My first David Cook experience was at the House of Blues Cleveland (17th September 09), having travelled from England to see the show.

I'd not had any real expectations beforehand ..... except that it would be a good show .... but the evening was so much better than I could have ever dreamed!

My first surprise of the day was the fact that people queue up really early to see David Cook!!! Walked past the entrance at 9.00am to find somewhere to have breakfast and there were already people queuing! I'd never seen people queue so early for a Show before, although they did come very prepared with chairs and blankets!

At 5pm, my Hubby and I headed to the Foundation Room at the House of Blues, and spent the next two hours up there, killing time and laughing with the girls and guys we met there (sorry, jetlag has robbed me of some of your names, so please forgive me! I do remember Cheryl, Aaron, and I think Jodie?) You guys were all too funny!!!

By 7pm we were all itching to get to the concert, and headed downstairs. We'd been told that since we had Foundation Room VIP access, we'd be able to go into the concert hall at the same time as the 'Will Call' line (people who ate at HOB that day) and had been queuing all day!.

Standing in the small queue with about 10 people in front, we waited for a few minutes to be let in. I had my Professional Nikon camera with me ..... but still expected someone to stop me taking it inside the Music Hall. We'd checked with the Box Office who had said there was no problem taking the camera inside .... but I'd never managed to get it into a concert before!

And then the doors opened and we were inside the Music Hall ..... before anyone else!

I hadn't thought I'd get front row .... I'd just hoped to not get anyone tall in front of me (being short that would have been really bad *GRIN*!) But we went straight to the front, just off of centre on Neal's side.

The 'Will Call' line was then let in and the GA 'Pit' very quickly filled up behind us and before I knew it the whole place was literally packed and buzzing. Time was killed by chatting to those around us (hi Rebecca + Rachel!), and marvelling at how many people were packed into such a small space.

Getting out to get a drink, restroom stop ....... or even heading to the merchandise stand was impossible if you wanted to get back into the pack.

But I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else right then! A few of us spent time trying to get a good view of the set list, angling cameras .... and failing miserably!

Phil Marshall was the support act ..... great to see a fellow English guy up there! He came out with just an acoustic guitar and proceeded to play a really great set. Clearly some of the Guys were standing far right, out of eye shot off stage, because every so often you could see guitar pics
flying around Phil, with Phil laughing and pointing at them at the end of songs.

At one point after a song, Phil started talking about England, PG Tips and other English delicacies .... talking in a Cockney accent. My Hubby chose then to pipe up to Phil that he was a Northerner .... not a London Cockney! Being so close to the stage, Phil immediately zoomed in on the English accent and started laughing and said to my Hubby he was right .... he was no Cockney! Bantering with Phil was so cool!

The stage Rodes set the stage up quickly after Phil was finished, and soon it was time for David and the Guys to take to the stage.

And then suddenly they were on the stage! Heroes blared out, the lights bright and David was singing right in front of me. Complete sensory overload! Heroes slipped into Mr Sensitive and then
We're Only Honest when we're Sleeping very quickly.

When the opening bars of Lie rang out, I think I might have literally held my breath! This was the one song I was looking forward to hearing, I wanted to experience that acapella part live! When David stepped away from the mic, he stepped away slightly to stand right in front of me, no one in front of me, and proceeded to sing the acapella portion of the song.

Other people's screams, singing and shusshing faded into the background as I heard David's voice. His natural voice, with no amplification or anything literally gave be chills .... truly amazing and words just don't do that moment justice .... it quite simply was perfect. That few moments alone was worth the entrance fee, it was a if he was singing it right to me!

Kiss on the Neck was every bit as sexy and raunchy live, with the groan, neck stroke and whisper! Loved hearing the snipped of 'Hotel California' .... that fits so perfectly into the instrumental of Kiss on the Neck.

Having really gotten into the MWK music thanks to David, I had hoped at the chance of hearing an MWK song .... and David didn't disappoint by playing 'Make Me'.

As the opening bars of the song launched, I could see David looking at Andy with a grin and nodding his head, before stepping purposely away from the microphone. Andy's grin was really cute before he started singing the opening verse and chorus of song. It had clearly been unrehearsed for Andy to sing the beginning of the song, a 'spur of the moment' choice by David, and it was really special.

There were so many great songs, so many great moments it's hard to remember them all. 'Life on the Moon' was a beautiful highlight, and Bar-Ba-Sol was every bit as intense as I thought it would be. So much fun watching the guys synchronized headbanging too!!!! 'Come back to Me' and 'Light On' were great crowd sing-a-long moments and I loved seeing David's face smile when everyone was singing back the song.

I'd been really hoping to hear 'I just died in your arms', and when they launched in to it, it was amazing. I love how they've 'rocked' the song up and really roughed it up. All the band seem to really enjoy playing that one live.

