David Archuleta: Rickey Concert Report (Indianapolis, July 22)
Report written by Freo (Teresa)

Thank you for reading my report of the Indianapolis concert on Tuesday, July 22! I know there are some people reading this who will not have an opportunity to see David in concert during this tour, so I especially thought of you while writing this. As you read below, you will find out why my username is “Freo.” Also, before you begin reading, this is a friendly warning that my report is quite long. I’m a features reporter by training and there were loads of details I had been wondering about before the day’s events.

Before I get started, I’d like to note that fans have already captured excellent concert videos with cameras far more sophisticated than mine. I am sharing the links to my concert clips, though, so you can see some more Indy clips. I mostly focused on set introductions and David’s comments talking between songs. In addition, I am sharing some excellent (and unexpected) videos made during the pre-concert bus meet and greet. You can find URL’s to my videos on YouTube in this report.

I snapped some very nice pictures of David, Jason, Michael, and Carly, especially. You can check out all my pre-concert and concert photos at:
http://s299.photobucket.com/albums/mm309/Freo_ph oto/

I have the photos organized by album. All of the David-related pre- and post-concert photos are in his album, “David in Indianapolis.” I've also posted a couple photos in this blog.

Initially, I was reluctant to attend the concert at all because I imagined that I would be surrounded by screaming 15-year-olds. However, I was so moved by David’s culminating performances on Tuesday night before the finale that I immediately purchased a ticket for Indianapolis.

I was dying to hear him sing live. For months I’ve read reports about how the television performances and studio recordings do not fully capture the richness of his live sound. Attending the Indy concert required me to make a nearly five-hour drive in a non-air-conditioned car, but I just couldn’t wait until September when the concert would be playing in my home market in another state.

I attended the concert with a fellow fan I met online through Archey’s Angels. It was wonderful to share the day’s experiences with her because she is equally excited to see where young David’s career will take him. Also, we were each a bit nervous to hang out at the buses on our own, so going together really gave us the extra push we needed to just go for it.

On the concert day, our first task was to meet David at the buses. When I arrived at the downtown venue around 12:30 p.m., there were already television cameras and about 75-100 fans with cameras, signs, and gifts waiting near the underground parking entrance. The crowd for the most part was a mixture of Archie, Cook, Jason, and Carly fans. More fans joined us by 1:30 p.m. By the time the first Idols came out a few hours later, probably around 300 people had gathered.

Shortly before 2 p.m., more activity began to occur around the area. Security people began milling around, cars with darkened windows entered the underground parking area, and then, the buses appeared! I recognized the color codes on the front windows. The buses went right past us and perhaps took the performers out for dinner. Shortly thereafter, an equipment bus pulled up and the crew began unloading Guitar Hero and stage items.

When the security people took out the barricades shortly thereafter, we knew that we were in for a treat! They eventually told us that the Idols would be arriving in small groups around 2-ish p.m.

Before I describe the Idols’ appearances, let me briefly set the scene for you: The Idols’ appearances were surprising partially due to the venue’s lay-out itself. The equipment bus disguised part of the ramp going down to the underground parking area. As a result, we could not see who the emerging Idols were until their heads poked up at the top of the ramp. It was quite exciting and a little unnerving to hear cheers from people on the far end of the line (who had visibility into the ramp) and know that someone would be emerging. My friend and I had an excellent spot in the middle of the line, so we could watch the Idols go up and down the entire greeting line once they emerged from the ramp.

All of the Idols came out to greet fans except for Cook and Chikezie. I honestly attended primarily to see Archie, but it was fun to greet the other Idols. Ramiele, Kristy, Jason, and Michael seemed the most friendly, sincere, and gracious. I found the others to be rather rushing past and more business-like. I got all their signatures in my little book and wished them all the best as they walked past.

Here is a special video of Carly interacting with fans who made her a beautiful scrapbook: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Gfce11q-Dp4.

At one point, I heard massive screams and couldn’t believe my eyes when David Archuleta appeared! I can only describe the experience as surreal. After months of watching him during the last month of Idol, and then following his whereabouts through fan sites, it was quite surreal to actually see the real living person. As my friend remarked to me, “This isn’t a YouTube video! This is the real thing!” (to which I laughed hysterically).

We had an excellent viewing position for watching Archie come down the entire line as he made his way toward us. I snapped photos and took videos the entire time: http://youtube.com/watch?v=5uxKFhHlbCM
When he was about fifteen feet away from us, we heard his laugh and voice for the first time in person. My friend and I gave each other a look of disbelief! As my friend insightfully noted, at that moment “meeting Archie” suddenly became real.

I wish that I could have had a proper sit-down interview with David. I had loads of good questions that I wanted to ask him, but the situation was rather rushed, security and his handler were milling about, and he was clearly anxious to get to everyone. He was clearly trying hard to be friendly, but yet streamlined with what little time he had. My friend and I had planned on having our photos taken with him, but when he appeared in front of us, it was just so hectic that we found it difficult to even think straight!

In person, David looked just like what I imagined. He was quite tanned from doing so many outside bus autograph signings during the past month. Some people have remarked about his shortness, but he seemed fine to me. My husband is a couple inches taller than him so I knew what to expect. I was surprised how dark-featured he was in person.

