AnthrogeekPF: I only shot two full videos at Thunder Valley, because frankly, seeing AFL up close is a mind-boggling experience, and I wanted my mind fully boggled, unencumbered by concentrating on keeping him in the frame - and we all know you cannot contain the magnificance that is Adam Fucking Lambert to neither a box nor a frame! Placed into evidence for the court's consideration, I give you this Fever. Testify!!
NoAngel writes:
Okay, lemme try to string a few words together about yesterday. I'm a bit delirious from lack of sleep (I think the room next door to us is some combination of indoor pool, construction zone, all-night party spot, and designated smoking area) and the residual effects of extreme heat and EXTREME flail.
Pre-concert: Got to the venue at about 11. Driving past the concert area, I could see about 15 people sitting by the gates. The first several had been there since 7am (AFL concert virgins!) They didn't have any kind of system going, and I knew it was going to be scorching hot, so I told them about the numbering system some fans have used, and got it going. The earliest birds never left their places, but the rest of the line came and went for the next few hours, secure with their spot in line.
The 3 Glamigos were reunited!!! SusieFierce finally made it, after she'd missed SF 7/23 due to injury. For the next few hours we wandered around, chatted with other fans, and passed out contrabands to the early birds (they were a HUGE hit!) Around 2:30, I started to feel faint and ill from the heat, so I went in to get some food and get a recap up. Anthro tweeted that the line was being moved to just outside the venue gates, so I hurried to get back out, but unfortunately ended up missing soundcheck. By this time it was around 4, and we proceeded to swelter in the broiling sun in our coveted spots just in front of the gate. Survival depended upon the kindness of strangers, who took turns holding places in line while others went to fetch water, ice chips, shaved-ice drinks. Some people behind us had a giant beach umbrella, which cast a spot of luxurious shade. The asphalt was so hot it was sticky, and left black stains if you sat down. One gal was looking pretty ill for a bit, but we got her doused with water and on a chair.
The venue is new, and built on a giant plain of black asphalt, with nary a tree nor a speck of shade. The main seating area is a sea of white plastic folding chairs strapped together, with a couple sections of bleachers at the back. The first 5 rows in front of stage are Reserved, and then we were in Section 4, right behind that, and then Section 5 was the last floor section, I think.
Fianlly at about 6 they started setting up the security check tables just inside the gates. We got wristbands from an overwhelmed-looking guy, waited some more, and strategized about our plan. In a nutshell: run like a maniac to the front! We laced up our sprinting shoes and got our bags ready for search. I accidentally stepped on Anthro's shoelace, but no time to re-tie, so I had visions of her falling on her face and debated whether I would stop to help her up. Fortunately, I was not put to the test. Past security, we ran like crazy people, leaping over anyone shorter, dodging around anyone slower, and made it to...THE CENTER OF THE SECOND ROW!!! Awesome seats, and worth every minute in that brutal sun!
Concert: Adam was... fantastic! We were close enough to see his beautiful face, and wow, he was just beaming all night. His hair was floppy and shiny and it was like ebony-colored fiber-optic strands, with multi-hued light sparkling throughout. Again, his voice was great, and his moves were slinky-hot-sexy-cute-etc!!! Loved the silly "I'll get you back for last time" moves with Brooke during IIHY! Gotta say that SFW is not a fave of mine, but I adore it live, and he keeps making it more and more suggestive. Any more and he may as well just whip it out and say, "Yeah, this is a song about my amazing dick...What?"
I tweeted a bunch pre-concert, but as soon as the sun went down, cell reception sucked, and I decided to put my phone away and just party with AFL. So I danced the whole time, shrieked like a banshee, flailed around, and had the time of my life! The adrenaline rush was huge, and I was flying for hours afterwards, LOL!
Okay, but here is the part that made the concert for me:
As I said above, we were in the 2nd row behind Reserved. After we settled in, I studied Row 1, and they looked suspiciously ~casual and non-flaily. We questioned the two women directly in front of us (mid-late 60's in age) and found that pretty much all of them were casino VIPs, who had been let into the venue before they opened the gates for us. (There was also a couple of older gentlemen next to them. More on them later) The ladies were really nice, and we found out that they knew Adam from AI, liked him there, thought he should have won (heh), and hadn't paid much attention since. They were pretty musically open, and had recently seen Ke$ha and loved her. They asked, "Is Adam a good performer?" (they had recently seen Lionel Ritchie and raved about what a great performer he was). I chuckled and said, I'll let you tell us, afterwards. We told them about the Glamazing Race, and they were stunned and somewhat puzzled, but friendly and supportive.
They ended up really liking Alli, who by the way, was out-the-box crazy good last night, with explosive energy. "She came in 4th? Another thing Idol got wrong!" was their comment. They also enjoyed Ori. During intermission, I told them about Adam's theory on audience/performer energy exchange, and they promised to show him some love.
And then Adam came on, and when I could tear my eyes from him, I watched our friends. Over the next hour, I watched them move from attentive to enthralled. One lady watched him through binoculars most of the time, and they became more and more animated, shaking their heads and clutching at each other. The two old gentlemen totally got into it, too. By the time Adam was singing Strut, one of them was dancing, pumping his fist, and laughing in delight at Adam's OTT provocative moves.
After the concert, the ladies turned to us with slack jaws and wide eyes. Their comments: We get it now, why you're following him around!; We knew he was good, but he is GREAT!; Way better than Lionel Ritchie (LOL); We're saving our ticket stubs- he's going to be huge!!! And on and on, in full-on flail mode! We hugged, and clutched at each others hands, and laughed in total delight at each other. I told them to please buy his album and support him, and they said, of course, they were going to buy it right away.
So there you have it- more converts, one concert at a time. Anyone who wonders about some of Adam's venues and worries that the audience may not be full of fans, should realize that this happens EVERY TIME! There really is no resisting his ~allure, and anyone who is open to it, can't help but be won over. I'm so thrilled that I got to witness this transformation first-hand, and it really made the concert even more special for me.
Having the time of my life, and now, on to SF Part 2! Thanks for reading, friends!
AnthrogeekPF:
As you all know, thanks to NoAngelPF's skills as a harsh taskmaster, she had the early line-squatters whipped into shape and assigning numbers to newbies in record time. As a result, we were all free to return to the casino periodically to refresh, and then at 5pm when the vendor area of the venue opened, we were allowed by security to move to the gates directly outside the venue, where we proceeded to broil in the sun wait patiently for another two hours. Not long after we arrived, we heard AFL's sound check!! However, NoAngelPF was being a wuss at that time and was inside the casino and missed it. I, however, was sitting there listening to AFL sing the first several songs in his set. When he heard the cheers from the mini-crowd behind the gate, he laughed and noted that it would likely be appearing on YouTube within 10 minutes, then told us to get inside where it was cool (we did not)! Sorry, Adam, no YT, but I did tweet this little Ring of Fire video snippet, which I shall link here at the risk of looking like a peeping tom!
http://yfrog.us/izu1yz
Later, Longineu's goddess of a fiance, Joan, suddenly appeared on the other side of the gate, so I gave her some contrabands to pass along to LP. Turns out he was right behind her, and when she showed them to him, he came over and thanked me for them and asked some questions about where we got them, etc. He recalled getting them in the lobby at Stir Cove. What a sweetheart that LP is, I tell ya!!
Ah, but that's not all of the contraband saga.... our non-blogging travel companion, adamauian from PF, had gone back to the car to get more contrabands for our fellow line-squatters when she ran into AFL himself in the hotel elevator on the way to our room to change. She mentioned contrabands, which he politely declined because he thought it perhaps odd to wear items with his own name on it (though not all of them do). And yet..... we remind you of this....
As for adamauian.... she's since been evicted from the road trip and her rotting carcass awaits pickup and disposal by the CA highway division. Just sayin'.......
SusieFierce:
Thunder Valley is a big, beautiful, apparently relatively new casino (still had that new-hotel smell, despite allowance of cigarette smoking).
I won’t go into great detail about our day. Here’s a summary:
• Hot as hell
• Walking helped my back
• Grateful for @loveadamsmusic, the other Glamigos and adamauian for helping me out; even more grateful for air conditioning
• Sound check was awesome. Hearing Adam’s voice booming from probably 500 yards away and still so powerful and beautiful (even when joking around) that it stops you in your tracks is a humbling experience.
• Peeking through fences at venues kind of takes you back to another time – like the Normal Rockwell version of the kid watching a baseball game from the outside. He probably didn’t have an iPhone with video capabilities though.
@laurirose planned a very nice dinner at the steakhouse which was nice, but I was just excited to get going and sitting for long periods is not good on my back. TV twitter dude stopped by and had I known the fuckery that would await us in our Row B tickets, I would have given him a piece of my mind then.
Tickets: Loveadamsmusic scored two sets of assigned seating tickets, which sounded great on paper. In real life, not so much. I am REALLY over venues selling obstructed view tickets for full price and not informing the audience. It’s crap and it must stop. Our Row B, seat 1 and 2 tickets were easily 20 feet past the end of the performance area of the stage. We were in the cornfield or the cow pasture.
The view was obscured by a huge banner and stacks of equipment. We could not see ANYTHING. Apparently, there was fallout after Lionel Richie as well and then venue insisted that the view was good from every seat. Clearly, they’re delusional or tested it when there was no banner or equipment on stage. Ridiculous.
Anyway, Allison was on as we came out (major hold-up getting checks at the restaurant) and I was disappointed we missed her first song. She looked and sounded great. A HUGE bundle of energy. She’s been called a firecracker because of the combination of her energy, spark and hair I guess; I will also evoke that analogy. She is laying it ALL out there and that is so refreshing to see.
There seems to be genuine friendship and chemistry between her and Orianthi when they do “Don’t Waste the Pretty” together. Allison has a serious set of pipes, moves confidently and fluidly on stage and her band is a lot of fun. She could still work on the diction issues. She really does sound like a 50-year-old with a three-pack-a-day habit. I hope her voice holds up because she really has genuine talent and it gauls me to see her struggle when prefab pop stars with redi-made material questionable ability saturate the market.
Orianthi: Great guitarist, very pretty, her band’s amps were turned up WAY too loud. It was ridiculous. I felt like a grandma when I wished I had brought my earplugs.
Once we had discovered our ObsVue seats, the ushers allowed us to sit in unoccupied seats and I connected with @alinsst (DietCoke). Always great to see her as she is soooo sweet and adorable. We checked out our Row E seats and I determined they were much better than B, so I planted myself, not wanting to over do. And I waited for Adam.
The other Glamigos got GREAT seats through GA, which they earned with copious amounts of sweat and near heat exhaustion, so I was glad for them, for sure.
The concert was incredible. The venue was VERY large and by the time Adam started, it was full, even the bleachers that started probably 100 yards back.
I won’t go into great detail as I have promised to write a thorough recap of The Warfield, 7/25, but I do want to say the concert was electrifying. I think some of the elements dissipate slightly in an outdoor venue, but still, I glanced up and saw the full moon and then remembered it was also a full moon at Gridlock and Fantasy Springs. Was it at River Rock? Probably not, that was the beginning of the month.
High points: “Soaked” has that exact effect on me. It is such a vocal and emotional masterpiece performed with masterful skill – it is a virtuoso piece, in my mind. The audiences have learned not to react to the every note and are now listening, rapt. I believe I have witnessed moments of total silence as he bestows this exquisite gift – revealing each note as a work of art.
Since the moment I “discovered” Adam, there has been one thing that has been consistently magical in his singing and performance that never ceases to astound me: Despite my expectations and despite the fact that I’ve listened to his songs literally hundreds of times, he manages to color and flourish ever note, every inflection, in a way that completely supercedes that which I’m anticipating. The reality is always more brilliant than the memory. THIS is why he is so addictive. (Hmm, bookmark this for future essay).
Okay, this is too long already. I’ve got a recap for The Warfield to write. Catch you on the next page.
