there. Finally, a more official, very funny guy showed up from “The Talk” itself. His job was to organize us, explain things to us about the show, and choose a few audience members to ask Adam questions and participate in the show.
All he would tell us about the latter was that the chosen few needed to be able to sing, should know Adam’s lyrics, and couldn’t have met Adam before. All kinds of things ran through my head when they announced that. Was an audience member going to sing a duet with Adam? I tried to imagine what was going to happen.
Finally, after what seemed like forever (time magnified by Adam-nerves), “The Talk” show funny guy escort led us through the streets of CBS studios past cottages and trailers reserved for the stars. We walked this way and that through a maze of cottages, trailers, and sound stages… and walked… and walked… and walked.
Finally, we stopped. My heart beat a little faster as I realized we were at the sound stage for “The Talk”. Adam was just on the other side of that wall! I got more excited, more full of nervous energy every moment.
Let me pause for a side note. I know all of this sounds a bit silly – nervousness, heart palpitations, and anticipation running wild – something a 14-year old might go through over her crush on Justin Bieber. Trust me, I am far, far away from 14 years of age. Why these feelings over a singer – any singer – I can’t fully explain. No singer, no celebrity has ever affected me this way. Except Adam Lambert.
Yet here I was, in a crowd of women (and a few men) who completely understood how I was feeling about this singer called Adam Lambert. People in my daily life didn’t understand. But here, somehow I felt at home with my “Glamily” – fans who totally understood how I felt because they felt the same way.
Outside the sound stage our funny guy escort from “The Talk” pumped us up, got us excited by having us clap and whoop (as if we needed him to get us any more excited than we already were), and finally led us in to the studio, where we were all seated.
More getting us pumped up, more clapping and whooping followed – I guess to get us animated enough for it to come across on camera. On camera, it was explained to us, everything needed to be magnified – bigger gestures, louder clapping, and so on. Here I thought that those bigger, broader actions were reserved for the stage, not for the watchful eye of the camera that saw virtually every nuance in gestures and facial expressions. Nevertheless, we performed like a good audience should.
“The Talk” hosts - Sharon Osbourne, Julie Chen, Sara Gilbert, Holly Robinson Peete, and Leah Remini - finally came out on stage. The stage was set up almost like someone’s living room or den – a book case and staircase stage left, couches and overstuffed chairs in the background. They chatted on about men doing “manly” things like breaking down doors, changing a car battery, and so on. We politely clapped and laughed.
One of the hosts (Sharon Osbourne I think) at last said, “And coming up after the break – Adam Lambert!” The audience virtually exploded with cheers and clapping. The ladies of “The Talk” panel just looked at us, the audience, a bit surprised and chuckled at how passionately we reacted to that announcement.
A panel member said something about never having had an audience quite like us – we were “the most enthusiastic crowd” they’d ever had. Well, duh! They had never had a guest quite like Adam Lambert, either! The commercial break ended, and finally the reason for all the anticipation, all the nervous excitement walked through the doors onto the stage.
Adam Lambert entered, a broad white smile gleaming and blue eyes sparkling, the audience showering him with a roar of clapping – no, a standing ovation! Whoops and cheers and fervent clapping rose in crescendo and threatened to never end. We waved the various posters we had – which, by the way, they had given to us. I want to clarify that, because I’ve seen far better posters in concerts than we had on “The Talk”. I know the Glamberts are capable of much more. But unfortunately, we were not allowed to create and bring our own.
Adam smiled ear to ear as we continued clapping; then after acknowledging all the applause, he finally sat down. The loud applause continued along with the cheers. But we could see he was about to talk. Immediately we grew so quiet you could hear our hearts beat.
No behind-the-camera prompting was necessary for us to quiet down. The audience monitor who told us when to clap and when to be quiet eventually gave up trying to direct us. We were doing everything perfectly – in fact, probably better and more than they ever expected.
Adam talked about being nominated for a Grammy, and the audience again burst into applause. He talked with the panel members about what kinds of “manly” things he could do, and we learned he could break down doors, change a car battery, and do all sorts of things. Asked if he could do a fireman’s carry, he didn’t just say “yes” – he picked up Sara Gilbert and demonstrated it for us!
