mika
Member
Posts: 542
Location:
|
Post by mika on Jul 14, 2012 20:32:38 GMT -5
I am so very tired tonight. Not Adam - he was the most energetic person in the building - came bounding out and kept the train speeding forward - I don't think he even had to gesture at the sound guys. The mic was warm enough I guess - it certainly sounded warm and ringing  . (I am a bit dismayed that I get much more tired watching him put forth a superhuman effort than he does in doing it.) I felt I had thoughts last night but brain cloud has caught up with me for now. So, random tidbits: - During WWTLF, I looked over and only Leila was standing in her row (with house lights down) and she was absolutely still and laser focused on him. Can't imagine what she was feeling. - This might have been my favorite 'Under Pressure' but I don't know why at all. It's always such a warm lovely moment and Roger seems so tickled by it all. - Whereas some performers see 'last nights' as a time to cut loose or switch everything up like a last day of school, it seems to me that in 'final' shows, Adam tends to focus deeply on giving the best possible version of the show, leaving it all out on the stage vocally. And he definitely did that tonight. I have a train tomorrow. I wish it were the Orient Express with a luxury sleeping car.... ETA: There was also a great moment at the end when the smoke went up and obscured the stage, then God Save the Queen began to play and then all the guys emerged from the smoke, arms around each others shoulders. It was cinematic. |
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
Location:
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2012 0:04:12 GMT -5
For everyone but especially mika: She is not any common earth Water or wood or air, But Merlin's Isle of Gramarye Where you and I will fare.  THE BEGINNING |
|
annala
Member
Posts: 317
Location:
|
Post by annala on Jul 15, 2012 0:45:07 GMT -5
Just wanted to add one small tidbit to what you posted, Mika. At one of the last GNT performances at the Music Box in Hollywood, we were sitting three rows behind Adam's family and friends. At one point I motioned to my son - look over there at his mom. She was standing alone totally focused and into what was going on on-stage. My memory of Leila at that moment was what I treasure the most about that particular concert. I've never mentioned this before and I didn't want to post this on the main page, but rather bring it here to the Moon Garden. A remarkable mother of a remarkable son - and with this latest experience at Hammersmith, I can only imagine the depth of her feelings at this time.
|
|
mahailia
Member
This Is LOVE
Posts: 3,202
Location:
|
Post by mahailia on Jul 15, 2012 14:19:19 GMT -5
Hi guys, I am back! I have been on vacation for almost 3 weeks, and just now able to check in. I was on the daily news thread, and already things are spiraling down because of Trespassing chart placement of 16 or 17 on UK chart, and NCOE at 17, I think.
Peeps are already getting down.
I get so tired of the numbers, although I know they are important.
I will try to find the time to read this thread in the next couple of days.
I missed the entire Queenbert party, so I have a lot of catching up to do. Looks like everyone that got to go had the time of their lives, and Adam was incredible, extraordinary, and also looked like he had the time of his life.
Only problem now, as Simon Cowell so aptly put: No one will be able to top that, and I wonder what in the world could satisfy Adam now that he has lived and breathed Queen in front of 300,000+ fans?
