AmyM’s American Idol Tour Recap Portland, ME

Wow, what lucky girls you were!

Part 1:
I drove into Portland Friday evening to meet my new friend, Jenn, who is an obviously devoted Gokey fan, as she flew in from Los Angeles for the Saturday night show. I also met up with a fellow Taylor fan, Janice, from NY. We stayed at the Holiday Inn By the Bay which is the best location for shows playing at the Cumberland County Civic Center. The CCCC is just a block down the street from the hotel. Janice opted for early bed but Jenn and I were starving and decided to walk ourselves into the Old Port area of Portland for some dinner. I’ve dined at Sebago Brewing Company several times and have enjoyed it each time, so we decided to stop there. We ordered drinks & were waiting on a couple of other girls to join us but they never arrived. We decided to postpone our meal and do a little walking around once it was announced on Twitter that the End of Tour party was going on. We walked up and down the side streets to check out the various clubs, without any luck, and then realized which hotel they were indeed staying at. We tried Ri-Ra’s across the street from the hotel and found that they had left about a half hour before our arrival. We then decided to head back to our original restaurant for a very late dinner (Full menu served until 1am! Hooray!). Our dinner was delicious as we both were well beyond hungry. We walked back to our hotel & spent the wee hours chit-chatting about this & that in typical Idol slumber party fashion.

Saturday morning arrived and the anticipation hit. Today was the day! 5 hours of sleep is pretty good for one of these kinds of weekends, right? We awoke to partly cloudy skies. I wanted to pick the Idols up some good sweet stuff so we drove into Scarborough to Len Libby’s Candy Store for some dark chocolate lobsters, moose, chocolate covered blueberries, gummy lobsters, etc. We made a stop at Dunkin Donuts because Jenn says they don’t have them out in CA. We got back to the hotel and decided to head over to the barricades around noontime. There were a few folks waiting, but after a short time, they started filling in. Then, the rain started. It was light at first and I thought (and HOPED) it would be a quick passing shower (30% chance!) but it settled right in and rained steady for most of the afternoon. Around 2pm, Michael Sarver stuck his head out and wanted to know what everyone was doing standing out there in the rain. He said because of the illnesses, they wouldn’t be allowed to come out in the rain to sign. (I will interject how absolutely handsome he is here. ) Those that had gifts were giving the items to the security people to take in. Michael came back out and I threw the baseball cap I had for him up on the steps. Matt Giraud did come out and spoke to a few people, including my friend Jenn. I tossed the hat I had for him up to him and he said “Who is this for?” I said, “You” and he said “cool” and put it right on. My friend Deb has a photo of him with it on, but I don’t have access to her photos yet. So, I got rid of all of my gifts, but I held onto Danny’s, a Cowboy Hatt. I was going to make sure I personally got to hand that hat to Danny Gokey come hell or high water! They announced that if the rain stopped, they would sign autographs after the show, so I held onto hope until that time.

We took our very wet & cold bodies back to the hotel for a bit and decided to find something to eat before the show. We walked over into the Old Port again and found a Pizza Slice bar. Joe’s New York Pizza was fantastic! Headed back to the hotel for a change of clothes, primping and got to the CCCC for the show. I was so excited for this show I could hardly stand it! Our seats were in Section D (for Danny!) and were fantastic. We were seated with other people from the local Fox affiliate station, which is how my friend ended up getting them. The general manager of the station bought me a bottled water. And then the show started!

Michael Sarver: Wow. Did he ever impress Deb and me. He certainly should have stayed on the show a little longer than he did. Clean muscular vocals and handsome looks. We thoroughly enjoyed his set and look forward to his new country CD in 2010.

Megan Joy: She is so beautiful, it’s almost breathtaking. She certainly has stage presence in her hot pink number & heels. I loved the first song…second one, not so much. I don’t think I would have even enjoyed the original version of that song. She just doesn’t have the pipes for it.

Scott MacIntyre: I enjoyed his set more than I thought I would. He sounded fantastic on both of his songs and he has beautiful piano skills. Since he has limited abilities to move around, I thought his banter between songs came across quite well.

Lil Rounds: She really surprised me. I found her to be far more entertaining than I thought she would be. She sounded wonderful and I loved the Single Ladies number. She looks fantastic too – with a body I know I wouldn’t mind having!

