Now that I've gotten back from TN, I just want to try to put some other things down about Knoxville that I didn't have time for while Coke, Eternal and I were on the road.
I've already noted upthread how stunning the Tennessee Theatre was. Overall, Knoxville was lovely: charming with true Southern hospitality. I loved the gorgeous pedestrianized dining and shopping area Coke and I had lunch at. My cab driver (a woman) from the airport was so friendly and she naturally asked what brought me to Knoxville. When I told her I was there to see Allison, Orianthi and Adam Lambert, she immediately said how much she liked him on Idol. Well, the conversation just flowed from there and she told me about the music personalities she's driven--she asked if I'd ever met Adam and I told her, yes, twice but very fleetingly. She wanted to know what he was like as a person. I said I felt from my experience that while he exudes the rock star persona on stage, that in person, he is a very genuine and sweet young man who is promoting a message of love and acceptance that I think the world needs more of today. She very perceptively responded, well, if he was a jerk in person, I don't think you would have flown all this way to see him, no matter how good he sings, would you? We then went on to talk about the acceptance (or not) of mixed race marriages and homosexuality in the South and her perception that attitudes are changing and that the South can't be pre-judged as a whole at being bigoted.
Well, then I had my little fly in the ointment of the concert experience. Eternal sat with Coke and I in the center 5th row since I was unable to sell the ticket I had prev. agreed to sell to Strawberry77 who dropped out of sight(don't come back on this forum again! or else!). This turned out to be so great as Eternal and I could dance and flail while Coke dedicated herself to imortalizing the show. In the midst of Orianthi's set, the seats to my left were taken up with three young people in their 20s (two men and a blonde woman). After Ori while the stage was being set up, I struck up a conversation with the man sitting next to me (I was going to give them some glowstix, if they didn't have any) They were all from a local radio station which had sponsored an Adam look alike contest earlier in the day. He said they had iterviewed Ori earlier in the day. The blonde then asked me how I felt about Ori's new song, and I told her I preferred 'according to you' to 'shut up and kiss me'. I then asked Justin who was the station marketing director, sitting right next to me if they had added IIHY yet. He said no, that they were still playing WWFM and does he sing it during the concert. I then gave him some back ground about the show storyline (they were clueless) . The blonde, who turned out to be the dj then asked Eternal and I what our husbnds did since we were going to so many concerts. When I said I didn't have one of those anymore, she made some smart ass comment about Figures! She later commented maybe that why I was so interested in Justin the md! (BItch!!) Justin, to his credit, seemed very interested in Adam's career and we had a great conversation about Idol, the AMAs and the message of love and acceptance Adam promotes. I gave him some TALC cards and said my colleague was going to try to film some of tonight's concert and that there were some great ones of previous shows on the TALC site. Well, the show started, Adam came on and I kind of forgot about them (wonder why), that is, until they all got up and left after Fever and did not come back!!! It worries me when I think how much power djs like that have over radio play in the little fiefdoms.
It was a fun show, perhaps a little less polished than others I've seen (maybe they were still recuperating form Atlanta). Afterwards, Eternal and I went to the buses (while Coke, still in mission mode, went back to the hotel to start uploading vids) and saw/spoke with everyone but Adam. One cool thing is that Monte clearly knows who TALC is ("TALC's the one with the amazing vids, right?", he asked me ). Monte was so funny--we'd just finished a little chat and then he held his beer bottle out to me. I said what am I supposed to do with that, hold it? He said,yes, would you? Stay with me. So I did, so he could sign and take pix. I guess I've been promoted--from chief bottle washer to bottle holder. Whe security tried to bust me for the beer, I pointed to Monte and siad, it's not mine it's his. The guy said, that's OK then. Nice to have pull like that!
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_________________ "...you're the only one that knows me better than I know myself... " ~ Adam Lambert from his upcoming 'Trespassing' album

LizMarie
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