Thursday, May 27th, 2010  Inside "American Idol": Flesh Against
the Barricades  LEE ESCAPESIt gets messy in the Idoldome. But
all of the mania happens on stage, not in the audience. The
colossal disco lights create a dizzying swirl. Fifteen-foot
sheets of white fabric are propped up by a hurried squadron of
grips. A pack of deposed Idols appears. They are chunkily
boxstepping and no one can answer the question "How deep is your
love?" Cameramen circle the 12th place and 4th place contestants
as they try to remain on key, then, black-out. Poof! Ryan
Seacrest materializes on a massive rafter, the two-chord theme
for the show booms over the speakers, a disembodied voice
screeches "Two minutes!" A man in a rhinestone tie hustles the
crowd to keep the energy up. "Where are you from? How long have
you been 12-years-old? Here's an iPod Touch!"  Audience
approval. Tear the white walls down, then judges shuffle to
their places between songs, look thoughtfully into the camera
for a few seconds and retreat backstage. Lo