Anoop Desai: He was so much fun to watch. We were pretty taken in with his dance moves during My Preogative. His voice carries ballads so beautifully and emotionally. We were really feeling the Anoop love.

Matt Giraud: Why, oh, why, has this man not been signed!?! He has stage presence times twelve and a talent and voice that matches and exceeds most being played on the radio right now. His Hard to Handle was definitely a hit and I heard a lot of people talking about him after the show. That made me smile.

Group Number: Oh. My. Gosh. I know most of you have said that Michael Sarver’s Elvis bit in this seemed a little out of place, but I absolutely LOVED it. Maybe it was just the fact that he was in that suit looking all sexy…ha ha. I love the Beggin’ number so MUCH! The guys out front doing their choreographed dancing was so much fun!

Allison Iraheta: I loved her version of So What and Cryin’, however, I found myself sitting there during Barracuda feeling like I did during Season 5′s show, waiting for Katherine McPhee to finish Somewhere Over the Rainbow. I was anxious for the next act to arrive!

Danny Gokey: Daniel Jay taking the stage for PYT brought me to my feet and I remained standing until the end of Maria, Maria. You see, no one else in my section stood for any part of the show which was extremely frustrating. I’ve watched so many videos of Danny prior to seeing him live that I think I knew what he was going to do before he did. He was in strong voice and his dance moves were incredibly improved. He is such a joy to listen to and watch perform. He gave me goosebumps during What Hurts the Most and I took the opportunity to record his Intro and My Wish. He was over far too soon.

Adam Lambert: I’ll be brief in my comments about Adam. I thought I might enjoy his set, and believe me, I tried. I really really did. We got a good laugh listening to the audience’s cheers for him; it was really incredible. He is definitely a talented performer but he’s just not my style and a couple of his notes made me wince. I think I’ll stop there. (Oh, his duet with Allison was very good. I don’t particularly like that song, but they did blend great together.)

Kris Allen: Oh how I loved Kris’ set! He is the type of artist/performer that I love with his piano and guitar playing skills. I love the Bright Lights song as I love about every Matchbox 20 song out there. His Heartless & Ain’t No Sunshine sounded wonderful. I was afraid with his illness that it might affect his voice, but he sounded sensational and like a true champion.

Final Group: What is there to say? They’ve got it down to a science and it was perfect. I love the bubbles.

Finito.

Off to the buses and the most unorganized mess I have ever seen!!!

Click more to read the rest!

Part 2.

Once we exited the concert, and discovered that they were not going to sign out front like we were told earlier in the day, we made our way out by the buses. There were barricades set up in a very poor fashion. It’s hard to explain, but my favorite term for what was happening was “cluster” with a few choice words thrown in for good measure. I went to a spot near the back of the 2nd bus (which happened to be the guys’ bus) but I was still about the 8th person behind the barricade. I knew that if I stayed there my chances were slim that I would be able to get to anyone, much less Danny.

You know, there is a little word called teamwork. Jenn went to one spot, Deb went to another and my sister & I stuck to our spot. After standing where I was for about a half an hour, we saw Megan, Allison and Adam exit the building. I could see Allison & Megan signing from time to time, but there was no way I could near them. Adam stepped up on the bus steps and waved to the crowd. He made a motion that he couldn’t talk and entered the bus. I could barely see Anoop signing up the street as well.

Shortly after that, Deb called me on my cell and said that she was about 3 people deep and that I should come up to the front of the buses. When we got there, it was a smaller conglomeration of people. Deb traded spots with me and I took my spot much closer to the barricade where I could pass Danny his gift. One woman that was near me kept asking about Adam so I told her what I had seen and she left .(Thanks Adam & lady! You put me that much closer to the barricade!) At this point, it was me standing behind an approximately 14 year old girl. Danny & Michael Sarver were the last to come out and sign.

I had the hat ready for him to sign and I also had a letter and small gift from Jenn to pass along to him. As he passed by smiling and signing, I passed the hat across to him and he went to sign it and looked up at me. I said “No! It’s yours!” and he grabbed it, surprised. “Oh, Wow, Thank you!” He passed it over to the security guy that was with him to hold and then I passed him the other items and said “These are from Jenn in LA”. He says “Is she with you?” I said, “She’s behind me!” and I leaned to the side as best I could. He leaned in and gave her a high five. I told him I had been waiting for a hug so he threw his arm out and I got a half hug with the 14 year old girl in front of me. He thanked me again and went along his way. It’s funny because this sounds like he was in front of me for a long time but I bet it was under a minute. You talk fast & make the most of it when he’s there. Later, after he signed down the line, I saw him take the hat from the security guard and take it on the bus with him.

