We were fortunate enough to attend the recent Idol’s Live concert in Sacramento – thanks to tickets from David’s boss, and in box seats none the less. It was an absolute thrill, and here’s a quick run-down of the show as well as some pictures and video. (note: the pictures included here are from my flickr stream, so you can click on them to view the full-size picture and more)

When we first arrived, the auditorium was slowly filling up and the crew was preparing for the show. We were actually one of the first 100 people into the arena, so David got us some adult beverages to pass the time until the show began.

The basic format of the concert was a countdown of 10 to 1, in the same order that the contestants were kicked off the show. That meant that they started with Michael Sarver, and ended with Kris Allen.

After the bottom 6 contestants performed, they did a few group numbers (with just those six), then after a 15-20 minute intermission the concert began again with the Top 4. After the Top 4 performed then everyone came back out for a group medley and then the concert was over. It was about a 3-hour event, and aside from two of the performers I thought it was huge fun and they did a great job.

I’m really not going to focus on the bottom 6 much other than these comments:

• Michael Sarver wasn’t bad. He’s not the most dynamic personality but he did a good job working the crowd since he was the first performer on stage.
• Megan Joy was not so good. Although I adore her quirkyness, it just doesn’t translate well as a singer / star, and so she didn’t get much affection from the crowd. She looked pretty good in a tight red dress, but she also looked very uncomfortable on stage, as if she knew that no on was there to see her.
• Scott & Lil were surprisingly good. Scott stuck to the piano for the most part, and Lil really worked the stage with an obvious hair-full of extensions. I’m giving Scott a place in my Top 3 for the night – because seriously, he was that good.
• Matt Giraud was the big surprise of the night because he tore that piano up! Great energy from him all throughout the concert. It also looked like he might have had a little something removed from his forehead. Allegedly.
• Anoop was good – nothing to write home about but fun none-the-less.

After the intermission it was time for the concert to get into full swing, and it absolutely did.

What can I say about Allison Iraheta…she ROCKED! She really could be the next lead singer of a group like Heart. Powerful rocker chick and her voice just kept pushing the limits – especially when she knocked out Barracuda. She totally held her own for the concert, and I’m going to say she was in my Top 3 performers of the night.

Next up was Danny Gokey. He got preachy after his second song – asking about all the “dreamers” in the audience, and once again bringing up his deceased wife. This final song was also rather religious so we tried our best to just ignore that he was on stage, because I think we all know who came up next.

I can’t even explain what happened in the ARCO Arena once Danny left the stage. It was like Sacramento was having an earthquake. People were stomping their feet on the floor so hard the entire building was shaking. I had to grab for my rum and diet so it wouldn’t splash onto the floor. And listen to me people – I am NOT exaggerating. See for yourself…

Adam performed a number of songs including Mad World and a duet with his “little sister” Allison. Again – tore up the stage. Adam gets my vote for #1 performer of the night – and it seemed like most of the audience members agreed.

Kris was up next and he did a very admirable job – as good as he could have done following such a power performer like Adam. He used his guitar for several numbers, and had very good energy on stage.

Finally the Top 10 got back together for a medley of some 80’s music, finally ending against a backdrop of disco balls that decended from the rafters. I’m not really sure what the symbolism was, but it looked pretty cool.

All in all it was a great concert – full of energy and excitement and the crowd loved it! Now I can’t wait for the So You Think You Can Dance show that will hopefully be coming through in a few months!