David Cook rocked the house Monday night and Seattle fans definitely showed the love.

"I can't wait to come back to Seattle again," Cook told the cheering crowd toward the end of the show at the Showbox SoDo. And before you think he says that every night, when he was asked about this in the private meet-and-greet an hour later, he and the band all nodded and said, yeah, it really was a great crowd.

Which is a good thing because the singer from Missouri who won over voters on Season 7 of "American Idol" picked this night to bring in a film crew. Afterward I asked Cook if it was for a tour DVD and he said: "I don't know; I guess we just want to have it." So Cook fans, stay tuned.

Here are some random observations from the show and the after-show meet and greet:

• Those who might be inclined to dismiss Cook because his career took off as a result of "Idol" ought to give the man a fair chance. With more than 100 shows under his belt, he's steadily honing his rocker chops. Clearly his guitar playing has picked up speed since "Idol" and his duels with lead guitarist Neal Tiemann were impressive.

• Highlights for me were the cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Little Lies," and the tour's namesake, "Declaration." Cook's vocals sounded pretty much as they did on "Idol" and didn't seem to be strained after more than six straight months of touring.

• The crowd -- from kids at their first concert to the middle-aged wine-bar set -- all seemed to be having a blast despite the usual pushing and shoving up in front of the stage.

• Cook had arrived overnight from Yakima and had time on Monday to do some shopping and see some of the sites downtown. By 12:30 a.m. Tuesday, the band was preparing to board the tour bus for the five-hour trip over to Spokane for the next show.

• A select few got passes to meet Cook and the band upstairs after the show. One of those lucky few was a high-school classmate of Cook's back in Missouri who sang with him in choir. Cook the choir boy? Awww .... But just as he was in my phone interview last week, Cook was as nice a guy as you'll ever meet. In fact, the whole band seemed like regular guys. Regular guys who just happen to be living out their rock-star dreams.

• Cook threw out the first pitch at the Mariners game earlier in the evening. He's a die-hard Kansas City Royals fan, so take pity on him.

• DC only recently joined the multitudes on Twitter. He's @thedavidcook. He tweeted after the show: "Seattle, you were an incredible audience. Baseball and music...what a great day. On to Spokane."

Here's my very shaky video of "Kiss on the Neck":

If you went to show, give me your review in the comments below.

(Photo of Cook in Seattle by Bob Payne, seattletimes.com)

To give you an idea just how thorough a concert tour "American Idol" Season 7 champion David Cook is in the midst of, try finding Lewisburg, W.V., on a map. Tough, huh?

That's where Cook, 26, was on Saturday afternoon when we chatted by phone. He was preparing for a show at the West Virginia State Fair, his 101st concert since his Declaration tour began last Feb. 14.

That tour brings the rocker/songwriter to Seattle for the first time a week from today, when he'll be playing the Showbox Sodo (8:30 p.m. Aug. 24, $25, ticketmaster.com).

"I'm looking forward to Seattle," Cook said. Of course he's a fan of the music scene that sprang up here in the '90s. He mentioned Pearl Jam and Soundgarden in particular. As we talked, I got the sense he was looking forward to seeing the setting of that movement up close. I joked about visiting Pearl Jam's rehearsal space and I could hear his eyes getting bigger over the phone, if that's even possible. "Don't tell me things like that," he said.

Me: So how's the tour going?
DC: "It's been an absolute blast. I'm enjoying it, especially playing with guys I've known a long time."

Me: It looks like you mix things up with covers and a lot of banter between songs.
DC: "I pride ourselves on the fact that, short of maybe four shows, we've played a different set list every night. ... I wanted to do be a little different with these shows, to converse with the crowd and entertain them. The band hates it though. But it makes the fans happy."

Me: I heard you say you hope to work on a new album after the first of the year. Have you been able to work on new material during this tour?
DC: "We kind of noodle around out here on the road. Actually yesterday we noodled around at sound check and probably for the first time put a whole song together. But it will be good to get into a studio (in 2010) and really get to work."

