Glee in Concert, LXD @ The Gibson Amphitheatre

LXD
is the Legion of Extraordinary Dancers, a side project of Harry Shum Jr., who plays Mike "The other Asian" Chang on Glee.  We were running a bit late, so we only made it in time to catch Shum's (known for his freestyle and fusion type of dancing and also as a choreographer) solo performance and a group dance.  I was a bit confused because it seemed like they were some sort of dance crew, but they weren't doing anything like what I had seen on America's Best Dance Crew.  After watching their TEDTalk, I realized LXD was something completely different.



They're like a group of performers who mix ballet and street dancing.  The video showed an elegance to an unreal, gymnastic style of movement.  I'm disappointed I missed out, but I would definitely like see them perform again. 



Glee in Concert
I was SO tired from driving around all day and sitting in traffic, but as soon as the cast came on stage, a huge smile instantly appeared on my face and we were treated to something akin to sectionals...that lasted 90 minutes.  I was glad Will Schuester and Sue Sylvester made some sort of appearance, even if it was only in the form of videos interspersed in the concert, because it really added to the believability of the characters on stage. 

It was great hearing all the songs from the show, although, I could have done without Push It, but it was still funny.  Seeing and hearing Don't Rain on My Parade live in a theater setting was fantastic.  Sweet Caroline was a fun singalong song and I liked how they got the audience to karaoke to it, but I found Puck's voice to be noticeably weak on The Lady is a Tramp.   I loved hearing Defying Gravity (Kurt was fantastic, but Jennio says she heard Rachel mess up.  It wasn't too noticeable to me), could barely contain myself when I saw a car come out for Bust Your Windows, was in awe of the costumes and performance for Bad Romance (my absolute favorite song of the night.  At the time I hadn't even seen the episode yet, so the song came as a surprise.  And I loved how into it Kurt was!  Santana's voice sounded amazing!), and definitely shouted out loud for It's My Live / Confessions, Pt. II (who DOESN'T love Bon Jovi?!).

Photo by Adam Rose/FOX

When Vocal Adrenaline came out, I didn't quite know how to feel about them.  They were good, but they're New Directions' competitors!  Wing and Matt agreed that Jump was a lot of fun to watch.  All the encore songs were amazing and I was astonished by Jesse's sudden appearance for a duet with Rachel.  I must say, Brittany is an impressive dancer.  She was in practically every number.  And even though Artie plays handicapped on the show, I marveled at his proficiency with the wheelchair. 

Setlist:

1. "Don't Stop Believin'"
2. "My Life Would Suck Without You"
3. "Push It"
4. "Don't Rain on My Parade"
5. "Beautiful"
6. "Sweet Caroline"
7. "The Boy Is Mine"
8. "The Lady Is a Tramp"
9. "Defying Gravity"
10. "Bust Your Windows"
11. "Bad Romance"
12. "Dancing with Myself"
13. "It's My Life" / "Confessions, Pt. II"
14. "Halo" / "Walking on Sunshine"
15. "Rehab"
16. "Mercy"
17. "Jump"
18. "Faithfully"
19. "Any Way You Want It" / "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'"
20. "Like a Prayer"

Encore

1. "Hello" on certain dates with Jonathan Groff
2. "True Colors"
3. "Somebody to Love"

More:
Zap2it review