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Jul 31, 2010 10:26PM

Review: American Idols Live at Rupp Arena

The central conceit of American Idols Live is that you can take 10 singers who were begging to be heard last summer and have them command an arena concert tour this summer.
More than the American Idol TV competion, this event could really tell us who is ready for the big time.
After all, the American Idol series is as artificial an environment as any reality/competition show. Singers deliver a song a week - maybe a handful if they make it deep into the competition - and usually it's not even the entire song. Everything is tailored for TV, and the singers are immediately judged to their faces.
On Idols Live, the Top 10 contestants play to a live audience, which is essentially what they will have to do if they are to have successful musical careers. They need to bring the audience along with them, and get them on their feet, singing along to every word.
Saturday night, before an estimated crowd of 4,000 at Rupp Arena, some artists seemed right at home and some should probably savor this tour while it lasts.
Like the TV show, the concert counted down the Top 10 from No. 10 Didi Benami to American Idol winner Lee DeWyze.
Even with five full songs near the end of the concert, it was still hard to see what propelled DeWyze to the championship. He's certainly a good performer and seems like an amiable fellow. But basically he boiled a bunch of established hits like U2's Beautiful Day and Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah into mid-tempo country-pop tunes. Of course, there are numerous artists touring the country selling pretty much the same thing. It will be interesting to hear what DeWyze has to offer when he puts out his own album.
But several artists seized the opportunity to make good second impressions, particularly third place finisher Casey James. On the show, James always seemed to be a little lost trying to make the judges happy. But taking the stage playing The Black Keys' I Got Mine, he quickly established himself as a Texas bluesman who had a Stratocaster and wasn't afraid to use it.
Similarly, in the first six performers, No. 6 Siobhan Magnus was able to let her freaky flag fly to wonderful effect. She hit the stage wearing a bustier, tutu, ripped fishnet stockings and combat boots that must have left the shoemaking world with a buckle shortage. She started with a haunting, histrionic take on the Rolling Stones' Paint it Black and later showed herself to be a more-than-adequate stand-in for Gwen Steffani performing No Doubt's Spiderwebs.
There were several good performances in the show's first half from artists like No. 9 Andrew Garcia, doing his too-cool acoustic rendition of Paula Abdul's Straight Up. But Magnus and 17-year-old Katie Stevens showed the greatest promise in being able to play to a big house.
No. 4, Big Michael Lynche seemed to already have mastered it. He was the first singer to say hello to Lexington by name - we arena audiences kinda like it when you demonstrate you know where you are - and kept a friendly patter going while delivering his emotional rendition of Kate Bush's This Woman's Work and a party-starting version of Justin Timberlake's My Love.
Runner up Crystal Bowersox continued her reputation as Season Nine goofball, juggling a harmonica and water bottle at one point and joking about messages written on her equipment when stagehands brought it to her. She also delivered rousing renditions of show favorites like Janis Joplin's Piece of my Heart.
The show closed with all the performers singing Season One champion Kelly Clarkson's My Life Would Suck Without You.
Clarkson has, of course, made it as an arena artist, along with fellow Idol alums like Carrie Underwood and Daughtry. It remains to be seen who will make it back to the big stage after Idols Live ends, but this show gave us a few ideas.

Aug 01, 2010 12:48AM

Ex-Covington officer dies in wreck

FLEMINGSBURG A Fleming County man died Saturday when his Jeep Wrangler hit a utility pole, Fleming County Deputy Coroner Gary Workman said.

Larry Furnish, 70, of Ewing died at 8:04 a.m. Saturday when the accident occurred at the intersection of Kentucky 11 and Kentucky 32 bypass in Flemingsburg, Workman said.

Furnish was a retired Covington police officer, according to Workman.

Jul 31, 2010 08:28PM

Two hurt in north Fayette wreck

One woman was severely injured following a collision between a car and a minivan on Iron Works Pike, Lexington police said.

A Geo Prism driven by Celia C. Woollard, 55, of Lexington was making a left turn from westbound Iron Works into the entrance of 4550 Iron Works Pike and was struck by a maroon Plymouth Voyager that was eastbound on Iron Works, police said.

Woollard, who was ejected from the vehicle, was taken to the University of Kentucky Hospital with severe injuries, police said.

James H. Blanchard, 29, of Georgetown, the driver of the Voyager, was transported to Georgetown Community Hospital.

Jul 31, 2010 08:18PM

Woman dies after U.S. 25 collision

LONDON A woman died Saturday as a result of a two-vehicle accident in Laurel County Friday, according to Kentucky State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Officer Mike Hamblin.

Kathleen Durham, 51, died at University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, where she was flown after the accident. The accident occurred just before 11 p.m. Friday on U.S. 25.

Aaron Durham of London was traveling north when he turned into the path of a car driven by Steven Blankenship of Corbin.

Both drivers were treated at the scene for minor injuries, Hamblin said.

Another passenger in Durham's car, Cody Durham, was also taken to the hospital in Knoxville.

Aug 01, 2010 12:48AM

Groups 'itching' to spend money on Kentucky's U.S. Senate race

A former Democratic candidate for Congress is heading a new effort to influence politics and policy in Kentucky that could play a role in this year's general election.

The group, called Kentucky Leadership, hopes to raise $1.5 million to $2 million to get out its message, said Andrew Horne, a Louisville lawyer who ran for U.S. House in 2006 and pulled out of a race for U.S. Senate in 2008.

The announcement is another indication that groups other than campaign committees and political parties will likely spend a lot of money in coming months to sway voters' opinions of candidates for federal office in Kentucky.

On Friday, for instance, the conservative Club for Growth, which reportedly spent millions in 2008 campaigns, announced it had endorsed Republican U.S. Senate candidate Rand Paul. And earlier in the week, a group formed to oppose pro-union legislation criticized Attorney General Jack Conway, the Democratic U.S. Senate nominee.

"It's almost like the money is itching to be spent," said Laurie Rhodebeck, a political science professor at the University of Louisville who has followed the race.