Here's the playlist of Adam's promo rounds from Chicago to Seattle and some brief comments about each of the performances:
93.9 Lite FM
WWFM - Adam addresses the crowd as his babies and gives a spot-on vocal with lots of interesting little changes and riffs that are quite different from anything he's done so far for this song.
BTIKM - This splendid vocal is pretty close to perfect and it's great to see him having fun pointing at the audience and laughing at himself at the end.
Trespassing - This is a massively enjoyable one that's not to be missed. It's impossible to stay still through this. Adam stamps and provides his own bit of percussion at the start and it looks to me like he's demonstrating a higher tempo that he wants Tommy to follow with his guitar playing. He misses his cue for the second verse and laughs at himself. The stamping kicks back in later on as Tommy appears to slow down. His voice has the perfect roughness and rings with such clarity despite the rapid delivery. Fantastic stuff.
B96 FM
BTIKM - This one is another 100% unplugged performance without amps and mics. It seems to be a much more internalised affair without the outward expression for a targetted audience. He has closed eyes or looks at the floor for much of it, like he is deep in contemplation, in the zone if you like, singing for himself. Maybe it's partly due to the lack of mic focal point. The emotion is expressed is raw and I can't help but feel that we are looking in on him when vulnerable, at a private moment. Not the best recording but a wonderful performance.
101.9 FM The Mix
BTIKM - Adam finds himself smiling through some of this and you have to wonder what he's thinking about. Pretty vocals with mic-frazzling belting.
99.7 The Point
BTIKM - This one has a super long glory note.
WWFM - There's a variation on the freak line and a wow moment towards the end as Adam stretches a big note and plays around with the melody.
Cuckoo - The first acoustic performance of this song, you can't help but move to it. Adam's in magnificent voice but I think it would work better with drums driving the beat.
Mix 93.3
BTIKM - This gets off to a slightly slow start but once it gets going, Adam's full voice is a joy to listen to.
Cuckoo - Adam can't resist dancing in his seat and censors the f-word in the lyrics. His voice has a bit of a rock edge and there's lots of improvisation towards the end.
Trespassing - A great energetic performance where Adam seems to hump his stool. I think it's meant to have an abrupt ending where Adam does the cut sign, but it seems Tommy is oblivious and keeps playing. It's all to our benefit through as we hear just that little bit more.
Mix 107.9
This is another mic-less set.
BTIKM - It's a quiet start but you can really appreciate the volume range at which Adam sings.
WWFM - Adam's voice sounds so sweet and smooth here in this mellow performance with great use of both falsetto and belt towards the end.
Cuckoo - Adam leaves out the F-words in this rendition and rouses the audience to laugh as he swings an imaginary lasso while sitting on an imaginary horse for dancing. There's a lot of thigh-slapping and improvising towards the end.
97.1 ZHT / My 99.5
BTIKM - This one is sweet and floaty with an impressive crescendo.
Cuckoo - Again, Adam leaves out the swearing in this very fun version where Adam's wonderful voice shines.
106.1 Kiss FM
BTIKM - Performed live on air in the studio, there is excellent quality sound on this recording. Adam's voice sounds velvety smooth and so close. We get to hear a very different set of notes at the end as he continues to make every single performance unique.
Amazon Fishbowl
This was a corporate event at Amazon's HQ.
Trespassing - Adam's voice sounds full and brilliant with that gorgeous and slightly rough tone.
Showing posts with label Corporate Gig. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Corporate Gig. Show all posts
Wednesday, 25 April 2012
Monday, 23 April 2012
Promo Rounds Atlanta-Nashville-DC-Hartford-Boston
Here's the next set of videos from the radio promo rounds covering Atlanta to Boston, and my brief notes below:
Q100 The Bert Show
BTIKM - This was performed live on air in studio and is a lovely quality recording. Adam has a falsetto crescendo as opposed to belt.
WWFM - We can hear Adam's delightful breathy voice here and I'm liking the low "Just keep coming around".
Star 94 FM
BTIKM - Adam performs this one in front of a live audience with a pretty floaty, grainy voice and low improvisations.
