This one's a bit late as I was waiting for better videos to surface as the early ones tended to be shot from a distance. I'm reducing the number of posts on the home page so it won't take forever to load but you can still find the older ones on the archive on the right.
Perceptions of the tour performances are built from the video footage and their quality. I'm viewing Adam through the lenses of cameras and my experience is dependent upon their limitations. I mention this because initially, I thought that Adam's movements weren't quite as pronounced as usual. I also noticed that on a couple of the songs his transitions to and from his falsetto didn't sound very smooth. I realised that much of this was due to prior knowledge that Adam had a killer headache and that the first videos were shot from a distance, giving the illusion of attenuated moves. The subsequent footage told a different story though, and he delivered another blazing set. I particularly liked that he threw in a multiple orgasm (double helping of extended Lu-oo-u-oo-u-oo-ove! glory note) into his 'baby' version of WLL. He again added variations in his riffs and timing to make each performance unique.
Adam has stated before that his time in theatre gave him the ability to perform night after night, but there isn't enough credit I can give to him for being able to perform like that with a headache. I'd wuss out and stay in bed so I cannot even begin to comprehend how he can operate with the flashing lights, the smoke, the loudness, singing those difficult songs, the high notes, not to mention those ear-splitting screams from the audience. Just wow. More proof he's from another planet or someone needs to give him a fucking medal.
When watching the videos, I find myself grinning wildly when I hear the erupting excitement of the crowds. I can't express how much I want to see Adam perform live because as he's said many times, much gets lost when it's packaged into a video and the overall effect is reduced. Yes, you can see, you can hear, but you can't really feel the effect of his voice or his glittery aura. You don't feel the buzz in the arena or the energy and music reverberating through your whole body or that you're drowning in a sea of squee. You can't taste the anticipation or feel the starstruck heat rising up inside of you or smell the vapour of a collective arena igniting in horniness. He's only just begun and I'm telling myself that whatever I feel about the videos, I'll need to multiply it by infinity to get a better idea of The Adam Lambert Experience. I wonder if we can handle it when he's fully hit his stride.
Sunday, 12 July 2009
Friday, 10 July 2009
Bra Remover In Vancouver
It seems that the organisers in Vancouver were quite stringent in not allowing the audience to film the performances, so I've been waiting for good quality videos to surface. Here is my selection so far in a playlist, although I'll update if better ones emerge and maybe do some more video editing to get the complete performances.
Adam sang Baby instead of Woman on WLL. He didn't seem to thrust and gyrate as much as he did in Tacoma, but he did straddle the mic stand and stroke it suggestively. I found it hilarious and it's great that he's not really toning himself down. He seems to be getting off on being provocative on stage and the audience is lapping it up and loving it, and he in turn is feeding off their Adamgasmic screams. Starlight is again just beautiful and really showcases his voice. It's the performance that most reminds me of RoF when he wails, sliding smoothly up and down his vocal register. His arm movements and positioning also are very reminiscent of RoF. There seem to be a rare few shaky falsetto notes in this rendition of Mad World. I think he has much better control of his belting than his falsetto when he's going for the high notes. The only time I think I've heard anything less than pitch perfect is when he's using his falsetto. Still, it's an enchanting performance with some more variations and I love the graininess in his voice on his second Happy birthday.
And there's the underwear throwing on Slow Ride which kind of overshadowed the performance a little. Perhaps it was knocking on the door of inappropriate with Allison being young, but I think that had it been a solo and had Allison not thrown the bra towards him, it would probably have been ignored seeing as he is so absorbed in his performances. It was hilarious how he dealt with the fuchsia-coloured bra - swinging it above his head before throwing it back out without missing or even wavering on his high note. I'm not sure exactly how many pieces of underwear were thrown on stage in total. There seemed to be a pair of knickers and another unidentified piece of clothing on the floor too. Despite the bra incident, Adam's movements seemed to me a little more muted than the previous show's. Allison's high Adam-like wail towards the end sounded great and it was a fun performance.
Adam was again fiddling with his earpiece during the Bowie medley where there was a lot more reverb effect. I'm wondering if there were more sound issues, or whether it's a nervous habit. People noticed him tugging his ear when he landed in the bottom three, and I also noticed it on some interviews. He once again wriggled and snaked his way around the stage for another sizzling performance.
