American Idol alum and season eight runner-up Adam Lambert, turned the entire Nokia Theater into his very own party – a Gothic glamorous bash with laser lights, colorful fabrics and everything flamboyant gracing the stage. And one of the major surprises was Lambert’s demographic for the night.
The Nokia Theater was flooded with mostly women aged 30 to 50, a surprising audience for a gay male performer who sings rock infested tunes instead of the Las Vegas-ish tunes we’ve grown accustomed to from other flamboyantly gay artists like Elton John. After all, most “Idol” graduates would have a fan base of teens and yuppies but not women who may be in their or past their prime, I’m just saying.
The show started with fellow “Idol” alum Allison Iraheta whose fiery set was a sneak preview of the things to come for that evening. The red head performer started her set with “Holiday” which had Iraheta taking and embracing the stage as if it was her own show, bouncing from one corner to the next, which caught everyone by a thrilling surprise since she wasn’t this energetic during her stint in the talent show which both she and Lambert shared a season with. Next she broke out the ballad “Scars” with a smooth transition to the upbeat “Don’t Waste the Pretty”, which is her current single. “Pretty” had Iraheta delivering the vocal stylings that people have come to love during “Idol”, plus, it also featured a guest guitar sampling from Australian newcomer Orianthi who also opened the show next to Iraheta, who closed her set with the deeply meaningful “Heartbreaker”.
Orianthi, on the other hand, delivered the longest nine-song set anyone has heard, at least for that night. Needless to say, when she graced the stage, she should’ve just wooed the audience with her fancy guitar antics, which is actually good but she should’ve left it at that. Not to say that her singing abilities when she hit on breakout hit “According to You”, and other tracks like “Shut Up and Kiss Me” and “Courage” was an epic failure. No. But it was how she didn’t rock the stage that was kind of a failure. Her voice is undoubtedly promising, and so are her songs, like “Think Like a Man”. But maybe she just needs to perform more often to know how to really create a sensation from the stage to the audience. It can be learned though, but some, like Iraheta and Adam Lambert, are just born to do it, which is special.
“Voodoo” and “Down the Rabbit Hole” both opened the Glam Nation show proper with Lambert getting everyone on their feet with dance moves from his similarly Gothic looking dancers and Lambert’s unmatched vocal prowess that sends shivers to his audiences’ spine. For those who are wondering, these two tracks do not appear in the regular edition of Lambert’s debut album “For Your Entertainment”. “Voodoo” is included in the artist’s remix EP while “Rabbit Hole” is a bonus track from the album’s pre-order copies via iTunes.
Lambert continued the party with “Fever”, a track written by fellow out-of-the-box and openly gay artist Lady Gaga, and “Sleep Walker” which was penned by “Gravity” singer Ryan Tedder. After which, the laser lights were switched off and the spotlight was solely focused on Lambert when he performed an intimate medley of “Whataya Want from Me”, “Soaked” and “Aftermath”. He also had a blast from the American-Idol-past moment when he performed “Mad World”, though not as good as when he first performed the track on the TV show, “Ring of Fire” which also debuted on “Idol” and “Whole Lotta Love”, which Lambert managed to make it his own through an enigmatic sound that is quite distant from its original Led Zeppelin arrangement. The track also brought the show to a tantric and climactic conclusion.
Of course, the party would not be complete without performing tracks like “Sure Fire Winners”, “Strut”, “Music Again” and his current chart topping single “If I Had You”, which in my opinion, should have been the closing theme as a reverence to his millions of fans who have come not only from various US cities, but also from other countries such as New Zealand, just to see him perform in his “heels on, right amount of leather” and “black eyeliner” (lyrics from “If I Had You”).
What made this party a real success was not only Lambert’s repertoire; in fact, it was mostly Lambert’s on-stage presence that pumped the crowd up. Blame it on his theatrical background or gayness, but at one moment he’ll be a ringleader, teasing the crowd with his subtle moves and gestures, then a male siren on the next while reminding the audience that it is that voice – a high octave pop tenor quality – that made him the biggest favorite in the 8th season of American Idol, if only his fans didn’t become too complacent to vote, he probably would’ve won the title, too. Lambert knows how to work up a crowd, from his voice, to his struts, to his one-liners like “You chase your tail to enough bars and then realize the answer is in here.” while putting his palm on his chest, and another one-liner from “Whataya Want from Me”: “It’s me, I’m a freak. But thanks for loving me, ’cause you’re doing it perfectly”, which almost literally brought the house down with resounding roars and screams from the audience.
Lambert’s Glam Nation show was a blast, to say the least. But I had never experienced such interaction from the performer to the crowd, and vice-versa till this show. For those who have missed it, well, yes you did miss on a lot especially if you’re a certified “Glambert” fan but no worries, the Glam Nation tour is still on the road for the rest of the summer.
