The Travel Gnome Is An American Idol Fan! (as if there were any doubt!)

OK, I am loving seeing everywhere our Travel Gnome is jetsetting these days - Paris, IRLs, he'll soon be going to Khazakstan - but I have to say, these pics I just received from Tracey take his travels to a whole new level!

She took in the American Idol concert tour this past Sunday and had some of the coveted Meet-n-Greet passes for after the show.  Not only did she get to meet quite of few of the Idols up close and personal (Carly is smaller than you think, Brooke is very waifish, sadly David Cook was MIA), our Travel Gnome got in on the action!

She said Carly was intrigued, and that Puppy was a little frightened till she explained this blog is actually a nice place to hang out.

Enjoy, and Tracey - as I told you in my email - YOU ROCK!!!!

I think she should get a tattoo of the Gnome added to her arm, don't you?

Carly and Tracey's handsome hubby!

Syesha looking "fly" as usual (don't I sound street?  *gag*)

Hubs and Syesha!

Tracey and Michaels Johns (she said he seemed a little distracted, not very approachable)

Tracey and the waifish Brooke - Tracey said she was absolutely gracious and nice to everyone

Puppy was a little scared when she explained the Gnome and the "blog" - asked if I was "nice" - she assured him I am, and then he smiled that tween-heart-melting smile for the camera!    

 

Comments

[ChickyChick (Kathy) to Tracey]

Tracey - OMG those are the GREATEST.PHOTOS.EVER!!!! You ROCK GIRL! Tell us about the concert - did you have a blast?

[Lori in Texas]

OH MY GOD!!!!! The Travel Gnome gets 15 minutes of uber-FAME! How fantastic is this! Tracey, you are da bomb, girl. Those photos are gonna go down in DGMS history!!!

Sidenote - Brooke still makes me think of Phoebe Buffet. Hey, Tracey, did she sing "Smelly Cat"???? (I wish....)

[Katy]

No one can top that. Great shots! What an awesome, once in a life time experience! Tracey, I'm sooooo jealous!

[Jamie in WI]

OMG - That is sooo cool! Too bad Cookie wasnt there! That would have been the pinacle for sure! WOW! Tracey - so jealous!

[Leigh in FL]

That rocks! Nice pics! I am so jealous! I would love to meet Brooke. She was my favorite!

[Lindsay in VA]

WOW!! I bow down! I went to the concert last night in Philly (even though they're in DC tonight...funny, huh?!) But I didn't have the fancy meet and Greet passes so I did get a couple far away shots of the gnome (I'll send those pics next week)...but Tracey, you are awesome!! :)

[Kerry to Tracey & Lindsay]

I got to the concert next week. It's been so long since AI was on, I'm sort of out of the groove. But hopefully it's fun. Funny, but I was just thinking "geez, no one's mentioned if they've gone to the concerts." How was it?

No meet and greet passes for me either, so I guess it will be the far away shots for this gal too!

[Kerry to Tracey & Lindsay]

Uhh... "I GOT to to the concert?" How about "I am going to the concert?" You can take the gal out of WV, but....

[Theresa from Virginia]

These pics are awesome! Thanks and congrats Tracey!

[audreyftotracey]

VERY COOL PICS GIRLFRIEND! Michael Johns didn't look as enthused as the rest, but, whatev. Looks like you guys had a blast!

[Dorothy]

I can hear it now.. "So Puppy, what was the scariest thing a fan has asked you to do?" "Well, once there was this lady with a really strange little gnome.....
Good Job Tracy!!!

[ChickyChick (Kathy) to Dorothy]

You cracked me up Dorothy!

[Jamie in WI]

"Well, once there was this lady with a really strange little gnome..... "

That sounds like the start of a limmerick!

Well, once there was this lady with a really strange little gnome.....
He liked to travel
He wouldnt stay home
Although his nose it was scary
and his chest - it was hairy
people took him with where ever they roamed!

(OK - how many thought it was going to end up dirty....LOL)

[Tracy]

Carly looks amazing. She is so pretty...much prettier than she looked on the show.

