My review of the "Slaughterhouse" concert:
The Glam Nation Tour stop at the Lone Star Events Center in Lubbock, Texas will undoubtedly go down as the hottest, rawest, raunchiest show of the Glam Nation Tour of 2010. The anticipation of seeing Adam Lambert and the first Texas show had been building since May. I had to endure hours upon days upon weeks wondering: when is Adam coming to Texas? Seems like everyone else was planning on going to several shows, there were at least 25 on the east coast, 15 in the mid-west, and 10 on the west coast, and still, no Texas tour date! Then, finally, the word was out, from the back of a tour shirt, that Adam was coming to Lubbock! What? I mean, what the fuck? Lubbock? What about Dallas, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Midland, even El Paso, anywhere but Lubbock!!! But Lubbock was the first show in Texas, and it was awesome! It was a totally different type of venue than anywhere else Adam has played, a totally different group of people that came to see him, and the show that Adam put on for the Texas fans was totally unique, and awesome, of course.
Preparation: Shopping for just the right Glam outfit in Alpine, TX, a small college town of 5,800 in far West Texas, now that was a challenge! But I found a couple of cool glammy shirts, I knew I would need two – one for the day in the hot sun waiting in line, and one for the concert. Then, just the right accessories – big hot pink hoop earrings, sparkly necklaces, and just the right belt. I had already found a pair of jeans. Comfy shoes: dug around in my closet for an old pair of sandals with a little bling, they would do, but better bring a spare, just in case! Nails: pink and black swirls with stars, diamonds and glitter, custom designed by a couple of my son’s friends, I think my nails will be this color for life! Hair: freshly colored, with pink clip-in hair strands (Thanks Claire’s).
The Trip: Started on Tuesday, left the ranch around 6 p.m., got to Midland at 9 p.m. in the evening, stayed up till 3:30 a.m. decorating my Kaleidoscope umbrella, and my hat with “Glam Nation” on the front and “move over, I’m short” on the top. Then over to Odessa in the morning to meet up with Adamized(PF) and her sister Stacey for the trip to Lubbock. We got there at 11:30 and this is what we found:
Actually, this picture is from around 2:00, when we got there, only the sedan was there. At 2:00, there were three more cars parked behind the one on the far left. We found out that they don’t normally open the gates to the parking lot till 5, but would probably open around 3 today. They had started a list, and we were #12, 13, & 14. (We had left to go and run errands, so didn’t get our rightful #3, 4 & 5.) We marked this on our left wrist, to indicate our position in the line. So we had time to go and get lunch, and find film, batteries and water, etc. We also had time to snoop around the venue, to see what we could see.
The Venue: And this is where it got very interesting, and also explains why the Lone Star Events Center was such an unusual venue. Although it is located not far from downtown Lubbock, on 19th Street, and a couple miles east of Interstate 27, it is out in the country, and it looks like there should have been an auto salvage yard next door. Well, would you believe a paper recycling plant? This is right next to the venue!
In addition, the Google map was wrong, showing the Lone Star Events Center west of I-27, when it was actually east of I-27, or maybe we had our GPS upside down. Also, most locals do not know it as The Pavilion, which was what was advertised. The radio station promoting the concert was Kiss102.FM, and their ad always said the tickets “will be on sale this Friday”. The day of the concert, several radio stations were running ads, but there was not really any promotion of this event.
So, we drove around the other side to see if we could find the buses. And this is what we found:
That’s Adamized taking a picture of the marquee, and the security guy guarding the gate to the back. Notice the “
M” is red, that is because they spelled Adam’s name wrong, and had to go back and fix it, and couldn’t find a black “M”. But look at this marquee closely, and it will give you some idea of the venue in general. No neon lights, that’s for sure! Behind the gate to the left, is where the buses were parked. Guys, they were locked in there! There was no place for Adam and the band to go. The buses were there before 7:00a.m., we know that because the people in the sedan that was there first had come in from Albuquerque the night before and they saw them. In all the shots of the buses I have seen in all the other towns, the buses are parked, usually in a dowtown area next to the theatre or club, and always in an entertainment or at least civilized district.
