Musings
an Online Journal of Sorts

By Alyce Wilson

A shot from our seat in the audience

During intermission at the American Idols concert, the line at the women's room was moving slowly until we heard music. "It's Chris!" they all shouted, and dashed out of the room.

For a long time, Chris Daughtry was considered to be the favorite to win American Idol, but then he had some bad weeks, mostly involving poor song choices, and he was overshadowed by some other stellar performances.

The best way to describe his voice is that he reminds me of cool water. Chris rocked it with some great rock favorites, including a Led Zeppelin song. And he also did some songs that he'd performed on the show, all of them harder rocking ones that everyone loved.

Audience members were jumping up on their own. (See, Paris, that's how it's done.) The adults in our section came alive and were shouting, along with the kids. Chris even played guitar for a few numbers and gave props to the band. One interesting note: he was wearing a black T-shirt with a cross on it. No idea if he coordinated this with Kellie Pickler or not, or whether it's purely coincidence.

Then, coming out the back door of the stage to join him was Elliott Yamin, wearing a Sixers jersey. They performed so well together that I thought they ought to consider starting a band when they're done with their contractual obligations. The Gryphon and I agreed that if Elliott had performed like that during the competition, we probably would have voted for him more.

Elliott gave a shout out to his family members who were in the audience, saying that his mom is from Philly. This got a lot of cheers. Then he launched into a few songs he performed on the show. I think he did "Mood for Love" and "I Don't Want to Be", but few of the songs Elliott sang in the competition are ones I would recognize anyway.

I honestly expected Katharine McPhee to come on stage next, because I hadn't been following the news and didn't know that she was sitting out some dates, due to doctor's orders, because of laryngitis and bronchitis. She's expected to rejoin the tour for the Friday show in New York.

While I was prepared to give Katharine a chance, she's never been one of my favorites, so I was thrilled to hear the strains of "Jailhouse Rock" and see Taylor Hicks making his entrance through the audience. He was followed by a beefy security guy, but he didn't encounter any trouble making his way to the stage. Instead, people jumped to their feet, cheered, and waved at him. If Ace had tried this, the 12-year-olds might have mugged him.

The audience had a great time to his performance, and he danced and had fun as he sang. Between songs, the 12-year-olds behind us chanted in unison, "We love Taylor! We love Taylor!" I was surprised, because these were the same girls that shrieked for Ace because they thought he was pretty, who shrieked for Chris because they thought he was hot. And yet, they were chanting for this gray-haired guy in a suit!

That's exactly why Taylor won; because he could get everybody behind him. He didn't have just one fraction of the audience; he won fans in every demographic. His talent, his energy, and his personality did the trick, while Ace showed that a pretty face simply wasn't enough.

I was really happy to see Taylor live, and I enjoyed his set. Among others, he did "Living for the City", and the American Idol single, "Do I Make You Proud", which he knocked out of the park before leaving the stage.

After clapping and stomping and holding up our cell phones, he returned to the stage with an encore, "Taking It To the Streets. If I was disappointed by anything, it was because I would have liked to have seen him do one of the slower songs he did so well during the competition, like the Elton John song "Levon", the Beatles song, "Something" or the Joe Cocker song, "You Are So Beautiful". Of course, there was only so much time on stage, and I'm guessing the producers wanted to include the songs that got the most audience reaction.

Not only did he dance to the music and have a great time, but he picked up a guitar for a couple of them, and he played a mean harmonica during "Living for the City". Like Chris, he gave props to the band and had everyone applaud for them. The Gryphon observed, "I bet the band members let Chris and Taylor hang out." I agree; they probably love playing with both of them, because they're true professionals.

The rest of the finalists joined him for several group songs, with both Chris and Bucky on guitar. They ended with "Living in America" with a red, white and blue display with the lights and screens. Strangely, it seemed almost anticlimactic, even though it was supposed to be their big ending. I guess it's because Taylor toned down his act to match the rest of the performers, and it just seemed very choreographed and not as genuine.

The ending of the show reminded me of a 70s family-based and, with Taylor as the older brother.

The concert was both less and more than I expected. I wasn't sure if it would be more of a spectacle, more cheesy, and I was glad it wasn't. I did expect a little more of a polished feel to it, but it wasn't bad. The Gryphon and I agreed this was the only time we'd attend something like this, no matter how much we like any future American Idol finalists. Frankly, The Gryphon would have liked to see a lot more of Chris, and I'd have liked to see a lot more of Taylor. We'd be much happier seeing an individual concert for either one of those performers than seeing a group concert.

I didn't hear many people chattering about "Where's Katharine?" afterwards, so either it's common knowledge that she was sick or nobody really missed her.

As we were leaving, a 12-year-old with a camera phone was asking a friend to take a picture of her. I was thinking that she just wanted a picture of herself at the venue for some reason. But when I got outside, I saw a small crowd and figured it out. From behind, I could see a familiar, frail looking brunette woman. Elliott's mom had indeed attended the concert and was greeting fans.

I was reminded of Margaret Cho's stories about how her mom, whom she mentions frequently in her act, likes to go to her shows, hang out in the lobby and greet fans: "You know who I am? I am so famous!"

A few minutes later, as we walked to our car, we heard hundreds of young female voices raised in a cheer. We figured out it was coming from the fence at the back of the stadium, where they had gathered to watch the performers get on the tour bus.

Fortunately, the traffic on the way out was much less troublesome than before the concert, and we had no trouble getting downtown. Since it was still fairly early, we decided to go to the Continental for dessert and drinks. But when we got there, it was a 45-minute wait, so we decided to go somewhere else.

We ended up at Tria, a great little wine, cheese and beer cafe. We'd seen it before and made a mental note to come back. This seemed like a good time to check it out.

The cafe is small, but we could be seated right away. The atmosphere was nice; no smoking, and just some music playing softly. Patrons ranging in age from their mid-20s to their 40s were enjoying wine, cheese and conversation.

We selected some dessert wine and split a Nutella panini as well as a serving of cheese. All of it was delicious, and our waiter was really knowledgeable. When we ordered more cheese, he gave us some advice, suggesting blue cheese. It worked really well with our wine.

If you need a great place to take a date at the end of an evening, I highly recommend Tria. It's not the cheapest place around, but the prices are about midrange for Philadelphia.

Even if the concert wasn't everything we'd hoped, wine and cheese at Tria made up for it.

More from the American Idols concert:

July 24, 2006 - Contractual Obligation Tour

More on American Idol:

Musings on American Idol Season 5 (2006)

Musings on American Idol Season 4 (2005)

Musings on American Idol Season 3 (2004)

Copyright 2006 by Alyce Wilson

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