Linda, thanks for sharing your experience with us, and may you never wash those clothes ever again.

~~Jeanette, Glamb #5

Our own Glambs Fan Club Leader Courtney gives us the following post-concert report:

If you read my pre-concert blurb, you all know how absolutely psyched I was to attend the AI Tour in Memphis, and I found out the night before, like many of you, that the Idols wouldn’t be signing after the show. Since I was traveling with my mother, who bought the tickets (thanks, Mom!), and we were planning to meet up with a friend of hers before the concert, I was sure that I wouldn’t be able to get to the pre-show signing. However, mom pulled through and had us leaving early to attend the early signing.

We arrived at 1:55 PM and to our amazement, the buses were right behind us as we turned around to get parking. So Mom pulled up and had me ask one of the crew where the Idols would be coming out for signing. Of course, it had to be on the opposite side of the building. I went ahead to the signing area while mom parked the car, just in case the Idols came out right away. When I saw the crowd surrounding the barricades, I thought, “Well, this won’t be too bad, there aren’t that many people here.” But by the time the Idols surfaced from the Fed-Ex Forum, there had to be at least three hundred people fighting their way to the front. All of this at the pre-signing, too. Mother, meanwhile, had gotten a copy of the tour book and a pre-signed copy of Adam’s photo.

The Idols came out slowly, three of them at first. Matt and Michael exited from our side and Danny from the opposite side. They all seemed nice and cordial as they signed, hugged, and pictured their way down the barricades. Since I was too far from the front and far too invested in Adam to get their autographs, I remained behind the others waiting for The Man to arrive. However, secruity wouldn’t let another wave of Idols sign until the first three had left and while Matt and Danny had long finished their rounds, Michael had just gotten half-way through. So we waited… and waited… and waited. Finally, Michael re-entered the Forum and we watched for the next three Idols to come out.

Another twenty minutes passed and secruity asked us to move away so they could take down the barriers. No Adam? We were shocked. Surely since they wouldn’t be signing afterwards, they could give the Idols a little longer before the concert. Alas, we were not to be appeased, even though the early Memphis crowd cheered for Adam quite often throughout the hour and a half since I had gotten there. We even cheered for one of the crew guys when he came out of the building (and did it several times, in fact. The crew never gets enough appreciation.).

So, sullenly, I decided to wait in front of the Forum until the doors opened at six. It was then 3:30 and it would be a very long wait. Mother went to take our bags to the hotel and get cleaned up, but dropped off my director’s chair on the way, so that I wouldn’t have to stand the two and a half hours left in high heeled leather boots. While waiting, I met several excellent Adam fans (and I apologize for forgetting your names, you were all wonderful), and had many people wanting to see my posters (Yes, I’m preening a little. But hey, I’m a teen, that’s what we do!). Around 5:30, the security guys started lining us up in front of the doors and I had still not seen Adam, despite the Meet and Greeters coming and going with autographs from the entire Top 10. The main guy who was lining us up had been watching me the whole time I was waiting and had decided that even though I wasn’t the first in a line, I should be, since I had been there so long. (Dude, whoever you are, thank you! You’re awesome!) So when Mom dropped by, she was able to join me at the front. There was a small hiccup when our door was opened a little early and we were ushered inside only to be shoved back out, but it all ended up okay and the momentary air conditioning was bliss.

After we got inside for real, I was escorted to drop off my chair at Guest Services (thanks again, Security guy, you rock!), and we bought four bottles of water, not realizing that, apparently, we can’t have the caps for some bizarre health reason. Though after sitting and standing in the sun for four hours, I really needed some water, so I guzzled down the first bottle and we headed up to our seats on the Club level. And we had great seats! Second row of the club level, four chairs in, and I could clearly see the stage from where I was sitting. Next to us sat a very nice woman and her grandson, both huge Adam and Allison fans, and we got on quite well while we waited (yet again) for the show to start.

All of the Idols were improved from their time on the show, and even Megan got me to like one of her songs. Matt’s piano playing was amazing and if Adam hadn’t been there, Matt would have stolen the show for me. However, I won’t bore any of you (and hopefully I haven’t already done so) with the boring details that you’ve all read about the “other 9″. For WLL, I took a couple of pictures and then stood happily watching The Man perform, but at the end, I just couldn’t stay there, I had to move to the balcony with the tiny panels of plexi-glass and show off my sign while I watched with a much better view. (Of course, being where I was, I was slightly lit when the stage lights went out and can only hope that Adam saw me and/or my sign.) The rest of Adam’s set is foggy in my mind. I remember watching him perform and seeing his amazing dance moves and the high-flying vocal techniques, but I remember it as though it was just a dream that is so quickly fading from my mind. When Adam got to the Bowie Medley, I thought, “Wait, he can’t be almost over already! He just got warmed up!” Yet, all too soon, it was over and Adam sunk into the floor only to come out for the final group numbers.

After the show, I rushed to the lobby, knowing that they wouldn’t be signing afterwards, but hoping that they would anyway. No luck, though plenty of people commented on my signs, saying that they had seen them before the show or admiring them as they walked by. I stayed until security asked us to leave and by that time, I had long past known that the Idols would be leaving as quickly as they could in order to catch their flight and, likely, that I might have already missed them.

