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WASHINGTON DC – August 2009
Setting the scene for my trip
Why would I travel several thousand miles and spend hundreds of pounds to see Adam Lambert perform a 20-minute set during the American Idol tour? I admit I have no idea whether I would have gone just for those 20 minutes, if Adam hadn’t inspired me to go for another very different reason. My cousin Jacques lives in Washington DC and was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2001, has since had a lot of chemotherapy, then a last-resort bone marrow transplant from his sister in summer 2008. His body rejected her bone marrow; he was given 6 months to live. His only wish was to still be alive in May this year for his son’s wedding. Well… he did make it and his doctors are confused that he’s still alive.
Deeply disappointed that I couldn’t get to his son’s wedding in May, mainly for financial reasons, I was constantly reminded of Adam’s words in his Rolling Stone interview, “we all have our own power, and whatever I wanted to do, I had to make happen”. This inspired me to make the trip to Washington in August before it was too late and on dates that coincided with Adam’s show in DC.
It was worth every penny. I spent a lot of time with Jacques while he was still in good enough shape to be able to enjoy my stay (he can’t walk much but enjoys driving around – in his Mustang convertible, just like Adam’s); I saw Adam Lambert in concert at the beginning of what many are predicting will be a career on the scale of Elvis’; and I got to meet him and chat to him at the after-show party. I will never forget how fortunate I was to be able to make this trip and how lucky I am that it all turned out so well.
Although I had bought a ticket from Ticketmaster, when I saw someone (Julia) on the AdamOfficial website selling a ticket in row D, 4 rows from the stage in a central position, I knew that ticket had my name on it. It felt like a full circle moment: my first ever pop concert was to see David Bowie in 1973, and was in row D ( in a venue thousands of miles away, in Brighton). 36 years later I would hear Bowie’s songs sung by someone else, also from row D on the other side of the Atlantic. For another full circle moment concerning David Bowie and Adam, see the Afterword at the end of this account.
Preparations to meet Adam?
As a committee member of the Lambrits’ website, I was keen to see if we could get an interview for the site. We felt that Adam would be interested in an interview from a uniquely British perspective. Despite several emails and letters, obviously to the wrong people, to ask for an interview or at least an after-show pass, we had heard nothing.
Nevertheless, my daughters and I prepared a very British mini-scrapbook for Adam with letters, photos, some of the 3,000 questions I would have wanted to ask him in an interview, and an invitation to tea and scones (seriously), to give him in case I got close to him.
A few days in DC
I arrived in Washington on 1 August and was very happy to see Jacques. For the first 3 days I was shown around the city sights, Georgetown, Annapolis, etc, and was extremely well looked after by my cousin and his family.
Incredible news!
The day before the show, Julia phoned to tell me she had passes for the after-show party! Although I asked a few times how she’d obtained them, she couldn’t tell me. I don’t blame her, as I expect they she was told not to reveal where she’d got them from. Well, my chance to meet Adam hadn’t come from the source I’d been pursuing but the Universe had managed to provide somehow.
The day of the show
On the day of the show, 4 August, I did my nails (glittery blue) and got dressed in a blue, black and white glittery top (more on that top later) and white trousers. Jacques dropped me off at the Verizon Center where I had arranged to meet Julia and her husband G and 8-year-old son B. We ate in a café opposite the venue and got chatting to many people at tables around us – everyone was an Adam fan.
Two young sisters had made colourful T-shirts with neon messages of love to Adam, and “Mrs Adam Lambert” on the back. Of course, we all know that Adam isn’t into girls. But just like they both knew they couldn’t BOTH be Mrs Adam Lambert, they also knew NEITHER ONE would ever be Mrs Adam Lambert. Adam’s fans are all just having a lot of FUN, a point missed by those who like to remind his female fans that Adam is 100% gay and that we will NEVER have a chance with him. Er…we know. 99.99% of his male fans have no chance with him either. 99.99% of Madonna’s fans have no chance with her. It doesn’t stop them being her fans.
The show
What follows is purely my personal impression of a single show. However, these are the thoughts of an Adam fan; if I’m biased, I can’t help it. Nevertheless, I have tried not to let my previous opinions of the singers affect my impressions of this one show.
If you’re not interested in any of the other performers, skip straight to the Adam part.
Michael Sarver:
I was impressed by how he interacted with the audience when talking to us; he seemed comfortable in that role, managed to get some people standing, and I didn’t find him at all objectionable, as I thought I might. However, once he started singing, any presence he had while talking faded. Like many of the Idols, he’s an adequate singer with no star quality at all.