I felt such relief, I think I could have just lay down on the sidewalk and rested. It was a long stressful day (in relative terms, of course) but it had a happy ending. I didn’t realize what else I was in for!

Part 3.

OK – I don’t quite know where to start with this, but here goes…

We went to Sebago Brewing (again) after the show because we were starved and I was in desperate need of a cold non-alcoholic beverage. We closed the place down at 1 and decided to take a little walk around the Old Port to see what might be going on and trust me when I say I am SO GLAD I DID.

We were laughing about our encounters with drunks leaving the bars and listening to some bands finish up their sets, when we approached a large group of people on the street and I looked at the girls and said “Um…Danny Gokey, straight ahead”. Danny, Michael Sarver & Matt Giraud were walking down the street with some friends and they were headed directly at us! We casually approached and were like “Hey guys” when Danny recognized Jenn & I from the group at the buses. The rest sort of moved on and Danny stopped to speak to us for a few moments, said Hello, how was the show, etc and then the most magical words ever – - – “We’re going to get pizza. Do you guys want to come?” (Prior to this I complimented him on his boots because they were the most gorgeous pair of boots I had ever seen – smoky gray sharkskin with etching on them) We, OF COURSE, said “Sure!” (Jenn says – we don’t have to eat but we’re going! ha! )

We headed into Bill’s Pizza with a group of about 20 and everyone turned to look at us all. Danny sat at a table with a couple of friends and the 4 of us sat at the booth across the aisle from him. He kept bouncing back & forth from our table to his table. I asked him if he liked the cowboy hat and he said that it was the coolest thing. He left it on the bus but he had modeled it for everyone, trying to figure out the best way to wear it. I slapped him on the stomach (GAH! after the fact) and told him he needed to send me a photo of him in it. Before he partook of his cheese pizza with his friends, he came back over and asked us if we had any hand sanitizer and admitted that he is a germophobe (which we already knew). No one had any so he had to settle for washing his hands in the public restroom but get this – he used the Out of Order one because the door was already opened a crack and he didn’t have to touch the doorknob. He didn’t dry his hands off either. (Oy Vey! Little details!) Before they kicked us out at 2am, we did pose for some photos and got some very very nice hugs. I forgot I was wearing my Sophia’s Heart Foundation bracelet and he grabbed my hand at one point and thanked me for supporting the foundation. (Another slight moment of near death) Out on the street after we all had to leave, we asked him if he had ever dreamed that he would be in Portland, ME in his lifetime. He had never been to Maine and said he didn’t know anyone that had been either. He said it was the most gorgeous city he had seen on the tour and that he would really love to come back and see more of the area. (Ahem!) He asked us about the cruise ship across from his hotel and where people cruised to from there. He talked a bit about his album coming out in March 2010 and said he had picked out a few songs for it already. He’s anxious to get to Nashville & do the recording. We told him how his inspirational speech during his set had evolved and he said he was happy with how well he had grown into that. I know there were other things said, but I can’t quite remember it all. It comes back in bits & pieces here & there. I know at one point he apologized for not getting us backstage passes but said “Wasn’t this better than backstage?” We ended with huge hugs (I got 3 from him Saturday night) when he said he really needed to get to bed since it was close to 3 am. We apologized for keeping him up and he waved to us and said “No worries” as he was headed down the street. <3

Here’s my little own personal commentary on him…

I have never met anyone in my lifetime that has ever come across so sweet & innocent in my life. I watched him interact with everyone in that restaurant (without staring) and his mannerisms, polite gestures and attitude are the genuine real deal. In every interview that I’ve watched or comments that he’s made, I’ve wondered how anyone could be so real but it’s true. He takes genuine interest in your conversation (or pretends very well!). He is the real thing.

Two little addendums:

Most surreal moment of the night: Walking down the street with all of these people while Matt Giraud was behind me singing “Let’s Get It On”. I looked at my sister and said “This can’t really be happening.”

Biggest (?) scoop of the night: Deb telling Michael Sarver that she was a fan and asking him when we could expect some music from him. He says he’s releasing a CD in March – a country CD. I expect an announcement to be forthcoming once the tour is over (which he sort of did on twitter this morning).