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| Bridgeport, CT 07/25 and 09/23, 2006; Arena at Harbor Yard | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Sep 8 2008, 12:54 PM (657 Views) | |
| mouser | Sep 8 2008, 12:54 PM Post #1 |
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July 25, 2006 and September 23, 2006 ![]() Arena At Harbor Yard 600 Main St Bridgeport, CT 06604 (203) 345-2300 SEATING CAPACITY: 10,000 ![]() ARENA AT HARBOR YARD : ![]() From sports to music to family entertainment, the Arena at Harbor Yard hosts practically every kind of event. It provides every facility imaginable, including executive lodges and hospitality suites, (which ensure everybody gets a piece of the action), and wide concourses for greater comfort. the Arena at Harbor Yard hosts many concerts, with past performers including John Mayer, Weezer, Fleetwood Mac and Foo Fighters. The Arena at Harbor Yard opened in 2001. Arena, guests are close to all the event action. SETLIST: 7/25 "Jailhouse Rock" (Entrance) ( Elvis Presley ) "Hollywood Nights" ( Bob Seager ) "Livin' For The City" ( Stevie Wonder ) "Don't Let Me Down" ( The Beatles ) "Do I Make You Proud" "Takin' It To The Streets" (Encore) ( Doobie Brothers ) SETLIST: 9/23 "Jailhouse Rock" (Entrance) ( Elvis Presley ) "Hollywood Nights" ( Bob Seager ) "Livin' For The City" ( Stevie Wonder ) "Do I Make You Proud" "Takin' It To The Streets" (Encore) ( Doobie Brothers ) MEDIA AND REVIEWS:[/b] 1. Idol Thoughts By edit@ctpost.com (SEAN SPILLANE sspillane@ctpost.com) The Connecticut Post While talking to people with tickets to tonight's "American Idol Live" concert in Bridgeport, it becomes clear that the secret of the show's success might not be the singers or the larger-than-life judges. Rather, "American Idol" is a television and marketing juggernaut because of the way it brings people together. It has brought back those good old-fashioned family nights in front of the tube and offers plenty of fodder for debate on the days after it airs. Even today, two months after Taylor Hicks won the Season 5 title, "Idol" fans still profess their love for the also-rans. Tonight's concert at the Arena at Harbor Yard will feature Hicks and the nine other finalists, so there should be something for everybody to enjoy and more chances to argue over Hicks' worthiness as top "Idol." Runner-up Katharine McPhee has missed all of the previous tour dates with what is called "laryngitis and bronchitis" and there is no official word on when she will join the tour. The rest of tonight's performers are Ace Young, Bucky Covington, Chris Daughtry, Elliott Yamin, Kellie Pickler, Lisa Tucker, Mandisa and Paris Bennett. Though initially listed as a sellout, more tickets have been released and are now available to the public. Daughtry may not have made it to the final round, but he still has a legion of loyal fans who don't sound like they have gotten over his elimination from the competition. "That's the only reason I'm going, to see him," said Zoraida Cubero of Ansonia. "Chris is my favorite, no doubt about it, and he should have won. But that's OK; the other people are really talented in their own way." "I'm 40 years old and me and all my girlfriends are just crazy about Chris," said Ann Marie Evangelista of Trumbull. Her children — Tyler, 10, and twins Dylan and Julia, 7 — joined her in supporting Daughtry and helped make sure that their father, Bob, didn't cast any votes for his choice, Hicks. "We would monopolize the phone," Ann Marie Evangelista said. "We wouldn't let him anywhere near it. "We would even threaten him with harm," she said with a laugh, "because we couldn't stand Taylor." That is hardly the case with a good number of Hicks fans, who have been dubbed The Soul Patrol. Barbara Lessard of Fairfield even went so far as to have Soul Patrol T-shirts made up at Dart Products in Bridgeport to wear to tonight's concert. "I just really like his voice," said Lessard, who will attend with members of her "ladies group," which gets together for each show when "Idol" is in session. "Music today has become so extreme ... and this is just plain old good music that is something that everybody can embrace." Wendy Grosso of Milford will be going with her friend, Donna Hart, and Hart's two nieces, Nicole, 10, and Amanda Peterson, 6. Nicole, a fan of Daughtry, and Amanda, who favors Covington, got ready for the show by making posters extolling their heroes. "They're very excited, needless to say," Grosso said. "I'm excited. I can't wait to see the kids' reactions because it's their first concert." Shelton's Sally Green will be at the concert with her daughter, Amanda, 12, with whom she watched the "American Idol" program each week. "That's the nice thing about 'Idol,' " Green said. "We all would sit together — my husband, Bill, too — and watch. You don't really get a lot of that on television these days, something that all three of us can actually sit down and enjoy together." Cathy Dunsby of Easton also found "Idol" to be a great way to spend quality time with her 8-year-old daughter, Caroline, whose interest in the show was piqued by hearing her schoolmates talking about it on the bus. "She came home and asked to watch it and we started to enjoy watching it together," Dunsby said. "It was something that we could both enjoy and it's something that is appropriate for her. "When I saw they were having a concert in Bridgeport, I made it a point to be online at the exact moment they started selling tickets. There is no way we were going to miss this." It's a sentiment shared by James Moran of Shelton, who cast his votes for Pickler because, he said, "there was just something about her." "I'm actually skipping