WWFM - This has a beautiful powerful finish.
Q100 Jezebel magazine launch party
It's great to see Adam back in a suit again, I've missed it. The resemblance to Elvis is more than passing with half-down hair. Adam performs with his whole band fully plugged in.
FYE - The drums are very loud on the recording and strangely Adams's not dancing to this rock rendition.
IIHY - Adam looks so formally dressed for this one, not dancing but with waggly leg.
Fever - Adam's wearing spray-on trousers with a weird pullover/bib type thing, which can be seen with the removal of his jacket. There's lots of hip action here, accentuated by his dangly belt accoutrement.
Cuckoo - This upbeat song features lots of strutty dancing. It has an element of funk but it's not picked up by the recording. It's quite hard to distinguish the bassline and the hook.
Chokehold - This sounds like soft rock with an epic big production feel that will draw comparisons with Sleepwalker. It has an interesting melody which I like, contrasting higher register soft vocals with a heavy beat. I can hear the guitar riffs in some other song whose name escapes me. Adam is very expressive but there's also some attitude in there which I love.
Trespassing - The songs has lots of tricky lyrics that are very easy to stumble upon. Even though the recording isn't very good, it's stompy and has a great vibe with Adam finally getting his groove on. He's a little flat in places but his vocals are bright and it's easy to see why this is the album's title track.
107.5 The River
From here on, there is a change in personnel as Tommy replaces Kevin on guitar for these acoustic radio performances. BTIKM - This is a much less bouncy, rather calm measured performance with pretty vocals and a soft ending.
WWFM - The guitar finally sounds right here. I guess it was Kevin's guitar that was unpleasant to my ears. I still don't know whether it was a rattly string or his playing. Adam's voice is velvety but hard and he requests for guitar to be turned up.
Radio 107.3 FM Gibson Guitar Showrooms
BTIKM - Strong and note perfect, it's just a pity that a pro recording hasn't been made available yet.
WWFM - Adam's voice is rich and full with a glorious belt and low variation on the last "Need a second to breathe".
Hot 99.5
BTIKM - Adam's voice is frustratingly quiet on the recording and Tommy seems to make a little mistake midway through. This version is well worth listening to as the climax is quite different.
WWFM - This is another that's well worth listening to. Again, Adam's voice is in the background on this recording but listen out for the change-ups on the first "Here we are", the lead-up to the bridge and right at the end. There's also a minor lyric fail in there.
94.7 Fresh FM
BTIKM - Adam's voice has much of that sweet floaty quality that leads to an almighty belt.
WWFM - Adam addresses the crowd as his babies in that part of the lyric. His voice here is just beautiful, full of that grainy timbre especially near the finish. His change in melody for the final "WWFM?" is just delightful.
KISS 95.7 / KC101.3 Dunkin' Donuts lounge
BTIKM - A strong consistent one from Adam. Tommy appears to make a mistake on the guitar and almost stops altogether but Adam does a fantastic job of trying to cover it up by singing through it with abundant power.
WWFM - Adam's voice sounds beautifully growly on one of the choruses. He appears to hit a bum note at one point, but proceeds to guide it into a pleasant melodic improv last heard at the 107.3 gig that he repeats later on.
KC 101.3
BTIKM (Studio audience) - This is a mic-less, tech-less unplugged performance where the lucky audience is able to appreciate the pure raw beauty of Adam's voice. Some nice riffs in there.
WWFM - This is quite a gentle version where Adam uses much more of his falsetto than usual, the melody seeming to hover around the tricky bridge between registers. He amps up the power towards the end though.
BTIKM (Live on air) - Adam stands up for this one and I wonder whether in a hectic schedule he's trying to conserve his voice just a touch. The high parts of the song get no powerbelt treatment and are all done in a pretty warbling falsetto with riffs that must be heard.
96.5 TIC FM
BTIKM - This one's a strong performance with the return of Adam's belting and a surprisingly gentle finish.
WWFM - There's a little variation on the "I'm a freak" line and some very different and unexpected plays on the timing with stretched notes and pauses.
