animaldoc
Member
Posts: 302
Location:
Member is Online
|
Post by animaldoc on Aug 2, 2017 15:46:55 GMT -5
First, COOKEEJAR, thanks for the update on Uke! So glad to hear that he is doing well.
Didn't have a chance to comment yesterday on all the discussion about Adam's speech. I, for one, agree wholeheartedly with Cassie (and you explained your opinion so much more eloquently than I could ever have done). At the three concerts I attended (Phoenix, Denver and KC) his speech was very well received by those audiences. My DH was in Denver with me (he is not an avid Queen or Adam fan), and he thought that Adam's speech was excellent, and agreed with me that it seemed to be much appreciated by so many of the Queen fans in attendance. After hearing it the first time, I looked forward to hearing it again at subsequent concerts. in KC the response seemed the most enthusiastic. And so many times as I was leaving the arenas I heard Queen fans commenting how great Adam was in his frontman role. And then there was the diehard Queen fan I met in KC (who was also on the backstage tour with his wife and me) actually saying that he thought Adam was better than Freddie. But, I just don't think you can say one is "better" than the other - they are two different performers, with different voices and approaches to the music. Freddie will always be an integral part of Queen and Queen's music, but that doesn't take anything away from Adam's role with Queen now. The "gift from God" has brought this extraordinary music alive again, and Brian and Roger seem to be enjoying every minute of it. When talking to Brian on our backstage tour in KC, Dr. Bri reiterated how special Adam is to them, and how thankful he is to be able to play all these concerts for their fans - thanks to Adam. Adam is helping Freddie to "live" again in the hearts of so many Queen fans, and we Glamberts are so privileged that Adam has this incredible opportunity to perform with these rock legends.
|
|
animaldoc
Member
Posts: 302
Location:
Member is Online
|
Post by animaldoc on Aug 1, 2017 11:27:18 GMT -5
Thanks to everyone for their wonderful recaps! I too live for recaps! Even though I was so lucky to attend three shows myself, it's always wonderful to hear others tell us all the different tidbits about how they felt before and during the concert, their view from their seats, their impressions of this stupendous concert, their impression of the crowd and the fans around them, how Adam looked and sounded (usually other-worldly), Adam's interaction with Brian and Roger, etc etc. When I read these recaps, I feel like I'm experiencing this phenomenon all over again! And, TALON, thanks for your impressions and opinions, including all the angst getting to the Philly concert and telling us how your family was reacting during the concert - precious! When I had the incredible opportunity to meet and talk with Dr. Bri during my backstage tour in Kansas City, I was certainly thinking about you, and wishing that you were there to share in that extraordinary experience! He was so gracious and warm with us - I still feel like that it had to be a dream! And in response to some here feeling that he is on the skinny side, I was somewhat surprised that he wasn't as tall as I thought, and definitely seemed somewhat "delicate". I can still smell the very faint aroma of his aftershave when he hugged me (as I mentioned in my recap, he hugged all ten of us - just wow!). I wish I could make it to another concert, but unfortunately not possible due to many factors. However, memories of these incredible shows will stay with me forever.
P.S. COOKEEJAR, if you happen to read this post, how is your precious dog doing?
|
|
animaldoc
Member
Posts: 302
Location:
Member is Online
|
Post by animaldoc on Jul 10, 2017 13:49:40 GMT -5
Here are my recaps from both the Denver and KC concerts. Bear with me, as this could be a long post. I had already attended the Phoenix concert by myself, and it was SO exciting to be there for the opening show of the tour!!! (in spite of that awful heat). Another shoutout to Bamafan - so nice to meet you, Sandy and Needacoke, and Bamafan, thanks again for helping me to locate my misplaced phone! I was totally blown away by that show, words just can't describe it. I knew what was coming for the next two shows, but I was still in total awe of being in that audience once again and experiencing the wonder that is QAL. Have to say that I missed the red, white and blue outfit he wore in Phoenix, but black leather and a red shirt did just fine as well! I restrained from watching any videos until now - I wanted to create my own memories first.
