SIOUX FALLS - WOW!!

[ClayBuf]

The first thing I have to say - because I can't get it out of my mind - is that this show blows the Independent Tour show right out of the water.

This is pure unadulterated Clay - and I'm telling you guys, if you have to walk or take a plane, train or bicycle - see this show if you can. It was over two hours of sheer JOY. There is NOTHING better than to hear that voice live and in person. I said this in March - but it's even more true now -he is a natural. We were entertained from the first strain of the guitar for "Where The Streets Have No Name" to the last note of "Solitaire". From the sight of Clay coming up onto the stage to him decending out of view.

His voice was right ON last night. You could not tell that this was only the second show of the tour - they all were tight. Clay, his band and the crew have truly become a cohesive unit. You couldn't tell the new guys were new - they didn't miss a beat. (no pun intended for Derek.....)

I won't go into all the songs he did, because you can see the set list at on another post. But there were a lot of highlights throughout the night.

Before the show, some people in the audience were telling Jerome about their friend Robert - that this guy sings just like Clay. Jerome had him sing for him, and went backstage and told everyone that this kid was really very good. So Clay had him come up on stage to sing for the crowd. We all started to howl - because the kid had a Clay haircut, too!  Clay asked him what song he wanted to sing. Robert said "This Is The Night." Clay told his sound guys to cue up the background music for TITN, and in the meantime he took his monitor out of his ear and gave it to Robert to use so he could hear himself. (Telling him not to worry, he doesn't have much earwax - :) Clay takes his battery pack off the back of his waist, and at first was going to just stand there and hold it, but then he gave it to Robert to hold. Poor kid has Clay's ear monitor in his ear and is standing there with a mic in one hand and a battery pack in the other. So Clay goes over to the side of the stage and stands with Angela and Quiana and lets the kid have center stage. He starts to sing and we all start cheering - he was really, really good. Clay does one of his looks like "What???" (the same look he had on Leno when Jay was telling him the Cosmo readers wanted to take a bath with him....) Then he took one of Angela's monitors from her ear so he could hear Robert better. All of a sudden we see Clay over on the side throwing a pretend tantrum - complete with stomping feet, arms flailing and spinning in a circle. It was hilarious. When Robert got to the chorus, Clay comes up to him and takes the mic from him and tells him - "okay! that's enough! I'm getting upstaged at my own show!" So he shakes hands with the kid and tells him thanks, and he was really good and that Nick will give him some goodies for coming up there. Off goes Robert to a cheering crowd.

What happened next was absolutely hysterical. I couldn't stop laughing because it was so off the cuff - and so CLAY. While Clay was putting his monitor back in his ears and getting his battery pack back in place - he is telling us that he will never do that again. Then he says, "Jerome, if you ever find someone like that in the crowd again, take him to -- <<pause>> -- Ruben's show!!" It was sooooo funny. : : : : The guys in the band were doubled over laughing when he said it. It took all of them a minute to all regain their composure to start the next song. It was absolutely priceless!!

There were moves last night from Clay that I've never seen before, and man, there were times when he was just absolutely getting into the music. He is so freaking adorable - I can't STAND IT!!!!

Sioux Falls is only about two and a half hours from Omaha, and there were a TON of us Omahans there last night. Clay had them turn up the house lights so he could look over all the signs. He found one that asked for 57 hugs. He started talking to this lady about her birthday, and teasing her about how come she wants hugs tonight when her birthday was really five days ago. Then he asked her where she was from. "Omaha". A group of girls right up at the front of the stage started cheering. He goes over to them - "You guys are from Omaha, too?" More cheers from the crowd. "Okay, so how many people are here tonight from Omaha?" All of us in the room screamed at the top of our lungs waving our arms in the air. He was surprised. It even suprised me how many of us were there. (He would have been really blown away if he knew how many people were there from California, Oregon, Arizona and Colorado. Just some of the people I met after the show while we were waiting for Clay to come out to his bus.) He then tells us that two of the guys on the stage crew are from Omaha - and then goes about introducing the rest of the crew. Sorry, just a little Omaha moment from Clay - in Sioux Falls!

The James Taylor set they do is awesome. It features Angela, Jacob, and Quiana all taking turns at singing the lead vocal and Clay sings background with the other two in each song. Clay is on a stool at the front of the stage, Angela is off to the right, Jacob is up a level to the left, and Quiana is at the top level to the right. The spotlight is on each of them as they sing their song. Then they all sing "You've Got A Friend" - with everyone coming together center stage to end the song. It was really done well. And how cool is it that Clay thinks so much of these three that he features them all in his show.

