Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Kris Allen: Out Alive Tour

Last Friday I had the pleasure of seeing Kris Allen live at a tiny venue called The Constellation room in Santa Ana, California (Orange County). Named the Out Alive Tour, after a track on his newest album Thank You Camellia, it eerily also stands for Kris surviving a bad car accident on New Year's Day. While driving with his wife (who is pregnant) they got into a head on collision and Kris broke his arm and required surgery. As a result he's currently unable to use his right hand and thus performing all of his shows acoustically, with his band mate playing the guitar and Kris only playing a tambourine at times - which I really enjoyed.


Before I really get into my review I just want to try to explain what an amazing voice Kris has. Yes, he won American Idol so he has talent. And I certainly love his albums. But seeing him live is really special. He has so much passion and you can tell he feels his lyrics and is genuinely happy performing. I've been to a lot of concerts. Literally somewhere between 75 and 100. I dare to say that Kris has one of the best, if not the best, live voices I've ever heard. Super impressive.

The small club was super intimate. It was really cool to be packed into a tiny venue with maybe 100 fans - tops - in attendance. Luckily we were pretty close, which is always fun. What wasn't fun was the crowd. It was such s strange experience because there were a lot of middle aged women gushing over Kris. Last week I joked that I am a puma because I have a crush on him and he's two years younger than me. But these were real life cougars, no joke.


Two of the said cougars were COMPLETELY wasted. These ladies bitches were practically knocking me and over because they were so belligerent. I even got my hair pulled twice! Had I not got kicked out I literally would have punched them both. What's worse is they were so obnoxious, loudly talking during the whole show. It was so hard to concentrate with their yelling. Kris was having a hard time too because they were so distracting. At one point one screamed it was her 47th birthday and wanted him to sing to her. When he told her to "sush" they cussed him out. On top of that they thought it was funny to throw stuff at him and even hit him once. What's the point of going to a show and acting like that? Thanks for nearly ruining it for me and everyone else.

If you are able to get to one of the remaining shows of the Out Alive Tour, do it! He plays through May and I promise you'll enjoy yourself. Plus, since he's playing small venues tickets are about $20 after all of the taxes and fees. Check out Kris Allen's site for dates (it's been down for maintenance so you can also see the tour on  his Facebook page).

And buy his album, Thank You Camellia! This time around he didn't have to make the album as an American Idol winner, but got to do his own thing and write his own songs. If you want to just try a few songs, my favorites from his newest album are "My Weakness", "Better With You", and "The Vision of Love", and "Alright With Me" and "Live Like We're Dying" from his first, self-titled album.

I'll leave you with a clip of a performance of "Better With You" from Friday night. Enjoy!

 

14 comments:

Jodi said...

Love him! So glad he wasn't hurt worse in that accident. No cast on his arm? I love seeing people in small venues. It is so nice! I wish I had seen him in Boston but I missed him.

Courtney said...

You know, I've never really listened to him. But a car accident? Surviving with wife and baby too? That's crazy and so so so lucky. And now that I've listened a little. I like what I'm hearing! Thanks!

Dara @ Not In Jersey said...

I hadn't heard about his accident, glad he's ok! I love small intimate concerts like that. :)

Miss Angie said...

Yuck. I hate when cougar bitches get belligerent. We went to Johnny Lang in Wendover (though it should be expected in Wendover) and there were so many of them yelling about how hot he was and blah blah blah young enough to be your son! haha

Marie said...

He does have a great voice!! I love going to small intimate shows. Thanks for the review, will have to see if he is in my area. He is also super adorable!!

Kathrin@shopschoolsleep said...

dude it was so awkward with those loud 50 yr olds!! You totally could have taken them down!!

Josie said...

You lucky girl -- this sounds like so much fun!
xo Josie
www.winksmilestyle.com

Selma @ Crazy Little World Of Mine said...

Uber jealous you went. :) And I can't stand drunk cougars. Well, I can't stand drunk people in general. Not that I don't like drinking but you gotta keep it to a certain level. I think. Either way, you got to see and hear him. I'm just melting thinking about it. :)

xoxo

Bonheur said...

Love Kris. His voice is like hot chocolate with just a hint of Irish Cream - or something smooth and comfy that makes you feel warm and fuzzy. Loved your review. Too bad about the drunks in the crowd :(

Unknown said...

Thank you for all the kind words and the nice review regarding the Out Alive concert. This is the 4th concert of Kris' that I have been to. Every time I see him sing live, he puts in a LOT of surprises that returning fans are NEVER disappointed. He seems to be getting better and better.
I am so glad you had the opportunity to see Kris perform LIVE. That is Kris at his best form!
I do apologize for the drunk fans. I hate the same thing...

Tiffany said...

I hope you took note of FUTURE LEEANN and that we will now only love grown up mens. I HOPE.

Virginia Brandon said...

Those cougars were not Kris fans, Leeann. For the record, Kris' fans are very diverse and some are mature fans. But Kris fans carry themselves with class. Those cretins who were disrupting the show are not Kris fans. They are mean bitter bodies of another Idol contestant and went to the show just to crap on it. Would you believe they actually tweeted about it. How sick is that??? As a mature Kris fan, I would never waste my hard earned money seeing another Idol singer in concert just to ruin it. It's unfortunate they did not get thrown out. In the future if anyone sees this, look for Big Daddy and tell him.

I am however, glad you enjoyed the show anyway. I saw Kris a few times in the L.A. area. It was absolutely fabulous and I recommend seeing him to anyone not familiar with Kris and his music.

Thanks for the blog and the alert.

C said...

I've never heard anything from him before. I liked your clip though, he really does have a good voice. I love small concerts too! But those fans sound awful! Stupid cougars! He played here last night. I was at a musical though.

Anonymous said...

Sorry about the cougars. Kris has fans of all ages, and he also has lots of male fans. Sad that some people don't know when they've had enough to drink. =( I saw Kris a few weeks back, and he just keeps getting better. The sad part? His show seemed to last 5 minutes when it was actually about an hour and a half. Awesome live performer, and you were spot on about his voice. He has such a beautiful tone, especially on the lower notes. Thanks for the fun recap.