three days of a family vacation to go to this concert," Moran, 23, said. "I'm hoping I can catch them coming off the tour bus so I can get a picture. "I'm going as early as I possibly can. If the concert starts at 7, I'm going to be there at 2. I'm not taking any chances." Vickie Dycewicz wrote to tell us about co-worker Lucila Massey, who is her office's resident "American Idol" expert, a charge Massey gladly copped to. "Absolutely," the Milford resident said. "There's a crew that comes to my desk every morning after a show for my opinions, my reviews, my predictions." Even though she hasn't been to any of the previous "American Idol Live" concerts, Massey predicts tonight's event will be memorable. "If it's anything like the finale show — when all the Top 10 came back and did all these songs together and each had their solo moments — I think it's going to be great. I thought the finale of this season was the best out of all the seasons." And if McPhee doesn't take part, Moran, for one, won't miss her. "I'm the anti-Katharine," he said. "I'm hoping she's not on the tour when it comes to Bridgeport." Massey, however, sees things differently. "She better take a lot of throat lozenges, because I think it will be very, very terrible if she doesn't show up," she said. "She's the runner-up. We didn't pay $72.50 for her not to be there." The "American Idol Live" tour will return to the Arena at Harbor Yard on Sept. 23 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14024300/ ----------- 2. Healthy Traveling with the American Idol Performers By Lisa Iannucci -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- They will be performing 60 concerts in 81 days, traveling from coast to coast and back again, sleeping in different hotels several times a week and in a bus for the remainder of their nationwide tour. The American Idol concert is the hottest ticket in town, but while touring and living on the road might sound glamorous, without proper preparation, it can take its toll on the performers, both physically and mentally, especially for those not used to the grind. I had the opportunity to talk with four of the performers, including Taylor Hicks, the 29-year-old soulster and Season 5 winner, just one week into their tour, and asked them how they were staying healthy during the hectic travel and performance schedule. (Read the Lisa's Healthy Travel Recommendations sidebar where I give my healthy travel advice to each of them.) Taylor Hicks is a 10-year veteran when it comes to traveling on the road, playing nightly gigs, driving to the next event, and bunking with friends instead of at five-star hotels. Since being voted America’s favorite, Hicks has a newer, more pressing schedule that includes appearances, photo shoots, and working on his debut CD, scheduled to come out later in the fall, as well as concert rehearsals and performances. According to Hicks, a Birmingham, Alabama native, he’s been working his whole life for this, but how are his body and voice holding up to an even more grueling schedule? "The best thing that I’ve done for my voice is use it for the last 10 years," Hicks says on the first of six straight nights of performances when we chatted. "It’s ‘practice makes perfect’ as far as singing and the more you can sing and get out and play, the stronger your voice is going to be." When his throat needs that extra bit of protection, he admits to using an herbal remedy called Throat Coat. According to Throat Coat's Web site, the tea "supports throat health because it includes herbs traditionally used to enhance the structure and function of the throat including speaking (vocal cords), swallowing (esophagus) and air conveyance (trachea)." Although his tour and travel schedule might seem taxing to the average trekker, Hicks says the days are toned down and not as stressful as they may seem. "Everything is relaxed and chilled during the show day and I chill with it," he says. "We have the days to ourselves pretty much and we know what time we need to be on stage." He admits it can get tiring from time to time, but "we’re in some nice hotels and we get to sleep in the next day (after the late concert night)." Healthy eating is also an important part of keeping the energetic performer at his peak and he explains that the American Idol staff makes amenities available to the performers if they want to use them. Hicks’ pre-performance routine includes stretching and a massage, but his daily exercise is limited to his exuberant performances on stage. "That 30 or 45 minutes is about all I can really do as far as squeeze in exercise, but it’s a great physical workout," he says. He assures his fans that he is physically prepared for this tour. "Mentally, it’s one of the best things that has happened to me, but creatively there is a big question mark." Hicks seems to love touring, yet anxious to perform his own material, but how will his exercise routine change when he is touring solo? "I’ll be exercising a whole lot more on that stage and that’s a good thing," Hicks says. Kellie Pickler, the blonde down-home southern girl, had a rough start to the tour when her wisdom teeth had to be surgically removed just days before opening night. "They were impacted and growing underneath," Pickler says. "Believe it or not, my mouth is too small for all of them! I had a few days to heal before the tour started, and I used ice packs and antibiotics." Pickler, originally from Albemarle, North Carolina, says that she still had stitches in her mouth for the first three shows, but "couldn’t imagine my fans paying all that money and have me not be there, so I sucked it up and did this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity." Pickler