"Rosanna".  Wow.  This is the song where Clay introduces the band members, and then they launch into it. Awesome! It sounded HOT. There is a lot of instrumentation in this song, and there's Clay up there on the riser, punctuating the music with his body : and getting into the song. OMG, OMG, OMG!!! He might not be able to dance very well (which he expounds on earlier in the show) - but you can't ever say that Clay doesn't FEEL the music.

One of the most beautiful moments of the night was the song "You Were There". The stage production along with Clay's incredible singing from the heart was, well - there are no words to describe it. I, personally am not really into religious music, but I was truly moved by this song last night. I would have to say that of all the songs we have heard Clay sing, this one song is the one that he truly FELT deep within - it was there in that incredible voice. It will be along time before I forget it. I heard somewhere that he wants to put this song on his next album - and if he even comes close to singing it like he did last night, I can't wait to hear the recorded version.

There was a lot more stage production in this show than the Independent show - but it was tasteful and not overdone. No glitz and glam - just good staging and lighting. I was impressed. They didn't overuse the video set-up, either. Just once in while. (They did a video montage of everything that has happened to Clay over the last year while he was singing TITN - with snippets from most of his TV appearances and the magazine covers, etc. Pretty cool.)

It was awesome to hear TITN for the first time live. (I never saw any of the AI2 concerts) "Solitaire" blew me away. MOAM was with the full band this time, and even though I love the acoustic version, this was great.
It was so neat to hear Clay singing a cover of U2. (my second all time favorite band) The song ROCKED! You can tell he loves to sing "Kyrie". He REALLY got into "I Survived You" - body and all.  : Yikes!!
It was an awesome night. So much FUN!! So much CLAY!!

I'm sure there are more tales to tell. If any more come to mind I will post about them.

One thing that stands out in my mind after last night's show is how I don't even want to listen to MOAM for a while. There is nothing that compares to hearing Clay sing live. While I can still hear that voice in my head from last night, I won't listen to the record. Even the songs on the album that I don't particulaly care for because they are so over produced -sound good live. It just bare bones - the band and Clay's voice on top of the music - the way it should be. (I really hope that point gets through to the producers on his next album - let Clay's voice be the main production on each song. You can't go wrong doing that even if the song isn't the best.)

The pictures in the new tour book are to die for. There is a TON of new merchandise - so much to choose from, so little money. Eenie meenie, miney moe ........ Clay told Jimmy Kimmel the other night that he's comes to terms with "Claymates". Well, I guess!! The laminate you can buy has a picture of him on one side, and the other side has a silhouette of him and Raleigh and it says "Official Claymate". I cracked up when I saw it. (and, yes, I bought one ......)

Before "Invisible", he talked about this last year, ending by saying that he's told us before that if God decides this is all to end soon, that he is okay with it and he will have no problem going back to what he was doing before. BUT!! He loves what he is doing now, and he'll keep doing it as long as we will have him. Well, dear Clayton, - if you just keep getting better and better, like you are - and we have ANYTHING to say about it - get READY for a LONG RIDE. We will be there with you every step of the way, and loving every minute of it - and you - and that VOICE.

Sigh. I love Clay Aiken.

~Buffi
(in Omaha :)

[Pamela]

Buffi, what an outstanding recap and review!
It sounds like Sioux Falls was fantastic; I've heard it from others too.
You were very fortunate to be there for the individual elements that will make this concert unique - it was the second show, so everyone was probably a little looser than the previous night, you got to see Robert! and experience the Omaha love.
Thanks so much for sharing your experience with us.  I'll see the show next Friday night!  And again on Saturday!  Can't wait.

[HavinaClayAffair]

Claybuf,

Thanks for the highlights of the night for you and the other thousands that were there! The closest I got, of course, were some downloads! Your explanation had me feeling like I could have been there!

What a man! To make everyone feel the way they do about this guy HAS to be for a reason! WE may not know what it is yet..but when people come together on common ground, things happen, things change..I plan to be along for thr ride!!

Can't wait until August when I get to feel it too!!

Can you feel the love tonight? YES, I believe we can!

Lora-Ohio

[ClayBuf]

Pamela and Lora -- you are going to have the time of your life!! :D
I'm excited for you that you will get to see him! I'm gonna try to do it again before the summer is over. (keeping my fingers crossed.....)

I expected for there to be a few kinks in the show to get ironed out, but there really weren't any. (I guess that's why they call it "rehearsal"....)
Another thing that I thought about is how it speaks volumes for Clay to still have the same band and crew that he had on the Independent show. Only the drummer and guitar player are new. They could have taken other gigs, I'm sure - but for them to all sign on again for this Tour 2004 just shows how great it must be to work with Clay. It almost makes me proud!

