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Last night, my husband and I and my cousin and her husband went to see Daughtry at War Memorial Auditorium. It was a blast -- while I loved the concert outdoors near Natty Greene's in March, this was a smaller venue, so it was a nice, more intimate concert.

The two opening bands weren't my favorites -- the first one (You Are I Am) was kind of meh and the second one (Midway State), while entertaining in spastic, overly earnest sort of way, I could have done without as well. The audience kind of sat there as well, unless they were getting up to go smoke, get beer or buy T-shirts.

As soon as Daughtry went on, everyone stood and remained standing the whole time, singing along and swaying or jumping, depending on the song. I'm pretty sure they did everything from the album, which made me happy, although I'm surprised they didn't end with "Home," given the location.

They also did a new one that Chris said he wrote while in Amsterdam, called "Back to Me." I really liked it, especially as he sang it while alone, in front of a scrim, with just a few lights shining on him.

They also did a long bit from "Paradise City," which I loved and everyone sang along to. They threw in some Johnny Cash and Motley Crue, too -- I suppose once they release a second album they won't need to throw in covers. I still really liked them, and I was a bit disappointed they didn't do some of the covers they did at the March concert -- I think that's why I liked Chris on Idol so much, that he threw his own spin on some classics.

There were some fun moments with the crowd, like when he jokingly told people to stop coming by his house and to stay off his lawn. At one point, he was throwing water bottles into the audience and he sidearmed one right into the auditorium wall accidentally, splashing water everywhere. A bunch of people left with towels and guitar picks as well.

There were some really cute young girls around us, maybe 10 or 11 years old, who were hardcore rocking out and singing the words to every song. (I remember being that passionate at my first concert when I was 11. New Kids on the Block. Don't laugh.)

Not so cute were the people two rows behind me who got into a loud argument I could hear over the song about who was shoving who, or the couple in my row who kept leaving during the concert. I didn't mind so much during the opening acts, but they left and came back during Daughtry, promising on their way in that it was the last time. So, what happens a couple songs later? They leave again. I must have shown my consternation pretty blatantly, as they waited for the song to end when they came back before crossing in front of us again. I don't go to a lot of concerts -- but if there isn't a concert etiquette, there should be, and leaving and returning to your seats in the middle of the row a bunch should be a concert foul.

Other concert fouls:
-- The person sitting next to my cousin who smelled strongly of beer and stale cigarettes and was loudly drunk.
-- The people we saw removed from the second or third row after it was clear they belonged much further back and had taken another couple's seats.
-- The $7 parking fee we had to pay to park in the Coliseum parking lot. It irritates me to no end that I have to pay a handling fee and convenience fee and whatever else, then a parking fee on top of all that. Our two tickets, billed as $30 each ($60 a pair), ended up costing us $94 and change, plus the $7 at the concert. (And trust me -- I know that $30 is a bargain compared to a lot of entertainers!)

Except for those incidents, overall it was a great night -- I love Daughtry, and I love Daughtry even more in concert. And if I were about 10 years younger, less tired and not as cold, I probably would have stuck around outside near his tour bus with the others -- I hope it was worth the wait and they got to see him!

P.S. Joey Barnes, why did you look like a Chippendale dancer, wearing nothing but a bow tie and a hat behind your drums?