Adam sang Baby instead of Woman on WLL. He didn't seem to thrust and gyrate as much as he did in Tacoma, but he did straddle the mic stand and stroke it suggestively. I found it hilarious and it's great that he's not really toning himself down. He seems to be getting off on being provocative on stage and the audience is lapping it up and loving it, and he in turn is feeding off their Adamgasmic screams. Starlight is again just beautiful and really showcases his voice. It's the performance that most reminds me of RoF when he wails, sliding smoothly up and down his vocal register. His arm movements and positioning also are very reminiscent of RoF. There seem to be a rare few shaky falsetto notes in this rendition of Mad World. I think he has much better control of his belting than his falsetto when he's going for the high notes. The only time I think I've heard anything less than pitch perfect is when he's using his falsetto. Still, it's an enchanting performance with some more variations and I love the graininess in his voice on his second Happy birthday.
And there's the underwear throwing on Slow Ride which kind of overshadowed the performance a little. Perhaps it was knocking on the door of inappropriate with Allison being young, but I think that had it been a solo and had Allison not thrown the bra towards him, it would probably have been ignored seeing as he is so absorbed in his performances. It was hilarious how he dealt with the fuchsia-coloured bra - swinging it above his head before throwing it back out without missing or even wavering on his high note. I'm not sure exactly how many pieces of underwear were thrown on stage in total. There seemed to be a pair of knickers and another unidentified piece of clothing on the floor too. Despite the bra incident, Adam's movements seemed to me a little more muted than the previous show's. Allison's high Adam-like wail towards the end sounded great and it was a fun performance.
Adam was again fiddling with his earpiece during the Bowie medley where there was a lot more reverb effect. I'm wondering if there were more sound issues, or whether it's a nervous habit. People noticed him tugging his ear when he landed in the bottom three, and I also noticed it on some interviews. He once again wriggled and snaked his way around the stage for another sizzling performance.
Thursday, 9 July 2009
Travelling Far To Second Stop Tacoma
My, how much improvement was there between the two shows? There are 48 more to go so I hope you're not feeling fatigued already. After again sifting through the videos, here is my selection of visually the best quality ones in a playlist.
There were some marked differences between the Tacoma and Portland performances. In Whole Lotta Love, Adam didn't mess up his lyrics this time, and it was a more assured performance from him. We didn't get the naughty pelvic thrust but he seemed a lot more overtly sexual, touching himself and humping the mic stand. He sang Woman instead of Baby and I much preferred this Love glory note like he did on AI to the abbreviated one in Portland. Adam enjoyed and seemed more absorbed in this performance of Starlight. He still fiddled with his earpiece but he was much more physically expressive and freer in his movements, using his whole body to wring out a voice loaded with emotion. He swayed a lot more during this performance of Mad World with some minor changes to the phrasing and I loved the run he added to penultimate world. Near the beginning of the Slow Ride clip, he momentarily forgot to sing into his mic, which he laughed off. This performance seemed a lot more fun and energetic with increased improvisation and riffing. Adam wasn't afraid to set free more of his vocal acrobatics and I liked the descending run on the final Slow. There was a slight wardrobe change for the Bowie medley, where Adam wore a waistcoat over his vest. I guess he thought it was more flattering. His dancing was more fluid, perhaps because we got a better camera angle, but I thought he slinked around the stage like a feline.
There was still a lot of playing with his earpiece during most of the songs, so I hope all the sound issues get ironed out soon. I felt that Adam eased himself in to make the stage his home, being much less restrained, allowing himself more freedom and thus appearing more relaxed and comfortable. It all looked less premeditated, flowing more organically and made his performance in Portland seem tentative in comparison. The prospect of knowing that Adam is going to continue to improve with each peformance is an exciting one and you have to wonder whether there are any limits.
There were some marked differences between the Tacoma and Portland performances. In Whole Lotta Love, Adam didn't mess up his lyrics this time, and it was a more assured performance from him. We didn't get the naughty pelvic thrust but he seemed a lot more overtly sexual, touching himself and humping the mic stand. He sang Woman instead of Baby and I much preferred this Love glory note like he did on AI to the abbreviated one in Portland. Adam enjoyed and seemed more absorbed in this performance of Starlight. He still fiddled with his earpiece but he was much more physically expressive and freer in his movements, using his whole body to wring out a voice loaded with emotion. He swayed a lot more during this performance of Mad World with some minor changes to the phrasing and I loved the run he added to penultimate world. Near the beginning of the Slow Ride clip, he momentarily forgot to sing into his mic, which he laughed off. This performance seemed a lot more fun and energetic with increased improvisation and riffing. Adam wasn't afraid to set free more of his vocal acrobatics and I liked the descending run on the final Slow. There was a slight wardrobe change for the Bowie medley, where Adam wore a waistcoat over his vest. I guess he thought it was more flattering. His dancing was more fluid, perhaps because we got a better camera angle, but I thought he slinked around the stage like a feline.