I forgot to mention Cherie. What a cutie. She is backed by a three piece band. She sang five songs, including her single that is out now, and the next one to be released. I don't know if it was nerves or what, but she is lacking in stage presence. She kinda just stood there in one spot most of the time, shook her bootie a few times, and explained in her cute little French accent that it was her job to warm us up for "our guy". Sorry, Cherie, honey, but I was warmed up for "our guy" before I even got there! :D But, that girl does have a set of pipes. Her voice is excellent. I enjoyed listening to her.

One thing I thought about, though, when she was singing her current single - is how pathetic this is - that the opening act gets more radio airplay than the HEADLINER, the STAR of the show. This just isn't right, and it is certainly getting old.

Sigh.
~Buffi

[nursingme]

Thanks so much for the review. i can't wait to see him this week end. I 've got tickets to Greensboro and Greenville back to back nights. I sure it will be superb. Your review just gets me more hiped up to see OMC. Thanks again!!!!

Pamela glad to hear you will be there friday and saturday.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   Mona

[Pepe]

Claybuf, what a wonderful review.  I didn't wonder about anything when I finished reading your comments you touched on everything.   After reading comments about the first one I was really wondering how the second one went.  
                            Pepe (Clay's Personal Chef)
                            Proud Member of the OCD Support Group

[lovethatclay]

my daughters and i came all the way from tx to see clay and we were NOT disappointed.

this concert experience was a blast i met so many clay fans from various boards sorry i didn't meet clay buff.

we stayed at the sheraton which was connected to the arena. on the day of the concert, i got dressed quicker than my daughters so i decided to go to the lobby as i walked out of the room i looked to the left and there was jacob(the backup singer) 3 rooms down from me.... i felt a adrenaline rush because of course my next thought was omg CLAY must be here...

withou getting into to much detail, i also saw, jerome and then was in the elevator with angela and quaina(i said hi but  i guess i wasn't prepared for that and didn't know what else to say) then i saw john(clay's hairdresser and thought this definetly means he will have a good hair day).

my daughters and i had planned to go to the mall but when we were leaving there were about ten clay fans outside with cameras hoping to catch glimpse of clay so we then decided we would stay also. i mean the chance to see and take a picture of clay up close was too tempting to pass up.

we all waited outside the hotel probably about two hours. during that time, we saw the bus pull up and all the band members get on including jerome coming on and off the bus . the excitement was really building i was shaking just thinking i might see clay. all the girls outside with us were so much fun to be with. we were all talking about clay and being all fangirly what a blast. my daughter kept going up and down the elevator she managed to catch an elevator with jacob and the keyboard player and she asked them if clay was as nice as he appears. they replied , oh yes it's not an act he's one of the nicest guys you will ever meet. no surpise to hear that. well, unfortunately we did not get to meet or see clay apparently he left earlier to do some radio spots, but i wouldn't take back that experience for nothing i met some amazing people and we had so much fun together.


i'd first like  to start my review by commenting from a music lover point of view, one who has frequented concerts since the age of 13, some 28yrs. one who has seen a lot of the big name artist...CLAY IS ONE OF THE BEST I'VE SEEN!!

the band are wonderful talented professionals. clay is very fortunate to have a such good musicians backing him up that includes the backup singers.

the stage is so cool. it has stairs that raise up that provide a dramatic entrance for clay. it also has in various spots on top of stairs lifts so clay can be lifted onto to the stage during a few of the songs. there are screens which provides great visual effects for each song and the lighting captures the mood well throughout the concert.

now on to the best part CLAYYYYYYYYY... the boy is awesome he rocked the house. he was rocking one minute then bringing us to tears the next and wow he has learned some sexy rocker moves.

i love the way he got the crowd into the concert . first, during wysylm he gets everyone to get up and dance with the promise of giving the best dancer a autographed t-shirt. next, like he always does, he reads all the signs with the lights up. he choose a lady's sign that siad "57 kisses for my 57th birthday"  it just so happens she was the lady sitting right next to me after he talked to her she turned to me and screamed"OMG HE TALKED TO ME",   i was so excited for her and clay was really sweet to her. you also heard how he brought up the guy to sing titn very cute.


he started out wearing a light blue shirt with tie and khaki pants he looked hot in this, he didn't change again until after the intermission where there was 4 more changes. and i loved everything he wore. and the hair,it was just perfect made him all the more yummy.

favorite songs hmmmmm..... this is a hard one because they truly were all great. but,if i had to choose i would start with rtm, he sang this one at the end of the catwalk i was on the 5th row so i had a lovely view of our clay. he used the mic stand on this. he sang this as if he was feeling it and it send chills through me.

isy, he used a lot of the same moves as seen on gma, sexyyyy. nuff said there.

