Skatejoy

In defense of Michael, in person his banter seems very spontaneous and fun. And you'd never fall asleep in a live U2 concert! Wallingford was good. Not as good as the NYC concerts though. That's my last concert for this tour, so now I just have to work on photos!

Good news!! Buzz is there safely. A 7 hour drive from Albany. I believe she's now in search of a good stiff drink. Her report from last night was the Jerome was wearing a jaunty red scarf with his suit. And no one got pictures. I'm so jealous. I got a few more pictures up in my 12/2 NYC folder. Not done yet, but I know some people get.... what's the word..... impatient..

Buzz is now just over 1/2 way to Providence. This is after 5 hours of driving. Yikes!!

Today presents one of the pitfalls of a winter tour (esp in the Northeast). I'm sure the buses made the trek last night when the weather was beautiful, but I hate for fans to have to decide between their safety and attending the concert. I'm home snug as a bug in a rug catching up on Christmas cards and hoping to get to some of my other NYC pictures this afternoon.

Should we just call you "The Claymate Formerly known as Couch Tomato"?

Welcome georgiaclay! Bottlecap - you go above and beyond the call of duty. A festival of penguin apparel. Where were you when I was Christmas shopping for buzztechie?? I'm trying to settle back into the workweek before the next concert next weekend. Ummm teacher Clay is very hot!

Haven't had time to write a recap, but below I've linked my pictures from Sunday night. Amazing concert!! And, yes, I'm very grateful there wasn't a camera crack down. Whole Album Beautiful Guardian Angel Bring It On Amidst the falling snow My favorite non-Clay photo Chatty Clay Good News Enjoy!

bottlecap - don't skip the snark!! Would it be okay to keep the penguins outside and just fill up a paddle pool for them? I love penguins, but not enough to keep them in my house. Especially not if they're practicing for their Mongolian country number.

Yeah, prayers would be appreciated. A baseball bat at last night's concert would have been appreciated too. Let me explain. Last year I was just starting a new job and recovering financially from being unemployed. I scraped together money and attended two concerts - Providence and Wallingford. I was really excited to get to see the JNT and Clay again. I knew the flash rules, but they didn't really matter because I don't use the flash for concert photography. Then, the night before Providence there was a huge flash fiasco. Sewell, NJ I believe. Clay put his foot down - no more cameras allowed AT ALL. The next night in Providence the announcements were made to the crowd. When we got up to the door they were doing thorough searches AND PAT DOWNS. (for those who think this was a Christmas present for me, Jerome was not going the pat downs) The whole night security was at high alert and the first sign of a camera brought a huge response. I kept my camera in my purse and was miserable all night. Disappointed that all these beautiful moments would be lost forever. After that show things seemed to ease up a bit and people were getting some pictures again. Coming into Wallingford I was optimistic that I might be able to get some pictures if I was careful. Then MSG happened. Little to no security and a complete flash fiasco. What happens? Another big crack down in Wallingford, of course. Again I managed to get my camera in (just barely). During the last few songs I got very brave and pulled out the camera to get a few shots. However, none really turned out because I didn't have the steadiest hands. Can't imagine why, since I was being hunted down like a criminal. JNT was a very nice concert, but I wouldn't have gone to more than one if I knew that the experience would be so spoiled by some stupid and selfish people. So, here I am the day before my first concert. Everything up to yesterday went fine. I have my camera all ready to pack. Then Reading happened. Last night I was talking to friends about the weekend and I was so excited about the concert. This morning I just feel sick. Several months ago I said to some friends that while I didn't think anything Clay did or said would keep me from being a fan. However, I had a sneaky suspicion that Clay's "fans" would eventually drive me away. Today I'm heavily reminded of that comment. So, will there be beautiful pictures from tomorrow night? I have no idea. If there's not, I suggest you hunt down the Reading Flashers and go Clay Aiken fan on their asses. I'm fed up with caring.

I'm trying sooooo hard not to buy the Madagascar DVD before Christmas. The fact that the penguins have editorial comments is not helping my self restraint. Topic? Holy Crap! In one week I'll be watching Clay Aiken live in the flesh!! Whoo hoo!

