-A.S. The American Idol results are in. Viewers were treated with a performance from the entirety of group one, as everyone tuned in to see who got voted off American Idol. Tonight’s results show also featured a performance from former American Idol contestants Michael Johns and Carly Smithson.

The first contestant welcomed into the American Idol top 12 was Alexis Grace. She was clearly one of the top two females from last night, getting the nod over Tatiana del Toro. With the pressure off, she performed Aretha Franklin “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Loved You),” and sounded even better than she did last night. Read the rest of this entry »

-A.S. We’re in for a whole lotta montage and anticipation, while we wait to find out which three make it into the final 12.

7:02 WTF is up with the necklace that Randy is wearing? Seacrest just insinuated that Simon dissapointed Paula and Kara in some way after the show. Zing!
7:04 Nice, I didn’t know they did performances during results shows. I like the group performances. This one sounds great. The ones that suck get covered up by the ones that are likely advancing. Read the rest of this entry »

@ZackTeibloom First off, I can’t believe I’ve never even heard of Sasquatch Festival until @Matthew_Lingo asked me about it on twitter this morning, so thanks Matt. I checked the line-up and was blown away. It’s like the festival gods are listening to my prayers.

Ladies and gentleman, your 2009 Indie-rock all-star team.

(As always, the # next to the band is the score I give them from the live shows I’ve seen.)

Read the rest of this entry »

-A.S. Danny Gokey has been my favorite since his audition. I called then that he would go far. Tonight, he was the best of the first 12 performances. They certainly saved the best for last. We sat for two hours, waiting for somebody to step up. Danny Gokey to the rescue. He brought the house down singing Maria Carey “Hero.” Besides, how can you not pull for the guy with the dead wife? He’s the biggest feel good story of the season and Google searchers agree. “Danny Gokey wife” is a top-5 trend on Google Trends right now.

My other two picks from tonight are Anoop Desai and Tatiana del Toro. I really like Alexis Grace better than Tatiana del Toro, but I think Tatiana came up with a better vocal performance tonight.

To Vote for Danny Gokey call 866.IDOLS.12 or Text “Vote to 5712.

-A.S. Anoop Desai has been a favorite of both Zack and I since his audition. I never expected that voice to come from him. Tonight he sang Eternal “Angel of Mine.” It was not his best song choice, nor was it his best performance. I believe that he will advance to the next round based on his nickname alone, Anoop Dogg. Never underestimate the power of a good nickname when it comes to American Idol voting.

The judges all agree that Anoop has that x factor. A likeability that not all of the contestants possess. My favorite judges comment came from Kara. “Nail it the way it needs to be nailed.” That’s what she said.

To vote for Anoop Desai call 866 IDOLS 06 or Text “Vote” to 5706.

-A.S. I wish that I liked Ricky Braddy more. His voice sounded fine, but he has no character. If he was better, I would totally shell out for one of those Braddy Bunch shirts. Check out the video of Ricky Braddy covering Leon Russell tonight on Idol.

He sang “A Song For You.” He did have one of the better voices of the night, but something about him just doesn’t do it for me. The judges sure seemed to enjoy him though. Simon said he doesn’t believe that Ricky has any star quality.

Call 1.866.IDOLS 02 or Text “Vote” 5702 to vote for Ricky Braddy.

-A.S. I peeked at the roster for tonight’s 12, and I’m quite excited. Danny Gokey has been my favorite since his audition. He is joined by two of Zack’s favorites in Anoop Desai and Ann Marie Boskovich. Unfortunately we have to take the good with the bad. Tatiana Del Toro is also a part of group one.

7:02 Judges interview. Paula says Kara was under the table too? Is that supposed to be sexual innuendo? Hilarious scarf on Randy too.
7:06 The first things I noticed about Jackie Tohn (left) were what she was wearing. Her pleather pants, the sick Jordans. The fact her voice wasn’t the first thing says it all. She sounded terrible. I even shouted Yuck at the breakdown at the end.
7:08 The judges liked her energy more than the vox. Jackie Tohn called Kara dude. Simon seems to agree with me, and the booing of Simon’s negative feedback begins…
7:10 Jackie Tohn’s dad would be wearing a leather biker beret. Nice awkward family moment with Seacrest. Read the rest of this entry »

-A.S. We’ve seen before how non-American Idol winners are capable of having a career. Just look at Daughtry and Jennifer Hudson. Frankie Jordan and Jamar Rogers didn’t make it as far as those two, but they’re hoping for life beyond Idol. They’re calling their band Frank Rogers.

I liked Frankie Jordan from her first audition, mostly because she looked like a not cracked out Amy Winehouse. I was pulling for Jamar Rogers too, but mostly because of his bromance with my overall favorite, Danny Gokey. I look forward to seeing what Frank Rogers will bring us.

~Z.T.~ I was supposed to talk to Paul Rudd about his new movie, “I Love You, Man,” but I couldn’t resist talking music with the Tom Waits fanatic who played John Lennon in “Walk Hard.”

Rudd watches Idol: “I used to be like, ‘OMG Idol’s on tonight!” Now, I get like, OK cool. I guess I’m gonna watch.

He loves The Foo: “I think you were absolutely right with Dave Grohl (having him on my man crush team.)

Who’s cooler than Dave Grohl?! Read the rest of this entry »

@ZackTeibloom And the 5 winners of the: 15-pack of Action Wipes are…

Winner #5 Jennifer Caslin-”All of a sudden one of the growlers explodes all over me and I was wearing nice business casual clothes. Well, the growler exploding must have set something off because after that exploded… continue reading here

Winner #4 Jason “the guy who’s getting married on Bonnaroo” Boyd “I distinctly remember seeing that someone had ripped the thermostat off the wall and it was just hanging on the wall by the cords, and thinking that was the least fucked up thing about this disaster house….” finish the story…

Winner #3 goes by The Dankness:

“I ate a girl out while she was on her period, twice, in one night. That dirty enough??” Actually, that’s the whole story.
Oh, relax. These are just muffins.

Winner #2 asked to remain nameless:

“I was at a semi-formal for my sorority and my date and I decided to go for a walk. I was in my finest little black dress and we decided to scoot into a shadow (which also happened to be on a patch of freshly sprinklered grass) and he somehow convinces me to go down on him.There I was was squatting in the grass in my finest when I slipped and fell backwards into the mud… what happened next…

Winner #1 Paul Brisske:

“Before I begin my tale of narst, I must remind you all that I suffer from a relatively Horrible case of IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)… Want to see what made this the number one story?

Winners- Please e-mail me your address to Zack@festivalcrashers.com and we’ll send out your 15-pack of Action Wipes. Read the stories… you know you want to…