titn, it was great to hear this for the first time live there was a lovely tribute on the screens showcasing  his past year accomplishments during this song and clay sang this magnficently.

then there was the covers. first u2's "where the streets have no name" he opened with this,  when i first heard the music i was omg is that a u2 song then suddenly the stairs lifted up and there was clay and that voice,this song got the crowd pumped and clay rocked. next,the james tayor collection of songs first clay sang one then all the backup singers sang one, clay showed them a lot of love when each had there solos(well deserved too). last, another surprise "roseana" clay had fun with this one he did a lot of dance moves for this one and i loved watching him move.

and of course, the tearjerker songs. clay sang a spiritual song that was breathtaking to hear and watch, there was some very moving visuals on the screens which make it all the more touching, this is where my tears started to flow. the other tearjerker, but for different reasons, solitaire wow when he hits that glory note i felt the chills throughtout my whole body and the tears began to flow due to the shear beauty of the voice. this by the way , was the encore.

all i could think after the concert was this was a stunning, awesome, megastar peformance i just saw.

my daughters(13 and 14) were lukewarm fans prior to the concert, this included after going to the idependent tour, but after this they haven't quit talking about clay,"wasn't he great mom", "isn't clay cute", "i wish it wasn't over", "can we go see him again". today all they have wanted to listen to is clay. this is from 2 girls who brought their usher, hoobastank,yellowcard, maroon5 cds with them. big time clayverts here.

i hope everyone gets to see clay in this tour you will not be disappointed.  well superior to the indepdent tour.he gives you so much and boy does he have a lot to give.... THANK YOU CLAY YOU ARE SIMPLY AWESOME...

[Boomer Aries]

ClayBuf,

Thanks for your wonderful concert review!  Wish I knew someone from Hawaii who's planning to attend one of Clay's concerts.
Sounds like you were especially moved by "You Were There." I downloaded the video clip of it and liked the song so much (and it goes without saying -- Clay's beautiful rendition of it) that I bought the Avalon CD.  I hope Clay does include "You Were There" on his next CD.
Thanks again for your great review!

[tessie]

Thank you so much for the concert reports.  All the extra details from the band at the hotel to daughters becoming big fans and more just make it all more special for those of us reading about it.  Thanks so much for taking the time for us!

[Pamela]

One thing I thought about, though, when she was singing her current single - is how pathetic this is - that the opening act gets more radio airplay than the HEADLINER, the STAR of the show. This just isn't right, and it is certainly getting old.

Sigh.
~Buffi

I have a feeling Clay's luck is about to change on the radio front.  I'm very hopeful for the chances of IWCY being played on the radio; I don't know how long the run will be on Top 40, but I think there will be a long run on AC stations.

Providing the more 'enthusiastic' Claymates don't piss off all the DJs.

::crossing fingers::

[mrs. c.]

Thank you Claybuf and lovethatclay for your wonderful reviews!!!  I hate to wish my summer away, but I really can't wait for the end of August!!

[Shakin4Aiken]

Thanks much for the reviews-they totally kicked butt! I felt like I was there. Everything you said what Clay said sounded funny. It is really cool that he lets his backup singers sing by themselves. Thanks again!  :D

[Clayton Clayniac]

Found this touching story on another board and had to bring it here to share!

EVERY CLAY FAN MUST READ THIS...NEED KLEENEX!!!!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Mods...Please leave this here on the Street for a while.  

Every Clay fan needs to read this and save it always!!!

WARNING...the most touching Tour Review ever...get your Claynex ready!!!!  

Artquest wrote this Lexington Review at the Clackhouse about her 89 year old mother and Clay.....  

____________________________________________________

What a blast! Man, oh man. If they were all like that, I'd never survive.
Here's a brief recap of Mama Artquest's adventures in Clayland. A more complete recap may follow when I've had some rest.

Our seventh row seats were next to two lovely ladies from the Clay's Dream Believer board. (**waving to the lovely ladies**). While I was hunting down souvenirs, Mom was explaining to them that I was likely to get rowdy during the concert. Who knew that the rowdy person would be her!

I had told Mom that most folks would be standing throughout the concert. She was fine with that but planned on sitting. When Clay started looking for dancers, I suggested she might want to get up and dance. And she did. Clay had looked around from the front of the runway, went back to the stage, and then came back to the runway. He looked directly at Mom, got a twinkle in his eye, and pointed straight at her. Then he motioned off to the side to get someone to help her get on stage. I had to explain to her that that's where she was going. She was thrilled, and the next thing I know, she was gone. She said the nice man (Jerome) helped her to the stairs, and then several other folks helped her onto the stage. Clay came and took her hand while singing, danced around with her a little (she was worried that her cane would give out when he twirled her!) and gave her a hug.

