Review of Atlanta Show from Atlanta-Journal-Constitution

Here's a review from last nights show. It was posted in the Atlanta tour thread but I thought I would put here as well. It's from the same guy at the AJC who has been blogging about AI all year. He's obviously a big fan of the show. This guy clearly gets what AI is all about and doesn't snub the concert as a rehash of the AI show as many other reviewers have. Perhaps this review is a little on the fluff side, but refreshing nonetheless.


8/18: Idols in concert in Gwinnett
By Rodney Ho | Monday, August 18, 2008, 10:13 PM
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

After mocking various critics who were forced to watch this concert tour, I come in knowing the purpose of “American Idols Live� is somewhat different from most concerts. It’s merely a celebration of ourselves and the folks we picked to make the top 10, a visual and mental souvenir. We validate ourselves with the success of these singers, many of whom will never sing in venues this large again while a select few will use this as a springboard for bigger and better things.

From that standpoint, the concert was a rousing success, highlighting the depth and breadth of talent this year. Sure, the TV show itself is getting gray around the edges (like me), but there are a few solid reasons the show sold out: David Cook and David Archuleta (with a few Jason Castro fans thrown in for good measure.)

The staging was simple, the backing band solid, the opening host Corey aggravating to the nth degree. (Yes, he’s the type of host who had to exhort people to stand up, clap and do the hokey pokey.) And adding a level of corporate surrealism, big Pop Tarts characters walked around. The crowd was your usual blend of families with kids and gobs of middle-aged women.

Let’s run down the top 10. In fact, the show itself for the first time celebrates the countdown on the big screens behind the singers.

Chikezie (below) is facile on stage, with the chops to handle both slow and fast songs. He lacks a certain something that would make him a big star. I can’t quite figure out why but he isn’t Ruben Studdard.


What can I say about Ramiele without being mean? Well, there is only one point on stage where the audience can touch the contestants stage right. When Chikezie, Michael, the two Davids et. al. went over people stood up, cheered, reached for them, took pictures. When Ramiele came over? Nothing. They just sat there. Ouch. She was so robotic during her “I Want You Back,� I watched the backup singers, who were given their one chance to show off their dance moves.

Michael Johns got a great reception from his hometown crowd. (In fact, he had a separate meet and greet afterwards for more than 100 people. I’m going to post a blog entry about that Tuesday.) He sounded great, looked comfortable and even introduced “Dream On� as “the song that got me kicked off ‘American Idol.’ � But alas, he still likes the song too much to care.


Kristy Lee Cook feels very calculated, very rehearsed but that sheen of professionalism got her through her three songs, including (of course) Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA.� She, like most of the other women, went all sparkly, probably because it can be seen in the back of the arena.


Carly Smithson, without the pressure of the judges or the weight of her past, let loose with Evanescence, Heart and Cyndi Lauper. When she’s more comfortable, we feel more comfortable. And she pulled off this dress below far better than 99% of the population. She can still scrunch her face up impressively when she sings passionately.


Brooke White is a joyous presence on stage, even when she partly tripped getting up from the piano. As the second coming of Carly Simon, she even had ’70s-style wavy hair.


During the U2 “Pride� group sing, I caught the two former Atlantans together on stage here. They should definitely do some duets at some point:


After the break, Jason Castro came on with a lovely rendition of “Over the Rainbow,� followed by his emotive take on Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy� that we missed on “Idol� because they couldn’t get full clearance. Castro noted he was really nervous doing it in Hollywood but now has more confidence or something like that. The dreadheads were out in force. Somebody in line sight of me kept waving a big “No. 1� foam finger with dreads on it.


I still have a hard time finding a real identity behind the polished and professional Syesha Mercado but she is amazingly good at imitating the likes of Alicia Keys and Rihanna. And I managed to get the best photo of the night despite how far away I was from the stage (about 30 rows back on the side).


David Archuleta received screams almost as loud as those I heard for the Jonas Brothers a few months back. He sounded amazingly good as always and acted as if he’d never heard such feedback before. I don’t even think it’s an act. It’s just Archie. And he has this nervous tick of saying “hah!� every time he paused between thoughts.


The winner David Cook came on finessing both “Billie Jean� and “Hello� into grunge-like Cook masterpieces just like on the show. And he managed to make both his coronation song “Time of My Life� and the execrable Aerosmith song “And I Don’t Want To Miss a Thing� palatable. He also brought out a video camera and taped the crowd, a sweet souvenir. He still comes across as a less arrogant, more supple Daughtry and that’s why he deserved to be the winner. Folks closer up said he does like to wear a lot of eye liner along the lines of Dava Navarro:

Two Davids boost crowds for 'Idols' tour

Here's a nice article from the AJC touting the fact the rabid fan base of the two Davids has boosted attendance for this year's Idols tour.

http://www.accessatlanta.com/music/content...idols_tour.html

How many copies of David's new album do you plan to buy?

Just wondering how many copies of David's new album you guys plan to buy for friends, family, as presents, etc. Believe it or not, I plan to buy the album twice for myself. I will most definitely be downloading it from iTunes the second it is available. But I also plan to buy the actual CD maybe a couple of weeks later. I haven't bought a CD in over 3 years, but for David's new album I want to have something tangible that represents his music. Not to mention, that I will love being able to pull out the CD cover to look at all the artwork, photos. and lyrics (hopefully). I guess this might sound nuts to some of you, but considering how much gratification David has given me, buying his album twice is a small price for me to pay in my opinion. It will make me very happy seeing his album at the top of the charts week after week knowing I played a very small part in making it happen. I also plan to buy a couple of CDs to give as gifts to friends, so I guess my grand total comes to 4.

BTW, does anyone know how album releases work on iTunes? Are they available at the stroke of midnight on the release date? I literally would like to download the album the second it's available and I'm sure I"m not the only one.