It hadn’t even been a year, so remembering his American Idol roots wasn’t hard for Adam Lambert. On July 11, 2009, he was sitting in Oracle Arena as he pointed west. “Yes, it all started right over there,” he said, “at the Cow Palace in San Francisco. “Sitting here I feel like I’ve kind of come full circle. I kind of wish we were doing this show at the Cow Palace. That would have been perfect.” So, how did the Season 8 AI runnerup start his improbable journey? “Well, I drove up from L.A. with a couple of friends and we stayed at my mom’s house in Burlingame,” he said. “Right now the whole year is kind of a blur. “But I was so nervous the night before that I couldn’t fall asleep. Maybe I slept an hour all night. That morning we went over to the Cow Palace and I was so tired I maybe got another hour’s nap while were waiting in line.
The “American Idols Live! Tour 2009” features nine vocalists not named Adam Lambert and one that is.
The latter is the person who matters; at least that’s what Bay Area “Idol” watchers have told me repeatedly over the last few months. Of course, some of those same people said that past winners Taylor Hicks and Ruben Studdard would maintain lengthy, high-profile careers in the music industry. I’ll be sure to pass those words on to Hicks and Studdard when I see them performing at some future county fair.
The thing is, however, those viewers may just be right this time around.
The one thing that was blatantly evident from watching Saturday’s “Idols” show at the Oracle Arena in Oakland _ one of three tour stops over the weekend in Northern California _ is that the 27-year-old Lambert is a bona-fide star.
No matter what a person thinks of Lambert’s overtly dramatic vocal style _ I, for one, find it more than a tad nauseating _ it’s still nearly impossible to deny his almost limitless potential. Indeed, just how the singer goes about trying to make good on all that promise should make for one of pop culture’s most fascinating storylines over the next few years.
The not-quite-sold-out crowd seemed more subdued than at previous shows, with one 15-minute exception. The audience made it clear that in the Bay Area, second-place finisher Adam Lambert was the majority choice. The androgynous, Björk-like power singer didn't disappoint, giving the most memorable performance - justifying the crowd's decision to stand for every one of his songs, while sitting through most of Season 8 winner Kris Allen's performance.
Lambert came out dressed like he should have been in a dune buggy chasing Mel Gibson across the Australian Outback, and followed Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" with a medley of David Bowie songs - complete with a fake British accent. But it was still the low-key Allen who flirted with self-parody. As he tinkled the piano to Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine," it sounded instead as if he might be trying to cover Dana Carvey's "Choppin' Broccoli." (Look that one up on YouTube, kids.)
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