Week 10...the PERFORMANCE show!!!! Live and IN person!

Hiya party peeps...

So, back from my venture in HOllyweird...the taping, the clapping, the waving, the soaking it all in...

So incredible.

I know all the pro-spoilers have brought you all the goodie goods, so I will just tell you what I think, not so much detail,you already have those, but my gut impressions...because that's what's ALL important, right?!?!!? hee, j/k;)

Ok, see here's the thing. All my 'faves' have since departed...one just last week. I was sad for a bit, but the excitement of knowing I was going to see things first hand for the first time, soon overwhelmed! I had been planning this all summer. And I am so glad I did.

Given the status of my departed faves, I really did come into this show a clean slate. I was excited to see these guys, they are ALL good after all, and really was ready to be wowed by any or all of them. Especially after the commercial event from yesterday; where I got to see how truly nice,cool, and hardworking these folks are.

Anyway...to the taping(maybe;) My opinon (how much I liked them, not the rightness for SN) of the final 5 going in (pre show) was:
1 - Toby
2 - Magni
3 - Dilana
4 - Lukas
5 - Storm

Now this is relevant, because this order CHANGED COMPLETELY by end of show. COMPLETELY.

Here's how it went down...

After a LONG bit preshow stuff, we finally get down to business. Dilana is carried onto stage. Sits down and does her cover. She is quite a trooper! Love her spunk. She sings the heck out of this song(personally I'm not familiar w/the original either). However, crowd I thought from my vantage point(back corner by Dave-where you CAN REALLY gauge the entire house)in the studio was not completely bouncing. But it was fairly well received. Then as spoilers have mentioned...there were lighting difficulties...and IMO, it got AWKWARD! eeks! Anyway, after some AWKWARD cajoling on TLee's part w/Dilana, she finally rips into a Joplin tune which OB:House quickly picks up. They rip it up for about a minute. Unfortunately THIS was the BEST part of her performance, IMO, and it WILL NOT make air, because it was just filler to entertain us, not really part of her set. Anyway, on w/the show, she rips into her Original, and it is fairly rocking. She pogo's all around on her good leg...yadayada. Yay, cheer. I am thinking this LIVE taping thing is pretty cool so far. Comments from Dave/SN seemed medium well. Some critique, some props for being a trooper. Not a tongue bath by any means.

On we go to the Iceman, Mags. I have definitely enjoyed my some Magni this season, so I was fairly excited to see him. Vocally he was REALLY on. This guy just has a great voice. His cover was outstanding, fairly straight up as usual, but totally energetic, and dead on. He then turns in his original, and I am STUNNED at how HARD ROCK it is. Wow, the BASS LINE on this song was PHENOMENAL! Sasha was ON FIRE!!!! Loved the beat, the music. Mags was intense and bringing it. Good job Iceman. I was not disappointed, thus far. I thought, Dilana was good, I liked Magni better by the end of his set. SN had some issues w/the sameness of the set but loved his voice; so it was a mixed critique.

Then… things got KICKED UP… LIKE, 10 BAZILLIOIN notches. Wow, fucking WOW. I REALLY hope the 2nd half of the show translates on TV. I am still in shock.

Because...

The STORM...

...has ARRIVED! OMG Storm Fans, Storm Troopers, et al...You are going to be in Storm HEAVEN this week. Your girl FINALLY brought IT. I mean SHE FUCKING BROUGHT IT! Now, remember, I AM NOT A STORM FAN. I have been fairly meh on her in the past. This week, this changes. First she goes up, and after some surprises (ie: Navarro joining on stage), Storm RIPS through Sufregette City. I normally do not care for covers of this song, but holy heck, I thought this was phenomenal. And Storm was totally able to WORK it w/Dave up there. It was glorious to see.

That said, it had not kicked up to full speed yet. That wasn't until she broke out of her jacket, and started ripping into Ladylike. Now, some of you may have heard her versions on Youtube, Myspace, etc. Well, if you were only MEH on this song before, and don't ‘get’ the spoilers...let me just tell you, what I HEARD and SAW today, WAS NOT what I thought I was going to hear. It fucking blew the roof off! And not to go all cliche on you(but I will!!!!!), it fucking gave me FULL BODY CHILLS. FULL BODY. In waves. I was STUNNED. STUNNED. Storm brought the whole fucking enchilada tonight. So happy for her, and especially all of her fans that have been waiting for this. I think a lot of the rest were calling 'cry wolf' on y'alls… well...the wolf has arrived! And we call her STORM LARGE!!! God that was good. SN loved it. LOVED it. Tommy couldn't even do better than grunt his approval, he was beside himself! I am crossing my fingers this comes across as fabulous on TV, because assuming it does, everyone will FINALLY get it! Stormy is not only gorgeous, she fucking rocks!

