This will be a loooooooong night. I hope HG will have the strength to go online asap.

Well, since you asked:

My concert buddy was an 11 year old who bugged her stepmom to go with me to see David Archuleta once my friend could no longer accompany me. Needless to say, my tween companion and I had a blast!

It’s great to play the “cool adult” once in a while and I in turn automatically got swept up in the teeny/tweeny crowd. Since I was responsible for someone else’s child, I was doing my best to keep up with her, so she negotiated a closer spot to the stage, and I -- sensing the jam-packed crowd -- immediately looked out for an EXIT sign. I spotted one not far from the stage, so we compromised and ended up only a few feet away, but to the side (stage right).

And we parked ourselves, edging our way as close as we could, everytime someone got out of our way. The first act, however, was just too loud and too generic a rock band, and immediately I knew the sound system was going to mess with David’s vocals. Not optimum, but my tween companion and I could care less. All we could think of was, “David Archuleta!” (And that was what everyone was thinking too!).

Second act -- Gavin McGraw, and SF, you’re right. He’s awesome! He did a really nice acoustic performance on both piano and guitar (how cool would it have been if David did something similar). Gavin was also very generous, for he kept giving shout outs to David, helping to get the crowd in a tizzy.

Finally, my tween buddy and I started jumping up and down, “Is he here yet? Is he here yet?” The audience started chanting “David! David!” Waiting in the wings, I saw Jeff and his infamous hat. I get really excited, and next thing you know… David is up on the stage.

Squeeeee!!! (Cause you know I was screaming with the best of the youngins).

And David was really dressed down tonight (which pretty much went with the flow of the atmosphere and venue -- very blue collar, bar-grungy type setting, if you can picture it). He’s wearing two t-shirts and jeans. And his eyes sparkled whenever they caught the stage lights. GAH!

He opened with TMH, and I was having a hard time balancing the video recording with my having to watch him, you know, LIVE, since I had to take advantage of the You Tube 3D version that was standing in front of me only a few feet away. When he came over on our side of the audience, there was a brief moment he made eye contact. Spontaneously, without even thinking about it, I blew him a kiss at that moment. He could so feel the collective love in the house.

My tween companion blurts out, “OMG! He’s soooo gorgeous!” (Hello Gorgeous indeed!)

I retort, “He is, isn’t he?”

He immediately launches into Works for Me! He also sang You Can, A Thousand Miles (which was beautiful, and the whole crowd sang along, but since the only accompaniment was a keyboard, the sound was much better), Crush (which everyone again sang along too), and ALTNOY.

He went by much too quickly (which is what everyone keeps saying), so if there is anything David needs to work on, it’s his timing and pacing. For instance, Gavin probably sang the same number of songs (unless he had extras, I’m not remembering), but his set felt longer (I know the first act dragged on -- with probably the same number of songs). Why theirs lasted longer is probably the banter (Gavin told stories, and his storytelling was tied to his music, so his banter was much more tolerable).

All this is to say: I wanted more David, and so did everyone else. As soon as David said g’nite all, we were like, “That’s it?!” Needless to say, the crowd started chanting, “David! David! David!” and “We want more! We want more!”

So, he came back with his bashful self and his 1000-watt smile, and graced us with an a capella version of The Christmas Song. Soooo jazzy and smooth and sultry. Gosh! This kid! Vocal wisdom, I’m telling you!

I think it’s also a wonderful thing to keep your audience wanting more.

So, believe it or not, this is my first David Archuleta concert, and I’m definitely planning for concert#2. Preferably with better sound, because I want that David-seeping-into-your-body-and-soul sound that only a high quality surround sound system can deliver.

Not that I’m complaining. I mean, I saw him LIVE! And only a few feet away!

Oh! There was a point during the concert where David humbly asked the crowd to be careful to not crush some young children who were up front, and the crowd backed off. I mean, David can command an audience without screaming, raising his voice, using pyrotechnics, and all that stuff. He just is, and we listen, and we obey. Awww!

When I dropped off my tween companion home, her mom asked, “How was the concert?”

She immediately responded with: “OMG! David Archuleta was amazing!”

When she asked me, I said something to the effect of “OMG! David Archuleta was amazing!”

One tween and one thirtysomething in one night at one event. Not bad.

Go David!

Before I went home, I got to hang out with Kizzi, Ninaf, Happy, Refnaf, TOfan, Dja and a bunch of other fangirls. That was so much fun, and I’m glad to finally put some faces to the screen names. Kizzi, thank you sooo much for organizing this get together. It was a fantastic end to an amazing night!

i don’t want to be negative, because I am thrilled that I made the trip. It was great and awesome, but at the same time sort of frenzied in an unnecessary way.