Jason Castro - Castro Report - Columbus, OH - 07/20/08
http://www.youtube.com/v/CbkV9X29aEM&hl=en&fs=1
(Here's the Castro Report from Hanna from Columbus, OH. Thanks Hanna for being one of our cellcasters!)
I’m a detail person so this will be long. My husband I arrived at the Schott in Columbus around 11:45 a.m.. I’d decorated the windows of our blue van with the words “WHAT A DAY FOR A DAYDREAM” “(HEART) JASON CASTRO” “DAYDREAMINGBOY.COM” Ours was the only decorated vehicle, which surprised me. My husband had to drive his van to work that way this morning because that window chalk doesn’t come off very easily!!!
A group of Dreadheads had their places staked out at the barriers so we joined them. Security had a narrow pathway marked off between the chain link fence and the parking lot. There was plenty of room for the approximately 250 fans. It was fun walking around talking to other Idol groups. The Cookies were definitely present, as were the Arch Angels. The Schott Security staff was very nice. George kept looking at his schedule, letting us know what was going on. It turns out he didn’t know any more than we did. Wink
The 3 equipment buses were already parked in the underground parking lot. We waited in the 90* heat forever! We knew they had a 3:30 Meet and Greet, so were worried we’d never get to see them if they didn’t get there soon. At 1:45, the other 3 buses drove down to the parking lot. After awhile, Kristy walked up the steps leading to our area. She strutted past us to the far end of the line without saying anything. I get the impression she is always following a script, right down to the head tosses. Next was Ramiele. She’s so cute. I asked if I could get a pic of her with my husband. She said “Is that a Jason Castro shirt???” and rolled her eyes (yes I made him wear one!), but she smiled for the pic. Next was Syesha. She looked pretty in her yellow top, and is smaller than I expected. I said “welcome to Columbus” and she mumbled that she has family here. The person next to me said “Syesha, why don’t you give Rickey some love.” She ignored her. Brooke was next; she’s beautiful, sweet and engaging. She asked where I got my shirt (Jason is my Idol), as she saw one like it with her name on it. Carly didn’t come out, I think because she’d injured her hip the night before. I was disappointed about that, but understood the reason! After making her way to the end of the line, Syesha walked past us to go back to the bus with Ramiele and said “Look at all the females here!!! No wonder Cook won.” Someone should tell Syesha that she doesn’t need to say aloud everything that pops into her head.
The first guy up the steps was David Archuleta, who was greeted with lots of screams. He was in a hurry, and said he could only take pictures if he was signing autographs at the same time. My husband (a closet Archie fan) said “I think you should have won” and DA laughed and sweetly said “Oh no, no…” Next up was Cookie. He moved down the line so slowly, taking time to chat and take pictures with everyone. He got a few gifts, including a beautiful pencil portrait done by one of his fans; he loved it and turned to show all of us. He, David A and Kristy had security with them. The others didn’t. My husband asked David C if they were going to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame when in Cleveland. David said “I wish! Maybe someday at another stop.” My husband said “I hope so. You have to keep it fun,“ and David replied “That’s right! That’s what I keep telling them!” We asked David if they would be staying in Columbus that night. He said they were going on to Indianapolis. We later found out that wasn’t true, but after what occurred in Chicago the night before, I don’t blame them for throwing the fans off their trail. Michael Johns and Chikezie never came out.
Last, but not least, Jason came bounding up the steps to the fan area. Lots of screams from the fans! He jumped right into signing autographs and taking pics. He was moving a lot faster than Cook, so when he caught up to David, Jason stepped back, bent over and rolled his jeans up into manpris. I don’t know what was wrong with the ladies standing behind him…not one of them took a pic of that!! Obviously they were not Jason fans, who are always ready for a picture of the pantzzz. As Jason sprinted past our section to avoid being held up by Cook, we yelled for him to stop. He looked at us with eyes the color of his teal/green shirt and said he’d be back, but it was already after 3:00 and we were afraid he’d run out of time!! Finally, at 3:25, he got to his loyal Dreadheads! I got a pic with him, awkward because he was behind a barrier and I’m short. I gave him a gift, he asked “what is it?”, I said “a surprise”. I told him I wanted to give him a “mom hug”. He gave me the cutest look, then leaned in for a big, tight hug. I felt his dreads, which are coarse and a little prickly. As we hugged I told him I was giving him some “mom energy”, after which he said “Thank you! That was a good one!” I followed him down the line a little and asked him to say Go Bucks (for the Ohio State Buckeyes). You can see his hilarious response in my video. He looked kind of tired, but was kind, sweet, personable, and absolutely gorgeous! He and David Cook spent about 1 ½ hours outside in the sun and heat with us, until everyone got a pic/autograph! What a fun experience for us!