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
Location:
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 16, 2012 10:24:30 GMT -5
Welcome back mahailia! So glad we got to meet in RL! Here's something I'm thinking about and wondering what others thought. I spent a huge amount of time this weekend making myself an accessory to wear to Adam's show in Thackerville on the 27th. (Gawd, I'm so excited.) Specifically, an Adam headband. My sister helped me with the sewing. I helped her in return with making an Adam patch to go on her tank top for the show ... I NEVER do this for any other performer. I don't go to that many concerts (because of the expense), but for anyone else I just put on a decent looking top and some jeans. For this show I "needed" to buy a new shirt and new jeans. It almost seems to me that going to an Adam show is like a form of carnival masking ... here I am being sexy and hip instead of boring and old. That's of course tremendously fun. I usually don't do much with my body as a means of self-expression; my work place is very conservative and conformist, and I'm just a t-shirt and shorts type anyway and no great shakes in the looks department. I wonder, based on what mika said about Queen's audience, how much I would feel comfortable dressing up if I didn't know the audience would be predominantly female, with the males either husbands or gay. In other words, at an Adam show there is no fear of male sexual aggression. That promotes the freedom to be an individual and even sexy ;D in an atmosphere of relative equality. I think this is why I generally react so violently when some other fan attempts to formulate a "dress code" for concerts or heaps scorn on older fans. Everything I'm wearing is carefully chosen and has some meaning to me, and almost everything is handmade either by me or someone else. I guess I'm thinking dressing up this way is almost a commentary on normal societal roles and that's why it seems so critical at an Adam show and not, say, when I go hear an old banjo player or the like. I guess I'm looking at the effort expended to create an outfit that no one but myself and my sister will ever look twice at and thinking, what's going on here ... the desire to subvert the cultural norms I generally live with. I wonder if anyone else has ever felt this way. |
|
|
|
Post by mszue on Jul 16, 2012 22:31:48 GMT -5
Junie...i am so excited for you too....I can't tell you how many times I think about the Fantasy Springs concert and wish I could justify going...but all Adams shows involve hours of travel and overnight expenses...I would kill to have a concert I could just drive to...and then drive home...even if it was a couple of hours. But given I live on an island 3 miles across and about 23 miles long...guess that is not going to happen is it HAHAHA ...sigh...
I think that 'carnivalesque' nature of an Adam concert is part of what we in the fandom love so much about him...he gives us licence to follow our inner wild child with his example and championing of eccentricity and abandon. I think Gaga does that for her fans too....I don't know who else does. It is funny that there are so many similarities between Freddie and Adam in performance styles, but I don't see Freddie's flamboyance being mirrored in his fans. You always have the odd OTT fan that dresses as his/her hero, but I don't see the mass of the fandom doing anything more adventurous than a concert T-shirt...it is interesting. I don't think we saw the same level of glambert flamboyance at the Queen concerts either....which goes to exactly what you are talking of Junie...The 'anything goes' sense of freedom felt at Adam's concerts is similar to the abandon exhibit[ed] at hair shows. I hadn't thought of it in the context of gender comfort and safety, but I think you are definitely on to something there. Many a time I have changed a planned wardrobe because of how it might be perceived...and changed into something I knew to be less attractive and/or stylish because I did not feel it was the appropriate place or time to stand out or court attention.
I still tend to dress a bit funky but in my younger days I was a devoted clothes horse...I always adopted the latest in fashion [unless it was tacky] and was the person that was always told something like "well you can get away with that but I could never wear that...."....I laugh when Adam talks of that as I always said the exact same thing...it is not that I can but that I do!! I mention the hair shows because that is/was one venue where you could really wear all the excesses you want with little risk of social censure....This was a particularly great outlet for the gay contingent of the community as it was one of the few hetero inclusive functions were they were fairly free from ridicule... You can always play dress up at home but there is something special about feeling free to dress up...OUT!
We are always evaluated by the clothing we wear, our hair, our make-up, our ways of speaking, how we walk, our gestures and mannerisms. When someone says they do not do anything special and people must simply take them as they are....well...that says just as much about the person as any other conversation. You cannot, not, communicate--even if you say you are just a 't-shirt and shorts' TYPE...that just says that the people around you tend to dress pretty conservatively and you do not prefer to stand out in that particular avenue...and yes, it is definitely a role. For women...it is especially important not to look to 'frivolous' as in most contexts, particularly the work world, you will not be taken seriously. Again...back to Adam...somehow he manages to make us all feel like we can abandon our regular presentational styles and go for the gusto...and we will still be recognized as intelligent, valued people.
WE do risk outside media types calling us sparkle cows tho....which is why I perhaps should not complain about 'having' to fly to another country to see a show....hmmmm...every cloud...