So, I didn’t get to meet Adam, and I have no autograph to show off for going to the concert, but I do have some really wonderful material for both this article and the letter that I am sending to Adam, asking for his autograph, though it won’t be the same as getting it in person. The concert wasn’t what I expected, and the fact that I can’t remember much of what I looked forward to most might account for that, but I could not be happier to have gone. The heat was sweltering, the Heart of the show was adamazing, and I hope that one day I can meet the real Adam.

~~Jeanette on behalf of Courtney

This article is from my own personal thoughts. Nothing has been said by any of the Idol performers or Tour Officials on this topic. cmhagey

I just read an article in Sunday’s Union-Tribune about Brian Weeks, a San Diego doctor who is spending part of Blink 182’s tour on the road with them. The article mentions all the reasons why touring is so hard on the musicians/singers, and that it’s necessary to take extra steps to keep them healthy. This got me to thinking about the Idol Tour, and especially Adam. Because what doesn’t make me think of Adam?!?

Many things can play havoc with a performer’s health. And on the road, it’s magnified. The article states “they often eat meals late at night after shows and go to sleep shortly afterward, a practice that can cause digestive problems. Sleep can be erratic, given the frequent changes in daily schedules and time zones. The onstage physical exertion during a concert can make it difficult to maintain proper hydration, especially in warm climates.”

In addition to protecting the performer’s health, the promoter’s bottom line is also in need of protecting. One of the ways artists and record companies are making up for declining album sales is with pumped up concerts and tour merchandise. If the band isn’t healthy and doesn’t perform well, people don’t buy as much. If a singer has to cancel out on a show due to bad health, it’s unforgiveable from both the fans’ and the promoters’ view. Remember early in the Tour when Megan Joy pulled out of an autograph signing due to illness? The blog comments were not all sympathetic. And this was Megan we’re talking about – not even Matt or Danny or Allison! Cuc-caw! Cuc-caw!

We’ve all witnessed the fist pump become an accepted greeting over the handshake, thanks to Howie Mandel’s germ phobia. Teachers and parents have known for years about the increased chance of illness from events that are attended by children and teens. One of the special thrills of seeing your favorites perform live is the chance you’ll get to meet them after the show at an autograph session. Speaking of my San Diego Idol Tour experience, 75% of the audience was over 30, to be kind! And I’m sure it’s the same all over the country. Yet at least 50% of the autograph seekers after the show were teens. So nice of these kids to do such big favors for Mom! They’re the ones with the patience, stamina and the zeal after what are usually full work days for most of us. Yes, my concert was on a Saturday, but I still put in a full day of work getting ready for the concert and stalking ummm “waiting” in the parking lot for their arrival!

With fan gatherings being a hotbed of germs, what “Alien From the Planet Fierce” wouldn’t want to pull back? Think of the times we’ve heard that Adam only comes out for 10 minutes. I’m living proof of that disappointment. Could the potential for illness be a factor? Could this be in the minds of the handlers too? Especially considering what a major draw Adam is for the concerts nationally? City after city, it’s written that Adam evokes the loudest audience cheers and the only screams while the pre-show videos are being shown. KrisKountry was different of course, but who didn’t expect that the national texting champs would show anything but overwhelming support for their hometown hero? Yet Adam STILL had the same frenzied response there that he’s had in all previous cities. I’m sure Milwaukee will shower the love on Danny like no other city has, but I bet Adam will still top the show there too.

Now imagine a Tour stop without Adam performing? I know, blasphemy!
When asked what he will do to prepare for the Tour, Adam has said “get lots of sleep.” Let’s hope he’s been able to accomplish that. We want Adam shining gloriously from coast to coast!

Our concert was not going to be just getting some cool clothes and going to the show. Noooooo! We had so much to do to get ready for this most amazing reappearance of San Diego’s “Hot Rock God” (HRG). In case there are any doubts who I’m referring to, nah - - I don’t need to finish that sentence, do I?

My partner in crime for the show was Lila, my new BFF that I met at the Homecoming activities and is a Fan Club Leader on this web site also. Be sure to read the article on this web site called “Getting Ready for the San Diego Concert – OR – How I Kissed the Striped Pants” for more details. I won’t bore you and repeat that here. Or at least, I’ll try to keep it to a minimum!

Our plans for the day were to start getting ready together around 11 AM. Luckily Lila’s husband and kids were up visiting relatives in San Bernardino that day and my husband was off on a fishing tournament, so we had the whole day to ourselves. After all, we needed to collect all of our glitter posters, extra glitter for our Glitterazzi assault on The Sports Arena, glitter makeup for later application, make sure our hair was good, share any pieces of jewelry that would enhance our outfits (okay, I had to borrow Lila’s – not the other way around!), pack our chairs, umbrella and cooler, and bring our magazines for signing.

Our hard work!

Lila wanted him to sign a Rolling Stone and hopefully her “Feathers, Glitter and Leather . . . Oh My!” poster, and I wanted him to sign the People magazine that had a picture of Adam and me taken at the radio station on Homecoming morning. Adam was signing my CD of his Idol and pre-Idol work, and I asked him if he got my gift (engraved Ice Cream Dipper). He looked right at me with those incredible eyes and said “Yes, I love it!” This pause in the morning rush was long enough for photographers to get a great shot of him. Lila’s in the picture too because she was shooting it from the other angle. We thought it would be a great idea to get a picture of Adam signing a picture of himself when he was signing something for me! Talk about coming full circle!

