What a magical evening! (And an unforgettable weekend!)

I loved EVERY SINGLE song tonight. LiMBO was just perfect and allowed him to shine and gave the perfect backup that made him feel so comfortable and confident. (They are tops in my book anyway after hearing them at Hermans last month....They are top-class musicians! You could tell how much they cared about Elliott and wanted this to be perfect for him. )

A surprise favorite for me had to be "You've Got a Friend." I cried throughout the entire performance b/c it was clearly so heartfelt. I could sense that he was trying to tell his hometown that even though he's moving away to pursue his career and dreams, that his heart will always be with us in Richmond.. and that he was trying to sing us his thanks and gratitude for helping to give him his wings.

I'm getting all teary eyed again about how VERY, VERY special this young man is. I don't know him (wish I did!), but feel as though he's a member of my family now. He has meant so very much to me for reasons he'll never know or understand. He's been a godsend to this city. He did us proud tonight.

I knew tonight would be terrific, but it exceeded my expectations. I LOVED the lyrics and message of each of his songs. Words cannot express how VERY deeply I feel about wanting him to go on and have every single dream come true. Cannot wait to see and hear what treats he has in store for us next! That voice, that soul, that spirit - truly one in a million!

And he's got the best fans in the entire universe!

One more thing to add - LOVED, LOVED, LOVED his dancing tonight. The two left feet that Paula mentioned in the Hollywood rounds are LONG gone! The sliding and shimmying was unbearably SEXAY!!!!!!!! We NEED a good DVD.

Aw!! Thank's so much for your heartfelt thoughts!!

All of us who couldn't be there are so thankful to those of you who are sharing their experiences! :glomp:

i can't wait to see video from this show! Sometimes I forget how amazing Elliott's voice is and then I hear it again and I'm shocked like it's the first time. He is awesome! I'm so happy you got to see this show.

Ithad2bu, great post. I'm so happy that everything worked out perfectly for Elliott. He has worked so hard, he deserved to have a special night. It's great that he got to do his first solo concert in Richmond. The love and support he has received from his hometown as well as the rest of the world will be wonderful memories for Elliott for the rest of his life. LMBO sounded great. I'm glad that they are Elliott's friends and that they wanted him to shine.

Thanks for posting.

HOW BEAUTIFULLY STATED. I'M SURE THESE SENTIMENTS ARE ECHOING ALL THREW RICHMOND TONIGHT. HE TRUELY HAS TOUCHED SO MANY WITH HIS AMAZING TALENT. I'M SO GLAD YOU HAD A GREAT TIME AT THE CONCERT. I'M SURE THERE WILL BE MORE TO COME IN THE FUTURE. WHAT AN AMAZING CAREER HE HAS AHEAD OF HIM. THANKS TO ALL THE FANS WHO HAD FAITH IN HIM THESE PAST MONTHS. HE REALLY DOES HAVE THE BEST FANS THAT WERE NOT GOING TO ALLOW HIM TO FALL THROUGH ANY CRACKS OVER AT AI. HE WAS JUST TOO DAMN GOOD!! :yes:

What a beautiful post ithad2bu ,I'm so happy that Elliott's concert was great,and all his VA fans showed so much love to him.

Great post, ithad2bu! The magic was apparent even over the phone. It may seem strange, but I could FEEL the atmosphere of love and joy, without being there physically.
I was blown away by Elliott's voice, once again, and even more so for having heard him singing live. You've Got a Friend was a wonderful surprise - it is one of my all time favorites and now it has become even closer my heart. The one that got me tearing up, though, was Whipping Post - I got so "into" it that I was overwhelmed and choked up.
Elliott has got MORE than what it takes. He is a brilliant artist and I cannot wait to see what he does next.

:goodpost: EXACTLY my thoughts courtie!

You've Got A Friend is also one of my all time favorites! (whether sung by Carole King, James Taylor and now Elliott!) That's some pretty amazing company for him to be standing in! "Ready For Love" was also huge and unexpected treat!!!!

LMBO was smokin! Melissa Ruggeri wrote in her article about the evening that she hopes they are lifted to playing more than the small (I believe she used the word "dank"....kind of a slam if you ask me) clubs of Birmingham. It was obvious that they weren't just E's "hired band" but really cared about his success for this concert!!!!!!! THEY ROCKED!

