ClayManiacs

AUG 13

I just got back from flying from OC to Michigan for the concert at Clio.  What a perfect night!  This was my one and only Jukebox tour.  I have said I would not fly to see Clay, that I would wait for him to come to CA.  Well, the clack did me in and I couldn't resist.  Now, here is my narrative about my trip...

I took the redeye at 10:30pm Friday night... Got to the hotel at 11am Saturday a.m.  As Clay has said, "Don't do that."  After a short nap, I was off the the pre-party.  I put my raffle tickets in all the DVD and CDs since I don't have the capabilities to make either and I wanted some.  Well, little miss "I never win anything" won a set of AI2 DVDs.  I was so stoked, since I only have Clay's performances and look forward to seeing the whole thing.  Then I met a friend from the Clay Board who had gotten front row seats last minute and was pleased to offer me .... are you ready for this.... 5TH ROW CENTER!!!  :bouncy  The closest I have ever been.  I was flabbergasted when I got to the seats.  They were even with the Jukebox!  Man, my feet weren't even touching the ground!

I had seen some of the Clack, but it just isn't the same (tho the bestest clack in the world is coming soon - tell ya' later). 

After last night in Clio, I have to say, I was in the presence of greatness in the person of Mr.  Clay Aiken.  Clay has put a lot of effort in honing his craft.  He's just not content to sing the stuffing out of these songs, but keeps improving his performance.  Since the Clack I have seen, he has added hip twisting to Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis.  Man, keep the hoses handy as the Clack comes in. 

Being so close, I could see his facial expressions real well, while seeing the whole show.  Usually, I watch his face thru binoculars and miss that else goes on.  Well, he can ACT!  I watched as he totally immersed himself in the era, the song, and the singer.  He became what he was performing.  Unbelievably talented, did I mention?

WDC was perfection... beyond perfection!  There were no highjinks, no joking around in this performance.  He was expressing the lyrics vocally and in the dance and I was a happy camper.  I would have loved the joking if he had done it, but this serious performance was amazing.  The best I've seen and I make it a point to see them all!   :slick

A fun part was that Miss Michigan was there and he chose her to come up on stage for the Carwash.  She was great!  She put the crown on the afro wig and had BIG sunglasses and several boas.... and she danced real funky and almost... well she did... steal the show from Angela and Quina on this song.  They were watching her with eyes wide and enjoyed the heck out of her. 

He sure has improved as a Pip.  Everytime I see LLVL, he does it better. 

When he got to the "request" part of the show, he saw all the signs for Touch and said, "every person in the audience can have a sign for Touch and I will not sing it."  So he did Buttercup.  Who bit him when he recorded that song, anyway?

Now, the big news... to me, anyway!  I LOVE 1000 NIGHTS!  When I first heard that song, I thought it was very bland and the lyrics sucked big time.  WELL, let me tell you, he has worked that song and the band has worked that song until you could care less about the lyrics, the voice and the guitar reverb take you to the place where you say, "what lyrics."  If Andy is the genius behind the guitar on this song, he deserves a BIG raise.  Wait till you hear it.  I now think this song could be a bigger hit than BFM and I have liked BFM since I first heard it.

The audience was really into BFM.  We were all doing the pointy arm movement with A/Q/J and EVERYBODY was so into that song that you could even see some surprise on their faces.  Awesome!  To the point where after 1000 Nights really rocking, then us really rocking to BFM, Invisible was a letdown... even Clay seemed not to be in it quite as much as usual. 

The show was superb.  It totally showed Clay's talent and versitility.  I was blown away by the changes I see in him. 

Since he started AI, everything just kept happening for him so fast and wonderfully.  Finally, after the Rose Parade he got to slow down and let it all catch up to him.  Banda Aceh and Uganda happened during this time, also.  This is a man who now knows who he is, where he wants to go, how he wants to get there and believes he can do it.  Total confidence, with no sign of ego about it.  (I'm not sure if Clay knows what ego is.)  He's made major decisions within himself that have made him happier than I've ever seen him.

I no longer fear for Clay.  He has risen to the next level and it's just a matter of time until the world sees what we see.  I now have complete trust in Clay and his decisions and vow to no longer second guess him.

No one in their right mind could have seen the show I saw last night and think lounge singer, wedding singer or anything of that caliber.  This was a totally professional, awesome show filled with spectacular talent.

Man, I want to be a fly on the wall the first time he performs a song like 1000 Nights (as performed last night) in front of the industry who thinks of him as the "reality show" singer from, gasp... AI... gasp!  He's gonna shock them into next YEAR!!!!

Now, for the good part... the next morning, in the breakfast area of the hotel, there was a gathering of Claymates.  We were all watching video taken by a young girl named falcon94.  It was the best video I have EVER seen.  She got close ups to die for... and the cappers will think they all have.  Not sure how soon she will get it up, but keep alert for it.  It was as good as a professional could have done.