doesn’t commit to any measures to prevent her from getting sick, but says that "it’s such a short amount of time on the road that I deal with it. My biggest fear in life was having to settle and not being able to pursue the dreams that I had and now I’m doing what I love so I feel good." She and fellow performer Bucky Covington agree that prayers are also their way of dealing with stress. "The last few years I was working in the body shop was aggravating the crap out of me, but now doing what I love keeps my stress level down," Covington, a Rockingham, North Carolina resident, says. Covington is a married man and anyone traveling for an extended period of time can find it difficult on the marriage, but Bucky says his wife understands. "It’s tough being gone, but we talk about four or five times a day and that helps," he says. Mandisa, the 29-year-old powerhouse performer from Antioch, Tennessee, knows the importance of staying healthy for her performances. She commits to getting eight hours of sleep each night and isn’t one for the nightlife. "The younger ones may do that, but I want to get my sleep each night," she says. "I also exercise and watch what I eat." Mandisa says that after the concert, the crew needs to travel to their new destination. Depending on when they arrive, they may not sleep in the hotel until 2 or 3 in the morning. She usually wakes around 11 and all performers must be ready for the day at 1 p.m. She also takes precautions to avoid the germs that might sideline her. "We have a lot of meet-and-greets with fans and I make sure I wash my hands often," she says. "I also carry Airborne (an immune boosting tablet to help fight against germs) with me all the time." For stress relief, Mandisa is a movie buff and packed many flicks to watch during her downtime. The American Idol performers are not without their health issues. In addition to Kellie Pickler’s dental dilemma, Katherine McPhee was sidelined for the first month of the tour with what her doctors call "severe laryngitis and bronchitis," and contestant Elliott Yamin has his diabetes to monitor along the way. One thing is for sure, these performers are filled with adrenaline and loving every minute of what they are doing. Being happy on a road trip is definitely a good start to a healthy tour. --- Lisa's Healthy Travel Recommendations Taylor Hicks – Taylor has been priming himself for a concert tour for two decades and so far he’s doing a great job staying healthy, eating right, getting massages to stay relaxed, and taking care of his voice. My suggestions: Taylor, it was said that you were recently under the weather, but performed anyway. Please make sure you wash your hands after dealing with fans and reporters and, most importantly, do not touch your face until you have done so. If you can, plan ahead for any altitude changes during this tour, or your solo tour, that can affect your voice and energy level. There are medications, such as Diamox, Decadron, Adalat, and Procardia, available to take one or two days before you arrive at the higher altitude so your body can adjust and you can be at your peak. For that creative question mark, be sure to carve out some solo "creative" time of your own during the day, even if it’s only a half-hour, to write or compose; make this a routine no matter how hectic your schedule becomes. Kellie Pickler and Bucky Covington – Kelly and Bucky are very laid back and know that this is a short time to be on the road, but after McPhee’s illness and Kellie’s own dental issues, both need to realize that things can change. My suggestions: Wash your hands after dealing with fans and media and get plenty of rest. Dental health is very important so before embarking on the next adventure, especially if you are flying, visit the dentist ahead of time to make sure there are not any problems beginning to bubble. Mandisa – Mandisa is doing a great job making sure her health is a top priority, especially washing her hands and taking an immune booster. My suggestions: Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated while traveling and since you are watching movies in the tour bus, invest in a good exercise DVD to take with you. There are also Web sites that act as a personal trainer, sending you a custom-made exercise regime. This can be updated at any time to prevent boredom. Source: Frequent Flyer SOUL PATROL MEMORIES: JULY 25, 2006 courtesy of Jordon McCoy ROX July 25, 2006 Courtesy of Jordon McCoy ROX1. Jordan McCoy ROX Taylor was sooo nice. People just see it differently because he is really shy but he's sweet as can be! LOL, this one lady that was right next to me was like hyperventilating/sobbing literally when she met him and Taylor was like "Aww, it's ok" And he was just trying to calm her down but she was a huge fan and he had this really nice conversation with her. SEPTEMBER 23, 2006 Sept. 23, 20062. asasj5 Has anyone bought tickets for LMBO at Daniel Street after the Bridgeport show? As soon as I heard about it I went to their website and bought the tickets - I was wondering if anyone knew what time LMBO would be going on. Also - how many of the after-shows have Taylor and the guys actually attended? Although I'm excited to see LMBO it would be pure rapture if Taylor showed . * 3. niki I LOVED it!! I especially loved Elliott, Taylor and Ace's performances but thought they were all fantastic! * Although LMBO did play at the afterparty ( Daniel Street ) , Taylor did not make an appearance. 4. credit to Secretlylovesclay ![]() Do I Make You Proud Jailhouse Rock |
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courtesy of Jordon McCoy ROX
July 25, 2006
Courtesy of Jordon McCoy ROX
Sept. 23, 2006



2:18 AM Jul 11