Then Adam talked about his charitable contributions. For Adam Lambert’s 29th birthday on January 29th, he asked fans to donate to Charity:water instead of sending him gifts. In the first few hours his fans met the original goal of $29,000. On his birthday itself his fans raised $115,000 – in just one day! Finally, shortly after his birthday, Adam’s fans reached the new goal he had challenged us with - $290,000.
A few members of the audience asked Adam some insightful questions, then later on during “The Talk”, three women participated in a game called “Silence of the Lambert”. They were shown an Adam Lambert video, and then it was stopped after a minute or so.
The audience member then had to sing the lyrics that came after that point for a few bars. It was funny, fun, and Adam was gracious and smiling, as usual. Kudos to the brave women who got up there to sing Adam’s lyrics. I would have been so nervous just being that close to Adam I doubt I could speak, much less sing!
Regardless of what was going on during the show, I sat in rapt attention, watching every move Adam made, listening to every word he spoke. Before I knew it, the show was over. The time went by in a flash. It was way too short.
I had never sat in an audience where Adam was just talking – live. Before, the only times I had seen Adam was in concerts. But at “The Talk” I could have sat there for hours, just listening to Adam talk. Heck, he could have simply read the telephone book, and I would have been happy. But all good things must come to an end, and all too soon the show ended.
After the show was over, Carol, Lila, some friends, and I walked back to our cars and then drove across Los Angeles, straight for The Grove – an outdoor mall near Farmer’s Market where “Extra!” was being shot that day.
We had a long wait before Adam came out to be interviewed – but none of us minded one bit. Adam Lambert’s fans will literally wait for days to see him. When I attended the Music Box concert on December 15, 2010, I met some fans who had literally waited for over 24 hours to get into this general admission concert. And they waited with laughter, camaraderie, and eager anticipation, sharing stories about Adam.
That’s one thing that is so very special about being an Adam Lambert fan – spending time with other fans that can totally relate to how you feel about Adam. For minutes, hours, or days I feel totally at home with complete strangers – the Glamily – when I go to Adam’s events.
Adam finally walked toward the “Extra!” cameras at about 2 p.m., where in an interview he talked about his nomination for a Grammy and about how excited he was to go to the Grammies. He answered questions about how he felt about American Idol’s new judges, and continued to answer other questions posed to him.
We fans hung on Adam’s every word. If you look at the video of “Extra”, just notice some of the faces in the crowd. It isn’t hard to tell who is thoroughly smitten with Adam.
Even though I was too far to hear what Adam was saying, I still sent adoring looks toward him as did all of his fans there. Just having a whole day that was all about Adam Lambert was such a treat. Carol, Lila, some friends and I had started “Adamizing” our lives at dinner the night before we went to “The Talk” and “Extra!” Then the day of the shoots we continued talking about Adam, watching him, listening to him, and trying to thoroughly absorb every single Adam-minute we could.
For a few glorious moments we could forget about the Adam-withdrawal we had been going through since the Glam Nation Tour. That dose of Adam we got on February 9, 2011, should sustain us for awhile – until once again we grow hungry for more of Adam Lambert.
- Sandra Essary
To watch Adam Lambert on “The Talk”, click here.
Adam Lambert has done it again! His latest concert on his Glam Nation tour was at the Paramount Theatre in Denver, Colorado on July 17, 2010. At this sold-out, 1870-seat venue, the Glam Nation Tour reached epic heights in musicality and production quality.
When I saw Adam in his first solo concert at Fantasy Springs, I thought “this is great – but I can’t wait until he has the time and money to produce something that lets his creative side come out more”. I knew he had more – way more – to give. And he did.
Adam Lambert’s current concert tour, the Glam Nation tour, is just the beginning of our amazing journey with Adam in a long line of concert tours to come. I’m not only thrilled with how his first concert tour has turned out – I am totally blown away! But then, it’s not the first time Adam has blown me away. I’m sure you know the feeling.
The theme that runs through the concert is one thing that sets the Glam Nation Tour
apart. Adam talks about love, relationships, and life throughout the concert as introductions to his songs. At other times, he just lets his feelings out, interacting with the audience. As they say, it’s all good.
Before the Concert
On to to show itself… Before the concert, Adam gave an interview on Denver’s Mix 100 radio. You can listen to that here (Pt. 1) and here (Pt. 2). No pictures, just a shot of him to longingly stare at while you listen to his voice. This is fun to listen to. I’m listening to it in the background as I write this.