[ginny]

ohhh tracey.....brooke...ahhhhh good to see them all...but brooke...you lucky dog...im so jealous...gin...wonder if they are gonna come in the blogg and read stuff now...i think its so cool.

[Mary Lou in FL]

The pictures are great, how fun to meet all of them!

Jamie...great limerick!

[Veronica]

That is sooo awesome! Thanks for sharing those. They beat all!

[Tracey in NH]

WOW, so glad you all like the pictures! The concert was awesome - they've come a long way in the few months that they've been on tour. Cookie & Michael were unbelievable, of course, and the others were good as well, though I never "got" Jason, and I "get" him even less now !

The Meet n' Greet was the coolest ever! I've never been to one; a friend of mine who is "in the business" got the passes for us, and I had no idea what to expect. There were about 50 of us, and they had us gather after the concert. About 15 mins later, we were brought to a room where *most* of the Idols were just hanging out - Security (AND Jeff Archuleta!) waited in the hallway. Chikeze, Kristy & David weren't there, and Michael Johns didn't come in until it was almost over.

You just walked up to whomever you wanted to speak to, got an autograph and a picture if you wanted, and that was it. Brooke was very sweet, and Carly was pretty cool - definitely someone it would be fun to hang with.

Jason stood there with his hands in his pockets unless he was signing autographs - he seemed quite shy, but nice. Sorry, the pic of him didn't come out. Remi & Syesha were sitting in chairs, so it made it a little awkward to talk or take pics, and Syesha (OMG is she beautiful!)had "Vocal Rest" written on her hand, so she didn't speak at all.

Puppy was totally his goofy self, holding court with all the 12 year old girls. When I explained about the Gnome, and said it was for an Idol Recap Blog, he said, "Oh my gosh, is she nice???" - I take it they've read a lot of mean stuff on blogs! I assured him that yes, Linda is very nice, and it's a really cool blog. I *didn't* tell him we call him "Puppy", or the comments about him piddling on the floor!

I was SOOOO disappointed that David Cook wasn't back stage - it's why I was so excited about going in the first place! Oh, well, at least we got to see him sing, though it was tough waiting thru the WHOLE concert (they sing in decending order, so he was LAST).

Anyway, if you really love AI, you should go to a concert if you get the chance. This was our third (the year Carrie Underwood won was our first, and we missed last year), and it's a lot of fun.

[ChickyChick (Kathy) to Tracey]

Gawd Tracey, I am so jealous - I would have wet my pants waiting to meet them, especially thinking that Cookie was going to be there - was a supreme disappointment that he wasn't. Your photos are so great tho - I can't believe how pretty Carly looks, and even Puppy looks adorable (never really cared for him myself). You must've been insanely excited! Good for you - and great that you brought the Gnome! You just Rock!

[Dorothy]

Jamie, loved the limmerick! Let's adopt it as his official calling card.

[Kerry to Tracey]

Like you, this will be our third year - we saw Carrie, Taylor, and protested last year because we didn't want to see Sanjaya.

We get a group together and rent a sky-box and have food ordered in. The old-fart way to attend a concert! This year we have two boxes, and 50 people. Bless the gal who organizes it all! :)

[Paul to Tracey]

What's going to be really funny is when the Idols have meet'n'greets with the Gnome, multiple times in multiple venues! They're gonna think the DGMS gang is stalking them!
Congratulations, Tracey! Your pics take the top prize for Gnome fame! (Don't get me wrong, he's still gonna enjoy Cancun and Khazakstan, but still, posing with Archuleta? PRICELESS!)

[janna]

I always come bearing good info
David Cook probably wasn't there for one of two reasons (or both!)
1. it was his turn to do press.
2. he was whisked off to the studio to work on his album.
He does come out before the show to where the buses are, where fans who don't have meet and greets gather to meet the idols.

So, for his album, his producer is Rob Cavallo. The same man who produced My Chemical Romance's "Welcome to the Black Parade", several Green Day albums, and other cool stuff I can't think of at the moment. And Cavallo came to David, wanted to work with David. That is cred, friends! I'm so incredibly excited for this album to come out, it's going to be awesome!!!!

Oh one more "Cookie crumb": "Time of My Life" has been used twice on So You Think You Can Dance, and twice for clip montages during the olympics. It's sales numbers are climbing, and it could top Ruben's coronation single next week, and Carrie's a few weeks after that. It's almost at 750,000

[Liz in CT]

(snort) "Smelly Cat" - Lori that is too funny!!

LOVE those pics with the Gnome! Tracey that is so cool you were able to do the meet and greet! I saw the AI concert last week. It was great. I loved Michael Johns - he is a true entertainer. Syesha was so beautiful, but did sound like her voice was straining - that was August 8th. Carly looked and sounded fantastic. Same for Brooke. She commented that she had come to the arena the night before to see Neil Diamond perform and a person working at the snack bar thought she was Hannah Montana!
David A., who I was never really a big fan of, sounded beautiful live (he still sings with his eyes closed!) and he seems very young and sweet. Jason was Jason....spaceman.
I was very excited for David Cook and I have to say that while he sounded great, I was disappointed by his "attitude". I think his fame is getting to him. He kept throwing his guitar pics into the audience, but not just tossing them. Really throwing them. I love his new, shorter haircut, hated the emo eye make-up and pale face, and he needs to keep his hands out of the cookie jar (or more likely the beer keg) because he's getting chunky. And I really loved this guy....but all I wanted to do was slap him in the head and remind him that he was a bartender this time last year!
A little grace goes a long way.
Tracey - or anyone else who has seen the concert - did you have the same experience?
Maybe we caught him on an off night.

[Tiffany to Bobbsey]

Those are absolutely fantastic pictures! I have to say, Michael Johns was looking a little puffy, though, as well as surly. Not a good moment for him. Brooke is drop dead gorgeous, and I'm happy to hear that she is as nice in person as she seemed to be on the show. Also, if Pantene hasn't called her by now, they really should. I love the Puppy encounter! He's a sweetheart. Thanks for sharing these pictures!

[cindy in dallas]

My daughter and I are going to the Dallas AI concert on the 25th. It will be our first one. I'm not really sure what to expect, but I'm really looking forward to it. After AI was over I sorta got wrapped up in the SYTYCD mania, so I'll be glad to get back into the AI mode.

[cindy in dallas]

My daughter and I are going to the Dallas AI concert on the 25th. It will be our first one. I'm not really sure what to expect, but I'm really looking forward to it. After AI was over I sorta got wrapped up in the SYTYCD mania, so I'll be glad to get back into the AI mode.

[Lindsay in VA to cindy in dallas]

Expect A LOT of screaming!!!! (Oh, and if you're in line for merchandise, like programs or t-shirts, be assertive. These mothers are scary and will push you out of the way!)! That is my AI PSA of the day!

[NH Diane to Liz]

Say it isn't so! I will be so disappointed if Cookie is really getting too big for his britches. Maybe it was just an off night? I hope so.

[Kerry to Cindy]

Maybe it will be different this year, since the top 2 finishers were young guys who appeal to the tweeny-boppers, but I have always been surprised at how old the audience actually skews. Not just kids, but lots and lots of 40-somethings and older. There were quite a few buses and vans that came from senior communities!

Maybe it just turned out that way since my two experiences were when it was Carrie/Bo (rocker appealed to older fans) and Taylor, who definitely had an older following too.

[Tracey in NH]

I would definitely say the majority this year were young girls. In past years, it was more of a broad based audience. And yes, the SCREAMING is unbelievable! They did a great job, though, IMO. We also didn't go last year primarily because of Sanjaya. Oh, and to the person (Tracy?)who thought Carly looked better in my pics? She's had her teeth fixed!

[Mom of 5 to Tracey]

Cool! Thanks for sharing the gnome...er, photos. :-)

[k8ti]

My daughter saw them in Fresno, she said David Cook was "super sweet" and spent the most time with the little kids. Brooke, DavidA and Jason were having the most fun with fame in all her pictures.

[Sonia in MO]

Those are such fun pictures, Tracey...thank you for sharing!!!