Carol
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Join date : 2009-06-28
 |  Subject: Horseshoe Casino : Hammond IN : 17/6/10  13.05.11 15:58 | |
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If you’ve read any of my previous posts, you know that I’m an Adam Lambert fan. Last night Adam performed at The Venue at Horseshoe Casino in Hammond Indiana and I was lucky enough to be in the audience. The show was general admission and I had “floor seats” meaning we were pretty much just standing on the floor nearest to stage. - Quote :
At its most obvious, American Idol is a wretched phenomenon imported from England that became such because it hit at the right place at the right time in the right way.
A coldly cynical pumped-up "singing contest" complete with sincere contestants, snippy-bitchy judges and the ultimate in audience participation ( after all, the winners are decided by audience vote ) , A.I., broadcast night after night, comes slathered in hype and glitz to such an extent that it's hard to see the real focus; the talent.
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A gibbous moon floating amid clouds silhouettes the voodoo shaman standing at the head of the stairs. From his long-toed bare feet with shiny black tips to the crown of his towering purple top hat, he stands 6 feet 8 inches tall: The sight catches the breath. And then he begins to sing.
He sings of the mysticism of obsessive sexual love, blaming love potions, dolls full of pins, and Voodoo: "I'm under your spell."
He slithers down the stairs while dancing feral creatures cavort around him, sometimes controlling them like marionettes as the images behind him change from bayou vistas hung with Spanish moss to nests of snakes and a screen full of moving eyes. A three-foot fringe hangs from the spread arms of his purple leather jacket as he wails "I'm so obsessed with your sexiness," holding the last note seemingly forever.
This is the decidedly imaginative and theatrical opening number of Adam Lambert's Glam Nation Tour concert, which played at The Venue at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Thursday night. Beginning its third week in mid-sized venues so far mostly in the Midwest, the tour has sold out every engagement, with most upcoming dates also sold out, including two shows at Time Square's Nokia Theater in New York this week.
Lambert jumped into the national consciousness last year as possibly the most talented, entertaining and surprising contestant ever to compete on Fox TV's "American Idol." Now he is a newly-minted rock star who knows he is fulfilling his destiny, and is obviously determined to squeeze every drop of the opportunity to make his mark. He has fashioned a concert, with songs culled mostly from his debut album "For Your Entertainment," released last November, into a three-part loose narrative on the changing nature of love, and set it in a steampunked New Orleans of the early 20th century.
A medley which began with "Voodoo," co-written by Lambert and Aussie hitmaker Sam Sparro, continues with an exhortation to follow him "Down the Rabbit Hole" into a psychedelic wonderland of love, finally asking the Caterpillar's existential question, "Who are you?" He concludes the medley with Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire," giving it the controversial middle eastern-flaired minor-keyed twist that so polarized "American Idol" audiences.
Lambert ends the first act, with the Lady Gaga-composed disco-dripping "Fever," celebrating the art of flirtation with his small group of back-up dancers. This is a radio hit waiting to happen, sadly made fearful by that pesky same-sex pronoun in the first line: "There he goes, my baby..." Lambert flirts as shamelessly with the audience as he does with his elfin bass player, on whom he famously planted a kiss at the American Music Awards last fall. The crowd roars its approval at both choices.
After a short interlude featuring the dancers, Lambert now emerges as a priest of a different sort, singing searing songs of love's loss. Wearing a full-length embroidered cassock-like coat, Lambert sings his rock lament, "Sleepwalker" a wailing howl of sadness and regret. "Break-ups suck, don't they?" Lambert asks the crowd with a rueful laugh after the song's finish. "It makes you ask questions like this:" and launches an acoustic version of his recent Billboard Top Ten hit, the Max Martin and Pink-penned "Whataya Want From Me." Written by Brit band Muse's Matt Bellamy, "Soaked," a ballad about the sad search for comfort awash in booze, follows.
Act two concludes with the most moving number in the show, "Aftermath." A rock power ballad as recorded for the disc and written by Lambert with his friends Alisan Porter and Ferras, this rendition is intimately acoustic, with Lambert sitting on the stairs accompanied only by master guitarist Monte Pittman. It speaks of self-acceptance: "Wanna scream out no more hiding," and encourages the listener to "don't be afraid of what's inside" and to "just remember, you are not alone, in the aftermath."
The crowd sings along, but cannot possibly match Lambert's soaring tenor vocals. ' Incredible in its transcendent simplicity, it sets the scene for act three, about the redemptive empowerment of unselfish love.
After an instrumental interlude, Lambert reappears now not as a priest, but as a Glam Rock god. Glittering from head to now-booted toe in a blue leather-stripped sleeveless vest and tight trousers, he is ready to sing the praises of empowering love, inclusiveness and friendship. He begins with "Sure Fire Winners," braggadicio in full evidence, leading into "Strut" co-written by Lambert and American Idol's Kara DioGuardi. This fully choreographed dance number, complete with gold-tipped cane and sequin-striped black and white leather-trimmed tailcoat, asks listeners to "let it all hang out and show me what you're working with: Strut!"
From Justin Hawkins of the British neo-glam band The Darkness, the Queen-reminiscent "Music Again" continues the empowerment theme. The purity of Lambert's rock tenor vocals here may not have been heard since the untimely demise of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury. Ending this section is his current single, "If I Had You," which Lambert introduces with, "No matter how much fame, money, or sex you have, if it's not connected with love, it means nothing." It is a joyous, dancing celebration of that connection, and the audience loves it. In his typical inclusive fashion, he introduces both his band and dancers, and clarifies that the "you" in the title means everyone in the audience.
In his encore return, Lambert makes his one misstep with a strangely upbeat version of his Idol signature tune, Tears for Fears' "Mad World," but redeems himself with the return of the sexy shaman for his other Idol splash, Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love," slowed down for an acoustic and orgiastic seduction, through which he slinks and twitches, causing the woman behind me to moan, "Oh... my... god!" At finish, impishly smirking, Lambert calls "Goodnight, Indiana!" and leaves the stage.
Adam Lambert's Glam Nation Tour continues through early September, including a return to Indianapolis' Clowes Hall on Aug. 31, where tickets are apparently only available through scalpers, Evansville's Victory Theater on Sept. 1, and Rockford, Ill. on Sept. 4, also apparently sold out. From there, he will tour Europe and Asia throughout the fall. Posted in full as now removed from SOURCE | |
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