Rodney Ho from accessatlanta’s ajc.com blog published on the 1st of August 2009 his review of the concert in Georgia that took place one day before.

Some words about the show itself, past vs. today as well as the ‘concert referendum’:

In past years, the pre-show audience would be tortured by incessant advertising, especially by the likes of Pop Tarts.
But Pop Tarts has finally dropped its sponsorship. And reflective of the economy, they were replaced by… nothing. As a result, the pre-show consisted of more than 90 minutes of “Idol” videos by the likes of Kelly Clarkson, Kellie Pickler, David Cook and Carrie Underwood, underscoring how many hits the “Idols” have generated the past seven years. The only ads were for T-shirt merchandise and an iTunes pass for Kris Allen. Plus, they replayed a few of the Ford ads from the show. Any image of Adam elicited cheers far greater than that of Kris, like some weird concert referendum. ‘

And about Adam Lambert:

The rock show is… ON! Adam is at the top of his game, getting down an dirty with some Led Zeppelin, keeps the crowd pepped up with a relatively obscure song by Muse, then embraces the highlight of his “Idol” appearances with “Mad World.” After a reprise of another “Idol” favorite, the duet between him and Allison on “Slow Ride,” he takes on his idol David Bowie in an honorable medley. He opens with “Life on Mars,” addresses “Fame” (”Makes a man take things over”) and then grinds up “Let’s Dance.” Even some of his foes enjoyed the show, appreciating the fact he kept the “scream” to a minimum.

Conclusion:

I really thought it was the most consistent, if not the most entertaining of the eight “Idols Live” concerts I’ve been to. Solid production values, song choices and talent across the board.