Cook Concert in More Detail

Last night, we saw David Cook with the Crash Kings doing an opening set at the Oregon State Fair. We had terrific seats, only three rows back to the right side or stage left side. I actually ended up in the second row, because the people who had tickets in front of us never showed.

I was pretty surprised that anyone was opening, though I knew the Crash Kings had opened Cook's last few shows. The Crash Kings definitely earned themselves some new fans. I'd heard a couple songs, but was really impressed with them live. Tony, the lead singer, has an amazing range and strong vocal ability. Their lyrics are interesting and quirky and they can ROCK! They put out a powerful sound for being a three man band, for sure. I couldn't get great pictures, but there was a fourth guy sitting at the second drum kit doing nothing but rocking to the music the whole time Crash Kings were on stage. You'll see someone with dark hair in a grey hooded sweatshirt and white heart-shaped sunglasses in the stream. That's Tony of the Crash Kings making it clear to everyone that the dude who sat at the drum kit during his set was David Cook in the same outfit and a blondish wig. Figures!

David Cook finally came on at 8:05 and only played until about 9:20 or so. My only complaint is that I'd have loved for him to play longer! He mentioned he's been on tour since February 13th and I'm pretty sure he has at least another couple months' worth scheduled. Can't imagine being on the road that long and working hard to make every night memorable, but he really did. He puts on an entertaining show, his personality really sucks you in, and his music is really good. You get the sense that he's remained pretty humble and he's got quite a sense of humor. The set included many songs from his latest album, an unreleased song called "We're Only Honest When We're Sleeping," a cover of "Hot for Teacher," and a bit of "Hotel California" slipped into "Kiss on the Neck."

So a great time was had by all! I've posted all the pics on my Flickr stream. This was the first time I'd used my camera in low light, so lots of experimenting. Worked best to go auto with no flash, I think, but wiggling at a concert and my low photographic ability are pretty evident. Here are a couple more just for fun, though!