The rest of the questions were submitted by fans via Twitter (@Timesidolblog):

@ItsAFugue: Are there any specific instruments you would like to learn to play for fun or for future practical use in your music?
DC: "Sure. I'd like to be a better piano player and better drummer. I'd love to play the violin again -- I played it for a little while as a kid."

@SkibletAtHeart: Ask him how the name for the band is coming along!
DC: "I think we might finally have a band name. It's just a matter of getting it out there the right way. But then you never know -- one day somebody might say, um, maybe that's no good."

More questions and a video clip after the jump.

This blog was supposed to be in off-season hiatus, but last night's shocking news was just too big not to acknowledge here. Yes, I'm talking about the end of Paula Abdul's run as a judge on "American Idol." Read the latest details here.

Rumors are flying about what really happened with Abdul's negotiations with FOX. Some think Abdul was playing a game with the network and it backfired. Speculation aside, those of us in the Idol-sphere can now do two things: 1) Cry bloody murder to FOX and anyone who will listen; and/or 2) imagine the show without her and move on. I guess I'm doing a little of both.

I've always thought Paula was pretty harmless. Did she seem out of touch and incomprehensible sometimes? Yeah, maybe. Did she seem to always be a cheerleader even if the performance was crap? Yeah, but sometimes you need a 'good cop.' Do I think that deep down she's more human and likable than the other judges? Definitely (although Randy Jackson is pretty likable too).

So yes, I will miss her ramblings. And I will miss her jabs at Simon Cowell when he picked on her. So goodbye, Paula, and good luck in your next venture.

Which brings us to Kara DioGuardi, whose contract was recently extended. I'll go on record as saying that I was not impressed with her critiques last season. I lost count of the number of times she said "You didn't choose the right song!"

And more important, I just didn't get a sense of Kara's personality. Her one "confrontation" with Simon seemed half-hearted, and she never revealed enough about herself for us to see her as human.

When it's Randy, Kara and Simon sitting together, it will not be the same show for me.

What are your thoughts? Post them in the comments below.

Some off-season random notes

• Season 7 fans should know that David Cook is coming to Seattle on Aug. 24, playing the SoDo Showbox. I'm working on trying to secure credentials, so if all goes well I'll post a review and maybe a short interview transcript.

• Speaking of Season 7, another finalist from that crop recently released a CD. Brooke White's "High Hopes & Heartbreak" came out a couple of weeks ago and has received some good reviews. If you've heard it and have an opinion, write a note in the comments.

• Readers of this blog last season know that I respected, admired and often linked to the "Idol" posts of Los Angeles Times writer Richard Rushfield. Well, he has announced his resignation from the Times. He has taken a job as the West Coast editor for Gawker.com. I hope we still get to see his take on "Idol" on Gawker.

• Bothell's own Blake Lewis (Season 6 runner-up) was recently on Good Day New York, where he performed "Sad Song." There's a write-up and video about the appearance on Rickey.org.

Seattle Times arts critic Misha Berson's review of last night's "American Idols" concert in Tacoma is now available here.

Sorry I couldn't get to this with the other interview posts yesterday. But here you go; better late than never!

Before I get to the questions though, the minute these two guys sat down across from me you could tell they were pumped for the show. Clearly Michael, especially, is in this thing to have some fun.

Desert-island artists:
- Danny Gokey: Brian McKnight, Kirk Franklin and Marc Anthony. (Danny asked if he could have a fourth one, Michael Jackson, and I said that's fine becaus some of the Idols interviewed earlier only picked two, haha.)
- Michael Sarver: Celine Dion, Michael McDonald and Michael English.

Favorite Halloween costumes:
- Well, this was fast. They both said they didn't have one, that they didn't wear them. Could this be because of religious beliefs?

I told Danny that I'd had a little fun on the blog early in the season with a photo montage of his different eyeglasses. But lately I'd seen him without glasses. So what's up?
- "I'll always wear glasses. I like to change it up though."