Before the concert as I waited outside to meet up with a couple people, my husband talked to David Archuleta’s dad in the parking area. He asked if they had insurance on David, like from Lords of London. His dad replied that he’d been thinking about that and was going to look into it. Jeff also told people that the Idols were staying in Columbus overnight, the opposite of what Cook told us in the afternoon. Maybe he's The Mole. Wink
Our concert experience started once they found seats for us. Apparently there was a mix-up between the box office and AI, so our seats were non-existent. They set up extra chairs for us right in front of the sound equipment and gave better seats to my son and 2 friends. We couldn’t see very well, but I didn’t mind that for the first half, as I was doing the cell feed for RickeyTV and it was easy to boldly hold my cell phone up over my head for good reception without bothering anyone behind me. Finally the show got underway.
Chickezi was energetic and friendly and his voice sounded great. Unfortunately the band somewhat overpowered him, as it did everyone else. He got some good screams and cheers. Next was Ramiele. She looked cute and moved around better than I’d heard from other reports. It sounded as though she was shouting to be heard above the too loud band. MJ followed with some good “concert crowd” pleasing songs. I was prepared not to like him as I think he’s overrated considering his 8th place ranking, but his voice was strong and he looked good! His set got the crowd fired up! Kristy Lee was next. My son and husband thought she was hot. I don’t like country music; she looked like a life-size Barbie doll. She kept telling the crowd to scream louder. You shouldn’t have to beg, Kristy. Carly followed. She’s so beautiful. I loved her songs and voice, but you know the band is too loud when you can’t hear Carly over them! The bass was so loud it was uncomfortable; I could feel it pounding in my chest!! Carly said she’d hurt her hip the night before, but was feeling better. She introduced Brooke, who looked so pretty and sounded as sweet as she is. She looks a lot more comfortable sitting behind a piano, although the close-up of her bare feet while she stood playing her guitar was cute. The group number was interesting. I didn’t understand why they said “Ladies and Gentlemen…Michael Johns” in the middle of it. ?
After the obligatory intermission commercials, including the fun Guitar Hero group number with Jason on the drums, and a charming little boy playing air guitar, we knew who was coming next!! I’d switched seats with my son so had a perfect view of the stage!! The spotlight shined on Jason in his red shoes, which led to screams from the crowd. Jason did a slow version of SOTR, his voice and the uke sounded wonderful and confident, and afterwards he said he still loves that song and hasn’t gotten tired of it even after performing it so many times. His Crazy was fantastic, clear, pitch perfect and animated. The crowd loved it. He introduced Daydream saying it was a good song for him because he’s always talking about dreaming. He was upbeat and happy. Earlier in the day someone asked if he minds when the crowd sings along, and he said he loves it. I’m disappointed they still haven’t given Jason a headset so he can walk around and engage more of the crowd. He’s the only Idol who is tethered to the mic stand, which limits his audience interaction. His whole set was very well received, but too short.
Syesha followed. She glittered around the stage and told the crowd they were quiet. David A was next. He got lots of ear-shattering screams from the teeny boppers around us. I wasn’t crazy about his song choices, but he sounded good and even did a little dance in his last number. He was wearing shiny red shoes. Then David Cook rose from the underbelly of the arena and sang, moving to each side of the stage, making eye contact and enticing reactions from the crowd. For his last number, the equipment guy was replaced by Michael Johns. Cookie got a big kick out of it as MJ tried to put David’s guitar on his right side. DC said they’d been talking about doing that for a month and we got to see it! Again…? Before Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing, David said “I’m dedicating this to all of you, and someone in particular. Excuse me for being awkward.” Hmmm
The group number was cute, although I’m not likin’ how the bottom 6 had more total stage time than # 4. Jason looked adorkable and sounded great; I tried to get video of him and got a little of the MJ/ Cookie dance interaction. We didn’t stay to meet the Idols afterwards because it was too crowded. Hopefully I’ll get to meet all of them in Cleveland in September!