Our seats were in the top section, but I figured with the big screens showing everything we'd be OK. And we were, really. It's just that the pictures don't show it. To the human eye, the seats were fine. With a camera, even with a 10x zoom, the performers still look small. And in some of the pictures, you'll just have to take my word when I say who the person is in the picture. And out of 150+ pictures, not many of them came out clear. Too much zoom, too much motion. (The bride has promised me that we'll get lower level tickets when Mr. Hicks goes on his solo tour. WOOOOOOOO! YES! SOUL PATROL!!!!!! Ahem.....yes, well then.....)
I stopped by the office of a good friend on my way back from lunch yesterday and mentioned that we were all going to the American Idols concert last night. He said, "Man, I could score some major points with my wife if I got tickets." Later that afternoon, he ended up with floor seats. I'll tell you just how good they were later in this post.
So here's my take on last night's concert:
Mandisa - As a friend of mine says, "Sistah' can saaaaang!" Her voice is very strong and pitch perfect. She led off with "I'm Every Woman" and nailed it. You could tell she was glad to be back home in Nashville. She did another song (can't remember what), then said she might have a special guest join her on the next song as she started singing "I'm Your Angel". Great performance!
Ace - Mr. Young was the special guest on Mandisa's song. The second he walked out on stage, every girl under 18 lost their ever-loving mind. Including Meg. There were shrieks, squeals, screams - you name it, they did it. I wasn't a big Ace fan during the season, but I have to admit that he was the biggest surprise of the night for me. His voice sounded much better than it did on the show. He finished "I'm Your Angel" then did "Father Figure", and ended with Maroon 5's "Harder to Breathe". Very strong. He'll do well when he tours.
Lisa - Although she's not the youngest member on tour, her performance shows she has the farthest to go. I think she'll do well one day, but she may not be a solo artist. I see her more as a Broadway-type. She came out doing a verse of "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" then went to the piano where she played Elton John's "Your Song" and "Someone Saved My Life Tonight." Not as strong as the first two performers, but good. Then Lisa introduced her best
friend.Paris - Lisa and Paris started off with "Waterfalls". Let me tell you, this little girl has unbelievable talent. Her small frame belies her powerful voice. And moves? Please! She did "Midnight Train to Georgia" they Beyonce's "Crazy in Love". As the young people are so fond of saying these days, "girl was shakin' her boo-tay" for all it was worth. Very, very good performance. This young lady will go far.
Bucky - I didn't "get" Bucky when I first saw him on Idol. I thought he talked like he had a mouth full of grits. And maybe he still does, but over time he's grown on me. He came out singing "Superstition" and the crowd loved it every time he mentioned how much he loved Nashville. Word has it that he's working with a record company and will be moving here soon. He isn't as smoothe a dancer as Paris, but he pulled off the heavy metal head bobbing admirably. All in all he was pretty entertaining. He started on his last song, "You're the One That I Want" and was joined by the next performer.Kellie - Now I ask you, who wouldn't love seeing Pickler in black leather? Come on! It would be hard
to not enjoy listening to her sing and talk. After finishing her duet with Bucky, she led off with "I'm the Only One" then did a little talking. She told the crowd that Nashville was going to be her new home starting the day after the tour ended. (We're currently looking for a house on our street for her.) Then she sang "Walking After Midnight" and "Something to Talk About". She then came and sat on the steps and rambled for a few minutes, telling everyone about her first trip to the Grand Ol' Opry about a year ago. Kellie told everyone that she wants to meet Dolly Parton, and if we see here we need to tell Dolly about it. She walked up the stage ramp and said it was time for intermission.
Chris - As was the case during the show, if there's fire on the screen it must be time for Chris. The Nashville crowd loved them some Chris. Including the screaming Sara. Only Taylor got a bigger reception from the fans last night. Chris led off with Led Zepplin's "Whole Lotta' Love" and you could tell the second half of the show was going to be better and louder than the first. He followed up with "Dead of Alive", then did another song but I can't remember what it was. I really enjoyed Chris's set, and I think he'll do very, very well after the AI tour. He's got the stage presence thing down. Then it was time for the Chris/Elliott duet of Nickelback's "Saving Me". 
Elliott - As good as Elliott's voice is, he still needs to work on his mannerisms and moves on stage. The boy can definitely sing. After "Saving Me", he said "where my ladies at tonight?" which was followed by screams from the female audience as he began singing "Moody's Mood for Love". Very nice rendition, even better than on the show. I can't remember the next song, but he ended his solo set with Elvis's "Trouble". Then he called on 4 of his buddies to join him on stage.
Guys' song - Nice rendition of Guns 'n Roses "Patience". Good harmonies, and again the 18-and-under female population went nuts when Ace hit the high notes toward the end of the song.
Katherine - Two-three-fah, woo-hoo. Katherine led off with "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" and did a very good job with it. She went on to tell about the illness that kept her from touring the first 3-4 weeks, then told us about breaking her foot a couple of days into her part of the tour. She may not be as entertaining as some of the others, but she does have a beautiful voice and she ain't exactly hard on the eyes. Very elegant in her long black dress. She waved goodbye and then the GEC went black. I leaned over the Meg and said, "Now the real concert's gonna' start!"Taylor - When the first two chords of "Jailhouse Rock" were played, the crowd started its roar. Taylor started singing, but no one could see him on stage. The the screens flashed and you could see him coming through the crowd down the aisle in the section below our seats. The roar went
even louder.Now remember my friend that bought the floor seats? I looked down to watch Taylor snake his way towards the stage. He ended up going behind the row that Phill and Barb were sitting in. In fact, I looked and saw them high-fiving Taylor as he went by, which was followed by Barb grabbing Phill by the shoulders and shaking him as if to say "OH MY GOSH, WE JUST TOUCHED TAYLOR HICKS!!!!" I haven't talked to Phill this morning, but I believe his mission on point-scoring was successful.
Taylor's first song on stage was Bob Seger's "Hollywood Nights". I'd heard that it was good, and I'd heard right. He followed that with "Livin' for the City", the the Beatles "Don't Let Me Down". Both were excellent. He then dedicated "Do I Make You Proud" to the troops all over the world. After this, he exited through the back door of the stage. A few people got up and left thinking that the show was over, but I knew better. After about 60 seconds, Taylor was back on stage in a new shirt and singing "Taking it to the Streets". I was able to record the whole song and you can see it here. Man, the boy knows how to work an audience. Every time he danced, the women in that place lost it. When he played the harmonica, everybody went nuts. He left the stage to roars of approval.Mayber it's just me, but I think it's almost unfair to compare the other 9 finalists to Taylor. He's been doing this kind of thing for over 10 years. He knows what works and what doesn't. He knows how to work the crowd. He's not just a singer, he's also a musician and you can tell how much he loves doing what he does when he plays.
Can you tell that I thoroughly enjoyed the Taylor concert?
The other 8 Idols came out and did "We are the Champions", then Taylor and Katherine came out and joined them on James Brown's "Living in America".
We had a great time at the show. The only thing I'd change is having better seats, but we can work on that with the next concert.
My only problem today is that I'm tired and I need a nap.....
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