Late recap of going to the Bing Lounge:
I went with Mr. Rabbit, and we were in the back half of the line, hoping to avoid too much in the cold waiting, although they still let in folks an hour after they said the doors would open so everyone was a bit frozen. We chatted a little with someone I follow on twitter so it was fun. The venue holds 160 and was full. The crowd was fairly diverse but seemed to lean more suburban/rural as well as some Portland metro area fans. I think there were a lot of idol fans. There were some Durbinators standing behind me. This new HAC station adds idol songs right away and has had a lot of idols come through on visits, but so far doesn't seem to play many of them (except for Daughtry and Kelly) except overnight. Some couples, some families. Some fans were given the limited seated tickets (not necessarily just those at the front of the line, It looked possibly like older fans were given them too which was nice).
It really was only a few moments after the standing ticketed people were let in that the DJ announced Adam, so the crowd wasn't 'warmed up' figuratively or literally, lol. I thought the DJ was fine, he's kinda full of himself on air, but also charming, and he wanted to pick the amusing questions out of the many, many they had collected. I felt bad when he asked the crying girl to read her own question since she was still overcome, but it turned out cute and she was fine with it.
Adam looked beautiful of course, and he was very quick to react and code-switch to get on the same wavelength to patter with the DJ. I was delighted that he sung the Katy Perry song, since he usually demurs on these kind of requests. He was full of energy. When he called out his aunt and uncle they jumped out of their seats and waved from the back, it was cute.
NCOE sounded AMAZING. The venue had very clear acoustics and Adam was miked but it didn't sound like it. His voice was strong, extremely controlled, powerful, and (esp. with the mike) LOUD. It was like being buffeted by precise surround sound in a movie theater. Waves of vocal vibrations, rasps, moans, wails, pure tones just rolled out from him and filled the space. I had mental images of trees toppling and armies being flattened if Adam was pointed in the right direction. I think the crowd was a little stunned (and maybe still frozen) which is why they were so still and silent when he was singing. I was dancing in the back because I couldn't not move to the song. It's very much a dance song to me, even acoustic I want to rave.
When he asked about the new songs parts of the crowd were cheering for them, but I think the majority of the crowd hadn't heard of them before so didn't know how to choose between Trespassing and Cuckoo and just went for a song they recognized and liked. It might have been different if he'd just asked if people wanted to hear another new song.
It was all so fast after people had been let in as well, I think some people just weren't really reacting at all yet and didn't vote. (I voted for both Trespassing and Cuckoo as loudly as I could both times).
I was a bit puzzled that if the near the front seated people were mostly stans who had lined up really early they weren't showing more signs of life during the songs, although everyone clapped and cheered after the songs, and NCOE got a great reception.
There were young women standing on the sides dancing and grooving along to WWFM, so the casual fans there seemed very happy to hear it.
As soon as Adam finished and left the stage, they started trying to make room for the photos near the back of the venue where half the crowd was standing. It was very crowded and chaotic with no line, and they pushed groups of four toward Adam as soon as the previous group had reached him. Literally about 10 seconds between groups. It was so quick almost forget to say anything to Adam until he turned to me and held out his hand. I shook politely and said hi, and he leaned around me to greet Mr. Rabbit and say nice to meet you. Adam was very gentle and beaming at everyone, so it was totally cool, just really fast.
I think some people who wanted to took more time, so it all worked out -- except don't look at the meet n' greet photos because aside from Adam and a few exceptions everyone looks like the derpiest ever, like animals springing trip wires photographed instantly. The crowd was a little bit better looking in real life. :D
So, so glad I had the chance to go. Mr. Rabbit (who is a casual fan) loved Adam's performance as well.
theosgma I hope you have a blast 8-)
