My Queen and Adam Lambert Experience. A full report. (It's very long..)

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We arrived at the venue via taxi, including my brother, mother, and father, and my jaw just dropped. My mom saw the huge lines and she couldn’t believe we were at the right place. By then, my stomach was churning badly with anticipation, and holy shit this was actually happening. We had no idea where to go. The whole place was frenzied, but I couldn’t help but notice every face we passed. Guys, the diversity was shocking. I saw so many teenage boys and girls from every stereotype you could think of. The amount of huge guys with Queen shirts made me giggle. They had no idea what they were in for. Well, neither did I really. Lol. A few guys had even dressed up like Adam, eye liner and all. I could also spot the glamberts easily; just look for the women following the color palette. There were kids as young as 6 or 7, and people as old as at least 80.

Anyway, we got into the venue and I immediately wanted a shirt, but the lines….correction, there were no lines, just huge swarms around every table of merch, so I was like, well fuck that. My brother wouldn’t stop teasing me all the way as we walked around the halls, trying to find section 118. When we finally found it and started climbing up the stairs into the actual arena, that’s when my breathing patterns messed up. I walked through the doorway into the arena and gasped. Seeing that curtain with the Queen logo I’d seen many times before made it real. I kept thinking, nononononono. The security guy looked at my tickets then pointed at my section, and I could only gape at him in disbelief. I knew I was pretty close, but not THAT close. As we started to walk down the stairs to the first row of my section, my legs literally started shaking from disbelief of how fucking close we were and I had to stop several times on the stairs to keep from falling. I got to my seat and actually started making unintelligible sounds to my family as I kept looking at them and the stage. The stair balcony thing that Adam hangs out a lot on was right THERE. So was the walkway and mini stage. No heads in our way, perfect view… I couldn’t believe it for a second. I almost started bawling right there from the anticipation of it all.

We sat down and I immediately started decking out everyone in my family with glow bracelets and necklaces. After that was done, we took a few pictures, and I could hardly keep my phone still as I took pics. The view pics I tweeted really did not do it justice. We were REALLY close. It’s when I realized I’d be able to see every expression of his clearly and he’d be able to see mine. However, it wouldn’t sink in that this was really happening and that in a matter of minutes, Adam would be out here. The more people came in, the more amazing and enthusiastic the crowd became. They would cheer and freak out at the slightest movement behind the curtain. I didn’t because I’d watched the five previous shows online and knew what to expect, which I realize now takes away from the overall experience. So, if your show is coming up, I urge you not to watch every single concert beforehand cause you spoil it for yourself. You really will.

After a few false alarms, the lights finally went down and the opening music started up and my heart started to lurch. It was really starting. My countdown of over 100something days was over. When the guitar started, I knew it was only mere seconds until I would hear Adam’s voice for the first time ever live. I even closed my eyes in anticipation and tensed my entire body, waiting. It came. Loud and clear as he sang the first few lines of Now I’m Here. I couldn’t even breathe anymore. My virgin ears had been penetrated by his voice at last. When they showed his silhouette for a second on the screens on either side of the curtain, I didn’t even have time to react, but I knew I had to try to contain myself. That failed miserable when he sang, I’M JUST A--- and the curtain lifted. Bam. I completely fucking lost it. You guys have no idea. I couldn’t even bear to look at him. Sobs just ripped their way out, my body was seriously vibrating, and my intestines felt like they were floating around freely inside me. I mean it, I was a wreck. I even sobbed into my hands and made weird noises. I was stunned that my contacts hadn’t been cried out. My family wasn’t helping either by grabbing at me and telling me to look like I didn’t already know he’s fucking there.