Denver: My dear DH joined me in Denver for this concert. I drove from our home in southwest Colorado (Durango area) after a week's recovery time from my drive to Phoenix, and he drove up from the Albuquerque area, where we have another home (my DH is younger than me by about 7 years, so he is still working full time in Alb, and I am retired and spend much of the warmer months in Colorado). My DH joined me three years ago for the Dallas concert (I had already attended the two Las Vegas shows), and even though he is not an avid Queen or Adam fan, he really enjoyed both of these shows. He is MORE than supportive of my Glambert craziness, and has encouraged me to buy more expensive tickets, and travel distances to see Adam or QAL, since the only time Adam has come to Albuquerque was during the Glam Nation tour. Medical issues make it difficult for me to fly, so driving works much better for me (although I did fly from Denver to KC and did pretty well, as it is a fairly short flight). We had Hot Seat VIP tickets, first large section on the left side facing the stage, row three - excellent seats! The Pepsi Center is huge!! Seemed much larger and taller than the Gila River Arena in Phoenix. Here they were much better organized for the VIP's than in Phoenix (at least for the lower level VIPs). Just checking in I could hardly contain my excitement! The place seemed packed, and it was a very enthusiastic audience. In front of us we had a darling family of four - the two parents were obviously Queen fans, and the two kids (about 15 and 11) were having a great time, and obviously were very familiar with the music. Seemed like we had mostly Queen fans around us, but they were oohing and aahing a lot, and I heard some comments that Adam was extraordinary, and as one fan said "what a range!!". I had been on the other side of the arena in about the same place for Phoenix, so it was great to see all of the special effects from a different perspective. The sound wasn't quite as clear as Phoenix, but still excellent, with no "chipmunk" effect. The show was incredible, Adam sang with such abandon, and the crowd was raucous, which you could see was really affecting the band's reaction and enthusiasm. IWTLF (which is my favorite Queen song) was absolutely stunning, as people have said previously - the best one I have heard at any of my QAL shows. I broke down into tears during that song. I was so lucky to hear both "Spread Your Wings" and "It's Late" in both Phoenix and Denver. As posters have said before, you just can't appreciate the lighting, lasers and other special effects unless you are there live. And Adam's incredible voice filled that giant arena with ease. The crowd reacted very enthusiastically to "Two Fux" - even more than Phoenix. My DH was VERY impressed by this show, and said that he thought it was the best concert he had ever witnessed (and that's very high praise coming from him!). What an incredible night!!
Kansas City: I flew out of Denver by myself the morning after the Denver concert (have to pace myself carefully, so I needed a down day between concerts), and I was in a total daze. Luckily made it to the plane on time!!! In KC my DH encouraged me to buy a stage seat, so this was a totally different experience. Hot and muggy in KC, standing in line at the VIP entrance (but nothing like that 115 degrees of Phoenix!). Fortunately at our entrance we didn't see any of the protesters. Visiting a little with folks in line - seemed that most were diehard Queen fans. The VIP lounge was nice, and met some very nice people (again, mostly Queen fans). There were two guys in their 20's at our table - came all the way from Nashville, and loved Queen (and Adam too) - so nice to see the younger generation appreciate Queen's extraordinary music and Adam's place with the band. Also met a lovely couple from Sacramento, and the husband was definitely a DIEHARD Queen fan - his wife was neither an avid Queen nor Adam fan, but enjoys accompanying him to QAL concerts. This guy had seen Queen live back in the 70's and 80's many times, adored Freddie and the rest of the band, and attended several shows three years ago, and two shows this time around. He said something extraordinary to me - he thought Adam was better than Freddie! No offense, dear Talon, but I was amazed by that statement. They then called for the 10 of us to take the backstage tour, which was most interesting. The guy showing us around was the head person in charge of the lighting, and also met the video guy who has a monitor with dozens of controls and about 12 screens. He told us that every single Queen concert has been recorded and is archived. Then THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY THING HAPPENED. We were walking down the hall, and passed what the tour director said were "warm-up" rooms for the performers. We saw the name "Brian" on the first door and at that moment out comes Brian to greet us!!!!!! I almost passed out at that point. He talked to us for about 6 or 7 minutes and gave all 10 of us a genuine hug!! He said that he loves his VIPs, as well as all of the fans that are coming to these concerts. He said that life on the road is tough, but so worth it because they enjoy performing so much. He said that Adam is so much fun to work with, showed us his red fingernail (in honor of the "News of the World" cover), and was just the most humble, gracious and down-to-earth person you can imagine! Included in our group was a mother and daughter, and the mother said to Brian that her daughter had loved Queen since she was 11 (now obviously an adult woman). The daughter started crying when she was with Brian, as did her mother. Brian was so moved, said "AHHHH" and hugged her twice. What an absolute gentleman!!! He asked if we had been to previous concerts on this tour and when I told him I had been to Phoenix and Denver his eyes just lit up and he gave me the sweetest smile. This is a memory I will carry with me the rest of my life - the cost of that ticket was worth that experience with Brian!! (not to mention the incredible concert that followed).
