Aug 25 2008
Seeing David Cook Live
David’s set is prefaced with Lazar lights and flashes of light spelling out his name. There is no doubt who American Idol thinks is the main attraction in this show. The Room literally rocks with anticipation. No one is sitting down. Cook appears via a spotlight as he shoots up onto the stage singing “Hello” and rocking his guitar. With a pink shirt that says BAD and so much eye make-up he looks like a raccoon, he is in full star mode. He runs around the stage, he knee bends, he jumps on the stage barricades, runs back and forth, and throws picks into the crowd. When the song is over, and my heart is still racing, Cook takes a moment to thank the fans for allowing him and nine of his best friends to live out their dreams every night. He must have been listening to Jason Castro’s speech earlier.The first few cords of the winning song, “Time of My Life,” begin to play and he thanks the crowd once again for making the song so popular before slipping back into star mode. This is followed up “I Don’t want to Miss a Thing,” the love theme from Armageddon. Half way through the song he raises his hands to allow the audience to sing along and I notice that he is soaked in his own sweat. I normally don’t like sweat, I mean really who does, but standing there so confident and proud, not to mention talented, it doesn’t bother me. Neither does the fact that he’s wearing 5 times more make-up then I ever do. He is sex incarnate. It’s the only way to describe it. When the song ends, Cook again talks to the audience with gratitude. Thanking everyone for their support of him and his family and friends. He dedicates the next song to his brother Adam (whose tumor has stopped growing!) and he starts in on the Foo Fighter’s “There Goes My Hero.” If the other songs were amazing, this performance is beyond definition. You don’t just hear it, you feel it. The music goes through you, stays inside of you. After several minutes of applause and screaming, Cook disappears backstage. Presuming he is done. The audience doesn’t stop the cheering and soon a spotlight crosses the stage as Cook reemerges singing his rendition of “Billie Jean.” Soon, too soon it is over, and Cook leaves once again and prepares for a group finale. Cook wasn’t available for fans after the show. He was whisked away to Manhattan to go record his upcoming album straight through the night.