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
Location:
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 17, 2012 9:33:01 GMT -5
Mszue, I know! Texas is so huge that distance is relative (I think the same must be true in Western Canada, eh?). Thackerville is a "mere" 265 miles away! So we are going to stay overnight after the show and then drive back in the morning. Adam will also be at the Six Flags in San Antonio next week, which is only 80 miles from me, but I'm not going to try to slip down there. San Antonio is so prodigiously hot -- the temperature will be around 100 degrees at show time -- I admire anyone who can take outdoor concerts in the summer around here. I admit I have been wondering if Adam will do any sightseeing in Texas ... surely Sauli wants to see the Alamo ...  And I would like to see the expression on the faces of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas if Adam showed up to tour the place in his spiked shorts. I'm trying not to get myself too built up, but I'm hoping for a much better concert experience than I had for GNT. I was lucky to make it to one GNT show and I'm thankful I got to experience it, but the show was GA and the crowd was not like I expected -- a number of scary drunks -- lots of pushing and shoving and entitlement. It definitely felt like Adam had no choice but to simply push the music out to us. He was great but there wasn't the exchange of positive energy people talk about. BUT I got a remarkably strong dose of that in March when I got to see Adam at the radio promo. Infinity is a real thing. It's interesting to me that Adam doesn't seem to have many casual fans, at least not yet ... people who just "sort of" like him. All that is necessary to be a Glambert is to love Adam, but it also involves varying degrees of passionate commitment, plus willingness to put up with a lot of nonsense from the media and other fans. Glamberts are so rabid (not exempting myself here). How many people follow Maroon 5 around the world? Or concoct elaborate schemes to record Carrie Underwood's every utterance? Or would rather give a ticket away to another Gym Class Heroes fan rather than sell it to a scalper? Or who cannot imagine a world without Usher in it? Saw this cartoon this morning and thought some of you moon friends would appreciate it:  |
|
annala
Member
Posts: 317
Location:
|
Post by annala on Jul 17, 2012 16:29:37 GMT -5
You know, Junie, I sometimes wonder if he will be able to attract casual listeners/attendees who "sort of" like him. His voice, stage presence and persona all come on so strongly that it's hard to imagine a response like "oh, that was nice" - at least for us who are so passionate about him and music - it seems that it's either a "wow!" response or it's not.
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
Location:
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 18, 2012 9:31:26 GMT -5
I have been thinking about this annala. Recently someone was talking about Michael Buble and his success without radio support. I actually like him, but his success comes largely from being bland ... a very broad personal appeal ...
It seems to me that Adam faces the same challenge as someone like, say, Dolly Parton. It know it sounds crazy but hear me out. Parton, like Adam, was a member of a highly stigmatized outcast group of society. Her talent was recognized from early childhood and she went to Nashville, but no one knew what to do with her. After an initial failure to position her as a bubblegum country-pop idol, she found an inroad on TV as Porter Wagoner's "girl singer" but was denied by his control the opportunity to branch out vocally and pursue a solo career until she broke with him (which by the way, she immortalized in the song "I Will Always Love You.")
Parton knew that her appeal to Wagoner's audience had been the authenticity of her roots and manner, and that country audiences were loyal. To crossover to a pop audience, she crafted an outlandish, self-deprecating persona in multiple appearances on Johnny Carson's show to take the sting out of her hillbilly roots for a mainstream audience.
She said, "If I could get their attention long enough, I felt they would see beneath the boobs and find the heart. They would see beneath the wig and find the brain." Her publicity stills and videos constantly used the motif of a "journey" to encompass both audiences. Even so, crossover success took several albums to achieve, with Dolly touring constantly both solo and with other artists, and appearing extensively on TV both in a syndicated show hosted by herself, guest appearances on many other shows, and movie roles.
It seems to me that Adam faces much the same challenge as Dolly. Unlike most pop artists, Adam isn't free to just sing him some pop. He has to carry along his own autobiography every step of the way, and make it palatable to a large number of people who react viscerally against it.
|
|
annala
Member
Posts: 317
Location:
|
Post by annala on Jul 18, 2012 10:34:35 GMT -5
Junie, someone recently mentioned a possible line-up of new judges for American Idol - Pharell Williams, Adam Lambert, and Dolly Parton - I could definitely go for that combo. Dolly Parton has always come across as a very genuine person.
Off to SoCal today and Costa Mesa tomorrow. We're taking my nephew who admits that Adam's got "chops", but doesn't know much about him. I don't want to say a lot about Adam beforehand - just want to give my nephew the opportunity to experience Adam live for himself - and then get his reaction - we'll see. BTW, my nephew is really looking forward to the concert.
|
|
. (I am a bit dismayed that I get much more tired watching him put forth a superhuman effort than he does in doing it.)
And I would like to see the expression on the faces of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas if Adam showed up to tour the place in his spiked shorts.