Oh, sorry, two hugs. One before she got leid and one after. And Nanjeanne, your line "I think a gal should always get flowers after she gets laid," cracked her up.

When she got back to her seat, she was flying. Didn't sit down for the rest of the first act. Danced, clapped, waved her arms, and screamed in a genteel, lady-like way. Wheeeee! I had handed my camera to my brother because my hands were shaking too hard. He forgot to zoom in, but still managed to capture most of this on video. Yes, there is Mama Clack. I asked her about his beautiful eyes. She agreed, but said that he gives GREAT hugs. She also said, in response to the many people who asked after, that he smelled clean. Not like clean laundry but like he had just stepped out of the shower.

Alrighty, then.

At intermission, I ran back to the souvenir stands because they had finally found the programs. (Yes, ncgurrl and lala52, I have your programs.) Plus other cute stuff. When I got back to my seat, Mom asked me to help her write a thank you note to Clay. She said she wanted him to know how much she appreciated it. Besides, she said, well brought up ladies always write thank you notes. It said:

Quote:
Dear Clay,
Thank you for the dance and the hug. This concert is my 89th birthday present from my daughter. Thank you also for the lei.

I found a security person who promised to take it backstage, but you all know how often that actually happens. Then, just seconds before the second act begins, here's Jerome, tapping Mom on the shoulder and handing her a vase with beautiful white roses. He said it was a birthday present from Clay. I'm now in tears. Mom is thrilled and manages to stand up for almost the entire second half. A great time was had by all.

Now she wants a MOAM plus all the demo tracks I have. So does my sister-in-law.

Ahem. Clayversion complete

[Glory]

I have a tear in my eye that was just so touching,What a birthday gift to cherish for the rest of her life.Clay is just the best and so sweet.How many other performers would do this not to many I expect. GLORY

[CFCF]

