7.27.14 Adam News and Info

Welcome PTA Rabble Rouser...I've only been to Nashville -but the short time I was there -it looks like a really nice place to live...I love the diversity, talent and friendship that all ATOP members bring here every day!

I'm glad I'm not the only one having trouble visualizing my actual concert experience. It just seemed so unreal - everything in 3D. I know I was there, I think.....The one and only thing that really stands out to me is the first time Adam strutted down the catwalk in all his Versace wonderfulness, gleaming in black and gold. There he was!!!!! I just looked at the person standing next to me with the biggest smile and she was doing the same. I said something like, "can you even believe it" and she shook her head "no" and then we just stood there with eyes wide open and jaws to our knees. I am so thankful for all the videos and pictures that people have posted. Even when I'm watching the ones from the concert I attended it still seems unreal that I was even there. What a glorious summer this has been so far. 

It would be better to use the high quality FLAC audio files made by the tapers (people who record concert audio) than to use the audio from the YouTube videos.

I am working on the Atlantic City audio right now as my flight home was canceled and I am stuck in Philly overnight. But glad that I am not flying home during the bad thunderstormes and tornado watches. And glad this did not happen on the way to the Atlantic City concert!

aleks, and I haven't stopped smiling from reading your beautiful essay. These things really stand out - 

While we’re at sports, if there was such a thing as music Olympics, this is how the most challenging task would sound like: you have to front an iconic band, with the most diverse opus ever. Learn all the songs in and out. Be yourself, but remain respectful. Bring originality to the table (while constantly being very ‘originally’ compared to Freddie by the very same people expecting it from you). Face throngs of very passionate and slightly disgruntled Queen fans. Convince them of your worthiness. Pay attention to every single note, every lyric and every move, for each and every one of them will be subjected to endless analysis and discussions. Shine on your own, but do not steal the show. Do not seem intimidated, but don’t get too cocky – know your place. Rock it, don’t karaoke it. Give it your best at every show, you never know who’s in the audience. Pace yourself, but don’t underperform! Walk the line, but don’t fall. Gamble, but don’t lose. Front, but don’t boss. Feels like too much? Now do it for two hours, thirty-four times almost in a row.

There are only a few iconic roles in the world where the task would have this degree of difficulty, the most basic element being able to technically deliver one of the most diverse and challenging musical catalogues in existence and the second, doing it in the footsteps of one of the greatest showman to ever hit a stage. Vocally, I think the challenge has been nothing but a joy for Adam because it gives the opportunity to express the vast range of his talents and to strengthen some of them even more.

In terms of performance, when the contradictions of what needs to be done are so enormous, the trap is to remain in the contradictions. But these contradictions are the labels and categories of a limiting collective consciousness - all the boxes some fans or reviewers try to sort him into and their brains kind of short-circuit because he has taken the only winning strategy which is to dismiss polarities, dismiss the contradictions of 'opposites' and rise above them by the completely heroic and daring act of being himself. Anything else would have failed spectacularly. This is the also the wisdom of Brian and Roger, I believe, to know that Adam has the very rare combination of both bravery and true humility in equal measure. Freddie didn't need the humility part, it was his role after all, his creation. But by having it, Adam has been able to take the only and true way to make it his own.

Adam's unflinching trust in his own lifeforce, his true essence and its creative expression, is greater than any limitations that can be placed on it by his own fears or the limitations that others try to impose on him - he has been learning this solidly all his life it seems. His most powerful message has always been that he will be who he truly is, at so many levels, no matter what the cost or risk of failure. I remember watching the Kiev concert and I could see the fear in his eyes, hear it in his voice. He would not be human if he had not felt it. This collaboration with Queen is another and truly stunning example of self-mastery. 

It’s a bit unexpected, from a hot guy like Adam to be unafraid to indulge that much in physical comedy. Hot guys don’t normally do it, they feel like it undermines their hotness, I presume; and it is one more way in which Adam falls out of the cliché. Those are the bits when he lets his personality shine through and when he is at his most honest. Adam can and does play many roles on that stage, but when he is his true self, he is very open and unabashed. Other than in the funny bits, you can find it in his emotional interaction with others, or in his body’s reactions to a song, be that on his face or his crotch; also, when he so adorably puts it, ‘that is not really me’. We know, Adam, we know:) We love you:)

This is your beautiful way, aleks, of saying what I am merely echoing above in part. He will not conform to expected norms. Those norms for a 'rock star' are very explicit and it is not about being a nice guy. From what I can see from the post-concert tweets etc, the men have been able to breathe a collective sigh of relief because he is completely confident and secure in both his masculinity and humanity.  

I think he knew that the meme which he had zero chance of avoiding was the ridiculous and nonsensical ‘He’s no Freddie’ one.

Ridiculous as it is, human as it is, clumsy and lazy as it has been, there are only a few people on the planet who have been in those shoes to be subjected to it and this includes Mr Adam Lambert. Nothing can diminish that.

The camaraderie or how Adam is one giant pile of love. And Bri. And Rog. And Tiger. And Spike and Neill and the sound guy:)

Here comes the sappy part - but it can’t be helped, there’s some serious affection and bromance on and off that stage. There are hugs and kisses and holding hands; affectionate glances, jokes and interactions. You’ve seen the show, you know it. It’s so typically Adam that it’s almost surreal, because it’s one thing to watch him get all emotional and affectionate with his own band members and friends, and quite another when he does it with Queen. It was not one of the requests of the task. It was not essential for the business of the tour. But it’s never just business with Adam, is it, and it just shows how loving and loveable he is. He brings it out in other people and he can’t help showing it himself. He is the love fest instigator, he always is.

For me, it takes the show on another level, a philosophical one, if you like: watching these people bring so many things to the table, things like insane talent, ability, stamina, personal histories and desires, is more than emotionally fulfilling for me; but wrapping it all up in love feels like a present and I love every second of it. It’s the point where it overgrows its definition of a rock show and becomes something much more personal and that personal stamp does not only take it outside of a rock genre, it takes it out of the realm of music.

If that is sap, then I love your tree . I can only add, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."

The point is, if you want Adam to reach truly insane heights of magic, you have to go there with him. He can be a bit skittish like that, he won’t do it alone. You have to push his buttons in order for him to push yours back. It’s the best kind of magic and it’s not a little lonely and serene perfection of ‘Who Wants to Live Forever’ that is the best part of the concert experience, although it would be on anyone else’s concert, if they could even dream of pulling it off. With Adam and his audience, the highlight is always the mutual goading into the magical, wherever and whenever it happens; and even though it is sometimes complicated, when you get there it feels like a dream for both parties.

Yes and yes. He gives 100% no matter what, but to go beyond that the audience has to surrender to the moment with him. It is the BEST kind of magic on top of what is already magical and that is why there has to be a way for you, dear lady to see him live soon. 

For me, the magic has been in the singalongs because it is something he is still mastering. The joy on his face when it all works is priceless.

To be continued.
Yes, please. And thank you