Mix 104.1
BTIKM - A consistently good performance that was live streamed from the station.
Fever - A fun rendition with a cheeky "baby steps" lyric addition. Adam enjoys this theatrical one with laughs aplenty and freestyles his way though the second half of the song.
KISS 108 FM
BTIKM - A typically strong performance in voice with a couple of hesitant notes where it seems like he only decides mid-way where the note is going to go.
Trespassing - This is the first performance for a radio audience, performed with attitude as Adam dances in his seat. His timbre is magnificently powerful and grainy. It feels like the song keeps picking up pace going faster and faster and Adam has to finally tell Tommy to stop. Unfortunately there are some rare bum notes at the end which spoil it for me.
104.5 WXLO
WWFM - The quality of recordings here are beautiful and Adam expertly showcases the rich resonant scrapey lower tone of his voice. He calls for the guitar to be made louder. BTIKM - This is Adam's voice at its glorious best. Flawless.
Q100 The Bert Show
BTIKM - This was performed live on air in studio and is a lovely quality recording. Adam has a falsetto crescendo as opposed to belt.
WWFM - We can hear Adam's delightful breathy voice here and I'm liking the low "Just keep coming around".
Star 94 FM
BTIKM - Adam performs this one in front of a live audience with a pretty floaty, grainy voice and low improvisations.
WWFM - This has a beautiful powerful finish.
Q100 Jezebel magazine launch party
It's great to see Adam back in a suit again, I've missed it. The resemblance to Elvis is more than passing with half-down hair. Adam performs with his whole band fully plugged in.
FYE - The drums are very loud on the recording and strangely Adams's not dancing to this rock rendition.
IIHY - Adam looks so formally dressed for this one, not dancing but with waggly leg.
Fever - Adam's wearing spray-on trousers with a weird pullover/bib type thing, which can be seen with the removal of his jacket. There's lots of hip action here, accentuated by his dangly belt accoutrement.
Cuckoo - This upbeat song features lots of strutty dancing. It has an element of funk but it's not picked up by the recording. It's quite hard to distinguish the bassline and the hook.
Chokehold - This sounds like soft rock with an epic big production feel that will draw comparisons with Sleepwalker. It has an interesting melody which I like, contrasting higher register soft vocals with a heavy beat. I can hear the guitar riffs in some other song whose name escapes me. Adam is very expressive but there's also some attitude in there which I love.
Trespassing - The songs has lots of tricky lyrics that are very easy to stumble upon. Even though the recording isn't very good, it's stompy and has a great vibe with Adam finally getting his groove on. He's a little flat in places but his vocals are bright and it's easy to see why this is the album's title track.
107.5 The River
From here on, there is a change in personnel as Tommy replaces Kevin on guitar for these acoustic radio performances. BTIKM - This is a much less bouncy, rather calm measured performance with pretty vocals and a soft ending.
WWFM - The guitar finally sounds right here. I guess it was Kevin's guitar that was unpleasant to my ears. I still don't know whether it was a rattly string or his playing. Adam's voice is velvety but hard and he requests for guitar to be turned up.
Radio 107.3 FM Gibson Guitar Showrooms
BTIKM - Strong and note perfect, it's just a pity that a pro recording hasn't been made available yet.
WWFM - Adam's voice is rich and full with a glorious belt and low variation on the last "Need a second to breathe".
Hot 99.5
BTIKM - Adam's voice is frustratingly quiet on the recording and Tommy seems to make a little mistake midway through. This version is well worth listening to as the climax is quite different.
WWFM - This is another that's well worth listening to. Again, Adam's voice is in the background on this recording but listen out for the change-ups on the first "Here we are", the lead-up to the bridge and right at the end. There's also a minor lyric fail in there.
94.7 Fresh FM
BTIKM - Adam's voice has much of that sweet floaty quality that leads to an almighty belt.
WWFM - Adam addresses the crowd as his babies in that part of the lyric. His voice here is just beautiful, full of that grainy timbre especially near the finish. His change in melody for the final "WWFM?" is just delightful.