I’m holding my People magazine for him to sign. “Our” picture is the lower one.

We’d heard that the busses arrive around 2 PM, and then the Idols come out and sign autographs and take pictures with the fans before going in to get ready for the show. We thought our 1 PM arrival would give us an up-front space in the crowd. Would it be 20 or 200? With San Diego you have no way of knowing. We decided at last minute to print up some Glambs’ business cards so we could give them out to other fans of HRG at the Arena. We arrived at 1:25 PM, and noticed the sign - Event Parking $20 - with no in/out privileges, but they weren’t charging yet. Phew. I glance up and look in my rear-view mirror. HOLY CRAP - the tour busses are RIGHT BEHIND US!! We have to park quickly and get out so we can get our autographs and take pictures!! We parked in the closest space and attempted to go through the area where the busses are now parked to reach the fan area. Picture a round building with the parking surrounding it in a complete circle. Now picture a clock. We were at 2 PM, the busses were at 1 PM and the crowd was at 12 PM. There was no way security was letting us cut through. We grab our cameras and magazines, and take off running from 2 PM – 12PM – no easy feat in Lila’s new studded 4” heels and my new gun metal sandals that hurt like H-E-double hockey sticks!

The Tour busses - all shiny and bright.

We hurried to the other side, and found about 50 people waiting. We went up to the front of the flimsy barricade (some saw horses joined by a string of vinyl flags) and pulled out our magazines and cameras and waited . . . and waited . . . and waited. Then some staff people started selling 8×10 pictures of Adam to the crowd for $5 each. Lila bought one. They finally started bringing pictures of the others for sale, but it was clear who the favorite was.

No one got off the busses for what seemed like forever. And when they did, it was just some of the “other 9″. You know, Danny, Matt, Anoop, Scott, even Kris and Allison. We screamed, they waved, and they went into the Arena. No sign of Adam. After what seemed like another eternity, Allison, Matt and Kris, and some other staffers came back out and we were told they were going to Chick-fil-A, a fast-food restaurant in the parking lot. Should we go? Is Adam there already? What if we go and we miss Adam? So we stayed.

Now it was 2 PM and we saw them walking back with their Chick-fil-A bags and go back into the building. We scream and they wave again. Kris is pictured behind the lead person going in, followed by Matt, and Allison behind someone in the parking lot.

Idols returning from Chick-fil-A.

By then, the crowd which had grown to about 100, started getting some rewards. First Danny came out. He approached the end that was closest to the building, saying something to the crowd about us “coming to see the hometown boy.” He was wearing some pretty cool clothes, a dog chain on his jeans and even some reptilian boots, like you-know-who! He talked casually to the crowd and signed autographs and took pictures. Lila got the back of her Adam picture signed and he posed with her for a picture. I didn’t want anything from him though. As much as it chagrins me, I have to admit he was very cordial and pleasant.
Danny signing autographs at the start of the line.

Lila and Danny

Twenty minutes passed and Michael came out and started at our end of the line again. By this time, I was feeling more generous about the “other 9” so I “allowed” him to have his picture taken with me! He told us Adam put guyliner on him and it was pretty cool! We noticed Danny was still in the parking lot talking to the fans. He must have spent 10 minutes talking to one fan alone. Made her world, I’m sure! Soon after that, Danny went in.

Carol and Michael

Lila and Michael

Soon Matt came out. He had a little attitude, I must say. Probably just tired, sorry Matt. After all, we’ve read that doing the show was nothing like the life that touring is. Matt was signing, but he wasn’t taking pictures. Said he’d come through the line again for those. Whaaattt??? But when he got past us, he realized that was kinda dumb, and came back and took pictures. Every time Allison appeared, there were screams and she’d wave, but she didn’t come over.

Carol and Matt

Then all the Idols went back in for Dress Rehearsal. What? No one else is coming out? No Adam??? It was 4 PM and we decided to stay there, no need to leave and come back 90 minutes later, and have to pay the $20 parking fee. Smart decision to bring all of our stuff with us that morning. Dang it - we forgot the glitter hairspray! Oh well, we’d have to manage without it. Earlier I had moved my car around to the “fan group” area so we could get our chairs. This was right next to the main entrance. Cool, it would be an easy exit later that night. We walked all the way around the parking lot again (yes, still in our shoes!) to Chick-fil-A. This honestly wasn’t so we could walk on the same hallowed grounds that some of the Idols had been on earlier that day, but because we were so hungry by then. It takes a lot of energy waiting for HRG in the hot sun! For coastal San Diegans, temperatures in the upper 80s is HOT!! As we arrived back with our food, we could hear Adam singing “Starlight” loud and clear with full band! I had to fight the urge to run up and plaster my ear against the window. I could hear him singing it beautifully from the bottom of the steps, but I didn’t want to listen. I didn’t want to spoil that night’s show. Was I crazy? I’ve seen every YouTube video from all of the other shows, and have been joking that he really needs to change his set! After hearing Mad World umpteen times from all the talk show performances, couldn’t he sing “Ring of Fire” instead?!?

After eating, we spent quality time visiting in line with people we “knew” from the Idol forums but finally got to put a face to the name, and others who we’d carpooled to the high school with on Homecoming in May. I took this time to give out over 100 Glambs’ cards, trying to introduce more people to our web site. People were eating them up like they were from Adam himself! We even made a relationship with a parking lot security guard who assured us that everyone will be out signing autographs after the show. We “just have to be patient and wait long enough for Adam.” We have hope now.