So onto the stage. I was fortunate to have 10 people who were very gracious in their sharing of our space. Most were Queen fans, but one of the gals was a fellow Glambert. One of the Queen fans even had a yellow "Freddie" jacket. The placement of the stage seats is not ideal (down in the "pit" as they say), but it was a very unique way to watch the show. As Momtomany has said, you have a great view of Spike's knees, you can't see the drummers, you can't see the curved screen from there, you can't see Brian on the robot's hand during his guitar solo, but what a view of the audience and the lasers and lighting throughout the arena!! It really gives you the view that the band members have. And when Adam comes over to that side he is right there, so close!!! You also see him in the dark drinking his water and using what is probably a vaporizer. I'm glad I had seen the show previously, so I didn't miss seeing some of the special effects. I thought the sound from there was the best that I heard, and you could really hear Spike and Neil on their backup vocals. Neil was an absolute gem - every time he came by us he nodded to us and gave us an appreciative smile. What a sweetie! The arena wasn't quite full, but very close. The audience was the loudest I heard at any of my three concerts. Adam was in fine form, and with each concert he seems to grow even more comfortable in his role. He was dancing up a storm!! I skimmed all the comments from yesterday about "stand-in for" or "replacement for" Freddie, and comments about his speech. All I can say is that the audiences at my concerts have reacted so positively to his speech, and especially so in KC. I did miss "It's Late" and "Spread Your Wings", but was so fortunate to have heard these before. We got a copy of the set list, and both weren't on it, so it had been planned that way. I love "I Want to Break Free", so it was a treat for me to hear that one. The view from the stage seats of the confetti at the end is extraordinary!! All of us on stage at the end of the concert were saying how incredible a concert this was, were hugging each other, and they had a little trouble trying to scoot us off of the stage (curfew maybe?) because so much hugging and talking was taking place. The mother of the mother/daughter combo (a Queen fan, but not nearly as much as her daughter) told me that she had always "liked" Adam, had seen him on Idol, but hadn't really been a fan since. She told me that she is an "avid fan" now and will start to follow him and catch up on all he has been doing since Idol. She was in total awe of Adam, and kept repeating that. So good to hear!!
So, I'm sure you're all exhausted by now reading all of this. My extraordinary 2017 QAL journey has drawn to a close, but I will have precious memories of these concerts always. Hopefully this won't be the last time I see QAL, but even if it is, they have given me such a gift. All of you going to future concerts - ENJOY!!!
|
|
animaldoc
Member
Posts: 302
Location:
Member is Online
|
Post by animaldoc on Jul 6, 2017 11:27:50 GMT -5
Just wondering if anyone is going to KC Sunday? I am going with my son, brother and SIL! Sooo excited! I'll be there too!! Going to the Denver concert tonight, and then on to KC, where I have a stage seat. Beyond excited!!!!!! I was also in Phoenix, so I know how stupendous these shows will be.
|
|
animaldoc
Member
Posts: 302
Location:
Member is Online
|
Post by animaldoc on Jul 4, 2017 11:31:40 GMT -5
Cookeejar, I just posted a reply to your news about Uke, and it put the response at the end of yesterday's thread. Just want you to see the post, and know that I'm thinking about you and your precious dog.
