Adam Lambert’s Glam Nation hits Norfolk and Lauren was there!

Believe it or not, there ARE devoted Adam Lambert fans who read Top Idol. One of our most beloved readers, Lauren, FINALLY got to see Lambert live in Norfolk last week (Yay, Lauren). And she was nice enough to write us a recap

GLAM NATION: NORFOLK

Warning:  I certainly used a lot of words to describe a concert that I claim there are no words for.  Sorry folks.  I also apologize if I put any of the songs in the wrong order.  I don’t think they are but my brain’s still a little on the hazy side.

Honestly, you guys know that I was looking forward to seeing Adam Lambert but even after hearing how amazing the concert was and watching some of the youtubes, I didn’t expect it to be an incredibly awesome, spectacular, concert of a lifetime.  I actually ended up getting in line an hour and a half early.  The line wasn’t too bad, just about a block long.  I talked to the people around me, a nice, normal Glambert about my mom’s age and a really cute gay boy.  He was wearing plaid (he knew Adam’s type ).  There was quite a diversity of ages from kids about 7 or 8 to woman who could have easily been over 80.  I’d say most people were either my age or my mom’s age though.  There were certainly some scary looking women who looked like they raided hot topic in a desperate attempt to impress but Adam but their plenty of normal looking people too.  The venue was pretty small, only 1,500 people but we were packed in like sardines.  I had a great view but I wasn’t close enough to touch them or anything.

Allison opened the show and was unbelievable.  I still can’t get over how a girl only 1 year older than me has such a powerful voice.  She looked fabulous as well.  She wore a black and white tight fitting belted dress.  She has lost a lot of weight.  She started the show in a rockin’ style and worked the stage singing “Holiday” which is one of my favorite songs off of her album.  She performed “Robot Love” next which I don’t love but she seemed to having a lot of fun with.  Allison was great with engaging the audience, everyone was dancing and cheering.  Allison then announced that she was going to slow things down and started to sing “Scars.”  After about half the song, she suddenly transitioned into “Don’t Waste the Pretty” and was joined on stage by GUITAR GODDESS Orianthi.  That girl is amazing.  Orianthi and Allison have so much stage chemistry and it kinda helps that both of those girls are gorgeous.  Pretty is an understatement.  That was definitely one of the highlights of Allison’s set. Finally, she sang “Friday I’ll Be Over You” and the entire audience sang along.  That song is a perfect example of how Allison is far superior live.  She closed her set with a cover of “Heartbreaker” and it was clear that Allison is a girl who knows how to rock.  Her set was too short; I wish she could have played a few more songs.  Overall, definitely a performance worthy of a few of the prohibited tard words. 

Orianthi took the stage after a long set up period.  Orianthi is so beautiful and her guitar playing skill is incomparable BUT her vocals just can’t compare to the incredibly talented people who preceded her and went after her.  I am really not familiar with Orianthi’s music so I can’t tell you the set list.  It was whole lot of fun though and she rocked hard.  The audience seemed slightly bored at times though because, like me, most people didn’t know her music.  Finally, she played her hit “According to You” and the energy in the room multiplied with the familiar song.  She announced that we were gathered here for the Glam nation tour and shrieks at frequencies even Adam could possibly reach filled the air.

There was a long break.  Too long and finally a picture of Adam along with a remix of “For Your Entertainment” showed up on the screen.  Longineu took the stage and screams filled the venue.  The loudness of the shrieks increased exponentially and so I knew Tommy had taken the stage.  An extremely loud and obnoxious Glambert who decided to put her around me randomly during Allison’s set looked like she might be having trouble breathing.  I had been calling her touchy-feely Glambert as she had been getting a little too close with some of the audience members.  Seriously, who puts their arm around strangers?

Finally, the man everyone had been waiting for stepped out onto the stage in a fake fur and suede fringed jacket and ridiculous top hat.  He looked beautiful.  The first song he sang was “Voodoo,” probably the most obscure of his entire set.  His vocals were beyond belief and fans went crazy as he declared “I’m so obsessed with your sexiness.”  He transitioned into another bonus track, “Down the Rabbit Hole,” which he seemed to have a lot of fun with.  This was the most “glam” part of his set.  He continued the medley with his sexy, middle-eastern influenced version of “Ring of Fire.”  Much to my surprise, he did not hold back in order to preserve his voice, instead he went straight into his characteristic wail.  At this point, I couldn’t even believe that I was experiencing this.  It was too much for me to handle.  Finally, he transitioned into the song many of the Glamberts had been waiting for; “Fever.”  He danced around the stage like a pro and cuddled a bit with Tommy.  No licking this time, though.  By this point crazy Lauren had taken over and I shrieked along with my touchy-feely Glambert “friend” as Adam rolled his hips.  He walked up to the top of the steps and gave the most beautiful smile.  You could tell that no matter how much fun we were having, our joy couldn’t compare to his.  When the song was over, the dancers took the stage so Adam could complete a quick costume change.  The dancers were good and dressed in outfits that looked like something Cassidy Haley would design.  After about 2 minutes, Adam reemerged in a long black coat and greeted “Nahfuck” with an accent on the second syllable.  He began the second part of his set with “Sleepwalker” which he declared was about how relationships can SUCK!  He sounded smooth and emotional.  After he finished the song, he told us how this part of his set was about the flow of relationships and that the next step was to ask the right type of questions.  His acoustic version of “Whataya Want From Me” was beautiful.  It’s just a great song and he sounded even more vulnerable when singing it live than in the studio.  Next, he sang Soaked which is my absolute favorite song on his album.  It was even better live.  All the theatrics were gone.  It was just his voice and an acoustic guitar.  I can very clearly recall how he looked at the audience with tear filled eyes as he declared that “our souls will be ok.”  We made genuine eye contact.  Sure, I was excited and probably just imagined it, but it made me cry.  If it wasn’t for the fact that everyone else in the audience had tears in their eyes, I would have felt embarrassed.  “Aftermath” concluded the acoustic part of the set.  IMO, Aftermath is an extremely underappreciated song.  The lyric is great and the stripped down version was definitely an improvement.  After Adam sang “Tell a stranger that their beautiful” an overzealous Glambert shouted “ADAM, YOU’RE BEAUTIFUL!”  Adam was still laughing at the BSC of his fans as he began the next line.  The dancers took the stage for another quick costume change and he came out with his glittery “A” vest ensemble.  The party section of the show started as everyone jumped on their aching feet to the extremely catchy “Sure Fire Winners.”  The bouncing continued through “Strut” as Adam donned a jacket made of cow carcass (Adam, I still love you even though you are a murderer!) and was handed a pimp cane.  We know from experience that Adam can get a bit raunchy when provided a cane but he really didn’t.  His dancing was suggestive but never inappropriate or too sexual.  He was sexy but still classy thanks to his fabulous choreographer.  “Strut” really isn’t one of my favorite songs because the lyrics are stupid thanks to Kara but Adam had fun with it and as I just said, his dancing was very enjoyable.  He continued into “Music Again” and I surprised to find that he actually went for all the high notes in the chorus!  At one point in the song he approached Monte and held out his hand while he was singing, “Put your little hand in mine.”  Monte quickly grabbed his hand, mid-strum, and quickly got back to his guitar without missing a beat.  I thought that was pretty impressive and it seems Adam did too.   He closed his incredible, no-words-can-describe-it concert with his new single “If I Had You.”  He had us all participate and sing along and just had fun on stage. I just bounced on my sore feet and imagined that he had said “right ‘mount of pleather.”    Of course, the audience demanded an encore after he left the stage.  The cheering never stopped even though it was a full 5 minutes between the end of “If I Had You” and when he reemerged on stage.  The touchy-feely Glambert next to me started an Adam chant that caught on for a while.  I *might* have participated.  So, Adam took the stage for the last time and performed and acoustic version of “Whole Lotta Love.” It was beautiful, sexy, and he didn’t hold back one bit.  He hit notes I didn’t even know were possible and had several audience members “Adamgasming” at his not-raunchy-but-sexy dancing.  He licked the microphone and giggled at the crowd’s reaction. And just like that, the concert was over.  We were all hoping for another encore of “Mad World” but once they started removing the set, I realized it wasn’t going to happen.

As the fans left the theatre, I started asking some of the crazier looking ones if they knew if a meet and greet was happening.  No one knew so I just joined the crowd that was forming around the tour buses.  I felt like a stalker but I wanted to meet the love of my life!  While I never did meet Adam, a few minutes after arriving at the buses Allison stepped out and said “Hey guys!”  She was instantly surrounded by her adoring fans.  She took time and talked to everyone.  I had her sign her CD and take a picture with me.  She seemed genuinely happy to meet and interact with all of her fans.  She was so sweet and gracious and even more beautiful in person.  I still can’t believe that I talked to and touched Allison!  I also took a picture with Longineu who came out to talk with fans and actually looked kind of bored.  Oh well, at least *he* came out to talk to us.  Allison got on her bus and her guitarist Liz appeared at the window.  People shouted at her to come out.  After about 10 minutes of pantomiming being trapped on the bus, Liz came out and introduced herself to everyone that was left.  It was about an hour after the concert was over so there weren’t that many of us.  She made her way down and talked to everyone, signing autographs, taking pictures and giving hugs.  Finally, she made her way down to where I was standing and was instantly approached by a Glambert who wanted to know why Allison wasn’t going to all the Glam Nation dates.  Apparently, stupid 19M doesn’t want to pay for it, but they might reconsider if they get a lot of feedback saying that people want to see Allison.  (I need to go tweet them lol).  Liz took a picture with me, and my mom told her that this was my birthday gift.  We talked for like 20 minutes and she gave me an autographed picture of herself and wrote “Happy FREEKIN’ Birthday Lauren!”  At 1:00 am, I finally decided I was done waiting for Adam.  Liz gave me a hug good bye.  I LOVE HER!!!!!11!!!1

So, I know I sound like a freaky BSC Glambert but this was really the best concert I have ever been to.  I highly recommend it to anyone who at least likes Adam’s voice.  The theatrics were not OTT but made sense and added to the experience.  The Glamberts, while a little too invested, were sweet and polite concert goers.  I am pretty sure you will leave with a much better opinion of Adam than you came with.  I know I did.  In fact, I just purchased tickets to see him again in Richmond on August 27^th.  Yeah, it was that good.