Adam also had a Meet & Greet courtesy of local radio stations. Radio station winners got to meet Adam in person
Videos of Adam Lambert’s Denver Concert: the Full Concert
Allison Iraheta opened the show. You can watch some of the videos of her in concert here and here. I love Allison and am so glad she is touring with Adam. She has such a sexy, sultry voice. Hopefully we will all get to know Allison better on this tour and support her by buying her CD’s.
Adam’s set list at the Denver concert was the Opening Medley with Voodoo, Down The Rabbit Hole, and Ring Of Fire, folowed by Fever, Sleepwalker, WWFM, Soaked, Aftermath, an Interlude with Sure Fire Winners, Strut, Music Again, If I Had You as the finale, and the encore – Mad World and Whole Lotta Love.
A huge thanks goes out to Suz526 and dnewton98 for such high quality videos of Adam Lambert singing at the Denver concert 7-17-10.
To see pictures of the concert, check out this link.
Here is the whole concert, in order:
Adam Lambert’s Glam Nation Tour at the Paramount: Denver Colorado, July 17, 2010
Opening Medley with Voodoo, Down the Rabbit Hole, Ring of Fire
Strut At the beginning of this, Adam comments, “I might not be able to breathe, but I can dance.” At the mile-high city, Adam has been tossed into an altitude that makes it hard to breathe without any chance to adjust. Yet he dances and sings like crazy. He holds nothing back. The man must be in amazing shape.
Finale-IIHY: Adam introduces the band members and lets them show off their skills. Camilla is hot on that keyboard! And of course, Longineau, Tommy, and Monty are outstanding, as usual. Mid-way into IIHY he introduces his dancers. Someone’s head is in the way for part of this, but watch Adam’s face as he watches the dancers. Adam dances with his choreographer at the end of this. The way Adam rolls his body makes my heart race!
At the end of the concert, the concert-goers had to have been on such a high! I know that seeing something on YouTube doesn’t feel like actually being there. I can only imagine. If you want to have a glimmer of what it feels to be there at the finale of an Adam Lambert concert, watch this one.
Encore Adam’s encore followed the finale. His upbeat version of “Mad World” is followed by one of my all-time Adam Lambert favorites, his sultry, sensuous, psychedelic version of “Whole Lotta Love”.
So there you have it - I most humbly submit to you Adam’s latest performance on his Glam Nation Tour. I can’t wait to see him myself in about a week. Even watching the videos over and over doesn’t spoil it for me, ’cause I simply can’t get enough of Adam!
Hope to see some of you at the concerts!
- Sandra Essary aka “Sandy”
If you haven’t already heard, Adam has a new tattoo! It’s a lazy “8″ lying on its side — the standard symbol for infinity. I suppose you could also say it stands for eternity.
But what does it mean, lying there directly above/below his eye of Horus tattoo? If you look at the eye straight on, the infinity tat looks like it’s below the eye of Horus. So even though the new tattoo is above the older one as your eyes would travel up Adam’s arm (and whose eyes wouldn’t?), I’d say the new infinity tattoo — the lazy 8 — is officially below the eye of horus.
So what does that mean, if anything? Why not put the infinity symbol on the other wrist? My guess is that the two together have significant meaning for Adam.
The eye of horus is an Egyptian symbol associated with Horus, the son of Isis and Osiris. In a divine battle, Horus’ left eye (which was the moon) was plucked out. (Horus’ right eye was the sun.) When the eye was healed and restored to Horus, he found out it had great powers to heal and protect. Since then, the eye of horus has symbolized healing and protection.
The downward spiral under the eye is similar to the eye markings on a hawk; Horus’ head was that of a falcon. Green and blue are often used in amulets of the eye of Horus, as it is in Adam’s eye of Horus tattoo. Those colors symbolized growth and regeneration to ancient Egyptians. Horus himself came to symbolize light and good, while the eye itself stood for the struggle between light and dark, good and evil. That’s all nice, but for me the eye of Horus will forever be associated with Adam, his music, and the light he has brought into my own life.
The infinity sign needs little or no explanation. Anyone who has had any algebra might recognize this mathematical sign. It means forever, infinite, ever-lasting, eternal, having no end. (Kind of like my love for Adam!)
So put them together and you have healing and protection forever, until the end of time. Even if Adam didn’t mean it this way, that is certainly my wish for him, his music, and all those around him. May they all be blessed and protected — forever.