There was still a lot of playing with his earpiece during most of the songs, so I hope all the sound issues get ironed out soon. I felt that Adam eased himself in to make the stage his home, being much less restrained, allowing himself more freedom and thus appearing more relaxed and comfortable. It all looked less premeditated, flowing more organically and made his performance in Portland seem tentative in comparison. The prospect of knowing that Adam is going to continue to improve with each peformance is an exciting one and you have to wonder whether there are any limits.
Tuesday, 7 July 2009
That Jacket!
Sunday was not only the premiere of Adam's Starlight and David Bowie medley performances but heralded the debut of The Jacket. Yes, it was time to finally don the jacket that he (and Kris) got so excited about way back in an interview shortly after Idol finished. We caught a glimpse of it during 20/20, he told us it was leather with spikes and detachable tails, and then he gave us another peek when he tweeted us a photo of it.
He was so excited about wearing it, it was infectious and endearing. It has, as expected, plenty of embellishents in rivets, spikes, grommets, panels and rhinestones. The colour of the leather is a greyish green and looks like it was unevenly spray-painted with a deep electric metallic blue. I assume that was part of its customisation. On first seeing the spikes, they were smaller than I expected. I think I expected them to be along the magnitude of those shoulder cages he wore during his KISS performance. He wore it with verve so it didn't seem OTT and strangely looked quite classy, just as he did against KISS and their more vulgar ensembles. Coming from a theatre background, I think Adam understands the distinction between the roles of costuming and clothing more than most. This jacket leans more towards the costume side and belonged with him there on that big stage.
I thought the whole look was fabulous, and the jacket is like an eerie iridescent exoskeleton. The tails conjure up images of him as a rocking circus ringmaster ruling his twisted post-apocalyptic glittery blue world filled with giant fantastical arthropods and magical mysterious creatures. I feel that the jacket is a little like armour, representing our debilitating fear of being, following, and expressing ourselves freely. When he took it off, he shed the AI image, proudly showing us a camper, sexier side with his dancing and revealing more flesh than we'd seen on the show. It wouldn't surprise me because of his passion for fashion, that he might draw inspiration from a piece of clothing to build upon. He successfully achieved his vision of “post-apocalyptic-rocked-out-space-disco-funk” with the jacket, the moves, the lighting and all the backdrops of planets and stars and galaxies and disco-balls. You have to admire that he probably worked out the all visual aspects and staging in minute detail to deliver us pure other-worldly escapist pleasure. He is showing us how it's done, proving himself to be the Glittery Alien From Planet Fierce.
He was so excited about wearing it, it was infectious and endearing. It has, as expected, plenty of embellishents in rivets, spikes, grommets, panels and rhinestones. The colour of the leather is a greyish green and looks like it was unevenly spray-painted with a deep electric metallic blue. I assume that was part of its customisation. On first seeing the spikes, they were smaller than I expected. I think I expected them to be along the magnitude of those shoulder cages he wore during his KISS performance. He wore it with verve so it didn't seem OTT and strangely looked quite classy, just as he did against KISS and their more vulgar ensembles. Coming from a theatre background, I think Adam understands the distinction between the roles of costuming and clothing more than most. This jacket leans more towards the costume side and belonged with him there on that big stage.I thought the whole look was fabulous, and the jacket is like an eerie iridescent exoskeleton. The tails conjure up images of him as a rocking circus ringmaster ruling his twisted post-apocalyptic glittery blue world filled with giant fantastical arthropods and magical mysterious creatures. I feel that the jacket is a little like armour, representing our debilitating fear of being, following, and expressing ourselves freely. When he took it off, he shed the AI image, proudly showing us a camper, sexier side with his dancing and revealing more flesh than we'd seen on the show. It wouldn't surprise me because of his passion for fashion, that he might draw inspiration from a piece of clothing to build upon. He successfully achieved his vision of “post-apocalyptic-rocked-out-space-disco-funk” with the jacket, the moves, the lighting and all the backdrops of planets and stars and galaxies and disco-balls. You have to admire that he probably worked out the all visual aspects and staging in minute detail to deliver us pure other-worldly escapist pleasure. He is showing us how it's done, proving himself to be the Glittery Alien From Planet Fierce.
Monday, 6 July 2009
Feeling Green - Portland OR
I'm envious of everyone who managed to see Adam in concert yesterday. I'm only able to experience it through others' accounts and videos that they took and have kindly posted. I've been sifting through the media from the concert and have posted the best visual quality ones I've found so far in a playlist, although they may well change as more videos surface.