Hi all, our trip was almost an odyssey of sorts. Since we had to come home from the Denver concert a day earlier than planned because of our very bad puppy, I found a really great kennel for her. they have pastures instead of runs, and the lady is amazing with animals.  She said she'd take her on. She was thrilled to see her go when we got back, I have the feeling that sometimes the money just isn't worth it  :D  The puppy is Heeler/Border Collie, anyone who knows anything about those breeds, I'm sure it's nuff said, lol.  Our German Shepherd (oh why didn't I get another one of those???) stayed home happily with a kid dropping in every three days, and my friends all dropping in several times to pet the good dog. Headed out of here July 2 to Sipapu Mountain Resort where I had an Art Show that would hopefully pay for the trip while may family camped and hiked and fished for two days.  the show was supposed to be in conjunction with a golf tournament, which brought most of the people into this tiny little wide spot in the road. The tournament was cancelled, but noone told the artists. I don't think I even took in enough money to pay for all the fishing licenses, maybe 75 people came over the two days, very sad, but one of my best buds was in the booth next to  me so I had good company and the area is gorgeous. Just had to make the old credit card whimper to pay for the trip, and am hoping that my show this weekend is successful. Didn't catch any fish. Hot Dogs are nice too. Temp got down to 46 degrees at night, and I, being the woosy I am, just aboout froze solid since I only had a couple blankets. Found a local artist with two for sale the next day, and bought and used both of them, along with three shirts, 2 pairs of socks, and 2 hats. Was very cozy. Headed out evening of second day instead of staying over since it looked like rain and the idea of ten days in the van with the wet tents wasn't appealing. My bud was a doll and took several of my boxes and tables home with her so I wouldn't have to haul them across country, since we were literally packed to the ceilingon the way up there. She is going to the same art show this weekend, so it all works out well for me. Friends are so cool :D
   We made Lusk SD the first night, crashed hard and hit the road early am the next morning. Got as far as Custer, SD the next night and stayed insome charming little cabins off the main drag, beautiful, one of my favorite towns in the whole US. If you haven't been to the black hills of SD yet, you are missing out on one of the most amazingly beautiful areas in the entire US, and I have been to just about every state, including Hawaii. the lady who ran the place sent me to a little shop that sells arts and gifts, I showed my wares, got a positive response, and voila, this leg of the trip is now tax deductible :  :D  Enjoyed Custer in the morning, Went to see the sculpture of Crazy HOrse carved in the mountainside. Amazing, bigger than Mt Rushmore, and fabulous visitor center. They have refused all govt funding, so the visitor center was huge, airy, and gorgeous.  Drove by Mt Rushmore, awesome, and then on to the Reptile Gardens near Rapid City. Biggest Croc in the Western Hemisphere, 15'5", I just love looking at huge things, like Jerome, and Clay's feet. When I saw Shaquille Oneille play once, I just couldn't take my eyes off his feet, they were ginormous. Anyway, biggest Alligator, and I think biggest reticulated python in the US also. Lots of snakes, which I really don't like, so my family wanted to make sure I looked carefully at everyone  :D  saw the animal shows, watched the prairie dogs play for awhile ( I just love those guys) and then headed out again. Drove thru Sturgis just so we could get the biker rally t shirts, too cool, in our family van loaded with kids, lol, and   Made Dickenson ND about midnight after learning a little lesson about tiny towns and gas stations NOT staying open late (had to take an alternate route to get back to gas, lol, but the area is so gorgeous we didnt care.  Dropped the little ones (ok, my son is 6' tall, but he's only 14, so he's still little) off with their big sister in her new shared house (living off campus for the first time), then headed to a REALLY cheap hotel. They said raates were even better in the winter, but I had to tell her I didnt think I oculd do ND as a tourist in the winter :D  Spent the next day visiting with my daughter and her roomies, did a little shopping, then left all the young ones playing D & D while hubby and I  went to a movie and back to the room for some quiet reading and rest. Up and off early the next day after earning older daughter's anger by making her change three times. She's not used to having mom around, but college casual must be a lot more casual than what I grew up with  :  Walked to a diner for breakfast, then the bank to get out some cashola and put $ in daughter's account for new clothes  :D  Headed out on the six hour drive to Grand Forks through some really pretty country, listening to audio books and visiting whole time. very nice. Didn't realize that there was a time change on the way til we drove past a big clock in GF that said 4:15 when we thought we were doing great on time and that it was 3:15. The preparty was supposed to start at 3 with dinner served at 4.  : Since I hadn't been able to figure out how to pay with paypal before we left, and didnt know if I could pay at the door, and we were unknowingly late, and since the show had been a bust, we decided to sadly opt out. :(  The hotel was very nice, and extremely reasonable, and had a beautiful pool. Since my littlest used to be on swim team in Hawaii, she was thrilled. I asked at the front desk about a nearby bookstore to go look at more audio tapes for the drive home, and found that the closest was right next to the Ralph! WooHoo! Not only that, when we got there we found that they shared a parking lot, and parking at the concert was, catch this, FREE! well that's a first, I've never had free parking at an arena bfore, or at any big event. We played in the bookstore for awhile then wandered over to the car to get my concert lights, buttons, bracelets, where I realized they were in my suitcase, which we'd unloaded at the hotel. Oh, well. At least we all had red shirts, and I'll be ready for the Albuquerque concert.
   We were surprised to see no line outside still, only to find out that not only was parking free but they let you into the venue REALLY early. Cool. We went in and waited only a little while to actually go thru to the main concourse. We were asked to hold our bags and purses open, and whether we had cameras besides disposable, but we'd forgotten those on the counter at home, so we were cool, lol. We went straight over to the concession stand and were thrilled to see all of the new goodies. I especially loved the tshirts with silhouettes of Raleigh and Raleigh with Clay, so cute. I need to shrink a couple sizes to wear those sizes, but they had some other great choices too. My little one and I each got the baseball Jersey looking one, and my older daughter got the black shirt with pics awesome pics of Clay front and back, with the tour venues listed on the back. They were still getting organized, and couldn't find the mediums in the truck, so my little one will be wearing hers for a very long time. I was pleased to see that there were 3 or 4 really nice choices in up to size 4X. The red thong for sale was pretty startling after all we'd heard about family shows. It's one thing to buy one and throw it to him, but its just weird to buy it from him, dontcha think? I didnt see any sell, the most popular item was the black shirt with his pic, the one most people wanted the most was the pink cap sleeve t with black ruffles and writing, really cute, but $42, but I did see several sell, and the denim jacket was popular too. Made lots of friends while waiting in line, and told my older daughter we would, but she was still surprised.