I asked Danny if he'd talked to his friend Jamar Rogers -- who recently made it through an early audition for Season 9 -- and he said he had. But he quickly pointed out that there are several more steps to go. Michael jumped in and said they're all rooting for Jamar: "He's gonna kill it no matter what." Says Danny: "I hope he makes it -- I think he will make it."

Danny has recently been using Twitter for some charity fund-raising events, and of course there's the Sophia's Heart foundation that he set up after the death of his wife just before he auditioned on Idol. So I asked him about those kinds of efforts:
- "I see my career as being more than just entertainment." He described some of the projects he's really fired up about.

Michael has been twittering about his wife, so I started to ask about how hard it will be to be away from his family for so long. But then Danny had to interject about Michael's hilarious "accidental" twitter to his wife that went out as a public post. It was something like, "Honey, did you put that rebate coupon in the mail?" Funny stuff. But about his family ...
- "When it comes to my wife and kids, I mean, that is and will always be the biggest challenge for me -- being away from home. Nothing can hold a candle to what it's like to walk away and say 'I'll see you in a few months.'"

After I suggested that Simon Cowell doesn't appreciate country music, I brought up Michael's post-song comment after he sang "Ain't Goin Down Til the Sun Comes Up": "He (Simon) said something about not getting it, and I said country fans get it." But the gist of Michael's response was that he's an R&P and pop guy (see desert-island artists above), and that it's his Texas drawl that probably makes people think he's country. "It doesn't matter what I sing, it still comes out country!" (To prove his point, Michael went out and sang two pop songs for the opening concert.) Danny then jumped in and said HE's the one doing two country songs (Rascal Flatts).

I asked them both about their plans after the tour:
- Danny: Working on the CD, but he points out that there's still the part about getting signed. I asked if he's writing songs and he says "a little bit." "He's hiring me as a writer," jokes Michael, a prolific songwriter. "I'll probably co-write a few of the songs," Danny says.
- Michael: [Somehow we moved on before we got to this.]

And finally, favorite ice-cream flavors:
- Danny: Butter pecan.
- Michael: Cookies and cream!

In the end, I think most people at the Rose Arena in Portland on Sunday night went home happy. The Top 10 finalists in Season 8 of "American Idol" were excited to play before such a large and adoring crowd, and for the most part they delivered.

I'm not going to get into an in-depth of each individual's performances -- I'm leaving that for Times arts critic Misha Berson, who will be attending Tuesday night's show in Tacoma and have a complete review online the next morning. Instead, here's a hit list of that things that left the strongest impression with me:

• Mark my words: Adam Lambert was greeted with a deafening roar. Whether you love or hate the guy's vocal technique, there's simply no denying his flair for showmanship. The guy OWNS the stage, with charisma that you can't turn away from.

• It's tough to be No. 1: I've heard some rumblings of discontent over Kris Allen's stage presence last night. I have to give him a pass for two reasons: 1) He's saddled with the horrible coronation song, "No Boundaries"; and 2) because he plays the guitar, it's tougher for him to move around the stage and be as dynamic as some of the other singers. So he mostly just stood at the microphone. (And for those of you slamming me for only shooting video for that one song from Kris, if I had to do it over again, I would have shot a different song. But I only had memory for one more song, at that was the one that presented itself. With twittering and twitpic-ing, I was scrambling to get *any* videos shot. But yes, I'm sorry about that choice.)

• Surprises of the night: Probably Scott MacIntrye and Michael Sarver. Both showed personality and improved performances from their show appearances.

• No suprise here: Allison RAWKS: The 17-year-old from Los Angeles was like a red-maned hurricane. It's about time we had a new generation of women in rock. Well now they have a leader.

• The not-so-great stuff: I actually saw some grimaces in the crowd at the sound of Megan Joy's opening notes. Ouch. And I thought Lil Rounds' takes on contemporary R&B just seemed a little forced and uncomfortable.

If you're going to Tacoma, enjoy the show.

A total of 31 shots from last night's "American Idol" opening concert in Portland. Click on the photo to see them all: