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!!!
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!
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.