KISS 95.7 / KC101.3 Dunkin' Donuts lounge
BTIKM - A strong consistent one from Adam. Tommy appears to make a mistake on the guitar and almost stops altogether but Adam does a fantastic job of trying to cover it up by singing through it with abundant power.
WWFM - Adam's voice sounds beautifully growly on one of the choruses. He appears to hit a bum note at one point, but proceeds to guide it into a pleasant melodic improv last heard at the 107.3 gig that he repeats later on.
KC 101.3
BTIKM (Studio audience) - This is a mic-less, tech-less unplugged performance where the lucky audience is able to appreciate the pure raw beauty of Adam's voice. Some nice riffs in there.
WWFM - This is quite a gentle version where Adam uses much more of his falsetto than usual, the melody seeming to hover around the tricky bridge between registers. He amps up the power towards the end though.
BTIKM (Live on air) - Adam stands up for this one and I wonder whether in a hectic schedule he's trying to conserve his voice just a touch. The high parts of the song get no powerbelt treatment and are all done in a pretty warbling falsetto with riffs that must be heard.
96.5 TIC FM
BTIKM - This one's a strong performance with the return of Adam's belting and a surprisingly gentle finish.
WWFM - There's a little variation on the "I'm a freak" line and some very different and unexpected plays on the timing with stretched notes and pauses.
Mix 104.1
BTIKM - A consistently good performance that was live streamed from the station.
Fever - A fun rendition with a cheeky "baby steps" lyric addition. Adam enjoys this theatrical one with laughs aplenty and freestyles his way though the second half of the song.
KISS 108 FM
BTIKM - A typically strong performance in voice with a couple of hesitant notes where it seems like he only decides mid-way where the note is going to go.
Trespassing - This is the first performance for a radio audience, performed with attitude as Adam dances in his seat. His timbre is magnificently powerful and grainy. It feels like the song keeps picking up pace going faster and faster and Adam has to finally tell Tommy to stop. Unfortunately there are some rare bum notes at the end which spoil it for me.
104.5 WXLO
WWFM - The quality of recordings here are beautiful and Adam expertly showcases the rich resonant scrapey lower tone of his voice. He calls for the guitar to be made louder. BTIKM - This is Adam's voice at its glorious best. Flawless.
Tuesday, 3 January 2012
Amway Shanghai
I'd been waiting ages for this, wondering if we would ever get any video but our ninjas came good in the end with snippets of FYE, DTRH, Strut, TCB and IIHY. Adam performed a long set to a receptive audience at this corporate event, but we have nothing yet for Sleepwalker, WWFM, SFW, Fever, Aftermath, MA and MW.
Decked out in an unadorned black leather jacket with plain black T-shirt and intriguing paint-spattered jeans, it's great to hear his voice still in fine form. Listen out for the powerful and intricate trills during DTRH.
Decked out in an unadorned black leather jacket with plain black T-shirt and intriguing paint-spattered jeans, it's great to hear his voice still in fine form. Listen out for the powerful and intricate trills during DTRH.
Sunday, 31 October 2010
Fang You Adam! - A Halloween Treat
I decided it was time for a little seasonal Halloween treat. Remember last year's Party City fund-raising gig? Well when I was cut off from the online world, distraction-free and incommunicado, I got constructive. My perfectionism decided to sort out the videos with those wishy-washy colours and the sound that dribbled out of one ear, so we could enjoy it that little - but very important - bit more. I omitted all the footage that didn't include Adam, adjusted the picture, muted some of the screaming and created a synthetic stereo track. Here are a couple of before and after shots:
Adam sings without a band behind him and the venue doesn't appear to support the performance with the same level of professionalism as he's accustomed to. There are constant sound issues and the engineer is unresponsive to Adam's gestures so he has to interrupt his performance to give verbal instructions. As you can tell, this isn't one of my favourite gigs because I think this is one of the rare occasions on which Adam seems a little uncomfortable. It's like he and the audience - which isn't made of avid fans - aren't quite on the same level and that energy exchange he often mentions is somewhat stunted. He has to work extra hard to engage them and get them going. I feel his frustration that they don't afford him enough respect and he has to tell them to shut up at the start of BtbW.