   Found our seats on the floor, about 1/3 of the way back on left side, excellant.  Went walking around checking things out and ran into some of the ladies we'd partied with in Denver! they had great seats about 5 rows back center. We chatted for awhile, and as we left I gave my OD the I told you so about her clothes. I'd told her that holes were not ok, cause we'd run into people I knew, and she hadn't believed me! Made a restroom run, and chatted more in the restroom. One of my favorite parts of the concerts is all of the camaradery, we are all friends and sisters  :D  although OD did say it was estrogen central : .
   We walked up and down the concourse reading t shirts and enjoying the people watching, then took our seats. there was a whole crowd of Claynadians in front of us proudly wearing Claynadian shirts, and THRILLED to be there, especially one little teenage girl who just was dancing every where. Met some ladies with their sign in a bag, I asked them what it said and they pulled it out and showed me. " Gas $200, Hotel $250, seeing Clay at his first solo concert priceless" They had been able to finally get tickets on Ebay just 3 days before, had instantly packed and had been driving ever since. A mom and daughter, who were so excited to be there and having a wonderful time together. There were 4 cute teen girls with white shirts that spelled out CLAY on the back in big letters when they stood together. Tons of creativity, almost everyone seemed to either have on red, a concert shirt, stripes, or a clay fangirly shirt.  So fun!
   Cherie came on right on time, and we thought she was excellant. tiny, cute and powerhouse lungs. Her band was a little to loud so it was hard to make out the words of her songs, but she sounded good and the melodies were pretty. She tried to work the crowd in her cute little french accent, and she got a very warm reception. I was very proud of the Clay fans for this. Every time she said Clay's name the house erupted!
   Finally intermission, then houselights went down, and the decibels went up! Since it was the first concert we didn't know what to expect, except one lady had found out that there would be an encore, and was passing the word around. We were all looking all over the arena, and checking all the entrances, but he surprised us when the stairs down the center of the stage opened up like a clamshell and he rose from there. It actually sorta looked like an alien spaceship opening up  :D  He was singing a song that I hadn't heard before, that wasn't my favorite, but he sang it really well, and when I read the history of it later, and the words, I was very impressed with the meaning. Jerome was pacing up and down, but he and another security guard were very careful to walk around the screaming fangirlies in the middle of the aisle, and also were very leient on digital cameras. The man is huge! He'd been very social with all of us before hand, and signed a lot of autographs. I think he enjoys all of the attention. Anyway, I'm sure you all know the song list by now. Some of my favorites were Love, Love, Love, Kyrie, Fire and Rain (awesome), Rosanna (better than the original) Loved by You (which the whole crowd sang right back at him, along with a lot of the songs that we'd heard him sing before) and of course, Solitaire was stunning. His speaking voice was getting a little hoarse near the end, but his singing voice was flawless the entire time. He put so much into Solitaire and MOAM that I was sure he'd be hoarse for the next concert, you could actually see muscles and veins standing out on his neck during Solitaire, and his long note left me panting for breath.  During ISY he was laughing at Jacob, and after he had a lady tell everyione why (the hold a note competiton). Made Jacob confess that he'd never won. His James Taylor tribute was wonderful, and to see the love and respect that he and his singers and band have for each other was awesome and inspiring. It was Happy Clay, all night, and I couldn't imagine him wanting to be anywhere else. When he did the gospel number, he came up in an outfit very similar to "ten foot tall Clay's", which is one of my faves, and he and the song and video were gorgeous and glowing. Wow. A man yelled out "I love you Clay" near the beginning when it was very quiet (for once), and the whole audience erupted in laughter, but Clay kept right on going. One of the Claynadian girls had arms of steel, and kept standing out in the middle of the aisle with her arms straight up waving them. I kept trying to rock around her, but she pretty well blocked the view for several songs, I finally asked her gently to put one arm down so I could see around, and she very sweetly moved over and put one arm down, so al was good. there was a tiny little girl on her dad's shoulder's across the aisle, noone seemed to mind, and she was actually singing along with a lot of the songs! Jerome came and stood at the end of her row for quite awhile watching the peeps behind, but it looked like he walked away without saying anything and the little girl was loving the show from her dad's shoulders for most of the concert. Fans were good about signs, only putting them up when houselights were up and Clay was looking. I don't remember him reading any outloud, but he was definitely reading and enjoying them. I didn't see any of the "wiggle just a little" signs that had been talked about, but several peeps I talked to said they hadn't really had enough time.  During one of the song breaks he came up to the end of the walk way and said he'd gotten another lei from the Hawaiian fans and was going to give it to the best dancer during the next song.  The aisles were thronged and everyone gave it their all. He picked a really cute young lady, and had her come up and dance with him, then gave her a big hug and kiss and the lei. the crowd went wild! Very late in the show he took a cell phone and chatted with Alice from Dallas, who appeared to be screaming her brains out from his reaction. when she clamed down she got snarky on her friend holding the cell phone, which he really loved. the man smiled and grinned and danced and exploded with joy during the whole thing, and a great time was had by all!  We talked to people from all over Canada, including a group of 60 who had come down together by bus, Indiana, Ohio, Nebraska, ND, SD,  Wyoming, Colorado, and more, and of course we were there from NM.
   The restaurant we went to after was pretty much all peeps we'd seen from the concert, and the next morning we found out that the majority of peeps from ur hotel were form the concert! Every table at breakfast had at least one or two Concert T shirts! GF did very well off of us :)
   We headed back to Dickinson, spent the evening having German food with OD's roommates' parents, who had a huge family gathering for us,and really know how to cook!  and headed out that night. Made Belle Fourche by about midnight and stayed at a really not nice, really not cheap hotel, cause everyone in town was already asleep and shut down. Hit Bear Country that afternoon, a refuge for brown, black and grizzly bears, had about 200 head there, Very cool, you drive thru, and we were there right at feeding time. Wandered down thru the black hills again, made it to Colorado Springs that night, then home the next evening. Such a great road trip, the kids said it was the most satisfying they'd ever had  
 :D
   My 9 year wants to do a short report, so I am going to register her and she'll be adding hers to the thread below this.

