Idol Chatter & Voice Views

The prospect of a drive of more than six hours was not going to keep Tracey Hague from watching David Cook perform live for the first time.

Nor was a broken tibia, suffered when she slipped on ice a few weeks back.

Tracey couldn’t snare tickets to a Cook concert scheduled for New Haven, Connecticut, later this month, but she managed to get fifth-row seats to Tuesday’s show at the Pullo Performing Arts Center.

Besides, she had her sister, Keri Roberts, to accompany her on the trip from Richmond, Rhode Island, to York, Pa.

A high school teacher, Tracey said she has followed David Cook from the very beginning of his Idol journey, and “sweat and bled over making phone calls” in his support last year.

“I was worried when Simon was so mean to him (in last year’s Idol finale). It made me sick. I even had my students calling (in votes),” Tracey said. “I used to joke with my students that anyone who voted for David Archuleta was going to fail my class.”

David Cook fans — females mostly — descended on the Pullo Center by the hundreds Tuesday for a concert that sold out within a week.

Kristin Adams, 18, of Fawn Grove, was standing in line to get an official David Cook T-shirt while wearing a homemade David Cook T-shirt. It featured three photos of him that she downloaded from the Internet, plus lyrics from one of his songs, “Daily Anthem.”

She was accompanied by friends Chelsea Paley, 19, of Penn State York; and Alex Dickson, 17, of Kennard-Dale High School. They said they’re David Cook fans, too. But they weren’t decked out in homemade David Cook shirts.

Alex said he came in support, in case Kristin swooned at some point during David’s performance.

“I’ve been watching him since his first (Idol) audition,” Kristin said. “I knew he was going to win (Idol). I love his music. His lyrics really touch me.”

Besides, “he’s gorgeous,” she added.

Maryann DiFalco figures she’s proof that the 2008 Idol winner appeals to fans of all ages. At age 62, she drove more than two hours from Norristown, Pa., to York for his concert because she couldn’t get tickets to either of his shows in Atlantic City.

“He’s a fabulous singer, and he does crossword puzzles, like me,” Maryann said. She even took a few crossword puzzles to Tuesday’s show as a gift for David, just in case she got to see him up close and personal.

“I asked for his CD for Christmas, anticipating I’d like about three of the songs, like with most CDs. I like the whole thing. And I listen to do-wop music all the time. Yet here I am.”

Johanna Driscoll of Shrewsbury wasn’t about to wait until Christmas to get the David Cook CD. She got her copy Nov. 18, the day it came out.

She was at the concert on her birthday with her teenage daughter, Madison, and her friend Holly Giglio. There was little doubt who the biggest David Cook fan was of the three; Johanna even had a David Cook photo on her cell phone.

Did she support him with votes during his Idol run?

Oh, yeah.

“Every single time. Countless times. We called on both cell phones and the home phone.”

Holly snagged the tickets for the show. Johanna seemed quite appreciative. Even if, the women admitted, their seats weren’t great.

That certainly wasn’t a problem for Jodi Sutton of York and her 15-year-old daughter, Ashley.

Jodi said she’s the big David Cook fan. She had sworn off Idol after Chris Daughtry was voted off the show. Then David came along.

So when his concert tickets went on sale Feb. 1, she arrived at about 7:30 a.m., two and a half hours early.

The wait paid off. By the time opening act Ryan Star prepared to kick off Tuesday’s show, Jodi and Ashley had settled into front-row seats, just a few feet from the stage.

So, did David Cook live up to expectations?

Well, by the time the show ended, Kristin had not swooned. But there was still the meet-and-greet to get through.

“He was fantastic,” said her friend Alex. “It was the best 45 minutes of my life.”

Added Maryann DiFalco: “He was wonderful. Excellent. Very friendly with the crowd.”

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Last Friday’s interview with David Cook

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Concert photos below and above by John Pavoncello