I was so impressed with Adamized, she was relentless in her quest to get behind that gate! We saw Tommy walking around back there. Because I was wearing my hot pink bling Harley shirt (I had forgotten to pack my pink glammy shirt, dummy!) We made friends with this biker dude security guy. We offered to bribe him with a bottle of Patron if he could get us in to a meet and greet with Adam. He said he was good friends with Big, the DJ at Kiss102.5 in Lubbock. He even called Big, and found out that the m&g tickets had already been given out. We also got him to give the flyers for the Glam Nation Take Over At Hard Rock Cafe (Houston, 9/8) to one of the roadies to take back to Adam, so we know that he knows about the party now, hope he and the band will come! If I had been really smart, I would have bought a small gift bag for the Anti-Monkey Butt Powder I had brought to give to Adam, it is the best stuff for keeping your feet and legs from sweating while wearing leather. But I didn’t think of that until yesterday. Oh well. I kept thinking I was somehow going to find a way to see Adam and give it to him personally! We did see one Town Car with darkened windows drive right past us, and later it occurred to me that might have been Adam coming back from the M&G's. We tried to look in the windows of the car, to no avail......... but I digress.....
We made two different trips bringing the security guy water, and then burgers, and were finally rewarded when he let us drive back and get these shots of the buses, which are quite exclusive and probably have not been seen by anyone else!
The shot below was actually taken for me by one of the roadies that escorted us beyond the gate, we were not allowed to get out of our car and get closer, or go by ourselves.
Let me repeat, Adam and the troupe were locked in behind this venue out in the country next to a paper recycling plant. I’m glad the buses have air conditioning, because it was 100 degrees at 5:30 that afternoon! I hope they all got to take nice, long naps, there was nothing else to do, and, no place to go!
The Line: They opened the gates around 2:30, we were actually just finishing getting the shots of the buses, so we went around front and secured our spot. Everyone was pretty nice about keeping their places in the line.
My big Kaleidoscope umbrella was very popular, provided great cover, was party central and was very glittery and wonderfully decorated, although you can not tell in this picture. This picture was taken around 3:15, and there were maybe 25 people in line. By 5:30, there were 350 people and the line went around the brick wall that you see. We met LindaG23(PF) and her son, they checked in with us, then they left to go check into their hotel. We also met Vicky from Glambertexans.webs.com, she is from Lubbock, and looked very glammy and excited! But we missed fletcher(PF)! It was so nice to meet some of our friends from the fan sites! As the day wore on, more and more people showed up, and we all just hung out and had a good time. Most of the time there was a nice breeze, so although it was over 100 degrees, it didn’t really feel that hot. We had brought water in a cooler, and I know I drank at least a half a gallon, which certainly saved me later on that night!
The Crowd: As I said, when we got there at 11:30 a.m., there was one car there, and it was a couple from California that had driven over after the Albuquerque show. They got there at 7:00 a.m., and were “camping out” in their car. They had found the owner of the Lone Star Events Center and talked with him and explained about Adam’s fans, and he agreed to open the gates early. This couple had started out with the concert in San Diego, and had followed Adam to Vegas, Phoenix, Albuquerque, and then to Lubbock. I don’t know if they continued on to Oklahoma City. We met a couple of young girls who had driven down from Denver, they said it wasn’t too bad, only 9-1/2 hour drive! The Lubbock paper reported that a family from Monterrey, Mexico was coming through and heard about the concert on the radio and decided to come. We met one girl that had been to 27 of Adam’s concerts, and another one that had been to the first concert at Wilkes-Barr. But most of the people who came to this concert were from Lubbock, Midland, Odessa, and Amarillo, although there were a few from Austin, the Valley, and Dallas/Ft. Worth (and Sanderson!). (That’s me in the middle with purple sunglasses and a big grin!)
And I would venture to say that this is the only Adam concert they got to see. I went around working the line and later the crowd inside promoting the Glam Nation Take Over at Hard Rock Cafe in Houston (9/8). I talked to at least 50 people and only one of them was planning to come to Houston.
LindaG23 (Planet Fierce) wrote in her review that 80% of the people at this concert were under 30. This is true. There were not many older fans, lots of teens, college age kids, and young people in general. And as I already reported, tons of young gay guys! Many of them were glammed up with glitter, sequins and glam make-up, and one guy had the new Hot Topic Adam shirt on. Some of them just looked like regular guys with black tee-shirts and ball caps on their heads. My son came down with two of his friends, (Hillary and Chelsea, the blonde and brunette in front of me in this picture). I am sorry to say that I didn’t get a picture of him, but he was definitely the hottest young gay guy there, and knew several of the guys that had come over from Midland/Odessa. Unfortunately, he did not stay up at the front with me during the concert, and when Adam came on, he and his friends were not able to work their way through the crowd to get up front. He did save me by bringing me long black feather earrings and a necklace and a blingy bracelet, as I had forgotten not only my pink shirt, but all the jewelry I had bought for this occasion. He had made a quick stop at Claire’s (thanks again!) at the mall before he came. I just love my boy! Best laid plans of mice and men.........
They separated the men from the women before we were let in. They said it was so that they could search everyone, knives and guns were not allowed inside (hey, this is Texas!!) But also, they were not allowing any drinks or cameras with detachable lenses, like professional cameras, I guess. The result was that about 40 guys got in and up to the rail before I did! I had a large canvas bag with all the necessary items for my concert experience, and it had to be searched!
The Concert: 
The stage was very small, and there was no back stage area. When I first saw it, I wondered if there would be room for the dancers, but after Allison finished, they moved her equipment off the stage and there was just barely enough room for them to dance. I secured my spot on the rail at the stage. It was a wire fence with a rail on top that was 3-1/2’ tall, and no, there was no chicken wire! But there were 3 big mean looking security guards defending the perimeter. No one tried to jump the fence to get at Adam, thank goodness!
Allison was on fire! She was really great, and I was right up front and could hear her fine! She was very animated, has so much energy when she performs, she jumped all over the stage, and really blew me away! She told the crowd that we were awesome! If you look to the right in this picture, you will see the red doors with small red exit signs above them that are the entrance to the building. Keep them in mind, they will be really important in just a little bit!
At some point, right after Allison came on, I realized that I had forgotten my extra film, the film that I had gone to three different stores to get. I use an old Cannon camera that usually takes great pictures and needs real film. So I had to be selective with my shots, and still they did not turn out that well. I considered going back out to the car to get my film, was it worth the price of another ticket? Probably, but I couldn’t find Adamized’s sister who had the keys.
Allison finished and disappeared to the right of the stage, then the wait was on for Adam. I snuck out to use the facilities, which were out that door you looked at, in a portable building redesigned as a restroom. I came back, wormed my way through the crowd, regained my spot, and waited patiently, while melting. Some people said it was 120 degrees inside that building, and I believe it! The crowd was pushed up against the rail, and we were all packed in like sardines! I was lucky, I was on the left end, and it wasn’t as bad, and I never got pushed or squished, and even had room to bend over to get into my bag of goodies! Adamized had brought 1000 blue glow sticks, which we had handed out earlier, and everyone really appreciated it. We were ready!!!
The chanting started. ADAM! ADAM! ADAM! ADAM! It died out, then a little later: IT IS HOT! IT IS HOT! IT IS HOT! Then more ADAM! ADAM! ADAM!
The band came in (through the all important door) and then we saw Adam, and the crowd went wild! I am telling you, Adam Lambert got a whole lot of love in Lubbock on this night!
Voodoo: Adam didn’t wear any of his jackets during the show. It was just too hot, and also, he had to leave the stage and go out THAT DOOR, through the entrance to the building, to change his costume! I don’t know where he changed, maybe the bathrooms, maybe he went back to his bus, but I saw him go out during the music interlude before the last set! OK, people, this is why Adam wore shoes that night!
Did I mention that this was my first time to see Adam live? I have been stanning him since the Idol Finale, didn’t really watch AI last year, until the final week. But when I saw him sing Mad World, I was hooked! I taped that show and have watched it a gazillion times. And, every YouTube I could find, all of his concerts from the AI tour and this year, every interview, picture, article, well you know what I’m talking about. So actually seeing him perform live was an experience that there are just no words for. His voice was beautiful, he sounded really fantastically great. He did not sing some of the high notes that he usually does in Fever, Soaked, and Sleepwalker. But in the end, when he gave us a Whole Lotta Love, he rocked out and hit some incredibly high notes, awesome rifs, very wild and loose, and sexy as hell! He was horny, you know, and so were we!
Yes, I was this close! I was six feet away from Adam Fucking Lambert!
Was he looking at me? Probably he was looking at the really cute gay guys on either side of me, see I had positioned myself well. I am 58, and I felt like a 16-year-old girl. I had a huge grin on my face the entire time. I sang to every song, but not out loud. I jumped up and down, and pumped my fist when he did, and screamed, whistled, whooped and hollered that I loved him, and generally acted like a little kid at their first circus. I was amazed, delighted, enthralled, mesmerized, enchanted, bewildered and totally blown away by this gorgeous, inhumanly talented and beautiful man, with the voice of an angel. And, he was so sexy, his dance moves were to die for, it was just so unbelievably incredible! Words just can’t do justice to the experience of seeing Adam Lambert perform live in concert.
Ring of Fire: Yes, he had us all in his ring of fire!
There was no Tommy action during Fever. I think that Adam thought that since it was Lubbock, known to be a very conservative city, that he should tone it down. He went through his set at what seemed like lightening speed, it was so quick! The acoustic set was perfect, What Do You Want From Me got the usual cheers, Soaked was gorgeous, and after Aftermath, one of my favorites, Adam looked at Monte with a grin and a nod, he was happy with it. By now, my camera was out of film, so I could focus solely on Adam and his beautiful voice. (All the while cussing my self for being so stupid!)
I did experience a little of the “helium” or “chipmunk” effect. Adam’s voice sounded like a 12 year old boy we he was talking to us. I experimented with taking my ear plugs (cheapo ones) on and off, and couldn’t decide which decreased the effect betterer. It wasn’t really that bad, but I must admit I deliberated on whether I should leave the rail in order to hear his voice better, or stay at the rail and watch him up close and personal. Guess what choice won out?
Fever, yes we all had a fever for Adam!
Dancers during Adam’s costume change
It occurred to me later, and after reading LindaG23’s review at Planet Fierce, that not many got to see the dancers, because the stage was low, but they were incredible! All are very talented, and I got to see Sasha really close up, she is so precious! And Terrence is fierce, and Taylor is awesome, and Brooke is very beautiful.
The last set was so energetic! Adam was starting to feel a little looser now, during the acoustic set, I guess he got to see all the young gay boys, I’m telling you there were hundreds of them at this concert, who knew? Lubbock? Yes! So by the last set Adam had loosened up, and put on one hell of a show. During Music Again, he commanded us “JUMP” and we did! He even had us singing to him during MA, putting the mike into the crowd. I jumped up and down the entire time he was singing IIHY! His dance with Brooke was very sexy. I don’t know if the You Tubes have come forth yet, but there were plenty of people with their camera’s up. In fact, the only time I felt a little pushed was when some very short lady came up behind me and was filming the last two songs. Hope we can find them, because yall know that Lubbock got WLL, and it was fierce and wild and crazy sexy and yeah, Adam was horny too! That was the first time I have ever seen Adam crack up laughing during a song, he was so cute, and hot, and fierce! During WLL, he started doing a body roll, then just rolled and rolled and rolled and rolled. Most of the gays were on the right side of the stage, and I don’t know what he saw, but it made him hot and very sexy. When we all cheered during the break in the song, that is when he stopped, looked around, then started laughing and said “I am so ridiculous, I know I am really ridiculous!” And he finished that song with the most awesome rocking out riffing, his hair was flying, I thought he was going to go down on his knees, it was truly awesome!
The crowd roared, and then they took their bows and left the stage and it was over. I don’t think I saw any drumsticks or picks fly into the crowd. As they left the stage, I noticed that they really didn’t look all that happy or satisfied like I have seen at other concerts (YT thereof). It was really hot, it was a very low rent type venue, and I had wondered what Adam thought coming to this place after playing those beautiful theatres in California, and then Vegas, playing for 5000+. What did he think when he got to this hell hole of a place with the small stage, no back stage, no place to change clothes, a small crowd (there were reportedly about 1,000 people there, but honestly to me, it looked more like 500) of people jam packed and hot and sweaty and, very stinky? I initially thought that they looked like they were all just really glad to get through the concert and get the hell out of Lubbock, but then I found out about Tommy’s dad, so I wonder if they were thinking about that? (Tommy's dad was ill and passed away a few weeks after this concert.)
In any event, we were quickly herded out of the venue, and were told that Adam would not be coming out to sign. At that point I realized that I was totally spent, exhausted, and dead. The buses were gone by 11:30 that night, so they did get the hell out of Lubbock.
I got back to Midland around 3:00 a.m., and back to the ranch at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. And back to RL, but also planning the awesome pre/post concert party: HOUSTON - GLAM NATION TAKE OVER at HARD ROCK CAFE on 9/8. I am also trying to find a way to get to Thackerville and New Orleans, because you all know, I have to see him again, and again! If you are coming to Houston, e-mail me at mahailia@live.com to reserve for the Hard Rock party, and follow GNTAKEOVER on twitter for party updates!
That is all, thanks for reading my deflowering story, compliments of ADAM FUCKING LAMBERT, Rock God of the Universe, who hails from Planet Fierce.
Post Script: I did make it to New Orleans, but missed Thackerville, and at the time I wrote this, the Dallas concert had not been announced yet, but I was already in Houston, so missed Dallas too, I heard it was really great!