And yes, Adam in black leather is my jam also!!!!
|
|
animaldoc
Member
Posts: 302
Location:
Member is Online
|
Post by animaldoc on Jul 4, 2017 11:21:46 GMT -5
Hi all, I don't want to bring the mood down but I have had some bad news recently, My dog Uke is going to have his right front leg amputated, He has a osteo carcinoma. I beleve there is someone here who has a 3 legged dog and was hoping that person would send me a message as to how her dog managed when this happened. And Adam in Black Leather is my Jam Cookeejar, I am so sorry to hear about Uke. I am just now catching up with this thread, as I was driving to Denver yesterday in anticipation of my second show on the 6th in Denver (trying so very hard but not succeeding to keep my excitement under control, as I was so lucky to see the spectacular opening show in Phoenix!!!). As a veterinarian (veterinary pathologist, actually, as during vet school I became allergic to all animals, and after trying to work in a small animal practice, I then pursued a veterinary pathology degree to stay away from animal dander), I know of scores of dogs who have survived well as "tripods". Their ability to adapt is absolutely remarkable, whether they have lost a front or back leg. Osteosarcoma is a very common tumor, particularly in large breed dogs. I hope only the best for your precious Uke - our animals are definitely our "children". Hugs coming your way!
|
|
animaldoc
Member
Posts: 302
Location:
Member is Online
|
Post by animaldoc on Jun 28, 2017 11:44:07 GMT -5
Oh and so it doesn't get lost in the above sea of words: I REALLY appreciate what Adam brings to the table...I really appreciate after all these years the chance to see my favorite band again sung with a voice that can tackle any portion of the catalogue. It's an amazing thing to watch and I can't wait for Boston! Talon, well done indeed!! You definitely are a person who can see "both sides of the equation", and I so appreciate all that you bring to us here at Adamtopia. Your insights are so well appreciated, at least by this Glambert and many others here. I am old enough to have lived through the glory days of Queen, and even though not an avid fan, I loved their music and originality. It definitely was a different time culturally, and I so admired Freddie's flamboyance and FU attitude. However, I didn't really come to realize the importance and impact of Queen's music until Adam. By performing with Brian and Roger, he opened my eyes to the brilliance of this iconic band. Sure, I am one who adores Adam as their frontman because I am an obsessed Glambert. However, when people say "he's no Freddie" I don't get my panties in a wad because the two are so different, both in their persona and their approach to the music, as is being discussed here. You just can't "compare" the two because they each are unique performers. Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to see Queen perform live in their heyday, and now I so desperately wish I would have had that opportunity. Hindsight is always 20/20, isn't it? All I know is that I'm so very grateful that Adam has found his place with Queen, allowing Brian and Roger to bring this incredible music live to the whole world again. And through Adam, so many new Queen fans are being made, and vice-versa. Nothing but a win-win situation IMO. And Talon, a thank you isn't sufficient to express my gratitude to you for your thoughtful posts, knowledge and insights, as well as your humble approach to communicating with us here on Adamtopia. I for one treasure your opinions.
|
|
animaldoc
Member
Posts: 302
Location:
Member is Online
|
Post by animaldoc on Jun 26, 2017 10:39:18 GMT -5
FYI, Bradford Cobb was at the Vegas show. I didn't see him but my friend did. Also, for anyone that has VIP but has not had their show yet, the pre show events have been very very nice. Relaxing, well run, and out of the heat. No standing in line, in the heat, might be the biggest benefit. A little clarification here. The VIP Hot Seat and VIP Tour Packages do NOT include the pre-show event. I did notice that you can purchase an "upgrade" if you have these levels of VIP tickets and want the benefits of the Gold And Silver level VIPs. I don't know the price of this upgrade - this wasn't available when I bought my ticket. The On-Stage VIP has even more benefits, like the back stage tour, and also includes the pre-show event. Because I can't stand for long periods of time, I purchased a Hot Seat VIP, where the seats are on the side, and people usually don't stand for the whole show (worked for me this time). I did have to fight the heat in Phoenix, but went over to the hotel which is next to the arena to keep cool after parking early. Then I got in line right before the doors opened an hour before the event. In my recap (posted the night before last) I mentioned that they didn't have the VIP entrance restricted to VIPs when I was getting ready to check in shortly before they were admitting folks into the arena. As I said before, this caused confusion. Fortunately, I didn't have to wait outside very long, as I am VERY heat intolerant due to medical issues. I have an on-stage seat for Kansas City, so I'll be able to enjoy the pre-show event!