Megan:
I liked Megan a lot. She at least attempted to put on a show by dressing up and moving around the stage in her unique way. Part of her original appeal for me on the TV show was the slight quaver in her voice. Although this may not have been good singing technique, it made her unusual and therefore interesting. That seems to have been trained out of her, and her voice sounded more generic. Nevertheless, I liked her and enjoyed her short set and wanted to hear more. Many reviews have criticised her second song, Amy Winehouse’s Tears Dry On Their Own, yet I was entertained. Go figure. Sometimes there is no need to explain why you like something, you just do.
Scott:
Like Michael, when talking and joking with the audience, Scott was engaging, warm and funny. When singing, he is totally forgettable. Or at least I keep forgetting about him.
Lil:
As with Megan, I really liked Lil. She too put on a show, wore a flattering black, sparkly outfit and had plenty of energy on stage. I liked her dancing and especially enjoyed All the Single Ladies. So she’s not Beyonce, but she didn’t try to be; I was very entertained by Lil.
Anoop:
Anoop was enthusiastic, real and passionate in the first half of his first song and then…well…he gradually left me bored and cold. Did he lose interest or did I? I don’t know but I got the feeling he could be very good if he tried harder…a lot harder; maybe he was tired.
Matt:
On the TV shows, I didn’t get Matt. I didn’t dislike him but nor could I understand his apparent popularity. I was neutral. Well, although I’m out on a limb here, I thought his performance in Washington was horrible. My impression was of someone fake, forced and smug. He appears to be saying “Hey, look at me, I’m so cool, I wear this cool hat and I do these hand movements like all these famous singers do, that makes me just like them, and I play my piano standing up like all those great jazz musicians, that makes me just like them”. The end of Georgia On My Mind made me cringe to my core as he overcooked his ridiculous vocal runs. Sorry Matt, but you looked and sang like a poser. I do appreciate that you tried to put on a show, but for me it just didn’t work.
But here’s how I know I’m out on a limb – Matt got by far the best audience reaction of the first half. Much of the audience clearly lapped up all the posing. Again, go figure.
Allison:
I adore Allison’s energy on stage; her unusual movements are endearing and I hope she never loses that uniqueness. Her version of Cry Baby was superb, much better than on the TV show. Her other 2 songs were less emotionally convincing but still very entertaining. I’m more of a fan of Allison the performer than Allison the singer, as I find her voice often too low and feel she limits her range unnecessarily. However, for a 17-year-old, she is very very impressive.
Danny:
He sounded very good from the toilets. Sorry Danny, I actually think you’re a good singer, albeit an awkward performer. Your voice is often very warm and I do hope you get a recording contract. But when a girl’s gotta go, a girl’s gotta go. I did catch the end of your set and didn’t feel I’d missed anything.
ADAM:
As many other reviewers have said, the audience reaction to pictures of Adam displayed before the show and during the interval is exponentially greater than for the other idols including Kris. So when Danny finished his set, the crowd tension began and when Adam emerged, the screaming was at full pitch. I was shocked (as in very taken by surprise) by a lot of what concerns Adam, including how deafeningly loud the screaming was compared with everything that had come before.
Then when Adam appeared on stage, I was shocked at how striking he is physically. The others look like the people they were on the TV show and on internet videos since. Adam in the flesh makes a startlingly different impression. This feeling remained with me throughout his set and all through the after-show party. Of course he looks like the same person with that compelling combination of masculine and feminine beauty; and if anything he seems slighter and not as tall as the 6’1” I was expecting. And yet…he makes such a powerful impact that he appears enormous. My immediate impression was that I was in the presence of something giant, something so huge that takes up infinitely more space than he physically occupies.
I suppose that is what presence is. He is charisma and magnetism personified. I want to say that he is a light that shines blindingly bright. But with his deep black hair, his intensely black eyebrows and his heavy black eyeliner, not to mention the mostly black clothing, I got the feeling of an immense black hole into which we are hopelessly and irresistibly drawn. This was more obvious at the party when you see him in an ordinary room, wearing ordinary clothes, among ordinary human beings. There is nothing small or ordinary about Adam.
But back to the show…
Adam’s set seemed to go by in a few seconds and while some parts are forever imprinted on my brain, other parts I can barely remember because I was hypnotised. Whole Lotta Love is probably the song I remember the least because I was still getting over the shock of that first impression; he really did take my breath away as he came on stage and it took me a while to take in that this was the same person I’ve seen on my TV screen and computer screen a thousand times. And there he was, everything about him stunningly beautiful, standing a few feet in front of me. All I really remember from Whole Lotta Love was his entrance and that fact that the microphone stand got some action, though less than at some of the earlier shows.
In Starlight he was very passionate and energetic but less emotional, less sad, than I’ve seen him in other Starlight performances, particular the one in LA, which I found heart-wrenching. I was struck by how powerful his voice is, compared with the other idols, who often couldn’t be heard that well over the band. His voice on both Starlight and Mad World was entrancing and penetrating. Julia’s husband, G, said that after hearing Mad World on American Idol, Adam’s voice stayed in his head the whole night, despite his efforts to force it out. G believes that if experts analysed Adam’s voice they would find some strange resonance in it that literally hypnotises people. I don’t think he was joking.