That was the moment. He’s real. He’s right there. He’s right THERE. Adam, the most wonderful, beautiful man I’ve had the pleasure of being a fan of was finally right there after years of waiting. He carried on with the song, and I was just staring and crying and STAAARING. I couldn’t understand how I was feeling. It was very odd. Time didn’t freeze or anything like that to give me time to adjust. It felt like I was being left behind until Adam was calling out over his shoulder kindly at me to keep up because everything was going to be okay and he was just another guy. That didn’t actually happen but that’s how it felt. And so, catch up I did, determined to live in the moment, on the same wavelength as this ordinary, yet extraordinary man. Which was another thing. I was expecting this godly presence to completely stun me and choke me, but you realize that he’s human, he’s just a guy. He rather makes you feel and understand that as if on purpose that’s the message he’s sending with his body. He felt so familiar. Of course, I’ve known his face and body, memorized them, for years, but it has always, ALWAYS been through a screen of whatever sort. So to have someone so familiar presented to me in such an unfamiliar way was a confusing and strange moment because I didn’t know how to react. Should I smile knowingly because this was expected and he was exactly how I knew him to be, or was I supposed to completely implode because it was the first time he was THERE for real? I settled for both.

Then there was hearing his voice for the first time. Now that was confusing. On one hand, his voice didn’t shock me because I was used to it and knew what exactly was coming, even the runs and high notes (Don’t watch vids prior to your concert), but on the other, what the hell????? He almost sounded nothing like I’d expected him to. How could such a familiar voice be so foreign? His real live voice is different than any video I’ve ever seen of him, EVER, pro quality or not. Nothing seems to be able to record his voice for how it really is. It’s oddly higher in real life, kind of more nasally (not in a bad way)than I was expecting. I’d been warned he’d sound different, but holy crap he does. It was confusing because his speaking voice sounded normal and beautiful and BLEGHHHH IT’S ADDICTIVE. Sometimes, the singing could get too piercing but that was only because we were so close and it was friggin loud, and the speakers made most things sound tinny. But it was still my Adam, and that was still his beautiful voice, for how it really is. I felt honoured to have been there to hear it. It’s gonna suck to go back and watch videos and have them sound like every other video of him ever because it feels like they aren’t giving you the real experience.

Fuck, I’m already writing too much. First thing I noticed about the giant screen is that it wasn’t the best quality, lolol. It’s more for faraway viewing. Second, every time it showed Adam, there was like this spot of dirt or makeup near his left eye and cheek and it looked like a mole and it was distracting. Adam got sweaty fast and I was fawning over him. Just wanna jump to my annoying brother for a second. Unfortunately, I did end up sitting next to him, and most times, he just had his arms crossed, but a couple times he did try clapping along and failed miserably, like he didn’t want make it look like he was enjoying himself with Adam, whom he dislikes. Adam’s face would appear on the screen and he’d say that Adam has a lot of scars. My only response to that was a nod and “He’s beautiful. So beautiful.” I’ve never seen someone so perfect.

Now my family hardly knew Queen until I started flailing over them. So the first two songs were completely foreign. Speakers were too loud during Stone Cold Crazy, muffling Adam’s voice a little. I didn’t really care. I was watching HIM. Man, he has a lot of confidence. He’s every bit of a showman as I thought he’d be. It was surreally sexy. I forget during which song in particular, but in the early few, he actually went full floorbert and I had a moment. A physical reaction. Lol. He got up and did some moves with brian, kinda writhing off him, and at points, it was almost flirtatious. It was hilarious and I couldn’t stop grinning. Every so often, I’d have the thought, “That’s mah boy,” when he’d do something expected and impressive.

AOBTD happened and Adam came out onto the peniswalk for the first time. God fucking dammit, the man can strut. A few times, not just during this song, but throughout the show, he looked right at us for a few seconds, and I couldn’t do anything but grin proudly back. I should mention that at this time, when AOBTD started, I’d stopped bawling. Lol. I was like, focus, you idiot, you’re gonna miss everything. Also, some people had brought in marijuana and I could smell it periodically. Fat Bottomed Girls started and the crowd went wild. Everyone, including me, excluding my family, sang along like there was no tomorrow. My family were real energy suckers. They sat down at all the wrong times. It was the first real concert for all of us, but at least I knew how to act. My brother even checked his facebook at some point in the concert. I wanted to kill him. He kept taking pics and vids and staring at his phone (which I’ll upload later, I promise), and I accidentally hit his phone with my elbow once during WWTLF and he punched my arm so hard I think I’m bruising. I hate him, but let’s not get into that. Back to FBG. I made sure everyone in my family was watching when Adam started to “ride”. I wanted to do some illegal things to him. Good lawd, that man can move. If you’ve seen the clip of it going around, you know what I mean. Seeing it live like that fucked me from a distance. Seriously, I need to go get a pregnancy test.

