Reigning 'American Idol' David Cook Sings a 'Declaration' in Conway

Douglas Boultinghouse
Arts & Entertainment Editor

Photo by Douglas Boultinghouse

Living "Life on the Moon" - Reigning "American Idol" winner David Cook performs at UCA in Conway. He performed several songs from his platinum album, "David Cook."

      As the eighth season of “American Idol” airs looking for the new “Idol,” the reigning winner, David Cook, embarked on a national headlining tour.

   Cook included a stop on “The Declaration Tour 2009,” a college tour, at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway Feb. 25.

   To warm up the crowd, another reality television star took the stage. Indie-rocker Ryan Star competed on the show “Rockstar: Supernova” in 2006.

   Star turned out to be a pleasant surprise.

   He performed songs to be featured on his new album “11:59,” which will be released later this year.

   In his nearly 25-minute set, he performed “Right Now,” “Breathe,” “Psycho Suicidal Girl,” “Brand New Girl,” “Last Train Home” and more.

   After Star’s set and a 15-minute intermission, the lights went down and Cook’s band took the stage.

   The idol soon took the stage, opening the show with an impressive two-song crowd-pleaser. For “Heroes” and “Mr. Sensitive,” he showed off both his skills on the guitar, but also the big voice that helped him win “Idol.”

   Throughout the night, he performed several songs from his debut, self-titled album such as, “Breathe Tonight,” “Lie,” “Kiss on the Neck” and “Declaration.”

   As surprises, he threw in the unreleased song “We’re Only Honest When We’re Sleeping;” “Anodyne,” which he wrote with the band MidWest Kings, and a cover of Van Halen’s “Hot for Teacher,” a riot for the teachers in the audience.

   Before performing the song “Life on the Moon,” he talked about his “Idol” journey.

   “A year-and-a half ago I was in Tula, Okla., and I was playing bar gigs for like five people; four of whom worked at the bar; and then I got on ‘American Idol.’ And I somehow managed to make it through all of the verbal onslaught and such and then I got to write this song,” he said. “This is about the last year-and-a half. It’s called ‘Life on the Moon.’”

   ”Here in this crowd I’m feeling all alone / Turn me around and point me back to home / I’m getting lost more every day,” he sang. “The life that I knew, it’s through / And I’m gonna need you more than ever / I’m alone in this crowded room / It’s like life on the moon.”

   For his “closing song,” he performed “Light On,” the single that continues to gain airplay and climb the charts.

Photo by Douglas Boultinghouse

Thank You - David Cook stayed after the show to sign autographs and thank fans. He received gifts from some, including a plaque from Gov. Mike Beebe congratulating him on his success.

   He thanked the crowd for coming to the show and exited the stage.

   He returned moments later for a two-song encore.

   He kicked it off with the intense-rocker “Bar-Ba-Sol,” equip with a big voice, booming chorus and guitar solos.

   He ended the night with the powerful and heartfelt “A Daily AntheM.”

   He wrote the song as a tribute to his brother Adam, who currently battles cancer. By capitalizing the letter M in ‘AntheM,’ the acronym for the song becomes “ADAM,” his brother’s name. He included another song for his brother titled “Permanent” on his album. He did not perform the song, possibly because of time or because of the emotional intensity of the song, but I hoped he would.

   “This is temporary sanity, an exercise in vanity / So long to the ordinary day / Wrought with fictitious tales of how there’s any other way / Hold on to anything at all / It’s a long way down between the summer and the fall / If I told you that you’re everything / Would you sing along?,” he sang. “It’s a daily anthem / Would you sing my song at the top of your lungs? And we’ll all sing along, we’ll all sing along / It’s a half-faith blessing / For the lessons I’ve learned and never deserved.”

   The chorus kicked in with the entire crowd singing back to him in a series of “Oh, oh” and arm swaying. The powerful and interactive performance gave the perfect ending to his show.

   After the show Cook met fans in the parking lot by his bus. He stayed to thank everyone personally for coming to the show. He shook hands, gave hugs and signed autographs for nearly 200 people before calling it a night.

   His “Declaration Tour” will continue through April. He will return to Arkansas April 21 for a show at Harding University in Searcy. If you want to go, find a scalper or fan selling tickets. The “Idol” sold out every show.

   For more information on Cook, or to purchase his debut album, check out his official Web site or MySpace.

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