Six o’clock came and fans started entering the Sports Arena. We went in and started checking out all of the Idol merchandise for sale. In addition to the $5 pictures that were sold earlier that day, we saw programs for $25 and several shirts for Adam, Kris and the Idols selling for about $35. There were tote bags and lots of other stuff that I forget now! We were really glad that we had brought our own blue glow sticks from home, because the “official Idol sticks” were $5 each. We bought a bag of 12 for $10, and decided to give our extras to the teens who were dressed all glittery. I’m starting to feel a little funny about Adam’s main fan base as I walk amongst the crowds. Is it mostly us “over 40 mature girls??” I can hardly imagine what he feels about that! Sure we’ve got the money and we gladly spend it on him, but while he was waiting for Idol to start and he was still glamming it up at The Zodiac, who did he figure his fanbase would be? The mushrooms at Burning Man certainly couldn’t have told him it would be us!!!

The show started just past 7 PM and I won’t bore you with the same run down you can read anywhere about the first 6. Yes, they all were very good, much better than on the show even. Michael started out strong, and yes, Megan is beautiful and awkward, and yes, Scott, who was sporting a glitterized jacket, really plays a great piano and is charming trying out some humor, and yes, Anoop sounded good but he should ditch the glasses and cut out the wiggling. He just can’t pull it off. He even said he’d be back on his solo tour. Have I missed his signing deal? Lil still needs to find that certain something, but I really appreciated seeing the words to Single Lady on the screen behind her. I’ve only known “if you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it” and “whoa-uh-oh-oh-oh-oh” before. But I can’t remember any more of it now! Matt was very stylish in his moves and I can really see him having success in some Vegas lounges. For most of the numbers, the band was too loud though, overshadowing the singers.

Intermission for 20 minutes. They repeated the same texting contest to go backstage now too. We didn’t win - again. Time for the Glitterazzi Patrol to decorate the Arena. We got up and spilled some here, spilled some there, spilled some everywhere. Luckily we didn’t get arrested and thrown out before the golden moment, as we had imagined in the weeks leading up to this.

Okay, back with the Top 4. Allison really rocked and as everyone says, I can’t believe she sounds like that and she’s only 17. She looked hot, and there was no doubt who she’s consulting for fashion advice! She played electric guitar on “So What” by Pink, but it sounded very basic. More for a statement to show us she’s a musician. I’d love to see her get some more inflection in her voice. She needs to stretch her range. The band was still too loud. Then it was time for Danny. He did a great job singing PYT, kind of representing all the Idols in homage to the recently-lost King of Pop. You’ve all heard about the salsa dancing, the “preaching” and mentioning of how tough the whole time on Idol was for him, considering what he was going through. I really do believe it was agonizing for him, and he dealt with it amazingly well. Oh no, he’s finishing his final song. You know what’s going to happen now, right?

The lights go out. The screens start exploding. The red bomb bursts start shouting at our eyes. We see the countdown number we’ve seen been waiting for. The crowd is going CRAZY! Everyone’s standing and shouting out A-D-A-M! And then it happens. The smoke starts spilling to the front of the stage, the Whole Lotta Love lead guitar starts jamming the intro we’ve been waiting months to hear, the drums start pounding, the bass finds its way inside of us. And there, right before us is HRG himself!! Only he’s more than a Hot Rock God by this point. He’s the sum of every fantasy we’ve ever had, every Rock Star we’ve ever dreamed about going home with, every page of the FanFic we’ve never admitted to reading, OMFG – it’s finally Adam! Moving with all the sexual energy your mothers and fathers never wanted you to know about, staring the audience down like they were toys for the master. And he starts to wail, “you need coolin’.” Well, no duh Adam! You’ve put our lives into such a state of fever and chaos with every reach, grab and grind. It’s amazing you haven’t been arrested for not buying the microphone stand dinner first!

But wait, it’s a little different tonight. There’s no pointing to his “inches” and he isn’t allowing his hands to travel south as much as in the videos we’ve memorized. And we got “baby” not “woman.” He has changed up the melody here and there, using different inflections and freestyling with some riffs. He’s relaxed and giving a slightly “mo fresh” version that either familiarity brings or maybe he wants to jazz it up for us? Either way, we’re in heaven. His ending pose and notes are superb. It’s confirmed. A megastar is making his debut. He segues into Muse’s “Starlight” with the same “and now from a band called Muse, ‘Starlight’.” This song has been on one-song repeat on my iPod ever since he first mentioned singing it on the Tour. I was surprised when I watched the Portland video because he sings it in a higher pitch. I then remember that I took myself away from listening to the rehearsal earlier, and now was my payoff. OMG he’s singing it so gorgeously. The hands, the arms, the facial expressions. Is this what you meant about theatrics Simon? If it is, bring it on! In my imagination, we’re alone and he’s singing it just to me! But wait – WTF? What did you just sing Adam? Whatever it was, it wasn’t the lyrics that I’ve memorized. I can’t believe on my favorite song, that you would blow the words! I guess it happens to everyone once in a while, but did it have to happen tonight Adam? If you want to see what I’m talking about, listen at 1:17 when he sings “I will never let you go” which should be followed by “if you promise not to fade away . . .” but instead I’m hearing some garbled words that I can only decipher later in a drinking game as “I will own you if you fade away . . .” And at 2:30, he gives a little change to the meaning with “just as long as you promise to fade away” instead of “if you promise not to fade away.” Oh Adam. I know you’re tired and excited. I forgive you.

