This is a mini-review of the American Idol concert tour stop in Austin, Texas on September 10, 2006 and the after show at Antone’s. I waited to post until I could get all the pictures uploaded so that they could be shared. Between server crashes and dial up connection, it’s been a real challenge LOL

We had FOURTH ROW FLOOR seats on the aisle. We also had tickets to Antone’s to see Little Memphis Blues Orchestra (LMBO). For those not familiar with this band it was formerly known as Taylor Hicks Band. They’ve been following the American Idol tour schedule and playing in clubs along the way.

We got to our seats about an hour before the show was to start. We’d been there for a bit when Sarah spotted someone to the right of us in the first small rise from the floor. It was Will Makar from this season.



The show itself began a bit late but once the Idol theme music started pulsating throughout the Erwin Center you could feel the excitement in the air. The place was literally packed with fans. I don’t know if it was sold out but I can tell you that there were people even up in the “nosebleed” sections. By now those of you who are interested in reviews have probably already read who comes out first and what everyone sings so I won’t go over all that stuff. This will be just the highlights or my own opinion on things.

ALL 10 got loud and boisterous crowd reaction. Most of the performers remarked about it. Katharine stopped to talk about it and had tears running down her beautiful face. Someone (maybe her) commented that they had not had this great of a reaction since the beginning of the tour and that they all really appreciated it. The biggest thrill for me personally at this concert was when I got down front and shook hands with Bucky while he was walking between the stage and the railing down front and singing Drift Away (little did I know this would not be my last time to do this!). Sarah managed to get to the railing to shake/touch hands with all of them who came down. Paris Bennett was wearing a t-shirt with KINKY and his picture on it and if you’re not from Texas, you probably wouldn’t know that Kinky is Kinky Friedman, a musician and a current independent candidate for Governor of Texas Taylor did his thing where he comes from the side of the arena and works his way up to the stage. He stopped to catch his breath right next to where our seats were



I thought they all did really well but the stand out voices that night in my opinion were Elliott’s and Katharine’s and Katharine was in top form when she sang Somewhere Over the Rainbow. In my opinion it was better that night than I’ve ever heard her sing it elsewhere. The stand out musician was Taylor. This man is a showman!
After the concert we grabbed a taxi to go over to Antone’s. Our taxi driver asked us what was going on at the Center and I told him that the American Idol tour had been there. He said “Oh, that Carrie Aiken person.” Oh man, I had to choke back the laughter and I told him that this year’s winner was Taylor Hicks. Sarah and I were just glad we made it to Antone’s in one piece as our driver was filling out his log sheet with the interior light on while driving down the middle of the road *shudder*

Antone’s is a very famous blues club and it is an “all ages” venue which worked out well for us To be honest I had gotten us tickets because I knew that Taylor and some of the guys sometimes would show up where LMBO was playing to sit in for some songs. I had no idea if the band was any good. The band was on stage playing when we got there and I was totally blown away by them. I’ve not heard a band this fantastic in probably 20 years! After just one song, it didn’t really seem to make any difference if Taylor were to show up or not as these guys were great in their own right. I was especially impressed with the horns (Jeff Lopez) and the keyboardist/vocalist (Brian Less). If this band ever plays near you, you need to go see them in action!

As it turns out Taylor did show up and he played an entire set with the band. It was Taylor Hicks as we didn’t see him on American Idol. This was Taylor the master musician and we were up close to the whole thing. I doubt that we will ever again manage to see Taylor from only 2 people away...and then later Bucky, Elliott, Ace and Chris came to the club and eventually made their way up on stage. Elliott came up first and sang I Believe to My Soul and Bucky & Chris went up and did some songs with the band and later Ace went up to sing a cappella. By the time Elliott got up on stage Sarah and I were at the front of the stage. Seeing these guys that close is likely to never happen again either unless they all stick to this sort of venue. As much as I enjoyed the concert, this was far better because it was smaller and everyone was more relaxed, etc. During the time that the guys were there we had the opportunity to meet them and Sarah got her program signed by all but Elliott who she didn’t get a chance to meet....but I did!! LOL Personally, I think because it was a club atmosphere the guys felt more comfortable mingling and I know we enjoyed getting a chance to actually visit with them beyond just getting a quick signature. We also got to visit with members of LMBO and those guys are very nice and really appreciated the response they got throughout the night from the crowd. Oh, and by the way, Bucky (and his drawl) is as charming in person as he is on TV hehehe He and Ace seemed to enjoy interacting with folks the most. Taylor and Chris were very gracious to people. Elliott struck me as shy with everyone but the band/Idols and his girlfriend (hahaha you'd have to have been there )Sarah was able to give Jo’s hug to Taylor



The taxi ride back to the car was uneventful and we made it back home by 2:30 a.m. and were up until 3:30 a.m. looking at Sarah’s pix from her digital camera on the TV and reminiscing about the night. All of the pictures can be seen here: http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/redheadrocksmom/my_photos
You can click on the images to enlarge them. The 3 albums are AI5 (first half), AI5 (2nd half) and Antone’s. All the pictures were taken by “redheadrocks” aka my daughter, Sarah, except for pictures that also have her in them Also you can hear LMBO by doing a search for that title at www.youtube.com There are clips loaded from lots of places they have played including Austin. There are also clips of the AI5 tour itself up at youtube from Austin (and other places I assume).

We hope you enjoy the pictures!

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