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"American Idol" tour offers 10 mini-concerts at Summerfest
Summerfest was just the second stop on this year's "American Idol" tour, and the biggest surprise came in the first half of the nearly three-hour collection of individual performances.
The two youngest performers in the Marcus Amphitheater show, Katie Stevens and Aaron Kelly, both 17, offered sets that showed the promise of future stardom.
Stevens demonstrated a powerful voice and a rocker girl sensibility in two songs, Christina Aguilera's "Fighter," and Demi Lovato's "Here We Go Again." On the show, she demonstrated vocal talent, but an unsure stage presence.
Kelly, meanwhile, proved himself to be a marketable country artist, with a set list that included "Walking in Memphis," and "Fast Cars and Freedom." In his "Idol" run, Kelly seemed to offer a weak pop persona.
A quirky standout was Siobhan Magnus, whose combination of a unique fashion sense and singing came with a suitably dark take on "Paint it Black," that was familiar to "Idol" viewers. She also did No Doubt's "Spider Web."
The night's biggest names, of course, came at the end of a show that featured a number of empty seats. Lee DeWyze, this year's winner, and Crystal Bowersox, the silver medalist in the ninth season of Fox's singing competition, performed songs from the show.
DeWyze offered a more emotional presence than he did during much of his run for the "Idol" crown, belting out Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah," a song that should be retired for a while to avoid burning it out. He also did an entertaining take on Elton John's "Rocket Man."
Bowersox also did familiar songs, like Melissa Etheridge's "Come to My Window" and Janis Joplin's "Piece of My Heart."
Neither the winner nor the runner-up surprised the audience. But then, these "Idol" tours are marketed to the young audience that votes, and every one of the 10 finalists offered their profuse thanks and expressed their love to the squealing fans.
There were no tightly choreographed group numbers as in some previous "Idol" live shows, although the bottom six finalists performed a song together, as did Michael "Big Mike" Lynche and Casey James.
There was only one number featuring the entire group, the evening's finale, with all 10 joining in on Kelly Clarkson's "My Life Would Suck Without You."
While the show unfolded with the characteristic precision of an "American Idol" production, the length of the show -- nearly three hours with intermission -- was visible in the tired younger members of the audience, many of whom stopped bopping about three-quarters through the evening's entertainment.
Talkbacks
Sandyjean | July 5, 2010 at 6:09 a.m. (report)
Why no mention of Casey James' set? I saw video and saw that he rocked the house. I know many others thought the same.
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Tishijo | July 4, 2010 at 10:31 p.m. (report)
Was Casey James cut from the tour? I didnt read anything in the review about him. He got rave reviews for his first two performances. What goes that he wasnt even mentioned here? Casey James is the best thing ever to come out of American Idol. What gives?
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satchelsofjellybeans | July 3, 2010 at 9:44 p.m. (report)
Tim was kind. The place was at LEAST 1/2 empty. The standouts were Katie for her potential (she has lost all of the weight she gained during the course of the show, if not more, but seems to need a bit more stamina for her performances), Aaron for his polish, and Crystal for doing what she does best. Casey and Mike did not embarrass themselves. Lee, however, butchered "Beautiful Day" to the point that it was unrecognizable far from inspirationall, and he spent the rest of the time yelling (pitchy, dawg). Why American Idol chose him as the one to force down everyone's throats is beyond me. In the end, between the drunks in the row in front of us and the interminable length of the show (not sure how it could be cut with 10 performers), I can tell you in no uncertain terms that it is not a show for kids under 12.
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cuprisin | July 3, 2010 at 12:23 p.m. (report)
I wrote that there were plenty of open seats, so yeah.
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curlyboy1978 | July 3, 2010 at 11:59 a.m. (report)
Tim - the JSONLINE review says the place was pretty empty - is that true? I do know for a fact that Summerfest had originally booked Tool for this date - but they backed out right before the concert was going to be announced.
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Show me the other Talkback
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