5.25.12 KRZ Summer Smash Concert Thread

Adam Lambert KICKIN IN Wilkes-Barre WKRZ 5/24/12 Kirby Center

Published on May 27, 2012 by indybeck71

Haha! That was the best part! I downloaded the TALC video and keep rewinding to re-watch that bit. Cracks me up every time!! He was having so much fun!

Wilkes Barre was so loose and crazy!! Loved his chattiness and interaction with the audience. :D

It's taken me two days to recover enough to attempt to post a recap! And in the meantime Adam has been to several other states, done another concert, and is preparing for a third. And that's after also doing an early morning concert before the Wilkes Barre concert. I really don't know how he does it.

I'm also impressed with all who can remember enough to post detailed recaps. A lot of it is a blur to me. Sensation overload!

Here's what I remember.

I was sitting in about the 16th row, left of center. The sound for the opening acts wasn't great. Neon Hitch's voice was almost completely obscured by the band. But I loved her drummer guys! ;D And was impressed with her shoes. Kevin Rudolph has no charisma. None. The Cab were charming in a low key way, but from where I was sitting, the singer was painfully off-key. And that's not something I normally notice. It was strange to me that so many people thought he was good -- but it pretty clearly had to do with where you were sitting. People near me heard what I did; people in the mezzanine and maybe other places thought he was good. In general, the sound mix seemed MUCH better for Adam.

Adam's band came out. I love the backup singers (and they kind of function as dancers, too). I have to admit, I hardly notice Isaac and Brian -- and they are kind of in the background. But I think they're good. Love Ashley's vibe and her playing -- really great. Tommy still looks so tentative and shy when he first comes onstage. But I think he's doing a great job on guitar -- really prefer his playing to Monte's (sorry for mentioning that name!) Then as Adam entered, everyone in the entire place was on their feet. This is the MAIN thing I remember: Adam EXUDES star quality. He RADIATES energy. I don't even have words for it. I keep thinking he's a force of nature. But then again, his energy and charisma are so extreme that I think, no, it's not natural. Clearly he is an alien.

He sounded amazing, but we've come to expect that. But it's always a surprise just HOW amazing. Gorgeous vocal playfulness and energy (there's that word again). There were also a few things that for me were noticeably different than the other performances I've seen. One was his confidence. I remember, especially at the beginning of the Glam Nation tour, that he seemed just SLIGHTLY tentative, especially in the first moments of the show. There is none of that now. He appears completely sure of himself. And one of the ways that manifests itself is in his dancing and his gestures. So precise, so perfect, so fluid, and so playful all at the same time. His dancing is sexy and lulzy all at once. As are his gestures. I particularly noticed the gestures during Kickin In -- rapid, funny, perfect. He's clearly letting loose and being totally himself in all his superhuman, charismatic, humorous, gender-transcending way. And again, the ENERGY that pours off the stage and into the audience is phenomenal.

I can't remember a whole lot about the individual songs -- it all goes by so fast, and I just remember dancing a lot. But I mentioned Kickin In and the gestures that he used in that. Kickin In was by far my least favorite song on the album when I first listened, with Naked Love a close second as least favorite. But I've totally warmed up to Naked Love and Kickin In is a lot of fun live. So there you go. I listened a lot to the album on the drive up and back to WB, and I really love the whole thing more and more. I like ALL the bonus songs a LOT, but I can see why they don't fit as well on the album as the others. My very favorites right now are Shady and Take Back, but I love so many others as well -- Trespassing, Pop that Lock, Runnin, Chokehold...and all the others, lol.

My friends wanted to wait after the show to see if Adam would sign autographs. I waited with them, because I knew I would feel some regret if I didn't wait and Adam did come out. But while I'm glad I got to see Adam 'in person', the whole thing of people crowding around trying to get autographs kind of escapes me. It's partly that I'm basically an introvert and just kind of want to fade into the woodwork in that circumstance. So I'm thrilled for all of you who were able to have an encounter with Adam, either before or after the show; I'm good with just observing from a distance, lol. We also saw Tommy briefly, but didn't see him signing autographs when we were there. And we didn't see any other band members by the bus, but probably wouldn't have noticed them anyway! Tommy is hard to miss with his red hair.

Since I wasn't at the dinner, I didn't get to meet many ATOPians. But I was lucky enough to meet needacoke, bamafan, Q3, and Drakius, and I hope to meet more ATOP peeps next time around.



haha, was only going to post a 'short' recap, lol