A night to remember with…
Adam Lambert – The Original High Tour
The Fillmore, Detroit, MI
With Special Guest - Alex Newell
Friday, March 25, 2016
I was going to wait to write and post this with copies of photos/videos my daughter took during the concert. She works third shift and sleeps during the day though, so it might be a while before she gets a chance. I’ll share them once she does send them to me. But, I wanted to get this all down and share it while still fresh in my mind.
First - An FYI (warning?), this is VERY long, I tend to ramble and have given a lot of details about the whole experience for me, beginning with some backstory on how I got the tickets and events leading up to the actual concert. So, thank you to anyone who actually reads the entire thing. :) Here goes…
My birthday was February 5th but we didn’t celebrate it until the night of this year’s NFL Superbowl at my Son and Daughter-in-law’s house with Hubby and our two daughters. Before the game they all gave me presents. When it was my Son & DIL’s turn they told me to close my eyes and hold out my hands. I felt a little silly, but did as they asked and felt one of them lay something flat and plastic coated in my hands.
When I opened my eyes, I immediately saw the words “2 Adam Lambert concert tickets” written across the top in bold black letters and… I lost it. I think I may have screamed and then I cried and tackle hugged both of them. It was a beautiful moment. I was so freakin’ happy, so touched and just so grateful. They’d finally listened! I was finally going to my first Adam Lambert concert while touring his own music! WAHOO! \o/
I have been a fan of Adam, a Glambert, since the first note out of his beautiful lips during his audition for American Idol. Every year since then, when asked, “Hey Mom, what do you want for your birthday?” “What do you want for Christmas?” “What do you want for Mother’s Day?” My first answer was ALWAYS, ”anything related to Adam Lambert!” CDs, a T-Shirt, official fan club membership, or especially concert tickets and maybe a coveted M&G, so I could tell him how much I love him and what his music means to me.
But every year, I’d get nothing related to Adam. I don’t think they thought I was serious, or maybe they thought that Adam was just a passing phase/fancy, a temporary infatuation, just Mom’s silly crush that she’ll get over soon. HA! That will never happen, as long as I’m still alive kicking up dust under my feet on this planet, I will love Adam and his music. I believe they get it now, finally! :)
My Son had originally wanted to go with me, but his new bride’s (they just got married last September) parents had bought tickets for a cruise for their entire family that week as a celebration of their 25th Wedding Anniversary. So it was decided that my oldest daughter, Dana would go with me. She was thrilled! She’s not a Glambert, but she’s a fan and she did go with me, along with my Son and his future Bride to see Adam with Queen when Hubby bought tickets for all of us to see them at The Palace in Detroit.
I seriously thought that would be my one and only chance ever to see Adam. When Hubby offered to get me tickets to go after he came into some unexpected money, I pounced. Yes, that was a concert with Adam and yes, Hubby had listened then, but that was different. Don’t get me wrong. I LOVED that concert and was so grateful and will feel forever blessed for the opportunity to enjoy that incredible experience with my family. But THIS concert, this was Adam, just Adam and HIS music.
Tragically, on Saturday, March 12th, we received a phone call at 1:30 a.m. with the devastating news my daughter’s ex-husband was dead. They had divorced less than 7 months ago. She still loved him dearly, but just couldn’t be with him anymore due to personal circumstances that I won’t go into here.
We were all in shock, especially when we learned he had actually died two weeks before and had just been found in his home, plus the police believe it was under suspicious circumstances. We still don’t know what happened, and won’t know until the autopsy report comes back.
He was buried on the 18th, one week before the concert. Our hearts heavy with sadness and guilt over not being there for him, needless to say, the last thing on anyone’s mind was going to a concert. Early last week though my daughter decided she still wanted to go, that she needed something else to focus on and try to put things aside, at least for a little while. This concert was just what she needed. What we both needed.
When you’re a parent, one of the hardest things to experience is when your child is hurting and in pain and you can’t do anything to make it better except be there for them, support, listen, hold and love them with all your heart and soul.
…………………….
So, Wednesday & Thursday we texted back and forth and made our plans. I had an idea what I might wear. Hubby suggested I wear my black, spike heeled Fergalicious Cruel boots he’d bought me as a reward for reaching one of my previous weight loss goals, 50 lbs., on the way to a total of 66 lbs. Still can’t believe I did it! Adam had A LOT to do with my reaching that goal, but that’s another story.