Let me just get into killer queen. They set up the infamous chaise lounge, but as soon as Adam lay and then sat back up on it, he disconnected his mic pack or whatever. He noticed it right away and pulled it out to fix it. I was like, oh boy… It’s also kinda fun seeing tech problems and Adam messing up lyrics. Again, shows he’s human. He was as fabulous and hilarious as ever with his golden fan and his campy glittery self. The champagne part came and I kinda cringed knowing how my family would react (although I think it’s hot). He fountained out all over himself like some kind of porno/shampoo commercial hybrid, then twice into the audience. My brother’s reaction was shock, not in a good way, and I know my dad was talking earlier about how terrible and gross it was that miley does that, so he was taken aback by It, but reacted better than I thought (he also said a rude comment I won’t mention that went too far), and my mom was shocked, but in a good way. Adam asked a girl if he got her wet (unf, but Adam, you don’t need champagne to create oceans from women), and my mom laughed. Then he got into his adorkable speech about pretty things and loneliness, and he said that we were loud, which made me way too happy. I was proud of the audience for not sucking. By the way, every time he said Vancouver, my heart did a flip. Somebody to love started. At this point, he wasn’t wearing the fringe jacket anymore. Boo :/ I love that thing, but he was sweating buckets in it.

Good god, I love him during STL. I had been so looking forward to it. He is the epitome of sass. He came onto the stairs and was literally like 5 meters away from us and I was drooling. When it came to the part where he’s supposed to do a big vocal run, he went a slightly safer path. I noticed he did that a few times and tried not to realllly belt high notes. Perhaps his voice is already getting tired and it needs a break, which worries me because he’s got so many more shows to do and this was only the sixth one. He sounded immaculate with the notes he did go for though, so that eased me a bit. Hearing him hit his notes made me sigh in content because I’d always wondered what they would be like live, and they were strong, clear, and assured. I Want It All came and went with some intense fist pumping, and I had a brian flailing moment when they sang the OOOOH together. Actually, for a lot of the concert, I was surprised by how much I was like, omg brian omg roger, omg rufus, omg BRIANNNNNN. At one point, I was like, for fuck’s sakes rufus, cut your hair.

Adam left, to my dismay, leaving me with a longing feeling for him to come back, but then brian started started love of my life, and every single person was mesmerized by him. Seriously, everyone who knew the song sang along, and this one guy behind me stood up and was yelling the words passionately, cracking me up as I sang as well. My family… just kinda sat there. Let’s not talk about them, and remind me to not take them anywhere with me. The entire Roger and Brian segment was beautiful and I teared up a few times at the clips they showed. I think my entire family enjoyed them more than Adam. I’m like… fuck you guys, you didn’t even know their names until five minutes ago. Bro thinks Roger has a great voice, better than Adam (-_-), and my dad thinks Brian was so much of a “higher personality” and “class” than Adam (I blame the champagne that I enjoyed but they didn’t), but both of them can easily be ignored because 1, my brother’s a complete tool. 2, my dad is traditional and doesn’t realize that Brian is so calm because he’s older now but was wilder when he was Adam’s age. I told him, wait till Adam’s that old; he’s a class act. I’m may be depressing a few people so let’s stop with my family. The father and son drum battle was (and I’m sorry to use this word) epic. You could feel those heavy beats vibrating inside you. it was amazing.

Adam came back out finally for Under Pressure and again, only being meters from him, I stared at every inch of him, relishing in his physique. Mom was surprised and impressed by how slender he was, and she also said he was much more handsome than she thought (and she’d already thought he’s beautiful), plus apparently he has beautiful eyes, not like we knew that or anything phhht. Adam didn’t do the Under Pressure note, which is understandable and expected considering the circumstances, but you know, you can’t help but just hope. He kinda tried to do it, but faltered out and settled for lower stuff. Brian asked what we think of the “new boy” and the crowd was deafening. I was so fucking proud. They roared for him. Love Kills was beautiful and god his voice injects so much emotion, especially when it goes all gritty and low, and I was fighting the urge run over there and squeeze him in comfort. I had my full focus on him, and I think I was the only one within any nearby section that knew that words, so I sang along.

