Friday, October 08, 2010

Adam Lambert in Tokyo (and I was there)

I was really concerned about Adam's voice because he sounded hoarse when speaking and avoided a lot of high notes (and was also singing in lower keys).  However, I'm totally impressed how a 28-year-old can put together such a show and tour world-wide with it.

The JCB stage was too small to contain him!  He is so powerful (and that includes his entourage, both musicians and dancers) that he could easily have filled a stage twice as large.

CA with Other Glam Girls
The audience wasn't dressed as wildly as I had expected, with some exceptions, but a sign of how totally they were into Adam is how, on one of his quieter pieces, there was complete silence when he paused.  He had them completely in his grasp, jumping when he told them to and screaming back, “Yes!” when he asked, “Are you having fun?” (5 times).

The question is whether Adam was having fun.  The concert started about 20 minutes late, and the problem seemed to be something technical to do with the sound.  He rushed backstage between numbers, gesticulating at the crew, and he kept fiddling with his earpiece.  That and his vocal problems (a cold or just an extremely demanding schedule?) detracted from the performance as a whole.

Adam Look-alikes
However, he really connected when he sat and just chatted with the audience.  Although I’m sure it was patter he uses in almost all his concerts, his words were beautiful and genuine as he talked about love as being more important than anything else [including the kiss that got all the headlines], and there was an intimacy in that moment that the audience, even though there was a sell-out crowd of 3,100, truly responded to.

The versatility in his performance in what I really admire – from the flamboyancy, the glam, and the strut to the softer moments, including the cute, spontaneous grins when he senses it went well.  Adam being Adam – that’s what we love.  The songs are still ringing in my head, and I’m still grinning.  It was worth losing an ear (from my flashing cat headband) over!