AI4 Concert Recap - Part 3

I’m getting a little fuzzy on song names, & was out of town (again), so I apologize for the delay. But here’s the rest!

Anwar started the 2nd half with Superstition at the keyboard. He is an awesome keyboard player!! (I read that he offered to play for / write with / produce several other idols’ albums, & I hope they take him up on it!)

Next Vonzell came out and Anwar played for her while she sang her first song (Karma), then he left. Just like on the show, I loved her slow, belty song (I Have Nothing) and didn’t like the fast ones at all (I’m Every Woman & The Best of My Love). For one thing they had her way too loud and she was yelling anyway, so it was a bit cringe-worthy for my ears. Honestly I think that was my least favorite part of the night, which surprised me. I guess I’d just heard so much good stuff I didn’t want to waste my time being bored (and deafened).

However, Anthony was next! My feelings for Anthony went up & down throughout the course of the show, and took a rocket to the stratosphere when I heard his part on the CD single "He Ain’t Heavy." (I think he sounds like Dennis DeYoung, whom I adore.) So I was really looking forward to hearing him live, and he didn’t disappoint! Sounded really good, though his voice cracked on a high note on his last song, and he looked startled & said something about how we (the crowd) "wore him out." He was somewhat belty too but it works for him & the sound was ok and it was lurvely. Oh yeah, and I had heard friends describe him as innocently adorable ("so cute you could just eat him with a spoon"), which I agreed with for the most part. But boy has hips that swivel on Marc Anthony songs, and took a few steps out of the ‘nonthreatening kid’ box for a while there. ;-) The girls in the front row were delirious when he came down and stood/danced right by them for the majority of his last song. He sang Every Time You Go Away, Can You Stop the Rain, and I’ve Got You.

Finally time for Bo! Huge crowd response, and here he came, hobbling out. He sat at the keyboard for Desperado; played some intro, sang the song, & played a few measures toward the end. Not sure why he wanted to play at all for just small parts of the song, but whatever. Very nice. Then he did Vehicle, and stood on our corner of the stage for a lot of it, but that song just doesn’t do a lot for me. Plus they had him a bit loud, and the higher stuff sounded too nasal, instead of his usual lower voice which is a bit husky. And then really jammed on Voodoo Child, playing electric guitar… on which he is awesome, & there were a lot of instrumental parts and funky red swirling lights all over the place, very appropriate for the 70’s rock feel. Except that I’m not familiar w/the song and couldn’t understand the words and didn’t get much enjoyment at all out of it! Boo. And then of course he ended w/Sweet Home Alabama, which was very good. Oh, and he had his hair back in a pony tail, which was nice, as you could see more of his facial expressions & he’s not a bad-looking guy either. He also told a few really bad jokes, as is his habit.

Lastly Carrie – I was actually impressed w/her stage presence (especially during the 1st song, Sin Wagon, she really moved around the whole stage, danced a bit, & wore/held a cowboy hat). But again the sound was too loud and while belting is what she does best, it was a bit much. She did Alone, Independence Day, and In Your Heaven. On the last one the entire cast came out and joined her, thus ending the regular part of the show.

I should also mention that every performer made a big point of thanking us all for being there, watching the show, and supporting them in general.

Encore!

Carrie & Bo sat on stools and played acoustic guitar while singing God Blessed the Broken Road. Their voices blend very well together. Then group numbers. These were a blast! I’ve attended every Idol tour, and while most of the vocalists this year can handle more solos, I do miss the cheesy group medleys with poorly executed choreography and ‘pointy poses.’ Anyway, they did Lean on Me and then R.O.C.K. in the USA. Both were much fun, and I tried to watch both Constantine and Anthony the whole time which was a challenge. Connie is such a ham and is just always entertaining! And he’s good at "embracing the cheese" and having fun… Anthony was having a blast too.

I was sad when it was over, of course. We got a good 2 ½ hours of music, and definitely worth the price tag (and 7+ hour round-trip drive). Now I guess I wait for their albums!!

One other comment, I’ve been to quite a few concerts over the years and it’s typical for the audience to scream/applaud at the beginning of a song when they recognize something they like. Well, I did this a few times, but the audience in general usually waited until the person started singing, or at least through much of the ‘intro’ to the songs. Is there a proper protocol on this? Just curious. Granted I knew a lot of the set list ahead of time, but something like "Desperado" is pretty recognizable right from the start, or so I thought.