Who Wants To Live Forever finally happened. Been waiting so long to hear this live and I finally did. I think my brother was excited for this one as well. So was my dad. The speakers weren’t annoying anyone because it was almost completely Adam’s voice, clear and perfect, not overbearing. He sang the first few lines of the verse and I teared up, thinking, “Finally.” When he goes into that belt with “Forevaaaaaaaaa-AAAAH…etc), I had my arm up and was practically conducting along when he jumped up into the beautiful belt, punching the air like FUCK YES, SHOW THEM when he hit that beautiful note before “when love must die,” and he delivered that line raw and powerful, and it really punches you in the gut. Despite, having seen videos, that motherfucking disco ball has to be seen to be believed. It’s mesmerizing, completely, and it turned the entire arena into a place of fantasy. It was one of my favourite things. Adam went into his belts as he did the final parts of the song and I just let his voice settle into me and ring throughout because I knew this was finally happening and I was hearing his legendary belts for real. Wasn’t going to let a single second of them pass by without being carefully appreciated.

Brian’s guitar solo next. That was brilliant, but soooooooooooooo longgggggg. I didn’t mind in the slightest, but I could feel my family growing bored while everyone else was practically bowing to Brian and all his guitar glory. I wish they weren’t so unappreciative of real music. I was blown away by how Brian could play so perfectly at his age, same with Roger, who was singing and playing the drums. I get tired picking up the remote from the table at home, but to bang out drums for two hours without missing a beat? What the hell? Tie your mother down was next and I could hardly understand what Adam was saying. Again, all the instruments playing as loudly as they were as close as we were to them, made Adam just a bit muffled, but only because we were close to the speakers. At this point, I’d forgotten what songs were coming up and how much longer the show was. Adam went over to the onstage VIP people, and he even got one girl to sing, which was adorable, and then he started to climb the stairs to play the call and response game with us, to my over-excitement, but as soon as he started, the band, meaning mostly roger, went into the next song. Adam kinda went, oh okay, pouted, shrugged, and moved on. I was pissed off. I was so looking forward to that moment. I was like, goddammit, Roger, not NOW. I’m STILL pissed off. I wanted that part so badly.

But all was quickly forgiven as radio gaga started and I had another moment. I’d been flailing to my father for two years and fantasizing about the day we could do the claps together at a real queen and adam concert, and the moment had really, truly arrived. I’d even practiced in tears for months. Don’t judge me. So I sang along loudly with the crowd, and when it came time for the claps, all was right in the world. I did the claps and the arena did the claps, to my surprise. Wasn’t expecting the majority of them to actually do it, but they did. It was beautiful. Unfortunately, Adam didn’t sing Don’t Stop Me Now, and I don’t know why they didn’t, but it saddened me knowing this meant they would leave a few minutes earlier.

Adam sounded deeply sexy during Crazy little thing called love, which my mom had kept asking about, and he’d did this adorable walk thing during it, but then he did the Elvis voice and lip and I was like, oh Adam. He’s even more precious in real life, which reminds me, he’s got so much (real) swagger as he does anything, whether he’s walking or just throwing his head back. Thousands and thousands of people were there judging his every move and hanging on every note, but he didn’t even care. It was impressive. After that, I had no idea what song was next. My mind was blanking. The dramatic intro to The Show Must Go On happened, and I nearly lost my shit because I was soooo looking forward to this one. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. He sounded slightly odd again, which isn’t bad, just different because his voice is higher live, but then he hit the very last note and that was my moment of “Wow.” I was taken aback by his power and it was when I was actually taken off guard for the first time because everything else that had happened, I’d been waiting for. But whenever Adam harmonized like that with the rest of the band, everything in the world became magical.

Bohemian Rhapsody was bittersweet because I knew it was nearing the end, but it was so good. I had such a proud moment knowing this had been his audition song and now look at where he was. I was so in awe of him. Everyone knew the words (except my stupid family), and Freddie’s moment had people shitting their pants. I went crazy with the conducting fingers and loud singing along. “WILL YOU DO THE FANDANGO, MOTHERFUCKER?” Adam sang with Freddie and you could feel the respect and admiration he had for him in waves. After that sweet moment, my family thought the show had ended and were so confused as to why everyone else, including me, was still screaming and clapping and cheering for minutes after the show ended. I just grinned smugly knowing the king was about to walk out (Don’t watch the shows.)