Liney so good to hear from you.  I am so happy for you.

Great review and isn't 5th row the best???  That is where Nicole and I were too. 

I am glad to hear he is getting better and better.  I can't believe how much he has matured since I saw him last.   :thud

Love, Terry

Well, where do I start to tell of the incredible weekend The RED THONG Mafia had in Michigan????? We arrived in Auburn Hills on Saturday, once again ChrisieD and I had the worst weather to drive in, shheeesshhhhh, if it's not a blizzard to see JNT it's a wall of rain for 20 miles for JBT!!!! but would we do it again??? ABSOLUTELY!!!!!!!!!  Met up with the rest of the gang at our hotel, then off to dinner to meet up with the Wisconsin connection!!!  What a blast, I think there were 29 of us for dinner!!! Meadowbrook was an incredible facility, beautiful, and the night was so breezy and warm!!! Clay was so on!!!  Michigan showed him the love and boy did we get it back!!! I think he likes coming here a lot, as most of my concerts have been in Michigan, and he's met with so much enthusiasm!!! The whole show was fabulous, his voice, clear and pure, we were on our feet the whole time boppin'!!! I kept thinking, what a chameleon he is, to go from Elvis, to Prince to the goo goo dolls to Petula Clark, and do them all well, I agree he has honed his performance and dance skills so brilliantly!!! :clap
Then we come to Clio, last year, that venue was electric, and this year, believe me it was even more!!!  He came out, and we surrendered to the power of Clay, I was eating out of his hand from minute 1, and was left wanting more, even though he had given us more than any concert I'd ever been to, I never get enough of that man!!!  I had my first O fficial eye frell in Clio and trust me you know it's you getting it, he locks your eyes in his and let's go when he wants to :slick I was spent :smile I was so happy I'd upgraded to 5th row, liney we must have been sitting near eachother and didn't know!!! :wink The whole bunch of us then went back to our hotel and partied til 3am, havn't done that in so long, boy was I tired Sunday!! :lol
I have not enjoyed a weekend like that in so long, my Motor City RED THONG Mafia buddies are THE BEST!!!!!!!!!!!  I love you all, and let's do a same time next year!!!

Thank you Thank you Thank you for the reviews!  I downloaded just a couple of things this morning even before I read your reviews--couldn't believe it when I saw "Buttercup" in the downloads and had to have that right away!  A very jazzy, different Buttercup--the man can do it any way he wants :bouncy!  Also, I thought it was hilarious when he was at the piano and somewhat chided the woman in the 4th row that she hadn't sat down in 20 minutes--and said something like, I know you don't want your Clack skipping around . . . yeah, I know all the words (used on the boards)--absolutely hilarious!!   He also said something about the crowd being so close to him--whoowhee!!!  Sounds like an amazing concert--thanks to you all for taking us there with your reviews--keep 'em coming!

I had read somewhere about Clio's amphitheater shutting down after Clay's concert.  So I went to the site and found this on the main page...."Due to insufficient ticket sales, the board of Governors has voted to discontinue operations and has retained an attorney to file the proper Chapter 7 proceedings.  Arrangements will be made to pay each refund."
That's really sad since it's such a fantastic venue.  Hopefully things can be worked out so the amphitheater can remain open.

~~ Renee* ~~

EVEN THOUGH THE JBT IS OVER AND A NEW ONW IS ABOUT TO END I WANTED TO SHARE MY EXPERIENCE AT CLIO.  I WAITED ALMOST 3 YEARS TO SEE CLAY LIVE IN CONCERT, THIS WAS MY VERY FIRST ONE!  I WAS SO HONORED TO BE THERE.  BEFORE THE CONCERT BEGAN I MET ANOTHER MEMBER OF CLAYMANIACS--DEBI, SHE WAS WONDERFUL.  THE VENUE WAS FILLED WITH EXCITEMENT AND ANTICIPATION.  OUT HE CAME ON STAGE, AND THERE WAS MY DREAM COME TRUE STANDING RIGHT THERE.  HAD EXCELLENT SEATS UP CLOSE TO THE STAGE.  I HAVE TO SAY OFCORSE HE WAS "SPECTACULAR"  THE SHOW WAS AMAZING.  THIS EXPERIENCE WILL BE ETCHED IN MIND FOREVER.
CLAY YOU ARE ONE OF A KIND AND I WILL BE FOREVER ONE OF HIS MANY MANY CLAYMATES.  HOPING HE WILL BE HERE IN MI NEXT YEAR---PLAN, PLAN, PLAN TO GO SEE HIM AGAIN AND AGAIN!!!!!