I settled on wearing my boots, black jeans, my beloved Adam Lambert Eye of Horus t-shirt that I won in a contest, a black shrug and my treasured Pennyroyal Peace Pendant that a very generous, lovely Glambert had gifted to me (thanks again whoever you are!). We decided she would pick me up at 3 p.m. It was only a two hour drive, but we wanted to get something to eat on our way and still have plenty of time to check in and find our seats before it started.
I brought all my Adam Lambert CDs and we listened to them on the way there. Mostly just all of The Original High, because she’d only ever heard Ghost Town from it. But she also wanted to hear Whataya Want From Me and If I Had You, the two songs she was the most familiar with in association to Adam. She liked all of them, but was really taken with Evil in the Night and Lucy.
We had a great time talking, laughing, singing and dancing in our seats as we drove and I filled her in on some of the details of the songs and what I think the lyrics mean to me and what they meant to Adam. She asked about my necklace so I told her about it and showed her the quote on the back, “Believe In You.”
I told her these words meant a lot to me and how they had inspired me and helped give me strength. I told her how I’d planned to get a tattoo with these words imbedded in the infinity symbol and the meaning behind that symbol to Adam and his fans, the Glamberts.
The tattoo was supposed to be my ultimate reward for reaching my weight loss goal of 66 lbs. But I haven’t gotten it yet. Once I can save enough money I will though. I was a little saddened when I found out Adam had his infinity symbol tattoo removed, but I’m sure he had his reasons. I think he still believes in it though and most importantly, I still do. :)
We arrived in Detroit just after 5 p.m. and drove to The Fillmore first before finding somewhere to eat. We wanted to check out the parking situation. I got a lump in my throat when I saw the marquee with Adam’s name and fought back tears. It felt so good seeing his name up there, we were there and it wouldn’t be long now before the concert. I could hardly sit still and rubbernecked to look back at it again as we drove by.
We pulled into the parking lot of a local bar near a parking area behind the venue so she could Google a list of nearby restaurants. Neither one of us wanted fast food; we wanted to try something different we couldn’t get in our town. We went back and forth debating on a few places but couldn’t settle on anything so I suggested The State Bar.
I had read on Twitter that some Glamberts were meeting up there before the show and told her it might be fun to go there and possibly meet some of them. So after parking in the Fox Parking garage we walked there and went inside. It was packed! o.O I began to understand the reason behind another tweet I’d read of fans who had arrived at 4:30 a.m. that morning. At the time I thought they were a bit crazy. (Aren’t we all though? ) Sorry ladies/gents, whoever you are, you are actually the SMART ones. Especially considering what happened later on. But I’ll get to that.
Walking back and forth looking for a seat, I saw several pairs of eyes looking at us and felt more than a little sheepish. We should’ve made better plans. Ah well, live and learn, right? I did get to meet one lovely lady in the restroom though. She said she wasn’t really a big fan that her friend Kathy was the fan and she just tagged along with her. I asked her if this was her first concert. She said no, she’d been to six so far! Okay, you’re not a fan? I think you’re either a very good, loyal friend or you ARE a fan of Adam. I’m guessing most likely the latter or better yet, both! Anyway, I wish I’d gotten her name, she was very sweet. Thanks for chatting with me!
So, after using the restroom, we left to walk down the block to a bar and grill called Hockeytown. Cool place, they had some sweet looking Harleys & Triumph motorcycles displayed in there along with all kinds of Red Wings team memorabilia and team photos. On the way there Dana took a pic of The Fillmore Marquee and we passed by a short line of lucky Glamberts waiting for the VIP Experience. But I didn’t know that’s what the line was for until after we were finished eating around 6:30 p.m. and decided we’d better go get in line.
We got in line and commented on how lucky we were that it seemed to be moving along at a good pace since it was quite cold and we hadn’t worn coats. We were silly, didn’t think we’d need them and didn’t know if the venue had coat checks anyway. That was a BIG mistake because they do. After a few minutes I heard someone say, “This is the VIP line? Oh shit, where’s the line for General Admission?” Great, we were in the wrong line! Whoops! Security told us the line we wanted was around the other side of the building so we headed that way, shivering our unprepared butts off.
It was MUCH longer than I expected. Just when we thought we’d reached the end, security told us to cross the street and keep going… and going and going. LOL By the time we reached the end I wondered if we’d even get inside in time to see Adam hit the stage. Ah well, live and learn, again. We’ll know better next time.