|
|
animaldoc
Member
Posts: 302
Location:
Member is Online
|
Post by animaldoc on Jun 24, 2017 23:18:49 GMT -5
Well, though the Vegas show is about to begin, here's my "recap" of last night. As I've already said "WOW!!!!". Can't remember who said it, but you just can't get the whole experience from the videos. This production reaches into the depths of your being, and it so overwhelming - so hard to put it into words. So much better than the shows three years ago, and that's saying a lot. I saw two shows at the Joint in Las Vegas, and only saw one arena show in Dallas back then, and I thought those shows were beyond words. I'm so happy that I have the chance to see two more of these shows (Denver and KC) so I can take it all in (quoting Paula Abdul on Idol) all over again! And so happy for those of you who will have the chance to see this extravaganza!
And yes, at the heart of it all is our dear Adam, singing his heart out, dressed in a fabulous wardrobe (loving the tight pants again), and looking like he was having the time of his life on that stage (as were Brian and Roger too). I can't stay on my feet for over two hours, so I have to pass on the floor seats. I was in section 110. the first large section on Brian's side, third row from the floor, fifth seat in from the left. Excellent seat!! For me the sound was most excellent through most of the show (much better than what I heard in Dallas). I agree that "Two Fux" was a little understated soundwise, but they were showing the lyrics on the screen so you could tell what Adam was singing. I disagree with what that stupid reviewer said about the crowd's reaction to "Two Fux" - people around me were hooting and hollering as he was singing it, and that also seemed to be the case around the arena. And the place was just about packed, and it was a most enthusiastic crowd throughout the whole show. Lots of gasps at these incredible special effects and lighting. As I said, you have to see this live to believe the impact of it all! So wonderful to see all the different types of folks, from hardcore Queen fans, to Glamberts, and people of all ages, including many families.
One thing I loved was the round screen above, instead of the two screens on either side - made it so much easier to watch the parts you couldn't see well (for me, for instance, when Adam (or Brian) was down at the end of the thrust - yes, Adam did seem to spend quite a bit of time there. They kept switching images quickly, which took a little getting used to, but the resolution was MUCH improved over the past shows. My favorite song, as always, was WWTLF - just spectacular.
One glitch that was rather frustrating - they didn't have the VIP check-in well organized, as they were letting in non-VIPs at the same gate, but fortunately there were a few people directing traffic to guide you to the tables where you needed to check in and get your ticket. Also, the VIP goodies are not near as good as three years ago - no T-shirt, no date on the tote, no glitter - oh well. And, it was so damn hot!!! I split my time between Albuquerque and southwest Colorado, and am definitely not used to 116 degrees!! Fortunately the arena was cool.
Well, that's what I can recall at the moment - still feeling very discombobulated and in a daze - Adam's live shows will do that to you! Thanks to all who are bringing pictures and videos - makes it feel real all over again!!
|
|
animaldoc
Member
Posts: 302
Location:
Member is Online
|
Post by animaldoc on Jun 24, 2017 13:48:04 GMT -5
WOW!!!!! I am still in a state of shock and awe after being at the Phoenix show!!! Way beyond my expectations! The lighting and special effects were beyond wonderful, and Adam seemed so much more comfortable in his leading role than three years ago. As others have said, I don't know how he can keep getting better, but he does!!! Same goes for Brian and Roger. Sorry the "after party" didn't work out, but I had a chance to meet some Atopers (I've been a lurker forever, but finally officially signed up last year). Met Needacoke, bamafan and sandysva - didn't catch the names of the others. Thanks so much to bamafan for helping me to relocate my misplaced phone! I'll write more of a recap when I regain my equilibrium!
|
|