Digital cameras are such a blessing but also a curse. In most of the videos, there are about 50 other cameras filming the same thing. Multiply that by 50 for every tour date and we end up with information overload. While it's a great souvenir to experience over and over, and is fantastic for everyone who wasn't there, I also think the age of digital cameras have taken something away from the concert experience. Gone are the days of waving hands and lighters in the air, singing along and feeling the full force of the atmosphere and music. I've been guilty of it myself in the past, but at so many gigs, I've been annoyed at the sea of LCD displays obstructing my view of what was going on stage and feel that people are missing much of the concert by experiencing it through their cameras. They hold back from dancing in order to keep it steady, avoid singing along to get better audio and are busily concentrating on capturing the moment on camera rather than capturing everything about such a thrilling experience through all their senses and emotions. I would be too selfish to do any filming myself as seeing Adam live in concert would need my full undivided attention, but for all those who did film and did sacrifice a little of the experience for the rest of us, THANK YOU!
My initial thoughts are that Whole Lotta Love is my favourite (and yours too, by the looks of the poll) for its electrifying buzz in making me want to jump up and go nuts; Starlight is my favourite in terms of the melody, song and breathtaking vocals; the Bowie Medley for Adam's letting loose allowing us to see a side of him we didn't on AI with his sensual dance moves; and Mad World for drawing us in with its emotion. I also liked Slow Ride but prefer that he didn't share the stage. The audio isn't great quality but I think there were a few sound issues as he seemed to be fiddling with his earpiece quite a lot. I didn't think the instrumentals in the Bowie medley were quite up to scratch. The bass didn't seem to be heavy enough to jolt everyone out of their seats, but Adam's voice is still a powerful thing of beauty. Damn, I wish I could see him live!
Digital cameras are such a blessing but also a curse. In most of the videos, there are about 50 other cameras filming the same thing. Multiply that by 50 for every tour date and we end up with information overload. While it's a great souvenir to experience over and over, and is fantastic for everyone who wasn't there, I also think the age of digital cameras have taken something away from the concert experience. Gone are the days of waving hands and lighters in the air, singing along and feeling the full force of the atmosphere and music. I've been guilty of it myself in the past, but at so many gigs, I've been annoyed at the sea of LCD displays obstructing my view of what was going on stage and feel that people are missing much of the concert by experiencing it through their cameras. They hold back from dancing in order to keep it steady, avoid singing along to get better audio and are busily concentrating on capturing the moment on camera rather than capturing everything about such a thrilling experience through all their senses and emotions. I would be too selfish to do any filming myself as seeing Adam live in concert would need my full undivided attention, but for all those who did film and did sacrifice a little of the experience for the rest of us, THANK YOU!
My initial thoughts are that Whole Lotta Love is my favourite (and yours too, by the looks of the poll) for its electrifying buzz in making me want to jump up and go nuts; Starlight is my favourite in terms of the melody, song and breathtaking vocals; the Bowie Medley for Adam's letting loose allowing us to see a side of him we didn't on AI with his sensual dance moves; and Mad World for drawing us in with its emotion. I also liked Slow Ride but prefer that he didn't share the stage. The audio isn't great quality but I think there were a few sound issues as he seemed to be fiddling with his earpiece quite a lot. I didn't think the instrumentals in the Bowie medley were quite up to scratch. The bass didn't seem to be heavy enough to jolt everyone out of their seats, but Adam's voice is still a powerful thing of beauty. Damn, I wish I could see him live!
Thursday, 2 July 2009
Kiss Don't Tell
The recent photos of a Kiss and Tell performance at Society got me thinking how glad I am at the absence of any sordid kiss and tell stories about Adam surfacing and being sold to the tabloids. There weren't actually any big scandals at all this season, with the closest thing being the kissing photos. They usually happen when media interest is at its peak so whoever sells the stories can really milk it. The most likely time I thought this would happen was around the final and I was relieved that there was nothing. But does it mean that the kiss and tellers don't think the peak has been reached so they're biding their time until Adam really achieves superstardom for the big bucks? Is there a Sword of Damocles waiting to drop?
I think it's fairly safe to assume that Adam's had an exciting life with plenty of outrageous stories behind him, probably involving things that are too shocking for conservative America to handle. I'd love to go out and get hammered with him, talk random shit and exchange mad stories about trippy experiences, maybe over a smoke. Yes, want to know all about them, but only from his own mouth if he chooses to tell me. I think it was wise to be so candid in the RollingStone interview because it means that people will just roll their eyes if someone tries to sell a story about the things mentioned. If he has led a crazy exciting life seasoned with the risqué, is it surprising that there've been no kiss and tells?