So, now that the show is at FULL ALTITUDE, we are cruising, and there will be NO descent! Lukas is up, and, I FINALLY (phew!) get him! Yay! Now, SN and Lukas may not like Bon Jovi fans(personally, they are one of my faves, but oh well!), but Lukas certainly sang the SHIT out of Livin' on a Prayer...his voice was GORGEOUS. He really has a beautiful and glorious voice on this. I turned to my cohorts in spoiler crime after and asked if he always sounds this good in studio. They claimed he does. If this is true, then the TV mix is killing him for the masses IMO. I have no critique of his Bon Jovi tune. I like how he took it stripped down (just electric guitar-he played, and Paul on keyboards, I think), and just sang it. Sang is with just a lovely melodious, strong and powerful voice. So happy I got to hear this. His original, Headspin, I have heard before. I enjoyed this as well. Lukas is quite a showman, I give him his props. He knows how to work the crowd. I will say, I was still riding the Storm high, and I was not quite as awed by his set. And I don't think the audience immediately was as rapt either, but he certainly kept the studio on cruise control at full speed, so the level of the show was maintained, IMO. And holy hell, SN *LOVES* him. I have little doubt, based on their comments, that TLee wants Lukas, straight up, in their band. I think the window for someone else to take this is open only by the slimmest of margins. I really think Lukas really has this all but sewn up based on his feedback from the couch.

Ok, then...

The closer, the Tobster...Fuck, is there ANY Killers song Toby cannot rip the roof off with!?!?!? His Mr Brightside, was fantastic IMO. I love this song, but I also love how perfect Toby makes it. He just is so having fun up there. He does, as SN will later say, bring the FUN back to rock and roll. He proceeds to bring the FUN in his rollicking good time of an Original. I don't know the name of it, but we were ALL singing along by the end. Toby at one point even does a bit of a Tour of the studio, through the crowd and back to the SN riser. He really has the crowd in the PALM of his hand. This set, along w/the preceding 2, were just, they were just SOOOOOOOO good. The energy, wow! Toby closed the show, like the show was meant to be closed. The crowd was BOUNCING full stop. There was no faking it the last 3 sets, and absolutely NO faking it as the studio was simply throbbing w/the energy of it all. Toby brought it home. At the end, I am thinking, ok, I think I like this a little more than Lukas. Maybe, it was that it was the 'closer' I don't know. But the energy was just too good. I also think, while not my fave, Toby is the most natural fit, because of the *FUN* vibe he brings, w/the SN trax, but as I said before, it seems they are set on Lukas. I would say that thin window of opportunity, is only open to the Tobster; it will be up to SN whether they want to open it any further I guess.

Ok the show is over and I have been completely taken off guard by everyone. Really they were all really good, but I think, there were 3 tongue baths that were well deserved as they were at a different level, performance wise. Not taking away from Mags and Dilana, but Lukas, Toby, and especially Storm just took this baby to a higher level. Awesome. So happy I got to see a live show. Greatly recommend!


In the end, this was my opinion of the remaining rockers as I left the show...
1 - Storm
[i]followed by just a fraction of a degree...[/i]
2 - Toby
[i]followed by another fraction of a degree...[/i]
3 - Lukas
[b]BIG GAP[/b]
4 - Magni
5 - Dilana

...looks a bit different, eh?!?!? lol.

On a fun, semi-unrelated note, I did stop by the table outside w/the 3members of OB:house hawking their wares (ie:their individual cd's), Nate, Rafael, and Jim...I bought one of each for myself, and an extra one of Rafael's for my aunt...she *lurves* her some Rafa!!!! They are soooooo sweet! I may just decide to go to a SN show, simply b/c they are opening! I lurve me some OB:House. I made sure and told each of them how awesome they were today, and they were SOOOOOO gracious! Love them. Rafael, especially! Total sweetheart! sooooo cute! lol...And as we were walking out...I passed by Sasha(soooooo HOT!) and told him too, how great they were today!...and he's another sweetheart! sigh...and he smiled at me...*melt*...sigh;)

Ok, thus ends my wee little foray into spoilerhood. Hope you all LOVE the show on Tuesday. I really hope the great stuff comes through on TV. I will definitely comment on any variances. I am truly interested to see what changes and stays the same for me!

Good night/morning to y'alls, wherever you are, whenever you read. Laters gators! *smooch*