 
Mad World is ethereal and fabulous, and the audience is singing along loudly. Slow Ride with Allison, his new “little sister” as he tells the audience, totally rocks and the hug at the end is still cute. (But did he really need to sacrifice one of his songs for the duet? Couldn’t she have sacrificed one of hers?) The Bowie medley is energetic, to say the least. He’s prancing around on that stage owning every eye that is transfixed on his Hotness. The gyrating starts immediately and I’m still wishing that I can be the one to “turn” Adam. During Fame, a blue feather boa makes its way on stage. Later, (see video at 2:30) he picks it up and swings it overhead like a lasso, then releases it to the side of the stage. We’ve heard recently that the stage “dudes” have told him not to throw the offerings back to the audience. Instead, he should keep them and they will staple gun them to the bottom side of the stage. I saw the blue boa disappear later in the song (at 4:00), but not to an audience member. Maybe it will be the inaugural stapling?! His bump and grind movements in “Let’s Dance” clearly suggest that he wants to rename it “Let’s (something else).” Insert your choice of verbs here. This performance convinces me the Idol-safe Adam is no more, we now deliciously have The Zodiac Adam. He ends with his fist in the air, and as he descends down the platform, calls out “I love you San Diego!”

WE LOVE YOU TOO, ADAM!!

But wait a minute, he’s just gotten warmed up. Where’s he going? It’s over too soon. I have to order myself to transfer the mental images I’ve had for the last 20 minutes from short-term memory to long-term memory (read “enjoyment” here).

I guess it’s a good thing that Kris follows him with “Heartless.” It gives us a chance to cool down. And thankfully I’m rocking out to The Killers instead of “No Boundaries.” I realize that Kris has really improved as a showman. He’s going to have a very successful career in front of a completely different audience than Adam. I still feel that no one on Idol before or after, will ever have anything like what Adam will have. But I’m preaching to the choir here, right?

Although I’ve never smoked, after seeing Adam I still felt the need to light up. I thought a blue glow stick was appropriate!

It was now time for Don’t Stop Believin’, the ending group number. It was a bittersweet moment. It was very upbeat, but I couldn’t help starting to get depressed because I knew the show was about to be over. We could see how much fun the Idols were having with each other as they vocally celebrated the end of another successful show. But both Lila and I realized something was missing here. There were a few parts where either someone’s microphone wasn’t turned on, or someone was really hoarse, because there were definitely some missing vocals. Adam (wearing a glittery but goofy baseball cap) and Kris arrived on stage courtesy the rising elevator towards the end of the song and the place went crazy again. Everyone knows why. It’s no secret, even among the Idols. Everyone has read scores of the same reviews saying how the others are a warm-up act for Adam. But they all still love him and show him off by pointing to him when he goes for his bankroll notes. Adam even gets the distinct honor of saluting the band.

**JUST ADDED VIDEO:***

Everyone knows who owns this Tour, who rocked Season 8 and who has changed Idol forever. We may be telling our grandchildren that we were there for the making of this legend, but the other 9 will be telling their grandchildren that they got to share the stage with him. Yes, I’ve gotten over the fact that Kris won. Adam is right, it really doesn’t matter. What does matter is we’re all winners after the show.

The show ended around 10 PM, and we rush outside. WOW – a lot of people must have left before the final number ended because there’s a giant crowd outside, about 10 times larger than earlier today. Or did fans just show up for the signing? After an hour, Lila and I manage to nudge our way to about three rows away from the edge. Some of the Idols had already come out and were signing autographs. The atmosphere was much more chaotic than earlier today. No time for chat or pictures with the fans this time. Pictured below is what we could capture by holding our arms up and blindly shooting.

A quiet Kris Allen signing

Anoop Desai signing

Megan Joy signing

IMO, they all seemed pretty tired. Kris seemed really quiet and kind of distracted. Slowly, almost everyone came out. The teens in the crowd were so cute, yelling to each of the Idols how much they loved them, even though they were clearly there for one person, and one person only. Finally around 11:45 PM Adam came out with his big bodyguard. And he was wearing that same goofy baseball cap. Hey, none of the other Idols had bodyguards? This must be because of the mob scenes we’ve heard about. But dang it, he went to the opposite side, the side where where we weren’t. How typical of him to go “against the grain!” What do we do? Do we rush down there? But we’ll never get anywhere near the front edge, where we’d made our way to now. No, we’ll stay here. After not coming out during the day, he’ll for sure make it down here, won’t he? Then all too soon, around midnight he and his bodyguard turn and go walking to the bus. The crowd starts chanting for him. We grab our glitter posters and hold them up high, hoping he’ll see them and come back.

Lila and me holding our glitter signs for Adam!

He does look at us (or at least in our direction!) and wave, mouthing “sorry,” so maybe he saw us? We’re told they have to be in Arizona at 3 AM and it’s midnight now. It’s a 5 ½ hour drive. Why would they have to be in Arizona at 3 AM??? But one bus does pull out about 10 minutes later, leaving us dumbfounded. Our concert is definitely over.

