In case you don't make it all the way to the end of this epically long narrative, my youtube channel is kccatdr (I think most of my videos have been listed) and here are my pictures.

Lewisberg, West Virginia is between 5 and 6 hours from Knoxville, all interstate, a pretty drive through the mountains. I'd never been to WV before and I got a small bonus slice of Virginia as well.

We got to the Fair early enough to hear David sound check Souvenir and Mr Sensitive. In all the concerts I’ve been to, this was the first one I’ve actually heard a sound check at. Apparently we missed GRO’s sound check because they sang TOML. I’d have liked to have heard that.

We weren’t even sure GRO had even made it to the venue because they’d tweeted about having a tire problem on the trailer. We checked to make sure we saw their vehicle (and saw the buses in the process) and we did see them on the stage.

We had fair food for dinner – yum. I looked and looked for some chocolate covered bacon but never found any. We did scope out the elephant ears stand, expecting to see it ringed by expectant women hoping for a Dave sighting. I tried a bite but decided that I’d rather have funnel cake. I really wanted a deep fried Snickers bar but missed my chance - too full at the time and when we were leaving the fair they’d already turned off the deep fryer. Probably for the best....

Our group split up to pursue different interests. Crowgirls and I wandered over to the livestock section where we saw a llama, watched some sheep shearing, saw goats and ponies pulling harness rigs. We walked into the draft horse barn and admired all the big horses. From the livestock area we had a good view of the back of the stage and the grandstands.

As we walked back around the track to get into the grandstands we could hear CBTM playing over the loudspeakers. Hearing any DC song in a public area still makes me stop and take it in.

Our seats were on the track in folding chairs set up in front of the stage. We were on Neal’s side and 5 rows back. Great seats.

I’ve discovered that the best vantage point for filming or taking pictures of Andy is not in front of Andy, but near the center or in front of Neal. Sitting in front of Andy is good for looking at Andy but pictures just show a mic in the middle of his lovely face. By the same token, sitting right in front of Dave isn’t the best view for good pictures of him.

While we were waiting the people on my right got up and left and were replaced by two completely stoked teen girls who had upgraded their 7th row seats when the people next to us opted to sit with their friends. They were practically vibrating with happiness. It was their first concert (they hadn’t even been to the AI tour) and they proclaimed themselves to be David’s biggest fans.

They’d heard that David would be coming out after the concert. We told them about our various concert experiences and meeting David then some drunk woman sat down two rows ahead of us and proceeded to intermittently and randomly scream her head off. The girls thought she was cool and tended to answer her screams with screams of their own until I reminded them that if they were going to see David they'd want some voice left by the end of the evening.

GRO had tweeted that they had something big planned for their last night on the tour so we were prepared for hijinks but we had no idea how crazy the night was going to get.

The first GRO song went off without a hitch. We could see Dave and the band at the back of the stage watching. Then they were suddenly carrying a table out to stage right and sitting down to play poker. The whole band was there except for Neal, who watched from the other side of the stage, as well as some of the crew. They were flicking picks at Josh and Geoff fast and furiously. It looked like a meteor shower at times when the light would catch the flying picks. Once David got up to drop a pick in the drink cup on Josh’s mic stand.

Before starting the third song Josh, the lead singer, said they weren’t comfortable and they needed to get comfortable so they all started taking their shirts off to reveal homemade fan shirts. Each band member wore a shirt corresponding to Dave’s band. They told the crowd, “since you do this we thought we should too”. God, I hate to imagine what kind of shirts they’ve seen.

Josh had a shirt that said I heart David Cook and a picture of David pinned to the front. There was glitter and puffy paint. The other Josh had a shirt that said I heart Andy with a picture of Andy pinned on it. Geoff’s shirt said “Monty Is My Idol” but didn’t have a picture. It was actually the most creative of all of them, and Geoff told us after the show that while the others had worked on theirs for hours he made his backstage right before the show. They'd stopped at Hobby Lobby to stock up on supplies, a visual that just makes me giggle.

Denton’s shirt paid homage to Kyle but I never got a good look at it. After the show he was still wearing the monkey suit (more about monkey boy later). Jamey’s said “I heart Neal” and “Neal is dreamy”. On the bottom it said “I Had the TOML” which totally cracked us up. On the back was a shout out to Fire Tornado. Were we getting a clue of some kind?

Dave and the guys really seemed to appreciate the effort. Sometime during Out of My Hands Dave stood up and slammed his cards to the table, threw a cupful of picks at GRO and left. Shortly after, the poker game broke up and they carried the table to the back.

Kyle came out with this block and a drumstick during the fourth song and proceeded to dance around every member of the band beating his block. He stood behind Jamey and encircled him with his arms, all the while banging away. At one point Andy was in the back filming him from about 3” away. He’d flick the camera back and forth between the guys on stage and Kyle. It was awesome.