All videos from this concert are now in this embedded playlist:
Despite all this, the vocals are brilliant throughout and the banter is charming. I love this longer version of RoF and this is the only time we hear him sing both BoW and BtbW outside of AI. It's been a while since we last heard this slow emotional version of MW and he manages to recreate those stratospheric notes of BtbW with aplomb. We get a triple helping of 'Baby', 'Woman' and 'Man' at the a capella ending of a high-energy, gyratory, rocking WLL. I miss this arrangement and would love to hear it before the end of the tour. It's hard to believe he does all of this whilst wearing fangs. Yes, he can still fucking sing amazingly well with big fangs in his mouth!
Get my Halloweeny Glam Nation design in velvety print on a T-shirt:
DOWNLOAD Ring of Fire iPod compatible mp4 - 19.7MB
DOWNLOAD Ring of Fire HD mp4 - 48.7MB
DOWNLOAD Black or White iPod compatible mp4 - 29.3MB
DOWNLOAD Black or White HD mp4 - 72.4MB
DOWNLOAD Mad World iPod compatible mp4 - 24.7MB
DOWNLOAD Mad World HD mp4 - 61.1MB
DOWNLOAD Born to be Wild iPod compatible mp4 - 29.3MB
DOWNLOAD Born to be Wild HD mp4 - 72.8MB
DOWNLOAD Whole Lotta Love iPod compatible mp4 - 36.4MB
DOWNLOAD Whole Lotta Love HD mp4 - 89.9MB
And here's a new Glampire pic from last night:
Happy Halloween!
Adam sings without a band behind him and the venue doesn't appear to support the performance with the same level of professionalism as he's accustomed to. There are constant sound issues and the engineer is unresponsive to Adam's gestures so he has to interrupt his performance to give verbal instructions. As you can tell, this isn't one of my favourite gigs because I think this is one of the rare occasions on which Adam seems a little uncomfortable. It's like he and the audience - which isn't made of avid fans - aren't quite on the same level and that energy exchange he often mentions is somewhat stunted. He has to work extra hard to engage them and get them going. I feel his frustration that they don't afford him enough respect and he has to tell them to shut up at the start of BtbW.
All videos from this concert are now in this embedded playlist:
Despite all this, the vocals are brilliant throughout and the banter is charming. I love this longer version of RoF and this is the only time we hear him sing both BoW and BtbW outside of AI. It's been a while since we last heard this slow emotional version of MW and he manages to recreate those stratospheric notes of BtbW with aplomb. We get a triple helping of 'Baby', 'Woman' and 'Man' at the a capella ending of a high-energy, gyratory, rocking WLL. I miss this arrangement and would love to hear it before the end of the tour. It's hard to believe he does all of this whilst wearing fangs. Yes, he can still fucking sing amazingly well with big fangs in his mouth!
Get my Halloweeny Glam Nation design in velvety print on a T-shirt:
And here's a new Glampire pic from last night:
Happy Halloween!
Friday, 18 September 2009
Twisting the Dial
It's been a couple of days since the end of the tour after which there have been some unexpected goodies. First of all, there was the release of a video yesterday giving us a glimpse of Adam's ideas of putting on a spectacle for the Zodiac Show:
We had a better idea at the beginning of the tour how much Adam held back during AI. We'd already seen his performances at the Zodiac Show but were never sure how much he had to just follow directions and how much of it came from him. This article from way back suggested that Adam had a fair amount of control, but until seeing this video, I never realised the extent to which his ideas were tamed. I love his child-like enthusiasm that makes his requests impossibly difficult to resist. The comment about 'Those albino dudes from the Matrix' not having the desired effect and his reaction is very reminiscent of Simon's and Rocky Horror. At least he didn't waste the outfit idea, which I would describe as Glamazonian warrior ice-queen.
