Wendy Fry from SDNN – San Diego online magazine had a chance to ask Adam 3 questions via e-mail(!!!) before his Idol Tour performance in San Diego (article published on the 15th July 2009):

SDNN: What, in your opinion, was your best performance ever? Why?

Adam Lambert : While it’s hard to name a favorite, I had the most fun singing “Whole Lotta Love” by Led Zeppelin! The band was kickin’, and I felt like I was able to really cut loose. It was also exciting because it was the first time Led Zeppelin has allowed someone to perform music of theirs on Idol.

SDNN: How do you choose the songs you will be performing Saturday to collaborate with other artists? Basically, with such a diverse range of talent, how do you guys work together to form a cohesive concert?

Adam Lambert: Aside from my duet with Allison Iraheta (which is a reprise of Slow Ride from Rock Week on the show) each of us has our own set to perform. I sing four songs solo and one duet within my set… These songs were chosen with the director and musical director of the show. We wanted a balance of songs I sang on Idol and new material.

SDNN: What is the first thing you’re going to do when you get to San Diego?

Adam Lambert: Unfortunately we have very little, if any, free time while in each city. The day will be spent at the venue doing sound check, various meet and greets and of course the show… If I had my way, I’d visit the Gaslamp for a great meal.

P.S. Just for the record: the concert in San Diego Sports Arena was 10th concert on the American Idol Live! 2009 Summer Tour, took place on July 18 2009 at 7 p.m. (tickets: $40.50 to $69.50; parking is $20.00)

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LOS ANGELES

* LATimes.com written by Ann Powers, published on 17th of July 2009:

(…) Lambert emerged in a mist, armed with a throat full of gorgeous, impossible notes, ready to slay the ghosts of all who’d come before him.
(…)
After Gokey’s brief foray into the megachurch, Lambert emerged to a firestorm of fans’ screams and took the evening somewhere that felt distinctly more dangerous — in the best way. His brief star turn wasn’t a revelation, since it’s been widely acknowledged that the young Angeleno is a great in the making. But it was extremely satisfying.
Reprising several “Idol” high points (including the inevitable “Mad World”) and adding a David Bowie medley that started in an old-time music hall and ended at a rave, Lambert moved from pose to pose, gesture to gesture, with the poise of an artist who’s absorbed the history and meaning of every eye flicker. But his favorite was a bump and grind that was both playful and entirely serious.
Lambert also reprised his duet with Iraheta on Foghat’s “Slow Ride,” which gave the teenage firebrand her own chance at a trademark move: She’d throw her hands over her head in wonder every time her friend hit a particularly amazing note. During her solo spot, Iraheta didn’t pose much. She stomped and grinned widely as she belted out songs by Pink, Janis Joplin and Heart. She also played guitar on one song, as if to make it clear that she’s no pop tart. Her punchy vocals weren’t always perfect, but the rough patches only added to their appeal.

* RealityRocks blog on yahoo.com written by Lyndsey Parker and published on 17th of July 2009:

(…) All of this, of course, was leading up to the main event…at least for me, and for many of the avid Angelenos in the house: 20 minutes in rock ‘n’ roll heaven with the one, the only, Adam Lambert. The anticipation inside Staples was heavy, palpable, electric. Just the buildup from the jumbotron screen display (a montage of closeups of Adam’s screaming, copiously guylinered face and of inky black nail varnish being applied in slo-mo to his famous fingertips) elicited dog-whistle-decibel shrieks rarely heard outside of a Jonas Brothers concert, Saw movies, or a crime scene.
And then…the Glamerican Idol emerged amid thick swirls of dry-ice fog and overdriven cougar-fan hormones.
Stalking the stage in his reptilian blue leather Skingraft jacket that perfectly matched the cobalt streaks in his coif (surely not an accident–nothing about The Glambert’s carefully crafted image is coincidental), the born performer let his freak-flag fly high, and I enthusiastically saluted. Sometimes he had to strategically tone down his fantastical freaky-deakiness while on American Idol in order to avoid weirding out more conservative viewers, but last night he obviously harbored no such concerns: I literally lost count of how many gratuitous crotch-grabs, vigorous pelvis thrusts, Chippendalean hip-gyrations, and suggestively phallic microphone-fondling moves he executed during his kickass kickoff number, “Whole Lotta Love,” alone.
The guy just oozed pure sex out of every one of his thickly Max Factor-spackled pores. It made me glad that this year’s Staples audience seemed a lot older than last year’s (when the tween-friendly David Archuleta was the second-place co-headliner), because much of “Whole Lotta Love” was not suitable for underage viewing. This performance left me feeling sweaty and unclean (in a good way). May I suggest the Idols Tour merch booth start selling official Adam Lambert Freshening Moist Wipes? They’d certainly come in handy after “WLL.”
Next, Adam did his best to further the noble cause of Muse Awareness with his majestic and stellar cover of that Brit band’s “Starlight” (the only thing that could’ve improved that was if he rode onto the stage on the white unicorn from Muse’s “Knights Of Cydonia” video), followed by his signature goosebump-inducing Donnie Darko tribute “Mad World,” complete with the indigo mood lighting and fog that made his original TV performance of the song such a “moment.” My head was close to exploding at this point, but when Allison returned to the stage to reprise her “Slow Ride” duet with Adam, the combined power of their superhumanly octave-straddling voices pretty much made what was left of my skull cave in. The merch booth ought to sell official Addison Helmets, too.
And finally, Adam finished with a Bowie medley (I NEVER thought I’d see the day that an Idol would head-explodingly perform “Life On Mars”!) during which he stripped off his Skingraft jacket to reveal a whole lot more of his own skin. Where were those moist-wipes when all the hot and bothered fans (of all persuasions) really needed them?
Oh, and by the way…Gene Simmons really needs to keep his long-tongued mouth shut. I just have to say that. Anyone who says Adam Lambert is “not a rock star” or has “ruined his career” is clearly an idiot. Gene wishes he could perform like Adam did last night.

* oceregister.com: Adam Lambert dominates ‘Idol’ tour stop in L.A. by Peter Larsen, published on 17th of July 2009:

The tickets for this show read “American Idols Live!” but if they’d instead said “Adam Lambert, with Kris Allen and Eight Other Guys,” well, it might not have been that much of an exaggeration.
For it was clearly Lambert, he of swooping multioctave range and the glam-rock fashion style, whom the majority of this mostly sold-out arena clearly had come to see. And disappoint them he did not with a five-song set that had the crowd on its feet throughout.

* Quickjams.com blog, written by… Quickjams, published on 18th July 2009, under the title Kris Allen Shows Off, Adam Lambert Hypnotizes On ‘American Idol’ Tour

The show quickly changed gears from angels to demons, with glamazon Adam Lambert emerging from the back of the stage like an alien from the planet Rocktune.
The over-the-top praise Adam received during his unprecedented run on “Idol” — including Kara famously proclaiming him a “rock gawwd!” — is almost an understatement. As far as stage presence goes, he can’t be beat. A thousand Lady Gagas could have descended on Downtown Los Angeles singing Madonna tunes while making out with Britney Spears, and I still don’t think a single audience member would have been able to look away from Adam’s riveting onstage antics. He’s got Elvis’ snarl, Gene Simmons’ cockiness and Klaus Nomi’s aura of mystique. And just as I was worried that his set was veering into self-indulgent territory (David Bowie’s “Life on Mars”?), the band segued into another Thin White Duke classic, “Fame,” and Adam sashayed and preened like an otherworldly creature while unleashing the incomparable vocals we’ve come to expect. (Wouldn’t he be amazing at the VMAs? Like maybe joining already-confirmed musical guests Muse for a version of “Feeling Good,” which he performed on “Idol”? He covered their song “Starlight” during last night’s set.)

SAN DIEGO
*SignsOnSanDiego.com by Jessica Fryman, published on 20th July 2009:

As the Sports Arena crowd shrieked at every glimpse of Adam Lambert on pre-show music videos and in merch commercials, it was clear the “American Idols Live” tour stop in San Diego on Saturday would be all about the glam rocker who attended Mt. Carmel High.
And for many in the near-sellout audience, it was.
(…)
Nearly everyone screamed when he threw off his black studded and spiked jacket to reveal a sleeveless vest while he rocked his hips and swung a blue feather boa during his David Bowie medley.