The vibe that I received from him was friendly, gentle, somewhat quiet, and unassuming. I consider myself to be a fairly perceptive person. Again, I was not surprised, as many fans had already noted this. He seemed genuinely happy about meeting his fans and was making an effort to greet everyone. We noticed that night that his voice was a little strained between songs, so he may have been saving his voice because he did not talk much during the bus meet and greet.

When he appeared right in front of me, I took a couple photos as he signed my book and wished him well. There were many things I wanted to say, and questions I wanted to ask, but I was also trying to savor the short moment. When he was slightly past me to the next person, I got my bearings together, put my calm journalism face on, and said, “David, I forgot to tell you. I am from Rickey’s as a reporter.” He looked up and gave me a confused look about what Rickey’s was, but I think it came to him when my friend said, “You know? Rickey.org.” You can actually observe this moment on a video clip taken by another person: http://youtube.com/watch?v=bGSpTG6g_IQ. At 6:32-6:33, you will see him look up in response to my question. Also, you will see the venue set-up that I described early on in the video when he emerges from the underground area.

There were about a million things going on, so maybe someday I’ll have a chance to have a proper interview with him. Also, looking back on the moment when I told him about my reporting assignment, he might have quickly wondered if I was from a gossip site.

After that, David made his way down the rest of the line. We kept him in our sight as we greeted Jason. I snapped some excellent photos of Jason that I am sharing with you all on my Photobucket account. He also was very friendly and laid-back, just as I expected.

After David finished going down the line, he suddenly came walking up the entire line giving everyone high-fives. I captured this excellent moment on video: http://youtube.com/watch?v=fhMWkzeI1zQ. I love the effect in my video of him approaching us from the perspective of our hands. The end of the video is priceless: after he gives me a high-five, you will see that I hold my hand up to inspect it! You can also hear me exclaim to my friend, “I got that all on video,” and her surprised reaction.

David eventually walked back over to the front of the bus to pick up gifts that his handler had placed for him there. We heard security telling him that he had to go inside and do local media interviews. Mind you, meanwhile I was capturing what I thought was his goodbye all on video: http://youtube.com/watch?v=CwUWzWkzq6s.

Suddenly, he ignored security and came walking quickly directly toward me and my friend! You will see him coming closer and closer on my video clip; it’s great! You will also see that when he arrives right in front of me, I dropped the camera with excitement. It turned out that he was coming to see an elaborate scrapbook made for Carly by a fan beside me. The fans said goodbye to David as he slowly made his way back to the underground entrance.

Other than David, I was eager to see Michael Johns. I lived in his Australian hometown for a few years in the 1990s. You don’t meet many Americans who had been to Perth, Australia! When Michael got to me, I immediately told him that I used to live in “East Freo,” which is a slang term for one of Perth’s suburbs. I knew that by me saying that, Michael would know that I had spent some good time in Perth. I captured the exact moment of me telling him and his response on video: http://youtube.com/watch?v=PcDLtEsJpZE.

Because I almost emigrated there in the late 1990s, I wish that we would have had time to chat more about his experiences in Perth and America. Maybe someday I will freelance an article to The West Australian about his experiences in America.

I gave a Rickey's shout-out to Michael and got him to say "puppy johns," but unfortunately did not have the video running at that moment.

The bus meet and greet gradually died down after it was apparent that David Cook and Chikezie weren’t coming out. There were quite a few Cook fans there from Indiana who were disappointed, so I felt badly for them. After that, it was time to wait for the concert!

I know that many others have shared concert reports so I won’t go into huge details about all the sets. But I was genuinely surprised by the strength of Carly’s voice live. She has an excellent stage presence. Sayesha also gave a lovely performance and she is a natural performer. I thought that the others were just okay. Certainly not bad, but average. David Cook had a lot of family and friends in the audience, given that his father lives in Indianapolis and he has family in Terra Haute.

Of course, I was dying to hear David sing live. The crowd went crazy when Syesha introduced him: http://youtube.com/watch?v=UcuqSbtup7w.

Quite honestly, I was pleasantly surprised by his strong stage presence. As we all know, the tour managers had given him that awful suit because they were afraid, so they said, that the “little guy” wouldn’t show up on stage with typical clothing. Such nonsense! He has quite a strong presence on stage, moves and dances often around the stage, and comes out toward the audience from all sides. His voice is just so strong and rich live.

He received uproarious applause to “Stand By Me” as usual: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Ly-_WXFdInk.

His final song (WYSYLM) was phenomenal. I was especially fascinated by how his body also moved with the song, so it was a holistic performance. The last few measures of the song were just incredible. His voice filled the arena. His technical voice training and energy-feed-off from the audience was apparent in his live performance.

I toyed with the idea of seeing the Idol concert again this summer, but I have decided to wait until I can enjoy a solo David concert. His set just goes so quickly, so try and savor the moment when you attend the concert. I know some fans who are going to a second concert just to absorb David’s set after getting their videos and pictures at the first concert. In fact, during the last song, I just put the camera down and tried to drink in the sound as much as possible.

It was a pleasure sharing my experiences with you. Thanks, Rickey, for this opportunity! I extend a special thanks to my Archey Angel friend, who shared general fan giddiness, hilarious and unexpected moments, plenty of concert screaming, and David sightings that day. Sharing the events with a fellow fan made them even more memorable and fun. I invite you to check out my videos and photos!