While singing the song from SYTYCD (On Your Own) we suddenly noticed Andy singing at Josh’s mic. He looked mellow and happy holding a red cup. He was really getting into it. I don’t remember what time I saw it but at one point I could see Monty taking pictures of the shenanigans. This must be surreal for him.

Monty has really loosened up but I don’t expect him to be jumping around the stage any time soon. He does these little twirls now and at one point during the night leaned back to lay his head on Andy’s shoulder while Andy hung his head over Monty’s shoulder and Neal played in front of both of them. It was sweet to see.

During GRO’s love song the random screamer started up with the random screaming again. We told the teens next to us that it was inappropriate to scream during a slow song and they were quick learners. During the next uptempo song they asked if it was OK to scream and went for it. I’m surprised they had voices at the end of the evening.

During Goodbye LA, Josh said he was dedicating it to David’s dog because he held a special place in their hearts. Usually they tell about mishaps they’ve had on the road, and they’ve had plenty.

I’d been trying to take pictures when suddenly someone in a green spandex suit with purple briefs came into view. Not for the first or last time during the night did I scramble from photo mode to video mode. OMG! OMG! That was all I could think of in watching David prance around the stage. I’m not sure the youtube videos do it justice. Dave’s sound guy was screwing with Josh, making him sound like a chipmunk. We were laughing our asses off and as soon as it was finished we were replaying the videos trying to decide if that was, in fact, Dave. We came to the conclusion that it was.

We didn’t realize until later that it was a shout out to Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Of course it was. David isn’t going to be happy until he has a guest appearance on that show. Someone needs to make that happen.

Dave rocked the green suit. He looked awesome. And he’ll never be able to say he can’t dance with a straight face again.

David started with Heroes, which is always fun. I love that he mixes it up and plays around with the set list. The teens next to me screamed and sang all night long. They knew the words to every song on the album and while they couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket, they sang with great joy and lots of enthusiasm.

In Knoxville there was a lot of whooping and hollering during the a cappella Lie but everyone was quiet in WV. Go figure. I’d have thought a theater would be quieter than a fairgrounds. It is really lovely to hear the power and sweetness of his voice.

During KOTN the greenman returned. I don’t know who was in the suit but they definitely didn’t fill it out as well as Dave. Fortunately we still got an awesome moan and then some Hotel California.

There was awesome, awesome guitar sex during Barbasol. You never know if you’re going to get David and Neal together or on opposite sides of the stage. We got them together and I had the camera on burst mode so I ended up with 54 wonderfully in focus shots of guitar sex. Viewing them quickly looks like slow motion video. Good God!

During Little Lies a monkey ran on stage chasing a mouse (at least I hear there was a mouse - I swear I never saw the mouse). Once again I found myself scrambling to switch from photos to video. Denton, the GRO drummer was in the monkey suit, eating a banana and dancing around the stage. Dave just stood there laughing. He eventually had to start over.

The monkey made another appearance to assist Kyle with drumming during Declaration.

Afterwards Dave said he’d completely lost control of the show. He was trying to describe the “primate” when someone shouted out MONKEY! He says “I understand what a monkey is! But do we really know? It could be an ape, a chimp, a gibbon (stumbling over the pronunciation), a baboon? Now I’m just being silly. I hope you didn’t think you were coming to watch some sort of professional production.”

Before Adam he pulled a sign up from the crowd that said “And the Grammy goes too (sp) David Cook”. He said he’d take one in any category, best female vocalist, best greenman dancer….and took a big bow. He made all the band members look at the sign and took it over to Neal, standing toe to toe with him.

At the very end GRO came on stage with the band, Denton holding up a sign that said “I’m bananas for David Cook”. It was awesome. The set list wasn’t any longer than usual but it felt longer because of the hijinks and banter and no one wanted it to end.

Carolinagirl and I independently of each other turned to the girls and said that this was the best of the 11 shows we’d seen. They spazzed out at their good fortune and ran off to the fence to try to get an autograph.

I went up front to try to get a pick. I’ve had them plucked out of the air from above my head, I’ve had them bounce behind, to the side and in front of me and I’ve never gotten one. Tonight seemed promising because of the sheer numbers. I was handed a Joey Clement and a DR pick which made me very happy. Then crowgirls beckoned me over and handed me a David pick which reduced me practically to tears.

There was a barricade right in front of the stage and a space about 3 feet deep. People were on the ground with their arms under the fence while others guided them from above looking for picks while fireworks burst in the sky above the fairgrounds. People got out flashlights to see down into the pit. Good times.

Crowgirls and I walked back up to get a GRO CD and I got it signed and pictures with everyone in the band. The guys are really nice and approachable. Then we wandered down by the fence next to the stage and saw the band down by the buses. David did come out for a bit and worked his way down the line but I was late in getting there. It was OK, though. I’ve gotten my pictures, my autographs, my hugs. I just wanted to tell him thank you.

I don’t have any concerts on the horizon. After 11 you’d think I’d have seen him enough. That’s the thing though. It’s never going to be enough. Each concert makes you longing for the next one. And that is what makes a superstar.