In Slow Ride, being so close to the stage I noticed Adam’s facial expressions much more than I have on the You Tube videos from other shows, and he genuinely seemed to be having a lot of fun; he looked happy, fit and playful.
The Bowie medley went by too quickly; I don’t remember much except for the red bra twirling and him looking directly at me a few times (as he did in Starlight too), especially at the very end when he goes down into the stage. Of course it could have been at the person in front of or behind me, but…we were placed immediately in front of him at his eye level, so it would have made sense for him to be focusing on one of us. I’m not naïve enough to think there was any other reason for it, but the feeling that for a few moments he is singing just to you is magical.
Overall, I thought his voice was in great shape, especially on Starlight, and he seemed to be more relaxed and having more fun than at some other shows, particularly on Slow Ride.
The audience’s screaming was constant but the sound system was good enough to handle it. My mp3 player wasn’t. I’d experimented during Scott’s set by simply placing it on my seat. I listened during the interval and it sounded good. So I left it on my seat again during Adam’s set. It recorded 20 minutes of distorted crackly screaming. I did take some video and some photos, just to have that record, but I was more intent on enjoying every second of the show than worrying about recording it.
So that was Adam, at least for the time being.
Kris:
Kris sang well at times, adequately most of the time; in places, his voice was stronger than I expected though he occasionally sounded strained; I think he often looked awkward on stage and his grimaces frequently made me laugh. If he had been singing in the first half of the show, he would have been in his rightful place. Performing after Adam, I felt he was out of place. It isn’t a question of the type of music. It’s a question of degree of talent and popularity. The audience reaction said it plainly: Kris is well-liked but to a fraction of the extent that Adam is.
The best bit about Kris’ set was when Adam led the others back on for the end of Hey Jude, where once again Adam looked like a bright ball of energy having a lot of fun.
Don’t Stop Believing is an enjoyable last song, but with some singers having to strain more than others to reach their notes. When they left the stage, Danny put his arm round Adam in what looked like a genuinely friendly gesture. It was heart-warming to see.
My overall impression of the concert
Adam was the brightest star, by a long chalk. I unexpectedly found the girls, Lil, Megan and Allison, more enjoyable than the rest of the guys. Maybe they just thought more about putting on a show; they danced or they made an effort to look good; or they injected energy and passion into their movements; or they tried to put some emotion into their voices or fun into their performances.
Adam did all those things. Adam gave us a proper show, a well-structured mini-concert that explodes with energy. It’s no wonder he’s exhausted off stage. Most of the boys just came on, sang their songs in their everyday clothes, and left, expecting us to be impressed. When you’re given a precious platform like this one, a priceless opportunity to show your potential to around 15,000 people every night in 50 or so venues all over America, surely you grab it with both hands and every other part of your anatomy and give it the very utmost of your utmost. For most of the singers, it was less than 15 minutes, after all. But it was clearly too much to ask for many of them.
The after-show party – meeting Adam
We waited in a holding area with our purple passes while those with orange passes went through to the “party room”. I assume these were friends and family. We “purple people” must have been those with other contacts and competition winners. At 10.30, we followed Ray, Adam’s bearded Willie Nelson-lookalike handler to the room.
My mouth went dry and I felt very nervous. As I entered the room, my eyes were drawn straight to Adam. This is strange given that he was behind some people and completely obscured save for a tiny bit of black hair sticking up. And when those people moved and I could see Adam, I had the same feeling of shock as when he’d walked on stage. How can someone so normal-sized dominate a room so powerfully?
I was fortunate to be one of the first into the room so was second in line to see Adam. As I walked forward to meet him, Julia later told me that Adam said “I like your top”. I was too busy being nervous to hear, which was probably a good thing as I’d have misheard it for “I like the top” and might have said something inane like “that’s fine with me; your place or mine?”. Instead the conversation went something like this:
Me: Hi Adam, I’ve come from England to see you [handing him the mini-scrapbook we’d made]
Adam: [looking through it] Wow, thank you, that’s really sweet! [etc. in his genuinely appreciative voice – I pointed out the picture of my daughters and said they were big fans and although I don’t remember his exact words, he said something like “oh how beautiful!”]
Me: You don’t need to read it all now. Do you mind signing these photos for my girls and I?
Adam: Of course!
He wrote “To Becca and Sarah, you rock! Adam Lambert” on one and the same on the other one but with my name instead.
Me: Thank you. Can I have a photo?
Adam: Sure
Photo gets taken – he’s very good at holding you tightly round the shoulder. I had my arm round his waist. For anyone with eyesight problems who claims he needs to lose weight, he is EXACTLY the right weight and shape, I promise you. Photo over, though Julia continued to take photos as I chatted with Adam.