Despite the cold, I still enjoyed standing there with everyone else. Dana commented on the diversity of the fans. I smiled knowingly and told her Adam has a wide variety of humanity worldwide that loves him and his music. She said she was cold but she felt worse for another guy wearing a short sleeved sparkly crop top and hoped his stomach wasn’t too cold. Aww, what a sweetheart! I noticed she was shivering so I put my arms around her and started briskly rubbing her see-thru sleeved arms hoping to help warm them up. She said it helped, so I held on to her and kept rubbing all the way to the door.
As we inched closer, we saw what looked like could’ve been Adam’s tour buses parked beside the venue and speculated that maybe Adam was in one of them watching all of us slowly make our way to see him. Dana thought we should smile and wave. I looked over, flashed a big smile and then laughed when she waved at the buses with a smile on her face too and yelled “Hi Adam!” She’s so fun! Would be cool if it was true and he saw us wave, eh? :)
With the venue door in sight, we saw a man with a trumpet serenading the fans. He was pretty good too. I felt bad I didn’t have any cash on me or I would’ve given him a tip. A young lady in front of us gave him a couple bucks though. Adam’s fans are good people. I got a kick out of other people in line yelling “Tequila” at the end of one of his covers.
A few yards from the entrance, a security guard was calling out for ladies and children to come forward. They were checking purses, which we didn’t have, but went forward anyway to get inside. My daughter was part Popsicle by this time and I was worried she’d end up getting sick. Finally, we were inside. YES! What a beautiful place. I loved the chandeliers, all the gold paint, designs, curved staircases, the Knight statues, red recessed lights, etc. Very lush and lavish from a bygone era. It reminded me of our own hometown movie theatre built in 1935, especially the fancy cupola. Ours is nowhere near as tall of a building though.
The line for Merch was extremely long, and I knew we could buy whatever we wanted online at Adam’s Official website anyway, so we elected to skip it and go find our seats. Venue staff helped guide us to the Loge area above the Mezzanine and surprisingly told us we could sit anywhere despite having numbered seats on the tickets. Of course all the seats in front near the rail were already taken so we looked around and saw four empty seats a couple rows up on the left side by the aisle. We had just sat down when a Gal stopped by our row and shouted to a guy behind us, asking why he hadn’t saved them for her and three companions. He said he’d tried, but turned away for a second and we’d taken them. She looked upset. My daughter just shrugged and didn’t look like she wanted to move.
I felt bad though because I know what it’s like to want to sit with your friends to share in the experience with them, so I stood up and told the girl we’d be nice and find other seats. I just wanted everyone to be happy and able to enjoy the show. No worries. So we looked for and found other seats which, to me, were actually better since they were right in the middle a couple rows up from the rail right in front of where I imagined Adam would be standing on stage, which turned out to be true! Yay!
Ten minutes or so later Alex came out and sang his opening set of songs. He’s such a good singer; I always liked him on Glee as Unique. Great personality too! Thanks Alex, you were funny, fun and absolutely fabulous dahling! :)
Oh boy, now I was REALLY getting excited! Dana got us a couple drinks and we sat anxiously waiting for Adam to come out as we listened to some of his songs while they changed up the stage for him. The guy teasing us by bringing out Adam’s mic, then coming back out to take it back, then doing it again was hilarious. Ya big meanie! Hehe Everybody laughed and loved it though. The lights then went down and everyone started cheering as the Better Than I Know Myself Robert Marvin/Shearer dubstep remix played against a backdrop of a white, round, astrological and I think, Egyptian (?) glowing, sparkly symbols. So beautiful and ethereal! I LOVE that song, by the way. It’s my absolute all-time favorite remix made from one of Adam’s songs.
The backdrop then started showing white, static dots and everyone FREAKED OUT! YES! IT’S STARTING! Adam will come out any minute! OMFG! I almost started crying, but I was too busy cheering, clapping and waving my arms along with everyone else!
A…D…A…M…
Gawd I loved seeing his name spelled out like that! And then….. *holding my breath as my heart pounds wildly in my chest threatening to jump out and burst*
THERE HE WAS RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME!
I did cry then, I couldn’t help it. He looked so handsome, sounded so beautiful, like an Angel, smiling that big happy, joyous smile he has while in his element. It was an absolutely perfectly magnificent moment in time that I’ll never forget. The man himself, the guy I’ve been longing to see/hear sing his songs in person for over 7 years. He lit up and filled the stage with his soulful loving being and set my world on fire!