Gathering ourselves together we’re more than a bit let down, almost feeling like jilted lovers. Like he’s broken up with us, given us back our rings, and now we’re yesterday’s news. Not even the burritos from Del Taco on the drive home are cheering us up. As I finish this, it’s been 7 days since the concert. They’ve played other shows, and are onstage in Arkansas tonight. Lila and I have gotten over the disappointment of not having time with Adam, and we’ve realized that we’re just fans. He didn’t ditch us. He just has so many more people requesting interviews with him than the others do. As a writer with lots of chutzpah, I contacted 19 Entertainment weeks prior to the concert, and requested some press time with Adam for an article for this web site. Each time I checked back, the “Adam staff” had told me they were trying to work out some interview time with Adam for us. I had such high hopes of writing an article for this web site, only to be told on Friday that they couldn’t work it out. Up until this point, Lila and I had been pinching ourselves thinking we may get to meet him. Maybe next time! We’re still, and will always be your fans, Adam!!

So was the concert what I was expecting? No way. It was MUCH more!

Hi everyone, this is Dreamsound, just wanted to let everyone from So-Cal know that I will be playing an all acoustic set with the band ‘Colored Fusion’ at the Whisky a go-go (Sunset strip in Hollywood) this coming Monday July 27th at 11pm.

Tickets are $10, e-mail me at dreamsound2@hotmail.com if you can make it, and I can meet you at the door (before 11pm that is ).

We will hang out at the strip after the show!

For this set I will be doing a couple of originals plus covers of Staind, Alice in Chains, Live and more. I’m currently working on some demo recording, I will be posting them here soon. Hope to see you there!

Hello everyone,

The site was down for approximately 36 hours due to an urgent transfer to another server. We finally started the transfer to the new server over the weekend but our old hosting company decided to erase the site, format and shut down the server in the middle of the transfer when they found out we were migrating to another company (thanks a lot dudes). We had a full backup from three weeks ago so we had to restore and put everything back together on the new server. This process took several hours to complete, we didn’t go to sleep that night. 

I’ve received hundreds of e-mails (No clue how you got my email address ) with people concerned about the site. We appreciate the support!

So we are up again, we are ready to follow Adam in his journey and now cover those concerts. We are still adding articles that got erased during the transfer.

This site has been on since January when Adam tried out. This is his original fansite, with your continous support it won’t ever go down and it will only keep on growing!

Als0, thanks to everyone who has donated until this point. You are the reason why this site is up and keeps on growing. As always, anything helps.

**Thanks for the all the support you’ve shown on the comment below, we love you too :) 

As one of Adam’s old(er) fans, I’m always interested to read the comments of others, who like myself, are a generation (or more) older than Adam.  It’s heartening for me to know I’m not alone in my feelings, and it’s just more proof that Adam’s appeal, like his music, is universal, or as I like to like of it, “inclusive.”  Just as his music embraces many different genres, I feel that his magnetism as an artist and as a person is meant to attract not just the young, hip, and trendy, but all of us.

For some older fans, I’ve heard that Adam reminds them of Elvis, or perhaps that he’s “retro,” a throwback to the glam rockers of decades past.  For me, it isn’t really that – Adam is so unique in my mind that I don’t compare him to anyone else.  He’s simply the most talented singer and dynamic and sexy performer I’ve ever seen and heard.

But I’ve found that being an older fan has its challenges.  We all like to copy the style of those we admire.  So when I look in the mirror at my skin I smile.  Freckles, just like Adam!  Then I realize they’re age spots.  I try to squeeze into skinny jeans and have to admit I’m a few pounds overweight.  I try to put on eyeliner, but it disappears into the wrinkles around my eyes.  But then I see Adam in an interview admit he’d like to lose 15 pounds.  Maybe I don’t have to have a perfect figure!  And in another interview he states that the eyeliner looks best if it’s been slept in – all smudgy.  I feel better!  It doesn’t matter that I can’t apply eyeliner perfectly.

Joking aside, I don’t *really* need Adam’s comments to feel good about myself, but he does remind us not to take ourselves too seriously.  And he reminds us that the “smoke and mirrors” is just that – it’s all in the name of fun, but outward appearance isn’t as important as who we really are inside.

Besides, being an older fan does have its pluses.  When Motown week rolled around, I didn’t have to wiki “Motown” to know what the word meant.  When Frankie Avalon and Thelma Houston came on the show, I didn’t have to ask, “who is THAT?”  When Rat Pack week came, the members of the Rat Pack meant more to me than the fact they were “dead guys.”  My memories of their greatness live in me.  And finally, I’ve been around long enough to really, really appreciate how rare and special Adam’s talent is.

So it’s my opinion that no one should need to apologize or feel embarrassed for being an older fan.  We’re just another of the many demographics of fans united by love for Adam.  I’m 56 years old, by the way, and I know for a fact there are many Adam fans older yet.  If you can relate to this post, please comment.

~~Jeanette

Yes… you heard right, he’s got the boom boom pow…

So, I opened the front door this afternoon, and received a very happy surprise! It was the self-addressed, stamped envelope that I enclosed when I sent Adam the engraved Ice Cream Dipper and requested a photo. I know you’ve all heard about this gift: there’s a YouTube video shot at the radio station when I asked Adam if he received it, thanks to my very good friend Lila. I’ve posted pictures from that day too, and that scene was even pictured in the May 25 People Magazine!

