'American Idol' rocks at sold out Weidner Center performance

David Cook brought his cross-country college tour to the Weidner Center for the Performing Arts Feb. 20. He is promoting his self-titled album debut in various college venues across the country. Many people know David Cook from the seventh season of "American Idol," where he won first place. Despite popularity that seems to be growing exponentially his current tour is focused on smaller scale performances. A look at his tour schedule will show that he will be sticking to university centers and hotel/casinos. Expectations are high everywhere he is playing. The tickets for the show at the Weidner Center sold out within a few days of them going on sale. Some of the other performances were sold out within minutes. The Cook-mania was in full swing come show time Feb. 20. Although the tickets for the Weidner show were assigned seating, concert goers were lined up outside in cold hours ahead of show time. At 7:30 p.m. the flood gates to the Weidner Center were opened and the lobby became packed instantly. An impressive amount of sales sent venders running back to their trucks to restock the band memorabilia. The show may have been sold out, however the most impressive part of the audience was its diversity. It seems "American Idol's" prime time slot exposed Cook to a wide variety of age groups. Across a sea of mostly younger girls there were groups of adults scattered in the crowd. Teens, 20s, 30s, 40-year-olds…every demographic seemed to be represented at this show. There was even a woman senior enough to comment, "David Cook reminds me of a young Elvis Presley." Opening up for David Cook was Ryan Star. Though some people were not sure who he was going in, by the look of the crowd after he started he may have added to his fan list. As David Cook began, reserved seating quickly turned into standing room only. The Weidner may seat around 2,000 people but the acoustics projected the sound of a much larger venue. The acoustics, combined with the screams of excitement from the crowd, made this performance much different from those the Weidner Center is use to seeing. Not only was the show heard from within the concert hall but the Weidner makes sure that fans do not miss a minute by showing a live feed on televisions and blarring the music from speakers in the halls. Cook played tunes off his new album as well as some bonus tracks. He also included a rendition of Van Halen's "Hot for Teacher" in the set list. Throughout the performance Cook took advantage of the smaller theater and maintained a bit of dialogue with the crowd, sharing stories about songs and his time in Green Bay. He ended the show with a two song encore including an extended drum solo from Jason Castro. As soon as the concert was over and the lights went on the audience flocked back into the lobby where they returned to the venders with full force. Ryan Star and some of his band joined the crowd for a meet-and- greet session where he talked with fans and signed autographs. It would be an understatement to say that the concert was well received by those in attendance. Two fans in particular were impressed by the show, Lainee Hoffman and Brenda Elliskson. "I loved it. It was amazing," said Hoffman. "He sounds great live," said Elliskson. David Cook and Ryan Star will be continuing their nonstop tour through the end of May. For information visit www.davidcooktour.com.