We weren’t on the floor by the stage right in front of him, but I still felt like I could reach out and touch him. At least I could actually SEE him this time. We had seats on the floor at The Palace for the Queen concert and I could barely see him at all. If there had been no big Q screen, I would’ve been even more disappointed in myself for choosing floor seats than I already was. It all worked out then though, I ended up being MORE than satisfied. It was an absolutely killer show! This view for me was better though, much better. Every time he smiled, his face lit up and his white teeth glowed so beautifully; it was like the sun came out and covered me in lovely warmth. I didn’t see that at The Palace. I actually gasped when I saw it the first time - he took my breath away. :)
We could see everything perfectly, and the acoustics/sound was incredible! I loved the laser lighting and all those gorgeous backdrops/screens. Really adds that special, personal Adam touch! All three of his outfits are fabulous. But, my favorite and my daughter’s was the final tied dyed creation. Very Hippy 60s/70s cool! Reminds me of a shirt I used to have when I was a teen. Hehe She didn’t like the black/white first outfit much though, said it looked too sporty. Sporty? Huh? I don’t get that, lol but oh well. To each his own eh?
So happy I finally got to see you dance in person too, Terrance, you’re amazing! And you can sing too! Great job beautiful man, I love you! And Holly, Wow, you blew me away, so fierce and beautiful, especially for your part in Lucy! I absolutely adore Adam’s new guitarist as well, that guy, Adam Ross? His skills are off the charts. Bravo! You had my daughter’s jaw on the ground as well. She’s a rocker like her Mom and loved you to pieces. We both did! :)
But, of course, the man of the hour, the one who owns a significant piece of my heart, is Adam, always and forever Adam. What a show! His vocals were other worldly that night, the high notes he hit were magnificent and the low notes, like in Runnin’? Brilliant, so deep and sexy, smooth and mellow like a fine Brandy gliding down your throat. I felt every note all the way down, down, down to my toes. Oh yeah…
I LOVED Welcome to the Show live. I stood mesmerized in front of our TV screen with a goofy grin on my face when he and Laleh sang it the first time on American Idol and I bought the track too. Both those versions are wonderful! But hearing Adam sing it live? Phenomenal!
The mix of songs from all his albums, plus the three covers of Mad World, AOBTD and Let’s Dance combined with the dance choreo all worked/blended together so well. I was SO happy he put together that kind of set list since I’d missed getting to see him sing during the Glam Nation tour and Trespassing concerts. You can watch all the vids of Adam singing live in concert thanks to so many generous Glamberts (Thank You!), on AI, in his official videos and on television specials on YouTube and fall in love with Adam and his songs that way, like I did. But… there’s just no comparison to seeing him and hearing his songs sung live right in front of you. I could see, hear, and feel just how much he’s in his element on stage, how much he loves singing for his fans, and for himself. It’s magic!
I loved his “too many boxes” speech too and was nodding my head in agreement and couldn’t help pumping a fist (YEAH) in the air to everything he said. He’s got such an open and honest free spirit, a loving heart and beautiful soul. I could sit and listen to him talk all day. He’s so funny too, always finds a way to make me laugh, like with his comment about the beautiful audience… and the ladies too. Hehe
I ADORED the entire show and didn’t stop dancing in my seat until we all stood up for the encore and danced on our feet until the end. But there were some special highlights for me personally, such as;
Runnin’, The Light (my favorite song on the Original High album), Mad World (that blue light, his sweet, soft vocals… need I say more?), Evil in the Night, (because it’s rockin’ and it made my daughter especially excited), Ghost Town, Let’s Dance, The Original High (OMFG! That note!), Fever, Lay Me Down, Whataya Want From Me, (Dana and I sang every note together with Adam and I got a lump in my throat again), Shady, (Terrance you were wonderful), Lucy, (Holly’s dancing was so sensual and Adam Ross’ guitar solo was brilliant), Sleepwalker, (been one of my favorites forever), AOBTD and…. Oh Hell who am I kidding, there’s something special about ALL the songs he sang, they were all highlights.
I don’t know if I’ll ever get a chance to see/hear Adam sing live again, but if he ever comes back to Michigan, I’ll do my best to move mountains and fly with wings on my feet and bells on my toes to go again. Thank you Adam and please know that I’ll always be thinking about you and sending love, light, laughter, peace and joy wherever you may be as you spread your message of all is love around the world through your music and beautiful soul.
You made my daughter and I very happy and able to put aside our troubles, appreciate being alive, dance, sing and just… smile for a while!
*Hugs *
~ Karen (Karabert) <3
