DEC 3 PROVIDENCE PERF ARTS CENTER FAN REVIEWS

I can't believe that I'm the first to post a Providence review since it's been 4 days since the concert - maybe everybody else has been trying to get Christmas things done, too!

I left my home in central Louisiana at 7:00 a.m. on Thursay, December 2, and drove for almost 5 hours to the airport in New Orleans to meet Diane - aikenangel - for the flight to Providence. We got to the airport the required 2 hours before the flight, had a good flight to Detroit for a layover, and then on to Providence. We arrived at 11:00 p.m. We were met there by a group from the Kansas City, Kansas Fan Club - their flight got in 5 minutes ahead of ours. We all took a shuttle to the same hotel, and sat up in the hotel dining room, snacking, having hot chocolate and coffee, and sharing Clay scrapbooks until almost 2:00 a.m. Meeting this group - Elaine, Lyn, Amanda, and Vicky - was one of the highlights of this trip.

The next morning we were picked up by Cindy Skuce, a member of the Rhode Island Fan Club, and taken to a beautiful village called Wickford, where we shopped and had lunch. We were then taken back to our hotel, changed, and went to the PPAC to help with the Providence Preparty.

Cindy had worked very hard on the preparty. The food was all catered by the PPAC, but Cindy did all of the decorations and activities. She had three huge story boards with pictures of everything Clay had done in 2004 - across the top was written "Thanks For The Memories 2004". (these were later taken down and given to Clay - Cindy said they would probably end up in the trash, but the security people did tell her that Clay looked at them). Cindy had framed Clay pictures on all of the tables that were later won by preparty attendees, and there were drawings for signed pictures of Clay for anyone donating to Toys For Tots or Wrapping For Inclusion. She also had cute Christmas bags full of Hershey's kisses made up for everyone - the little poem on the outside suggested putting a kiss in your mouth anytime you felt like screaming at a concert! Another member of the Fan Club was a young artist. She had painted a pastel portrait to give to Clay that was so well done it looked like a photograph - just beautiful. This girl had also painted a cardboard cut-out of Clay - exactly life-size, that she had dressed in a Santa suit for the party (the face was so well done - she had even painted wire-rimmed glasses on it). Everyone got to have their picture made with Santa Clay. I got to meet Lorraine, Tammy, and Linda from our board at this party. There was not enough time to spend with them, but I'll always be happy that we got to spend a little time together. As we were about to leave the party, an announcement was made that people were being patted down as they entered the theatre, and that there would be absolutely no cameras allowed. We all went across the street to Cindy's van and left our cameras there. We went back across the street and stood in line for 45 minutes while everyone who entered the theatre was searched - the concert was 30-45 minutes late starting because of this.

Cindy had bought group tickets for all of us, and we did not even know where we would be sitting. We were shocked to find out that our seats were 10th row, center Orchestra - the closest I've ever been to the stage at a Clay concert. When we were seated, I began to talk to a young woman next to me. As it turned out, she had watched Clay on AI, but had never bought a CD or gone to a concert. She said she owned a business up there (she has the postcard business for the airport, Brown University, and other major locations), had just flown in that day, had noticed that he was having a concert, and had bought a ticket. Only single tickets were left, and she just lucked up on a 10th row seat. It was fun to watch someone who had never been exposed to Clay before, especially since I believe that this Christmas Tour is the best he has ever been. (She was litterally beside herself - she could not believe how great he was. At the end of the concert, all she could do was look at me - I just looked back and said "You've Been Clayed!"

When Clay came out in his burgandy "Big E" jacket, I knew we were in for a special concert - and we were. It may be just my imagination, but Clay seems to glow whenever he sings a Christian song - as I've said elsewhere on this site, he was just GLORIOUS - there is no other word for his performance. The Providence newspaper (the next morning) praised Clay's voice, but said he seemed a little down - not showing his usual personality, but I disagree - I think he interacted with the audience as he always does. He made a comment about the cameras - said "Heard that some of you got frisked - sorry about that , or for some of you, Congratulations!" He joked about not taking the piano lessons his grandmother wanted him to take (said he took lessons for 2 hours), joked about Christmas in his family, etc. I don't know if I remember all of the songs, and he may change them up a little each concert. The song list is printed other places on this site, so I won't go into all of the songs. We all loved seeing him dance with Angela during Winter Wonderland (he is a wonderful dancer - he can no longer say he can't dance). One of the highlights, of course, was "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve" - especially when he leaves the stage. I don't know how the girls he chose for the dance were able to stay on their feet. He danced with two young girls, and kissed their hands when he left them. He then bent down to sing to an older lady who did not stand, and I believe he kissed her cheek at the end - we could not see, and no one stood up to see. Another highlight was "Mary Do You Know", which he sang from a stool next to Jacob, Quiana, and Angela. Everyone knows how beautifully he sings this, so I don't need to say more. "Don't Save It All For Christmas Day" was wonderful with its many glory notes. Jacob and Angela both did an excellent job on their solos - I kept wondering how long Clay will be able to keep them as back-up singers. They are so talented, and it is a matter of time, I think, before they go out on their own. The "Good News" encore was unexpected, because I had not read any reviews on purpose prior to this concert. This song was so intense - you could feel that it truly came from his heart.

The part right after the concert was the only part I didn't like - no one would leave. We stood out in the cold at the buses for an hour, and never saw Clay. I kept praying that he wasn't trapped in the theatre waiting for the crowd to leave. (I think he was on the bus the whole time and just didn't come out). We did see Jerome put Raleigh on one of the buses, and we did see Nick, Jacob, Quiana, and Angela come out - they all signed autographs. We also saw Amber come out. She is working on this tour. She had to stop because she was behind Angela, and Angela stopped to sign autographs. Someone in the crowd asked her about working on the tour. She said she was working with the children at each location. I know there is speculation about whether she is a friend to Clay or a girl friend, but whichever she is, she was working just like everyone else. She was pushing a huge black suitcase with a large bag of what appeared to be laundry on top, and pulling another meduim sized suitcase.

After we finally left, we went to a pub for a while (we were met there by some Florida fans), then went back to our hotel and sat up and talked about the concert until 3:00 a.m.

The next morning we had breakfast, read the local paper, packed and dressed, and headed to the airport. Diane and I spent our return flights sleeping and reading Clay books. After another layover in Detroit, we got into New Orleans about 5:00 p.m., and after another long drive, I got home at 10:15 p.m. - very glad to see Lewis and our dogs!!!

I would do this only for Clay! I had so much fun, but I am just now feeling rested!

DIANE SENT ME THIS YESTERDAY, AND THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A GOOD THING TO PUT AT THE END OF MY REVIEW - IT IS FROM THE MOTHER OF ONE OF THE CHILDREN SINGING WITH CLAY. THIS IS HER DAUGHTER'S EXPERIENCE MEETING CLAY:

"Clay first came out to meet us in his PJs - he explained to us that he sleeps late because he sings late into the night. We were all whispering SHHHHHHHHHH... here he comes! as he was walking towards us, and he said...don't stop talking, I love to talk. He then went to get dressed. When he came back, he gave each of us a signed picture and a special back stage pass. He didn't sign any additional autographs, but took individual pictures with all of the kids, and a group picture for the school. They rehearsed real hard. She said he was funny and showed the kids his big feet and ears. She also said that right before he went on stage he dropped to his knees near the stage and prayed all by himself."

The mother of this child said..."I'm glad that what she took away from this experience was how kind, funny, and real he was and also very spiritual."