By Meg Hodson
I have fond memories of attending concerts, dating back to grade school. My parents were cool. I got to see stellar acts like The Captain & Tennille, Neil Diamond, and Andy Gibb. I vividly remember my first concert by myself, The Stray Cats at the Paramount Theater in Portland, Oregon (now the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall) in junior high. INXS opened up for them. I was in concert heaven.
This eventually led to a high school and college concert career. I went to so many concerts, I honestly can't remember the exact number. Music inspires me and going to a concert by a favorite band is thrilling.
I have had the BEST time this past year with American Idol. Deep down, in all I do on social media, I am a true fan. I respect, admire, and am in awe of the process of being a performer. So, getting to go behind the scenes to watch the process and meet the people involved has truly been a a gift.
As you might expect, then, I was excited to be attending the Idol Live 2014 tour stop in Portland, Oregon last week. I had lived and breathed the lives of these top ten singers during season 13 of American Idol as one of the IdolTweethearts. I was excited to finally see them L-I-V-E.
The show was top notch. While it took me a little while to get used to the fact that there wasn't a live band, the singing was definitely live and they sounded amazing. It was a nice balance of group numbers, duets (with an amazing one by Caleb and Jena singing "Gimme Shelter"), and solo performances by the top ten.
After the concert, we got the chance to meet and chat with the top ten. While these are performers on their way to being monumental entertainers, it's easy to forget they are human. Meeting them was a nice reminder that they are just that.
