I attended the AI Live concert on September 1st at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon. I've watched the show since the first season and have wanted to go to one of the concerts since Kelly Clarkson won. Now that the kidlets are getting older, watching has become a family affair. They aren't allowed to watch the entire show due to bedtime, but they pick their favorites and tell me who to vote for once the polls open. So far, they are two for two. Last year at the beginning of the season, Mackenna picked Carrie. Finn picked Bo. Carrie Underwood won! This season, Mackenna picked Katharine. Finn picked Taylor. And Taylor won! It'll be interesting to see their choices this year.
Our good friends, Rita and Steven, invited us to attend and watch from their suite. Talk about getting spoiled! Appetizers, a fajita dinner, desserts, snacks and a person to get you drinks. The experience reminded me of flying first class when I worked for UAL. Once you were back in coach, you knew what you were missing when the flight attendant closed the curtain and it was never quite the same again.
First on stage was Mandesa with her booming diva voice. She belted out a couple of tunes and then sang a nice duet with Ace. What can I say about Ace? I love Ace. Give me a pretty boy who can sing (and yes, people, he can sing) and I'm in heaven. I was in heaven that night. As hubby (who truly is the most understanding and fantastic husband in the world) said every time Ace got on stage, "There's your boy." (To any new readers, check out my Meeting the Muse post from 7/05 just to see how cool my hubby is with all my crushes!)
Next up was Lisa who sang a wonderful cover of Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me while playing a keyboard. She and "her best friend" Paris sang a duet. Paris looked all grown up. She'd slimmed down and styled up, but her great voice was the same. Bucky did his cowboy rocker thang and a cute duet of Grease's You're the One the I want with Kellie Pickler. Kellie looked great. I loved her boots. I want her boots. Black. Heels. Gorgeous. Unfortunately hubby didn't get a shot of the boots. After a break, Chris rocked the house. Elliot sang, too. The four guys (Chris, Elliot, Bucky and Ace) did a great rendition of a Guns N Roses that my mind has gone blank on the title. But it was one of my favorite performances of the night.
Katharine sang Under the Cherry Blossom and Somewhere over the Rainbow. Good, but a bit old since it seems like that's all we ever hear her sing. Taylor entered through the side, came down through the audience and was just so much fun. That man has so much energy. He really had people moving! During one song we got to hear him play the harmonica. The crowd was going crazy. He sang the very touching Do I Make You Proud, too.
All ten of the finalists sang We Are the Champions during the encore. Seeing everyone together on stage was great and I do think this was the most talented bunch so far. I was amazed at how far the contestants had come since their first auditions in front of Randy, Paula and Simon. They were all seasoned pros now. I can't wait to see what next seasons contestant are like!
I attended the AI Live concert on September 1st at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon. I've watched the show since the first season and have wanted to go to one of the concerts since Kelly Clarkson won. Now that the kidlets are getting older, watching has become a family affair. They aren't allowed to watch the entire show due to bedtime, but they pick their favorites and tell me who to vote for once the polls open. So far, they are two for two. Last year at the beginning of the season, Mackenna picked Carrie. Finn picked Bo. Carrie Underwood won! This season, Mackenna picked Katharine. Finn picked Taylor. And Taylor won! It'll be interesting to see their choices this year. 
Our good friends, Rita and Steven, invited us to attend and watch from their suite. Talk about getting spoiled! Appetizers, a fajita dinner, desserts, snacks and a person to get you drinks. The experience reminded me of flying first class when I worked for UAL. Once you were back in coach, you knew what you were missing when the flight attendant closed the curtain and it was never quite the same again. 
First on stage was Mandesa with her booming diva voice. She belted out a couple of tunes and then sang a nice duet with Ace. What can I say about Ace? I love Ace. Give me a pretty boy who can sing (and yes, people, he can sing) and I'm in heaven. I was in heaven that night. As hubby (who truly is the most understanding and fantastic husband in the world) said every time Ace got on stage, "There's your boy." (To any new readers, check out my Meeting the Muse post from 7/05 just to see how cool my hubby is with all my crushes!)
Next up was Lisa who sang a wonderful cover of Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me while playing a keyboard. She and "her best friend" Paris sang a duet. Paris looked all grown up. She'd slimmed down and styled up, but her great voice was the same. Bucky did his cowboy rocker thang and a cute duet of Grease's You're the One the I want with Kellie Pickler. Kellie looked great. I loved her boots. I want her boots. Black. Heels. Gorgeous. Unfortunately hubby didn't get a shot of the boots. After a break, Chris rocked the house. Elliot sang, too. The four guys (Chris, Elliot, Bucky and Ace) did a great rendition of a Guns N Roses that my mind has gone blank on the title. But it was one of my favorite performances of the night.
Katharine sang Under the Cherry Blossom and Somewhere over the Rainbow. Good, but a bit old since it seems like that's all we ever hear her sing. Taylor entered through the side, came down through the audience and was just so much fun. That man has so much energy. He really had people moving! During one song we got to hear him play the harmonica. The crowd was going crazy. He sang the very touching Do I Make You Proud, too.
All ten of the finalists sang We Are the Champions during the encore. Seeing everyone together on stage was great and I do think this was the most talented bunch so far. I was amazed at how far the contestants had come since their first auditions in front of Randy, Paula and Simon. They were all seasoned pros now. I can't wait to see what next seasons contestant are like!