* GreenValleyNews, written by Julie McCoy and published on 19th of July 2009:

Intro about the impact Adam makes on 8-80 years old women. And the Adam-concert part:

From the beginning of Adam’s set, the arena went crazy. Wearing a custom leather jacket resembling a futuristic ringmaster, Adam exploded onto the stage with “Whole Lotta Love.” The performance was intense and electrifying. He took control of the show and never let go.
He shifted seamlessly into “Starlight” by Muse. The arena was bathed in blue light and mirrored balls created countless stars, making it a surreal and magical experience.
That magic continued while a seated Adam reprised his hit from American Idol, the slow and haunting “Mad World.” You could hear a pin drop. Next, pal Allison Iraheta joined him for the high-energy “Slow Ride” and the crowd roared. I couldn’t believe my ears when for the finale of his incredible set, Adam was singing a Bowie medley of “Life On Mars,” “Fame” and “Let’s Dance.” He got the audience on their feet and dancing with him. When Adam finished, the applause was deafening. There was no denying who the star of this show was.
So, a change has come, and everything has come full circle. I’m back on the floor in an arena hearing Adam sing the same songs that David Bowie sang that fateful night 26 years ago. I’ve faced my fear, am proudly cheering for Adam and believing in happy endings. Things are different for Adam, too. He is rocketing into superstardom stalked by paparazzi and adored by his fans. He no longer has to worry about paying his rent, or if people will like or accept him. A change has come indeed, and Adam Lambert is living the American dream.

*SDNN.com Review: Adam Lambert shines in San Diego ‘Idols’ concert written by Valerie Scher, published on 19th of July:

Looking like a glam-rock prince and wearing enough guyliner for an entire band, Lambert strutted, gyrated, shimmied and sang, giving his multiple-octave all to songs ranging from “Whole Lotta Love” to “Mad World.” The “American Idol” runner-up radiated his own special charisma, his own mystique.

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The title of this video reads ‘ADAM LAMBERT San DIego Meet & Greet Fans Break Barricade 7/19/09′. Not sure however if I can see the broken barricade here…
The fans’ response however is overwhelming, no doubt about it!

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SDNN.com was of course quick with their review of the IdolTour show in San Diego featuring Adam Lambert that took place on 18th of July 2009.
And there we read among others that

it was only coincidental that the concert occurred during the San Diego LGBT Pride festival, the timing made Lambert seem like the star of his own pride fest.
The concert filled about 75% of the approximately 9,500 available seats, according to the box office. And fans were determined to enjoy themselves.

The “American Idols Live Tour” that rolled into San Diego on Saturday was never livelier or more satisfying than when Adam Lambert was onstage at the San Diego Sports Arena.
Looking like a glam-rock prince and wearing enough guyliner for an entire band, Lambert strutted, gyrated, shimmied and sang, giving his multiple-octave all to songs ranging from “Whole Lotta Love” to “Mad World.” The “American Idol” runner-up radiated his own special charisma, his own mystique.
So never mind that the concert featured Season 8’s top 10 contestants, including winner Kris Allen. For thousands of Lambert fans, known as Glamberts, it might as well have been called “The Adam Lambert Show,” with everyone who came before him almost seeming like participants in a long and varied warm-up act.

The screamed when his face appeared on the screens near the stage and shrieked much louder when he performed. One woman in the audience held up a pink, hand-lettered sign that said: “Even moms love Adam!”
Many of the concert-goers were significantly younger.
“It’s my first big concert and I’m a huge Adam Lambert fan,” said Neda Heydari, 14, of San Carlos. “He can sing like nobody else.”
No less enthusiastic was Jamie Dietrich, 17, of Santee, who wrote the word “Adam” in black eyeliner near her neck and carried a sign saying “Adam – You are Wicked,’ a tribute to Lambert’s musical theater background.
“Adam is a new voice – he’s much more theatrical,” she said. “And he brings back glam rock. He’s amazing.”

Read more under this link.

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Wendy Fry from San Diego News Network made an interview with Adam Lambert in connection with his performance on the IdolTOur 8 stop in San Diego.
The auio quality of the video is AWFUL, but it is actually the official version placed at the sdnn.com site…

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I will add more videos here once I find them …

The coverage of the concert on AdamOfficial.com

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