Me: Can I ask you a question?
Adam: Sure [this is where he stared very intensely and intently – maybe he was expecting something very serious. Those eyes were yet another shock. Surrounded by the blue and black eyeliner, they appear vivid but almost transparent, like vibrant aquamarine or topaz gemstones].
Me: All the 5 songs you sing on tour, they’re all by British artists.
Adam: [breaking into a big enthusiastic smile] Yeah!
Me: Was that intentional?
Adam: [moving in conspiratorially, as if he didn’t want Americans to hear, looking even more intently at
me Well, British music is the best in the world, isn’t it!
Me: So will we see you in England soon?
Adam: I hope so! I hope it’ll be early next year.
Me: Is Simon arranging that?
Adam: Simon Fuller is. Simon Cowell isn’t connected with that side of things.
At this point I can’t remember what happened next. I know I asked him another question because I told Julia I couldn’t remember his answer, but now I can’t even remember the question. Becoming increasingly starstruck, I was gradually losing all semblance of the fake calm I’d managed to summon earlier.
So, conscious of other people waiting but wanting to ask him so much more:
Me: Thank you Adam. Your English fans, the Lambrits, are looking forward to seeing you in England.
Adam: I’m looking forward to getting there. Thank you so much for the card [meaning the mini-scrapbook].
I walked away in a daze and kicking myself for not asking him other things. I wanted to ask him if he’d ever been to England, I wanted to tell him that we had a campaign to get him to buy a house in Brighton, I wanted to show him my blue glittery fingernails and toenails, I wanted to ask him if he remembered receiving the necklace and T-shirt the Lambrits had sent him back in June . And I wanted to tell him all sorts of things. Nerves got the better of me that time. Next time, I’ll be better prepared .
The only other Idol I spoke to was Megan as I thought it was her birthday (it wasn’t - thanks for that Wikipedia! She was given several birthday presents that evening!). She was friendly, very easy to chat to and much shorter than I expected.
It would have been easy to talk to any of the other Idols, none had more than a few people around them, including Kris. But Julia and I preferred to stand near Adam and just drink him in as he met his fans. The very large number of people wanting to see him compared to the others is yet another significant measure of his popularity. It took him an hour to get through everyone and most people just had a photo and autographs, they mostly didn’t chat.
We spent the rest of the time a few yards from him, taking photos of his interactions and watching how warm and genuine he seems with everyone. I never once saw his smile look false or his interest fade. And yet he does this every night, often after a gruelling day and evening. Of course he must get tired and fed up so I have no doubt that a lot of the smiling and friendly interaction is just excellent acting. But he still manages to make everyone feel special.
When people commend the other Idols for taking the time to chat at length to fans and tweet and sign autographs, they forget that those Idols have A LOT less on their plates, fewer people desperate to talk to them, and a much less demanding onstage experience. They therefore have a lot more time and energy.
Just as an aside, Adam was the only one with a handler at this party. I don’t know if it’s the same everywhere. None of the others had handlers.
At 11.30, Adam and Ray left. Ray had packed Adam’s presents into 2 gift bags and handed them back to Adam. As they walked away, Adam, clutching the bags to his chest and still smiling, was peeking into one of the bags like a child impatient to see what presents he’d got.
My overall and lasting impressions of Adam
Of course I can’t claim to know Adam in the short time I spent in his presence, but what most of us saw throughout his Idol journey and continue to see, both on and off stage, was confirmed for me. He is extremely quick-witted and intelligent; he is physically very handsome and beautiful at the same time; and he is sweet, soft, empathic, sensitive, humble and genuinely appreciative of his current situation, albeit bewildered by it and still getting used to it. But there is nothing weak or yielding about him. A lot has been written about his sexual presence but seeing him in person, I realise this is simply part of the whole potent package. At his core, he is immensely powerful, driven and forceful and clearly brings this into play when necessary to get what he wants in all areas of his life.
His talent as an entertainer is massive and has been developed over the years through sheer hard work. But his charisma and presence are even greater and I don’t know if you can learn these. Meeting him in person, I was left in no doubt that Adam is already a huge giant of a star; it’s just that not everyone knows about him yet.
Afterword - a perfect circle
On the flight returning home from the US, I watched The Boat That Rocked, a British film about the pirate radio stations in the UK in the late 1960s. As my plane began its descent before landing and I felt a pang that my whole beautiful experience was coming to an end, the soundtrack to the film’s optimistic closing scenes was…Let’s Dance by David Bowie, the song that Adam closes his set with. This was a fitting and moving reminder of the perfection of the circle and that nothing was coming to an end. Everything is just beginning for Adam and his fans.
Links to my photos and video
Photos of the concert and meeting Adam
Montage of clips from Adam’s set