[CFCF]

Do I get the prize for longest post? Pamela and Woodstock both asked me to report in, so I did! :D  :P  :D

[CFCF]

OK, we tried to register my youngest so she could post her review, but we have to fax a permission slip in cause she's young, so she is going to post here: she wants to be known as : ClayStaticKid, as in Ecsatic to be a Clay kid :D

Hi, I went to the Grand Forks Concert, and this is what I remember:
   
I remember that Clay sang a beautiful version of Solitaire, "Oh my Gosh does he have lungs!"

My favorite songs were Love, Love, Love, and Kyrie.

I liked what he was wearing and that he changed a lot.

I liked the cellphone talking.

I liked wearing my t shirt from the Denver concert and I got a new concert shirt too!

I enjoyed the concert a lot :D  8)

[LiftClayUp]

I loved your review as always.  Thanks for posting it.

Carol

[Cameomum]

This is the first time I've seen Clay live since the AI tour, Mom refused to drive to St. Louis and back to Memphis that night for the IT. So first of all just wow. Cherie first song wasn't so good. I liked her rendition of Faith Hill's song "This Love" I think I've forgotten for sure. She then sang a song we all would know and so should help her sing, yeah don't think I've ever heard the song before. By the way she had tennis shoes on so she walked around and jumped up and down. Oh we had a Clay hopeful look alike. I didn't see the resemblance so much. Anyway to warm us she had us do the way and clap with her, which is when I realized most of the people around me were sitting. It must be hard to work a crowd that there entirely for someone else. Finally Clay, right. NO, time to readjust the stage and I could see Quiana and Angela backstage. The big curtain thing falling was kinda neat. Anyway I'd read about the stairs rising, but hadn't imagined how it actually happens. So their rising then there's Clay, and he starts singing. Wooo. So he had a turquoise/aqua shirt on and a yellow tie with green stripes. Then the pants I think were like striped tanish. I don't know. He told us about the Dance thing and then got help from Angela and Quiana in picking someone. She had antenna things that spelled Clay. He danced with her, well twirled her. He said to get the lei she had to dance with the backup singers, she did and he said she was better than him. So she got it and he said her friend would get something. Anyway when it came time for the person to sing. He picked the Clay wanna be. LOL the guy was going to try and jump on stage. Before Clay was like are you sure you want to jump on stage or would you rather go up the stair. Yeah with his tone of voice he basically told the boy what his choice was. But when the Guy went to the stairs, Clay said good choice, cause if your like me your clumsy. So yeah the boy attempted singing Invisible's chorus. It was so funny. Clay took the mike and told him to get off, then he was dying laughing and said he could take next show off and just let the guy do it. Cause we seemed to like him just as well. He kept laughing and missed the beginning of NMSS, but picked it up during the verse. During intermission he said the boy would be signing autographs and he was and getting his picture taken. Oh and he added Still the One to the song list. When he came out he had a blue country and western shirt on and pants (jeans?). Changed into all white for "You Were There". Which the video by the way was beautiful though it had religious overtones it wasn't over the top or offending. Made the song all that more touching. For this is the night he had the ugly paisley jacked and blue top with jeans. For Solitaire it was a blue corduroy looking shirt. Solitaire was absolutely fabulous. He soars so easily into those notes. Oh and I think Jacob help the note as long as Clay on ISY, but only cause Clay ran out of note. It was totally awesome. On the way out, one lady was like where he going be next, lol. And another Lady said she had come from California just to see him. Luckily I got my program at the beginning, because they sold out. OH and before the concert, there was a radio station and it had a drawing for a meet and greet with Clay. The first guy who won, his wife was there but he wasn't so didn't get it. So Karen someone got it. Have to be there to win. On the way out I asked my Dad if he endured. LOL He said "He enjoyed it. He never said he didn't like Clay, he just made fun of him."He told mom it was pretty good. Which for him means awesome. LOL . There were quite a few guys, but as my dad commented they were all with someone(girl, daughter, wife, etc.). It was so awesome, nothing can compare to live. :D

[Cameomum]

Kyrie Eleison translated means "Lord Have Mercy on Us"