I very excitedly opened the envelope, careful not to damage what I hoped was inside. I pulled out a gorgeous picture of Adam. I can tell it was taken when he performed Satisfaction the first time, trying for votes to get into the Top 12. He’s dressed in all black, complete with several gold chains and necklaces. He  has a  microphone in hand and a full-on smile, so I think it was when he was receiving the judges’ comments. Well, not Simon’s, if memory serves me correctly! This was when we first heard the “self-indulgent rubbish” remark referring to the beginning of the performance!

The picture is a 5×7 computer print framed with a white border, on a full-sized sheet of photo paper. At the top, he wrote “Thanks Carol!” and he signed the bottom, Adam Lambert. I compared this signature to the self-made Adam Lambert CD I had him sign when he was exiting the radio station on Homecoming Day. On that day, he was in a hurry and his signature was rushed. The only letters you can clearly make out are the capital A, the capital L and closing ”t.” However, on the picture I received today, the entire name is clearly legible, like the signature on the iTunes picture. I compared those two signatures closely, and was happy to see this is a fresh signature, not a printed version.

OOOHHHH - I’m so excited!! I think the last “fan club” I joined was when I was in elementary school - and it was for the “Shrimpenstein” TV show!! While that show had a very catchy theme song, I’d trade my “45″ in a hundred times over to hear Adam sing again!

I’d love to share in your excitement too, so if you’ve received something from Adam, please don’t be shy!

Last Wednesday was a rough night for Adam fans everywhere.  Personally, I cried for several hours .  I heard from other people who got physically ill.  I managed two hours of sleep – how, I’ll never know.  The next day at work my boss had to send me home early because I couldn’t function.  I’m sure this sounds silly to the average person, but as I said in an earlier post, I’d been emotionally invested in Adam for months, and I so badly wanted America to validate all the wonderful things I’d seen in him.

I didn’t know how I was going to force myself to feel better.  I commiserated with other fans on the chat, but the following days were dark.  The “results” moment was replayed on TV over and over again.  The previously-silent Adam-haters wiggled out of the woodwork and leapt onto the Kris Allen bandwagon.  Articles proclaimed that the voting hadn’t even been close, and that “America got it right.”  Every word I read kept me in my funk.  How could I move on when the media was calling me a “Bitterbert?”

Then a strange thing happened.  I watched and read Adam’s post-finale interviews and put aside my pain enough to really, really listen to what he was saying.  He said he was happy.  He said he was excited.  He was glad for the opportunity.  He smiled – no, not just smiled – he beamed.  At first I thought he was just putting on a brave face.  How could he not be disappointed?  I would have been.  How could anyone not be?

But I should have known better.  Look very closely at his post finale photos.  The smile doesn’t look forced to me.  And on camera, I never saw his smile drop when he thought the camera had moved off him.  (Not to name names, but I saw other contestants do this during the show.)

In Adam’s interview with the press on Friday, when asked what he would say to people who were disappointed he didn’t win, Adam replied, “there’s no need to dwell on the negative, and we should look forward to my album.  I’m totally okay with it…”

Suddenly I’m feeling good!  Adam himself – not other fans, not the media, but the man himself — is telling us it’s okay.  And I believe him.  If Adam is as sincere as I think he is, there’s no reason to doubt his words.

So, people, what do you think?  How did you react when he lost the title, and are his assurances enough for you to heal and move forward?

I, for one, can sleep again.  And I’m looking forward to seeing what Adam will do next to amaze and inspire us.

~~Jeanette

From MyLocalNews.com - -  May 26, 2009

Mt. Carmel High welcomes home ‘Idol’ hopeful Adam Lambert

By José A. López
May 8, 2009

Adam Lambert, a Top 3 finalist in “American Idol,” waves at the crowd gathered to welcome him to Mt. Carmel High School on Friday, May 8.

 

 

 

 

Adam Lambert, an “American Idol” finalist, made a triumphant return to Mt. Carmel High School on Friday, where he told students to embrace their differences.

WEB UPDATE (May 14): Lambert has made it to the “American Idol” finale. He will be performing live on the show Tuesday, May 19 and he will find out on Wednesday May 20 whether he’s the next winner of the popular singing competition. The Pomerado Newspaper Group will be in Los Angeles and provide coverage of the finale both online and in our May 28 issue.

Thousands of students and Lambert fans filled the school’s stadium to see the 2000 Sundevil grad, who has bowled over millions in the popular televised singing competition.

After a whirlwind morning — Lambert gave interviews to two morning radio shows and the local FOX television affiliate — he arrived at the stadium shortly after 10 a.m.

The entire homecoming — which also included a private appearance at the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar — was filmed for the show.

Lambert, along with remaining contestants Kris Allen and Danny Gokey, were scheduled to perform two songs each on the show airing Tuesday, May 12. The one with the least number of votes was to be sent home at the end of a show on Wednesday, May 13.

The show’s grand finale will air on Tuesday and Wednesday, May 19 and 20.

At Mt. Carmel, Lambert made his entrance atop a red Mustang convertible, which was surrounded by the Mt. Carmel cheer squad as it circled the stadium, which has a capacity of 4,000.

The cheers from the stands were deafening as the charismatic singer with blue streaks in his hair waved to the crowd, his fingernails shellacked with chipped black polish.

Taking the stage, Lambert — who excelled at drama at Mt. Carmel and is known for his theatrical stage persona — reached out to students who might not feel included.