So, if anyone has been wondering why bottlecap is so busy and occupied that she won't be making any of the JNT shows, I think I found the answer tonight. Yes, I saw the preview for the movie Happy Feet. Singing and dancing penguins!!! All those comments about penguins having no knees and being hard to train were just to throw us off the scent. How long did you think you could hide???

Here's what I posted yesterday (not sure it's good enough to double post!) Yeah, the Darth Vader/Jerome thing.... is it hot in here, or is it just me???

I think part of what Clay's talking about is the type of fanbase he has. While some figures have a wide, but shallow fan base (everyone knows who they are and might consider picking up the album if they hear a couple of good songs) vs. a narrower, but deep fan base (fewer fans, but buy multiples of albums and merchandise). Clay's right, his fan base is more the latter right now. And if a chunk of those deep fans are teenages, chances are they will move on, so he's got to widen the pool a little and not worry if some of the fans are less "deep", if that makes any sense. There are professionals who would be able to look at the CD sales, ticket sales, merchandise and online fan base and give a pretty close estimate of the numbers we're really talking about. Also, underestimating the number makes Clay look a little more "under dog-gy", which is always a good position for him. Many of his fans want to protect him (not necessarily mother him, but show "them" how great Clay is) and these types of statements position him there. I'll get down off my PR/marketing soapbox now!

Isn't the fourth album covers?? Just think - a penguin done as Elvis, penguins as the Beach Boys, penguins as Neil Sedaka. I think Clay's hat from the 60s would look mighty fetching on a penguin!! I'm still unspoilered on audio or video from the concerts. Not so much a huge act of willpower as a necessity of being VERY busy with work and church right now. It sounds like it will be a lot of fun though. Looking forward to my getaway weekend in Dec. Must remember to pack big honking lens. Hee!

I did see that Jerome was at the Portland show. Just one month until my first show. Of course, if he is not busting photographers, he has no reason to frisk me. So sad. Just another letter to Santa, I guess. The great thing about penguins? Tuxedos are good for any formal occasions. On the downside, looks like we'll be returning those penguin sized sombreros.

Mexican folk songs now?? What happened to the Mongolian polka? Bottlecap just got the penguins trained!

Yeah... pretty happy. Hee. Like bottlecap would feel if Clay did one song in the show wearing a penguin costume. Of course, now Jerome has no motivation to bust me. Unless I bring in a tripod..... this has potential...

A new source of schtick?? He referenced Mongolian polka in an interview. What more can you ask for? Bets on how long it takes someone to come up with a Mongolian polka pin?

And bottlecap goes off to think of how to integrate penguins into a Mongolian polka theme.....

Yeah, I'm guessing Jerome's going to be prying Clay out of the arms of whoever's in the front row of the pit.

Not sure (could be a Linux thing). All I know is that my boss told me to "see and be seen" and I didn't think pictures with people dressed up as penguins counted.

bottlecap do you work in my organization? I went to a big event this morning and there were two people in penguin suits. I nearly lost it. bottlecap - taking over the world one penguin at a time....

BWAH!!! Thanks for the great laugh!

MOAM anniversary. Hmmm... I still remember sitting in the Target parking lot desperately trying to get that wrap off the CD! When I first heard the 20 second snippets I really liked Run to Me. The rest didn't impress me much. I didn't listen to any of the Singapore stuff and tried to remain unspoiled for listening to MOAM for the first time. So, I finally free the CD from the wrap and get it in my CD player. Hit Play. What a letdown. I really didn't like the CD much. Except MOAM, which made me cry the first time I heard it. I generally thought the production values were low, the material was weak and it didn't make good use of his voice. As the years have gone by so many of the MOAM songs have gained sentimental value. Memories of concerts and roadtrips. And Clay's gotten better at singing many of them. I still love Invisible (especially in concert), but I pretty rarely listen to MOAM. I'm looking forward to the new album with material more suited to his voice and better production.

You can actually very easily create a mirror image in photoshop. Often done in a situation (like a magazine cover) where you need to put text over a particular part of a picture. In an unrelated (and kind of weird) note, EW has a Stephen Colbert article that mentions Clay here. The paragraph is: