meriones

Yay, I actually got this recap thing all put together in under a week! \0/

Got to the Fine Line a good 20 minutes after doors had opened to see that there was still a line down almost the entire block. I had this irrational fear of no one showing up to the show, so awesome! And apparently there were even hardcore fans standing in line for hours in the rain so yay hardcore fans! I got in with it looking seemly packed all the way to the back, but wove through the masses over to a space by the side door and ended up only a couple rows back from the stage. So those that waited outside for hours were only a few rows in front of someone that showed up nearly a half hour after the doors opened. Makes you ponder the logic of standing out in the rain all afternoon, eh?

Oh, and to get from the parking lot to the venue we had to walk past the buses and Ryland was out there standing around. He was on the phone which prevented me from being all “I saw you play at the Minnesota Zoo with your other band last summer, rem’ber rem’ber? I was lurking around during the soundcheck.” Upon which he would probably be all “cool story bro.” Instead I just waved manically as I walked by, lol. XD

I didn’t feel like standing up the whole time, and sense all the seats were taken I chose to hold up the wall next to the patio entrance for a while. Five minutes before Green River Ordinance were set to take the stage two of the members (I don’t know their names but the lead singer and bass player) came in through the door and walked by the entire crowd to get to the backstage area. It was a funny sight to watch everyone turn and look back after they passed by in a delayed recognition type fashion. Dad came inside a few minutes later and told me how they had come in all stealth like through a hole in the fence which is one hilarious visual to me.

Felt kind of indifferent toward GRO, not gonna lie. They did a nice completely unplugged song, an awesome Joe Cocker cover and told the typical “touring in Minnesota during the winter” story that all Southern bands tend to tell. Oh, and their lead guitarist is like the most presh thing ever. Just a regular Smiley McSmilerton. Seriously had the biggest infectious grin on his face the entire time. I was smiling involuntarily just looking at him. Plus he had the coolest guitar that I’ve ever seen - a clear Lucite that lit up to a pretty green glow.

I took this video of GRO mostly to scope out how strict the no video rule really was. No reaction from the wandering security so I assumed it wouldn’t be too bad...

Intermission! We jammed to a lovely music mix containing Queen, Michael Jackson, The Killers, No Doubt, and Justin Timberlake under a pair of shiny sparkling disco balls. There had been a ton of GRO fans around me who moved to the back to meet the band at merch and allowed the Kris Allen fans a closer spot, so I was able to move up even further than expected YAY!

Once Kris took the stage I knew my assessment of the video situation was pretty off. It took less than 30 seconds before security was going after just about everyone in the audience holding a camera. From the looks of it they had a guy up on the balcony pointing out individuals to the guy on the floor. And while it scared people off of taking video for the first few songs on the setlist, by searching on Youtube you can see that by the fourth people were at least recording partials and audio only footage.

From the start I could tell Kris wasn’t running at 100%. He went through more than one cup of tea with honey and about halfway through his voice was really starting to crack. Toward the end he was skipping over entire lines of the songs. Wasn’t too surprised to find out there wouldn’t be an encore at the end. A little disappointed I wasn’t going to hear the cover of “Come Together,” because when watching videos that seems like the crazy highlight of the show with Kris jumping down in the crowd and stuff. But I’d rather not hear it all then have Kris push it vocally so can’t really complain or feel ripped off in the end. And even feeling under the weather he sounds AMAZING live!

My favorite of the cover songs was hands down Radiohead’s “Paranoid Android,” which is kind of amusing considering Jon Bream’s review in the Strib highlighted that song as “a giant misstep” in the setlist. lol, oh ok den. Out of the originals I love, love, love “Is It Over.” Love the more bluesy sounding songs Kris performs and LOVE the guitar solo. The one moment I risked getting caught taking video was during that epic guitar solo.

The Kris Allen fans also win for my favorite crowd. Usually up front there’s a lot of pushing around for the prime spots and I saw none of that. And those singalongs were the best I’ve heard in years! The crowd can play such a big role in what makes or breaks the live concert experience, so go Kris Allen fans!

Another integral part of a good concert is the banter. There was some great banter at the beginning of the acoustic portion of the set. Talking about going out for a run (running in the rain when you’re feeling sick, Kristopher? tsktsk) with Andrew. They had gone back to the hotel when David Archuleta jumps out of a car all “KRIISSSSS!!!” I get this image of adorable little Archie going all sneak attack ninja on Kris. I’ll be linking the video in the set list below, it’s even funnier when you hear it. "David Archuleta is gonna put a smile on your face, I don't care how upset you are." :)

SETLIST
Can't Stay Away partial video
Heartless/Gangsta's Paradise (Kanye West/Coolio mashup cover)
Written All Over My Face soundcheck video
Red Guitar partial video
The Truth
Alright With Me the girl with the tambourine was so amusing
Maybe (Allison Krauss cover) David Archuleta banter (and the scorned!Cale stuff is pretty hilarious as well)
Before We Come Undone
Paranoid Android (Radiohead cover) <333
Lifetime
Bring It Back
Man In The Mirror (Michael Jackson cover) singalong!
Is It Over awesome guitar solo!
Live Like We’re Dying more singalong!

MY PHOTOS