I was majorly impressed by LMBO. They should certainly be playing at greater venues than small Birmingham clubs (whether dank or not :P )

I had seen short clips of them jamming with Tay and Elliott, but hearing them play the whole concert last night and giving it their all showed just how talented these guys are! Kudos to them all! They deserve greater success and public recognition.

What a great recap - it was magical!! In fact I am speechless over the whole thing - both Elliott and LMBO - they are magical together!

Linda, are we going to get to see a clip of you doing Walk this way? hmmm?
I would LOVE that!

Thanks for all of the recaps and the play-by-play! :glomp: I still want a video, though! :D :woohoo:

In keeping with my experience at 5 concerts, now 6, I got nailed by security for trying to capture some video last night.....With my videography skills (shaky hands whenever Elliott is within 1000 miles), I don't think they should have cared!!!! But I did get a little (then just kept the audio running). Will try to see what's decent to post. I think I got a couple of good segments of him dancing during Whipping Post (got a little braver at the end again.)

I'm so jealous! 6 concerts?! :blink: :D

Whatever you can post will be great!!
6 concerts... Lucky you!!

Wow, 6 concerts you've gone to? Boy, I wish I could go to that many. I'm so happy for you and others who went :) I wish I lived closer, but hope to see any videos and pics of that super concert. :)

Thanks for the wonderful post. :goodpost: I wish I could have been there to see that concert. LMBO is a very good group, wish I could see them in person too, glad they helped our guy Elliott out :)

Well, no reason to be jealous of my credit card tab now! I've never been to ANY AI concerts for previous seasons (never even voted before this year), and tended to limit my recent concert experiences to local bands with friends playing/singing. But like so many others I've met this year, Elliott just "did something" to me. At first, I was just going to go to the Richmond concert, but then wanted to help out with the banner, so offered to transport to Greensboro. Then... have been wanting to get back to Colorado anyway, so this was a great "excuse", so again offered to transport a banner panel out there and just "take in the show! Finally, with Norfolk being so close by, I couldn't resist.... and then the lure of the last show in Wilkes Barre just couldn't be denied. I have not regretted a single thing - even traipsing cross country with a coolor full of Turkey Hill Diet Iced Tea to give to Elliott in Denver. I figured he had been away from home too long by then, and wanted to bring him some things that he may have been missing. Claudette told me the tea was a big craving, so off I went to Ukrops. And then filled up a pretty large basket of other Richmond related things to bring a little home to him while on the road. He was so very sweet and happy when I gave it all to him (probably thought I was crazy though)- the Pepsi Center security guys were just laughing at me.... My husband is about ready to have me committed, but I just remind him of the frenzy he gets into over his Washington Redskins and then he calms down a bit.

But anyway, it's been a blast! Great fun all along the way, and can't wait for his solo tour! (And I would dearly love to see him with LiMBO again - they are simply FANTASTIC! A very good fit!)

You're right, I wasn't thinking about the cost of it all! I'm just going to have to be patient and wait for his Solo Tour across the country! :woohoo: :etrain:

It's so great to read about your adventures with Elliott! I have not had the oppotunity to go see him but I sure appreciate the reports from everyone that has. He has definitely touched my heart and I pray that someday I will have the chance to go see him! It brings tears to my eyes everytime I read about him!!!! Thanks for the good posts!!! :goodpost:

:goodpost: I agree with everything you said! Elliott is E-mazing! :wub: :etrain:

A detailed fan review on the AI Boards:

http://myidol.americanidol.com/Boards/topic.aspx?tid=576721

Thanks! :D

Thanks Courtie. Best writing I've seen in a while. I think it was balanced with love, excitement, and appreciation for Elliott's voice, yet tempered with realistic concern about the future.

:goodpost:

I can't stop reading all the recaps! I totally appreciate everybody who was lucky enough to be there being so willing to share with the rest of us! :glomp: :wub: :etrain:

Ithad2BU- You are a Elliott veteran. Thanks for your wonderful details and recap! I can feel your genuine affection for Elliott and his voice!

I totally agree! I can't get enough of the love for Elliott! :wub:

Wow, from all the wonderful recaps and video that I've seen, I'm sorry I didn't move heaven and earth to get to this concert. I'm so happy for all that did make it, and many thanks for sharing your experiences with us.
:friends: :friends: :friends: :friends:

Me, too! Trust me, next time I AM moving heaven and earth! :wub: :woohoo: :D :etrain: