7/19 Cleveland: Tired but happy...(mini recap)

Got back from the show about an hour and a half ago, and I can barely keep my eyes open...full recap coming as soon as possible. (Maybe I should just get a pot of coffee going and give it a whirl?) For right now, all I can say is that Bucky seemed a tiny bit tired--this is a pretty grueling tour schedule--but very happy, and he looked and sounded just wonderful. If you liked Bucky on Idol--the beautiful, rough-edged (and seriously underrated) Southern voice, the megawatt smile, the evident eagerness to make sure you have a great time--you'll love Bucky on tour. I can also say that Cleveland loves us some Bucky--he got a great reception here.

My only real complaint is that there simply wasn't enough Bucky in the show. You know the old cliche about how time flies when you're having fun? Well, between cheering and (fruitlessly--sigh) fiddling around with my new and unfamiliar camera, "Superstition" and "Drift Away" seemed to take about 3.5 seconds, tops. He was onstage, bopping around and headbanging in his grey and white shirt, and then...he was gone. (Come back, Bucky! Freebird!)

The whole Cleveland show made a major shift in crowd energy from the first half to the second. (Honestly, I wondered if I'd made a wrong turn and ended up at a Cleveland Orchestra show for a while at the very beginning. This is Cleveland, people--heart of rock and roll and all that nonsense. Stand up!) However, it picked up steam quickly, and the post-intermission energy was fierce--the crowd really showed Bucky some love during "Patience", which was transcendently pretty tonight.

Real, extra-long recap with all the details--and all the Idols--coming next post.