Adam Lambert - Glam Nation Tour in New York
Tuesday was the first night of Adam Lambert's Glam Nation Tour in New York City and I was there to see it! Thanks to JeffreyChrist for using his connections to get us tickets to the sold out show. (Follow him on Twitter at @jeffreychrist and thank him!)
I was very excited to see this show for a couple of days now. Needless to say, Adam Lambert did not disappoint with his vocals. It was pretty much out of this world from where I was standing. If you are an Adam Lambert fan, this is the show to watch and you must get your tickets now. It will be worth it.
Adam's vocals were flawless throughout the show (even if he sounded hoarse when he was speaking to the audience), however there were some aspects of the show that disappointed me.
First of all, Allison Iraheta's set was too short. Just when I was ready to completely rock out with her, it was over. Then Orianthi was quite frankly, a bore. I am sure she has a lot of fans, and in a way takes this tour outside of the "American Idol bubble" -- but her set was just one song after another and you could sense that the audience was restless. She should shorten her set. The restlessness grew after she finished since it took thirty minutes or so before Adam went the stage -- it felt like a very long time.
When Adam finally appeared, the energy was amazing. He opened with "Voodoo," then "Down The Rabbit Hole," then "Ring of Fire" all in costume which I loved. So this is the "Glam Nation" I thought. I actually considered the possibility of joining even if some of Adam's dance moves looked cheesy. He then sang "Fever" which was the best song of the night. I was very excited to see what happens next.
A musical interlude for a costume change and he sang "Sleepwalker" -- and for me the Glam Nation Tour ended. I was thinking that this would just be slow filler, but it turned out to be the transition to his "acoustic set" which included "Whataya Want From Me," "Soaked," (a torch song!) and "Aftermath." By this time, the "show" was gone, and everyone was just listening to his vocals. I was a little disappointed at how the show turned into an acoustic set all of a sudden when we were all expecting the "Glam Nation". Acoustic isn't glam, no? And acoustic really brings down the energy in the room.
Then another LONG musical transition and Adam sang the rest of his fast songs: "Surefire Winners" -- a song I liked, but now seemed all of a sudden corny, and then "Strut" which became a bit ridiculous. Adam's favorite dance move: the supermodel catwalk ending in a headflip looks really funny. I think that if he pushed these songs right after "Fever" then I would have been more willing to accept the cheesiness. But after given time to think during his acoustic set, these numbers just didn't work.
"Music Again" was good but it really felt out of place in the show somehow. It was then that I became so disappointed in Adam's album. I realized that he was just working with the material he had, which as we all know, after the Summer Tour was rushed. I think the show would have worked better if he stuck to the Glam concept then added more cover songs to fill in the mix.
The last song was "If I Had You" -- a song which everyone knows I love, so I loved it. It really worked with the laser lights. (There were a lot of laser lights -- specially in the beginning.) However, he was also thanking the band and the dancers at this point which got me disappointed again because I couldn't believe it was over without any decent climax.
Then, Adam left the stage for the obligatory clap a lot until he comes back encore, and unfortunately, again it felt too long!
Adam comes back to sing two acoustic songs: "Mad World" and "Whole Lotta Love". The vocals were flawless. Bravo! Just like on Idol. However in a testament to how the "acoustic concept" really fails: in a room full of Adam fans, after the last song, they clapped for barely twenty seconds - then everyone left.
Oh well. Adam's vocals were amazing though (how many times do I need to say that?) but the material is just not there, which is very frustrating because I saw potential in his opening numbers. It may not be mainstream, but at least it was a solid act that defines identity.
I am really hoping for a second album ASAP, but that's not going to happen soon. Adam will have to ride this one out, I'm afraid. But I know he is doing his best to make the material work.
Kudos also goes to the New York audience. I was expecting to be in a crowd full of 40-65 year-old women, but the turnout from gay males was amazing tonight. Easily 1/3 of the audience was male - probably closer to 1/2 - which I thought was a great turnout. This maybe has something to do with being in New York City. I also saw young women in their 20's -- but it looked like they were with their mothers who were also Adam fans? Does this happen often?
After the show, I got to meet some Glamberts from the U.K. who follow me on Twitter! They were so nice! I love you guys. It's good to be finally breathing the same air.
I also watched the show with Jim Cantiello and his wife. What he thought of the show, you'll have to ask him! LOL. I also met Adam's manager again which was great. Also saw Gregory Jbara (from Billy Elliot) and Ray - the road manager of the American Idol Tour - in the audience.
Finally, I brought my MP3 recorder with the intent of getting you guys really nice audio from tonight. However the sound was so loud at the Nokia Theater, the recording was unusable because of so many "clicks" from the loudness. Ughh. I was almost certain that it would be amazing because Adam sounded amazing. Darnit.
Watch the video here:
http://www.youtube.com/v/vcHGOQxxVbQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&
P.S. Oh I forgot to mention: The fans in front of me took a picture of themselves and I accidentally photo-bombed them with my frowning/pissed off face! LOL We were waiting for Adam's set -- and I said oh no, I'm in the picture -- but the lady said you look exactly how we feel right now (about waiting so long and listening to Orianthi for 30+ minutes). I think they were from TALC!
P.P.S. Oh and we also met up with Gaby from AOL's SomethingPitchy! We shared "being tiny and can't see" moments until a couple in front of us left after "Strut" -- then we could see everything!
Listen to "Mad World" and "Whole Lotta Love" (sorry about the popping) - I tried!