Adam Lambert Review (OC Concert 7/27)

Pop’s Gay Messiah Plays Orange County by Lyn Jensen If some Orange County members of the GLBT community were concerned about how eighties-nostalgia act Joan Jett would be accepted when she played the Pacific Amphitheater on August 11, what about Adam Lambert, who played the same Costa Mesa venue on July 27-28, two weeks earlier? After all, he’s been hailed as pop music's gay messiah. Wikipedia calls Lambert "the first openly gay mainstream pop artist to launch a career with a major label in America." Most of his fans, of course, know him from his rise to stardom via the TV show “American Idol” and his debut album For Your Entertainment on RCA. Recently Lambert told Frontiers he wanted to make his tour exist in the world of his song, "Voodoo," like putting a spell on someone--witchy, mystical. He explained, "I went to New Orleans for the first time last year and I was really inspired by just the culture there and the history. There's something about the city that was really sexy to me. The tour goes from a dark period--almost like a tongue-in-check Goth kind of energy--to very celebratory, light and campy.' In the same interview Lambert said, "I met a lot of gay men and women who were really excited about what's going on with my record and what I'm doing, and it feels really, really nice for my community to acknowledge it,” but added, "I'm not here to represent a group, I'm here to be an artist." Lambert also said he wanted to create stage imagery around each song, and that he did at the Pacific Amphitheater on July 27. He lists his influences as classic rock, pop-electro, and pop divas Lady Gaga, Madonna, Christina Aguilera, and Rhianna. He’s more than a singer, he’s an entertainer, and this evening’s concert was a total theatrical performance, with steamy dance routines and glittery wardrobe changes for each song. He belongs to the same rock traditions as David Bowie, Elton John, George Michael, and Adam Ant. This reviewer's conservative companion called it a drag show. It wasn't, but she demonstrated Orange County attitudes. Opening acts included two rising pop divas: Orianthi and Allison Iraheta. Both evenings drew well, and the crowds looked to represent a widely diverse mainstream demographic, not simply a narrow GLBT audience. Apparently many fans are glad Lambert’s here to be an artist.

NOTE: Sadly BLADE magazine didn't run this music review, so I'm posting it here.