I have to wonder about the timing of the release of the video because I believe it to be deliberate. Was it to keep up the buzz? Was it a present to his fans? I'm inclined to think that its purpose is to prime us for what's to come in terms of the visual performance aspect. In the same manner in that if he had first appeared on AI with his tour antics, he would have irreparably alienated many. But by the time the tour came along people were somewhat prepared. He was still contained during the tour so now it's time to crank it up a notch. I think a lot was learned by testing the waters with RoF about how far to push the envelope and stay on the right side of the line. This video seems to say 'You ain't seen nothing yet. This is me, this is my art, this is my direction, these are my crazy-ass ideas, so get ready bitches!' The Zodiac Show is already pretty far out, but if even there he had to make compromises, you have to wonder what the mind-blowing extravaganza will be if he's given full artistic license to do exactly as he pleases. With rumours of the next single being 'Strut' and a music video ready, how far will he dial up the avant garde? Exciting times await.
Reminiscent of the transition between RoF and ToMT, we see another huge contrast between that video and Adam's appearance at the corporate event today where he dialled it right back down with a bare natural look and honeyed voice entirely appropriate for the situation.
Here are Starlight, Tracks of my Tears, Mad World, Crazy (duet with Kris):
Pre-performance banter
Starlight is sung in a manner very similar to the GMA performance and it was a pleasant surprise to hear acoustic ToMT again despite being so short. It was all about the voice, which lingers long after the peformance. Even though I've heard MW so many times, I appreciate hearing a version with acoustic guitar. The sparseness of the arrangement makes it a beautiful lament and the purity of those final notes are just breathtaking. The banter before the duet is worth watching as Adam effortlessly charms the whole room with his charisma, you can't help but smile. Crazy is a little frustrating for me though, as Kris seems to be straining while Adam has to restrain himself to try to make the duet work. It would have been too jarring for Adam to go all-out but that's what we all wanted.
The last couple of days have reminded us again just how dynamic and versatile Adam is. If I were to hazard a guess, the tour performances would sit somewhere near the middle. During today's performances, he dialled it right down but for the Zodiac Show, we know he didn't crank it up fully. My thoughts are that he's been tweaking up the dial in stages so that we don't all explode. One thing I'm really itching to know is - just how far does the dial go?
We had a better idea at the beginning of the tour how much Adam held back during AI. We'd already seen his performances at the Zodiac Show but were never sure how much he had to just follow directions and how much of it came from him. This article from way back suggested that Adam had a fair amount of control, but until seeing this video, I never realised the extent to which his ideas were tamed. I love his child-like enthusiasm that makes his requests impossibly difficult to resist. The comment about 'Those albino dudes from the Matrix' not having the desired effect and his reaction is very reminiscent of Simon's and Rocky Horror. At least he didn't waste the outfit idea, which I would describe as Glamazonian warrior ice-queen.
Reminiscent of the transition between RoF and ToMT, we see another huge contrast between that video and Adam's appearance at the corporate event today where he dialled it right back down with a bare natural look and honeyed voice entirely appropriate for the situation.
Here are Starlight, Tracks of my Tears, Mad World, Crazy (duet with Kris):
Pre-performance banter
Starlight is sung in a manner very similar to the GMA performance and it was a pleasant surprise to hear acoustic ToMT again despite being so short. It was all about the voice, which lingers long after the peformance. Even though I've heard MW so many times, I appreciate hearing a version with acoustic guitar. The sparseness of the arrangement makes it a beautiful lament and the purity of those final notes are just breathtaking. The banter before the duet is worth watching as Adam effortlessly charms the whole room with his charisma, you can't help but smile. Crazy is a little frustrating for me though, as Kris seems to be straining while Adam has to restrain himself to try to make the duet work. It would have been too jarring for Adam to go all-out but that's what we all wanted.
The last couple of days have reminded us again just how dynamic and versatile Adam is. If I were to hazard a guess, the tour performances would sit somewhere near the middle. During today's performances, he dialled it right down but for the Zodiac Show, we know he didn't crank it up fully. My thoughts are that he's been tweaking up the dial in stages so that we don't all explode. One thing I'm really itching to know is - just how far does the dial go?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)