There is stereotype of a large section of the gay community being highly promiscuous. I have a gay friend who made my jaw drop when he told me the number of sexual partners he'd had in the course of a few months. I wonder where he gets all that stamina from! I also have hetero friends whose bedrooms have been fitted with revolving doors. I also wonder how they deal with the whole headfuck aspect of it all. There is a difference in how they are viewed though, and I feel that if you're a gay male, you're more likely to have a label slapped upon you as being part of a 'scene' where you indiscriminately screw around. I don't have any statistics so it's impossible for me to say whether the label is in part justified. I think the point I'm trying to make here is that the likelihood of these types of stories appearing increases with promiscuity.
Adam has revealed in an interview that he's spent his twenties looking for love. His relationships have been few and far between, and he's only been in love once. I think this helps to challenge that stereotype of gay men cruising for no-strings sex and makes him seem like more of an old-fashioned romantic. Yes, gay men can also be romantic and idealistic and it seems Adam is a good example of that. His detractors would argue though, that his lack of relationships could be interpreted to mean plenty of debauched casual sex as he doesn't currently consider Drake as his boyfriend, and the reason no stories have leaked is because of an unwritten code of conduct. I was a little surprised when he mentioned Drake by name to say that they were dating, as it's leaning towards kiss and tell territory, but afterwards when I thought about it again, the site that did the interview had already written about them as a couple and I realised he'd said it to nip those sensational 'Lambry Split!' type of headlines in the bud before it got out of hand.
Kiss and Tell, which he wrote, isn't about a tabloid kind of scandal but I think rather a song about feelings that aren't reciprocated. The lyrics initially suggest some level of promiscuity with 'I've had lots of lovers, And everyone knows it' and a certain nonchalant, liberal attitude towards sex in a casual liaison, after which your big mouth lands you into trouble. On closer inspection, I think it's about more than that because the rushy excitement and positivity suggest that real feelings are involved. I'm inclined to think it's about feeling a little hurt after being chastised for jumping the gun, assuming and announcing a relationship with someone who either wasn't ready for a relationship or who wanted to disassociate themselves from you. It's about frustration with your partner not feeling comfortable with being 'out' as a couple. Most of us have been there and I feel that the song comes from a personal place. If the song is autobiographical, it may be why he has denied that Drake is his boyfriend out of fear of being stung again by making that assumption. Of course he may have just simply written the song based on observations of those from the club scene who can easily identify with the situation, who knows?
Adam is sweet, charming, and gets on well with almost anyone. Of those who have been graced by his glittery aura, who would want to hurt him by selling their story? He's had plenty of opportunity to make enemies so far, but I can count up all the negative encounters on one hand, which is pretty good going. People are taken by him and he has left no one in his wake feeling hurt and bitter enough to spill the beans yet. As far as I can tell, he still appears to get on with his exes although this is pure conjecture on my part based on his relationship with Cheeks, who allegedly rejected an offer to tell all, and the example set by his parents. He's been careful not to make enemies of the media and paps with diva behaviour, always showing kindness and consideration even if they were being downright rude. This has set him in good stead. I think he understands the importance of being on good terms with the tabloid media, and if the public is overwhelmingly on your side, it's not unknown for the tabloids to help you stamp out these stories. There are plenty of examples of them demonising the opportunists instead of selling the scandal.
I think Adam chooses who he mixes with carefully, with his peers being involved in the creative industries and likely to share similar experiences, attitudes and mindsets. If any of them were to sell him out, surely they'd damage themselves more than Adam, and they'd be ostracised like lepers. Many of his circle of friends live on the cusp of fame, trying to break through and wouldn't lower themselves to be tainted by the tabloid buck. Anyone who tries to sell Adam out would also incur the wrath of his not-to-be-messed-with fans, who would be quick to fiercely jump on them based on Want-gate and #gokeyisadouche-gate. After all, what goes around comes around, and they would forever need to watch their backs. We all know never to make an enemy out of Adam because he can easily outwit anyone, paint them purple, dye their hair blue, dress them up in feathers and apply sparkly makeup on them before they can even finish their diss. And by the time they get to that point, they've lost their train of thought when they realise they've been made to look ridiculous because they're actually digging their new appearance.
Kiss and tell scandals depend on your behaviour, how you treat people and who you get involved with. From all the evidence so far, Adam has kept the risk of this happening fairly minimal. The fact that there's been nothing so far, and unless someone is extremely careless, I expect and hope there'll be kissing but no telling in the future.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)