American Idols Live Tour 2009 Concert Review

Adam Lambert and Allison Iraheta perform Foghat's "Slow Ride"
Photo Credit: Kara Stalnaker

The current crop of American Idols performed to a near-capacity crowd last night at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC. The 2 ½ hour show worked because each member of the top ten performed songs from the genres that suit them best.

The setlist is available here.

Michael Sarver kicked off the evening with songs by Gavin DeGraw and Ne-Yo.  Staying true to his roughneck roots, Sarver shared the following words of wisdom with the crowd, "sitting down at an American Idol concert is like bringing water to a party."  As was true with each Idol, Sarver sounded better live than on television.  He appeared to be a personable guy and often connected with the crowd by smiling and waving.

Next up was Megan Joy who performed songs by Corrine Baily Rae and Amy Winehouse.  Before performing Winehouse's “Tears Dry on Their Own” she told the crowd this song is "for those who are not in love."  Joy is one of those package deals that Simon Cowell is always looking for. Her vocals are unique, like a jazzy version of Adele or Alice Smith, she looks stunning, and her unconventional dancing made her a pleasure to watch. 

Just like Paul McCartney on Saturday, Scott MacIntyre was quite the storyteller last night. The visually impaired singer joked about Ryan Seacrest giving him a high-five at the auditions calling it the "high-five heard around the world" and also gave a spot-on Simon Cowell impression.  In addition to charming the crowd with his sense of humor, Scott transformed Vanessa Carlton's song "A Thousand Miles" in to something enjoyable. In May of last year Scott performed at the Kennedy Center with the MacIntyre Family Singers. 

Lil Rounds took on songs by three powerhouse singers, Mary J Blige, Alicia Keys and Beyoncé, and delivered.  Lil even performed a Sasha Fierce inspired dance during Single Ladies.

Anoop Desai said the DC show was like a second homecoming (the first being in North Carolina) since he has friends and family here. Anoop Dawg showed his versatility as he performed an eclectic set of songs from Willie Nelson, Ne-Yo, and Bobby Brown (or Britney Spears if you are young).  After the show a paparazzi photographer insulted Anoop Desai, even referencing his race. The full description of the encounter is on Desai's twitter.

As fans were leaving the show many named Matt Giraud, winner of the first ever Idol save, as their favorite performer of the evening. Giraud made the Fray's "You Found Me" interesting with vocal qualities similar to Clayton Stroope of Thriving Ivory.  He is one of those performers who has it all; he can sing, dance, play piano, has a sense of humor and a signature style.  Hopefully we will hear more from Matt Giraud after the tour.

Matt Giraud and Scott MacIntyre later joined forces on stage for a dueling piano version of Billy Joel's "Tell Her About It" and again during the finale for the ultimate karaoke song, Journey's "Don't Stop Believing".

Allison Iraheta performed respectable covers of P!nk, Janis Joplin, and Heart. She later returned for a duet with Adam Lambert.  Her impeccable voice was overshadowed at times by her determination to own the stage like a rockstar with the stomping and strutting and guitar playing. Iraheta does not need to overperform. Her voice is mesmerizing as demonstrated in 'Cry Baby" (video) so there is no need for the extra dramatics that may have caused her to miss some words during "So What". On the otherhand, so what if she flubbed a few lines? She is only 17 and should have fun with the performance. Iraheta inked a deal with 19 Recordings in June and you can, and should, sign-up on Amazon.com to be notified when the album becomes available.

Danny Gokey showed off his saucy salsita moves during a cover of Carlos Santana's "Maria Maria" and payed homage to MJ with a performance of "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)".  His last song, Rascal Flatt's "My Wish", clearly had special meaning for the widower who told the crowd, "never be defined by a tragedy or circumstance that you made. You can not prevent bad things from happing to you but you can keep them from killing your dream."

Adam Lambert's fearless version of "Whole Lotta Love" might quell your thirst for a Led Zepplin reunion.  Following "Whole Lotta Love" he performed "Starlight" by another Brit rock band, Muse. During "Starlight" and "Mad World" the dramatic performer proved that he could be completely captivating even during subdued and reserved songs.  His last song, the David Bowie medley, was Broadway-ready (video). 

During the "Slow Ride" duet someone threw a red and purple bra on stage.  Ironically those are the colors of the Red Hat Society, a club dedicated to having fun after 50.  Coincidence?  But whether the undergarment belonged to a grandmother or not, please be respectful of the performers and kids in the audience.  See previous Keep It Classy DC reference.

Rounding out the top 10 was the current American Idol, Kris Allen. He began his set with the song that may have won him the American Idol crown, "Heartless" a stripped down version of Kanye West's hit single.  During this song the band was cloaked behind a backdrop so the focus was on Kris and his acoustic guitar. Considering the audience was predominitely female the drapery was not needed because every pair of eyes would have been on him regardless.

Earlier on the tour Kris Allen replaced "No Boundaries", his coronation song penned by Kara DioGuardi, Cathy Dennis and Baltimore's own Mitch Allan from SR-71 fame, with the Killers "All These Things That I Have Done".   Showing the crowd his many musical talents Allen switched from the guitar to the piano to perform  Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine" and Matchbox 20's "Bright Lights".  He took a moment to thank the audience for voting and said, "because of you guys we can do what we want to do for the rest of our lives." He also wished the President a happy birthday. 

During his final song "Hey Jude" the other Idols joined him onstage for the nah-nah-nah section.  His song choices demonstrate that he has a clear vision of the direction he wants to take his music in and knows what suits him well. Kris Allen's album will be available this fall on 19 Recordings. His style is better suited for an evening at Wolf Trapp with a bottle of wine and a picnic blanket than at the Verizon Center.

 Wondering what the Idols are really like or what they are up to? Check back for my interview with the Idols or subscribe to receive new article alerts. 

Update: Interview #1 with Megan Joy

Photos coming soon.