The badass stomp stomp clap of WWRY started and when Adam walked out in his now infamous leopard print suit and crown, it was a glorious moment, and my family was actually amused and showing emotion. He nailed the next two songs, but I was honestly dreading every second of them that went by because the show was coming to an end and I just couldn’t handle that thought. Eventually, it did end, despite my mental objection, and I just remember thinking, “Bye… Adam,” with a sad little smile, counting every step of his until he disappeared backstage, and then the tears started to well up in my eyes. After that, I was just in shock and didn’t know what to think. I was numb. I couldn’t believe it was over. It couldn’t be over. I’d been waiting months for this, and years to see Adam, and now it was over, and I don’t know when I’ll ever see him again. I thought about running backstage or to the back of the arena a few times, desperate not to let Adam go like this, not when I finally had him so close. I couldn’t stand the thought. I knew that if I thought about it for too long, I would start crying. Every step up those stairs out of the arena left my heart hurting more and more. I wanted so badly to find Adam or Brian outside, but with no luck. They disappeared. He was really gone…

It was the best night of my life and it still doesn’t seem real. Not for one moment did it sink in that yes, Adam is real, that yes, the man whom I love so much it hurts, and I can’t even tell anyone what he truly means to me because they’ll think I’m an idiot, is in the same room as me, breathing the same air, feeling the same energy, hearing the same things. The entire thing felt like a dream, but I kept my eyes open despite that and tried to take in as much as possible even though none of it seemed like it really happened. It especially felt like a dream because Adam disappeared after the show as if I had woken up.

I love him so much, and I can’t bear thinking about him being gone without crying about it, although I have to swallow the lump in my throat around my family because they’ll start insulting me and Adam if I show how I really feel about what had happened. Of course, not crying and freaking out makes them think I didn’t really care, and I even overheard my dad telling my brother that now I’ll get over Adam soon because I saw him live and it “wasn’t a big deal.” It pissed me off to no end because they haven’t the slightest idea what Adam means to me. No, I’m not just a fan who can get over another fad. Try insisting to a friend that they’ll stop loving their mother or their father or anyone that they hold dear soon, and they’d call you an asshole for even suggesting such an absurd idea. That’s how I feel. I can’t let him go, and this experience only reminded me why. It was just beyond description to have him be there in the flesh. It’s still not making sense to think of him as real, but it’s also the greatest feeling to finally know for sure that something so heartbreakingly perfect isn’t fictional. He was right there and anything could have happened to him. He’s real. He’s alive. He’s too good to be true, but he is. There are no words to describe how it felt to finally understand.

Crying as I write this because, as it cliché as it sounds, I can’t believe it happened or that it’s over. I don’t know what to do with myself now or what to look forward to. The new album? Lol, that’s not coming till 2015. I’ll start getting giddy for that once we know ANYTHING about it. The entire time after the show, I kept staring off into space, numb, and I tried to eat dinner, but I couldn’t taste anything or eat more than a few bites as I clutched my new Queen + Adam shirt in my hand like it was a lifeline. I fucking miss Adam so much. Wish I could have met him only to tell him how much I love him. I don’t need a picture or an autograph. I just want him to KNOW. I wish I could have reached out to touch him, and maybe then, he wouldn’t feel like he was a dream. But, I saw Adam. I really, truly, finally did, and all that’s been assured is what I already knew for these few glorious years we’ve had with Adam. I’ll be here until the end through whatever he does, despite what anyone says. It doesn’t matter if he stops making music. I’m here for HIM, and him alone. It’s an honor to watch someone so unbelievable evolve and change in every possible way, but knowing that at his core, he’s always going to be that same essence I fell for.

I probably haven’t covered every thought and feeling I had during this show, but I think I got the highlights, all seven pages of them, lmao. If you’ve read this far, thank you. Excuse any typos and errors because I just didn’t want to read over this a million times.

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