“This is an example of believing in yourself …” Lambert said. “Everyone who feels outcast or weird … Embrace each other’s differences … It’s cool to be different.”

With that, he sang Michael Jackson’s “Black or White” and a version of Tears for Fears’ “Mad World” and took another ride along the track.

San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders was on hand to declare Friday “Adam Lambert Day” in San Diego.

Fans started lining up outside Sundevil stadium hours before the appearance and many were eager to share their adulation for Lambert.

By the time he arrived, the school bleachers were packed. Others watched from Hilltop Park, or from elevated points in the canyons overlooking the stadium.

Carol Hagey, who drove in from Chula Vista, kept exhorting those around her to vote for the 27-year-old, and shared a printout detailing how to get the most number of votes.

“If we want Adam to be the next American Idol, we have to vote,” she would say. “Remember, it’s a voting competition now, not a singing competition. We all know Adam can sing.”

Nearby, PQ resident Lori Haussler, her daughter, Aime and a group friends awaited Lambert’s arrival in the sun.

“I’m looking forward to his singing,” said 12-year-old Katie Schultz. “He’s really good, and I just want to see him live, it’s probably going to be better than on TV.”

Also in attendance was Joan Stewart, who was Mt. Carmel’s principal from 1999 to 2005 and said she remembered Lambert well.

“His senior year was my first year here,” Stewart said. “I went to everything and Adam starred in everything … I told him, when you get to Broadway, remember me because I’ll be knocking on your door.”

Fans who missed Lambert’s homecoming will have a second chance of sorts — Lambert, along with the rest of the top 10 contestants — will be touring the U.S. this summer.

The “American Idols Live!” tour will be in San Diego on July 18. Tickets are scheduled to go on sale this Saturday, May 9 at http://www.ticketmaster.com

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Are you falling short on words trying to explain your irresistible attraction towards Adam? The video below shows that babies and humans in general have an innate natural born attraction towards Adam powerful charm and charisma. On this site we officially have teens, young adults, grandma’s and now… babies.

Be sure not to miss the part at the very end when the baby kisses ‘ADAM’ on the iPhone

Anyone else thinks Adam is going to be around for a while? Comment below

Arts by one of our fans: Thanks to Norcal’s sun for the work!

Adam Lambert Money

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xD

Did you like it? Comment below!

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This video was made by our fan group leader Ashley Wang.

Great Job!

She will be one of the persons in charge of ADAM-LAMBERT.ORG MySpace. Make sure to comment below and rate on her video on YouTube:

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BREAKING NEWS!!

We are starting our own fan group. As you may be aware there are the ‘Glamberts’ and ‘Lamb Skanks’ fan groups, both which have been GREAT to Adam. He even mentioned them on two interviews. Given to the recent pull of this website we are starting our own fan group!

So… what’s our name? YOU DECIDE!

Post on the comments below and come up with suggestions for a fan group name. Make sure it is catchy, fun, and will attract people to join. Then ‘reply’ to the best name someone comes up with. Whoever gets the most replies and attention will set the name. The search for the perfect name will go on until the Season 8 finale (ONE WEEK) starting on May 12, 2009.

Keep in mind the name of the fan group will have a lot to do with the theme and graphics. My initial thoughts were something based on Adam’s Troops and an Army theme. With slogans like ‘Ready to Fight’ and Uncle Sam’s ’We Want You’ graphics. But I’ll let you decide, this is your fan group.

Everyone will have a fan number so make sure to get in early. As soon as we establish a name we will make a post to get your fan numbers. 

Finally, after working on this for several months, we are finally jumping back and forth from the very first spot, first page for ‘Adam Lambert’ on Google which might allow us to  become the official Adam Lambert site. We are currently working all the details. Keep linking us back from your Forum Signatures, Myspace, Facebook, Youtube and other sites so we can achieve our goal. Congratulations everyone, we are getting closer and closer.

We will also be hosting a graphics contest soon, check back for updates.

… and yes, we will make an official group T-Shirt.

________________________________________________________________________________

** UPDATES - TOP NAMES ** :

1 - Adam Lambs 

2 - Adamaniacs

>>> Some have been commenting about using Glamberts which is already taken and they already have their own chain of command. If you are a Glambert big boss, contact me, we could consider merging or working something out.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

E-mail  andmeljar@aol.com if you are interested in a leadership role. Such as moderating and organizing events for this group, creating MySpace/Facebook, Graphic design, T-Shirts/Stickers design, etc. If you are willing to volunteer for a leadership role I will create an e-mail list only to be shared by the leaders. Keep in mind your first and last name will be posted on the site and your e-mail will be shared within the leaders of this group. Also send us your regular nickname you use on the chat or forums. Let me know what would you be interested in doing for the fan group. Optional: You can also e-mail me your phone number for the other leaders to see and get a hold of you. Once we get all the names and e-mails, we will discuss the different roles among us and organize the troops!

To everyone who has e-mailed already we will contact you back ASAP!!

___________________________________________________________________________________________

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Hey guys, very good news, we are integrating our fansite with the forum. Many of the articles you see posted on the site will be posted in our forum / messageboard.

This is for YOU to participate on the community forum and talk about a specific performance from Adam Lambert and other topics. I know the forum is not big -yet- but you will always get responses when you post.

If you have any suggestions let me know. Please post, stay involved, and keep on voting for Adam.

Yes, Adam we’re excited too…