Being closer to Neal's side, I was able to appreciate his guitar solos, he really is a pretty amazing guitarist! And how Kyle actually sees the drums when he plays, with his hair flying around like it does, I have no idea!

The final song of the night was 'I did it for You'. The Album version is more of a ballad, but the guys have definitely 'rocked' the song up while on tour. Neal's new solo was really great, and I loved the way they ended it, with Andy, Monty, David (right in front of me again!) and Neal all coming to the front of the stage for the instrumental at the end. It was completely breathtaking.

I would have loved to have experienced 'A Daily AntheM', but this song was a really great way to end the concert on a high.

All too soon the Show was over. As the guys started leaving, David threw out his remaining Guitar Pics, throwing them high and as far as he could into the crowd. The last Pic he went to throw though we straight up instead of out, looping in the air, hitting the front barrier and landing right by my feet! Grabbing it quickly, I couldn't imagine I'd actually managed to get one!

Being at the front, for my first and only 'Declaration Tour' Show was an amazing experience. A breathtakingly unobstructed view of David and the Anthemic. Being so close meant it was so much more intimate even though it was definitely a rock concert.

You could quite literally look the guys in the eye! I got smiles and nods from Andy, Kyle and David during the Show, the guys all do so well to make you feel involved and apart of it.

It was amazing to see first hand how easily David connects with the audience and commands the stage. The way he manages to make the people right at the back feel as invovled as those at the very front. He is a true professional and it's easy to see why he won American Idol. Yet this Show as as far away from Idol as you could get. The guys are a true Band up there on stage, totally in tune with each other even when one throws a curve ball (David getting Andy to sing the opening to 'Make Me').

It was cool to be a part of a little 'Cook' history too, as David said that this Show equalled the record for the most dates on an Idol's debut tour .... that was really cool!

With the show over, I followed the masses out of the House of Blues and decided that since my hotel was really close, I'd try standing out by the buses for a while in case David or any of the Guys came out. I didn't expect them to, but wanted to at least try, just in case!

So when Phil and Monty were spotted, there was a buzz in the crowd that had formed. I smiled and said Hi to Phil as he came my way, and said I was from England too. His face immediately brightened and gave me a big grin. He spent quite a while chatting to me about where in England I was from etc. He asked me what I was doing in Cleveland, and obviously said the Show, and when I said I'd come to the USA for the Show he was definitely surprised and asked why I'd come all the way for the Show. Explained that since David isn't coming to England anytime soon ..... I had to come to the USA instead!

Kyle was the first of the Guys to come out and worked his way slowly up the line, signing autographs, answering questions and posing for pictures. As he pulled up to me, he commented that I had a nice camera, and I said I'd got some good pictures of him. He told me to send them to him, as he signed my CD booklet cover.

As he was standing with me there was a cheer and it transpired David had quickly popped his head out and disappeared for a moment. Kyle looked around to see what was going on, and I joked to him that he didn't get a good cheer when he came out! He laughed and said 'I know right, what was up with that!"

Andy was the next out and I had to laugh at his Scarecrow hair!!! *LOL*! He'd obviously snatched a quick shower and towel dried it roughly. It stuck out all over the place, but he looked adorable! Like Kyle, Andy posed for pictures, signed my CD Booklet and Album slip for MWK, and
chatted for a while.

David was the last of the Guys to come out and although couldn't pose for pictures, he did sign autographs and chatted with everyone. I told him I was from England and he said 'Wow, thanks for coming then!' and proceeded to give me a huge hug! I think I might have melted a little right then! *blush*

He signed both my MWK Album slip and CD Booklet. While signing and chatting, he looked at me and said 'Can I ask you a question', do you understand what Phil Marshall says', I replied 'sure', to which David continued, 'Because it took me ages to understand his accent!', he gave me a big smile right then and I laughed.

The only strange part of the night was just after David had moved along from me, some girl jumped around the line and ran up towards David. She was obviously pretty drunk and babbled something completely incoherent at David and Andy who was standing next to him. Security acted very quickly, stopping her from getting near David and ushered her away very quickly without causing a scene. The look that both David and Andy gave her spoke volumes it was definitely a 'What the .......?!!!!'.

I didn't get to meet Neal unfortunately as he didn't make it out, and once David and Andy were done they all got on the Buses to head off to their next venue.

And so, saying goodbye to the girls I'd met (Hi Mary-Justine, great to meet you!), and floated back to the hotel. Crawling into bed, buzzed by the whole experience, it took me ages to finally sleep! I couldn't have dreamed a better Concert experience.

Front row, right by David, camera for great photos + video, meeting the Guys and David by the bus, getting autographs and pictures, plus getting one of David's pics.

It really was ....... completely cliche *groan* ....... the Time of my Life !!!!!!!

And so, Pictures are being uploaded to my Flickr account - My House of Blues Pictures!

And videos to my Youtube account (more to come here, only 4 uploaded so far!)
My Youtube Videos!

Enjoy!!!