Write-up from Bethlehem concert:
Adam, our inspiration in so many ways, the concert to look forward to for weeks ahead....then, in just 75 minutes, it is all over, and now, the only thing that keeps me from having the blues, is that I have sooo much to do, that I cannot even think much about it. So this write-up is just summarizing a few pointers/ observations.
The Sands itself? Strange location, old warehouses outside, some rebuilding of a rundown area going on around, you cannot even see the casino from the downtown side, even though you are just yards away.
Inside, the typical slot-machine hell (at least for me), with a bunch of varied restaurants along the outside perimeter. Parking is free and right next door, and the venue is just a short stroll through gambling land, then you cross a few corridors that look like typical hotel conference center hallway world, and then you are there. It's a black box with plastic chairs set up for the night. Ok, not quite Wilkes-Barre theater, I suppose, or so I thought .
I was glad we had a little get-together beforehand to forget a bit this rather mundane environment. The dinner was organized by
glambertparty , who I had not met, and neither did I know the other people there, so I got introduced to quite a few new fans, all living in the wider area here, and that was of course wonderful, because we don't get together much otherwise.
At the concert, a much more varied crowd compared to GNT, more men, more young people, truly all ages, gay, straight, couples, singles, groups, it was a big melting pot. Lots of AL concert virgins. I was surprised. Of course you also had the many 'been to Wilkes-Barre three times' -crowds, but the amount of people who knew him only from idol, did not know Adam's songs outside of WWFM, and reacted mostly to the cover songs, rather than Adam's own, was substantial.
The most common request at the concession stands, outside of T-shirts, was for CDs. The guy selling the stuff said" 'Oh, we ran out of these within 10 minutes of the first concert". So, @wbr, get with it! People want to buy CDs at Adam's concert! Wake up!
The concert was officially sold out, but second hand tickets were readily available. Around me were a LOT of empty seats. While that does not hurt the bottom-line this time around, it is still not good, because it means that re-sellers will buy more carefully next time, and less tickets will be sold then. But I have to say, in the area where I live (about 1 hour away from Bethlehem), there was absolutely no advertising for this concert, either in newspaper or radio or billboards or anything else, from what I could tell.
I asked one lady, who wanted to buy CDs (she did not own any Adam CDs at all, just knew him from idol, and came with her husband), asked her how she found out about the concert. She said, pure coincidence, she was watching idol, was reminded of him, and looked whether he had a website, and then saw that he had a concert right here close by, just a few weeks away. It is hard to expect to fill up venues, if this is how people need to find you.
Alex Newell was starting up, and the seats around me were empty. I had one to my left for my coat, and one to my right for drink and bag, and there were 7 seats next to each other free in the row in front of me, as well as 2 rows behind. Alex wanted people to say hi to the people around them, I had to leave my seat to be able to do that. One of the sides filled up by the time Adam came on, but the other side stays empty throughout the concert. The lady and her husband who joined me in my row for Adam's part of the concert, ended up not only familiar with Atop, but knew who I was online, and so we exchanged a few words, but she is just reading, not posting. Hello C., if you are reading this, come play with us! I think, she loved the concert, from what I could tell.
Now for the first surprise. The acoustics were wonderful, the screens just the right size, and the stage within good viewing range, closer than I thought I would be, given that I was in row 14. The crowds were happy to cheer Alex, as well as later of course, Adam. The acoustics were dry (as in very little echo for an Adam concert), and so the tightness of the band, and Adam's brilliant singing skills, were beautifully displayed.
You meanwhile have seen video and heard his vocals. It was out of this world beautiful. The dancers each had their special moments, and the variety of music styles, the light show, the dancing, and of course above all, Adam's singing and dancing, made for a time that flew by so quick, I needed some time to get back to real world, after the end TSP/AOBTD. Highlights for me were Lucy, Fever, Let's Dance, After Hours, but it was all wonderful.
I loved, how sophisticated that second outfit looked in person. Online, I always thought the pink suit looked a bit weird, but it works great on stage. And outfit 3 is one, that only Adam can pull off, and even for him, it's borderline. But, in the spirit of plain good fun, it somehow works out, I will always remember him kneeling down on the left in front of the 1st row. If I find the picture again, I'll add it to the post here.