Fingers crossed for a date near me!

[jmh123]

Squeeeeeee! That is all for now. 

[Mik4clay]

Was anyone in Cary last night? I’m waiting so impatiently 😬🫠

[beanerknits]

1 hour ago, Mik4clay said:

Was anyone in Cary last night? I’m waiting so impatiently 😬🫠

Me too.  😬

[ldyjocelyn]

3 hours ago, Mik4clay said:

Was anyone in Cary last night? I’m waiting so impatiently 😬🫠

 

1 hour ago, beanerknits said:

Me too.  😬

I think the below post is your answer. Can’t wait to hear more!

13 hours ago, jmh123 said:

Squeeeeeee! That is all for now. 

 

[jmh123]

I was in Cary. Just got home. Still in the Aiken fog. 

I went with my friend Barbara, whom I met through the fandom, when we were both in the same Walmart, me looking for more copies of All is Well, and her for her first one. I had one in my purse that I bought for my mother, but ended up not giving it to her because she was too out of it that day to appreciate it, so I gave it to Barbara. We had also PMed on the old board that went with his fansite, when I knew I'd be moving back home and was looking to make Clay friends here--so it was fated.

Anyway....I live like 45 minutes away from the venue, and she lives about the same, but neither of us like to driving at night, so we ended up making reservations for the night at a nearby hotel. We had planned to walk to the venue, but fortunately, we decided to drive there and park--so glad we did, there was a lot of walking anyway. We went early so we could get a good space, and ate at the venue.

OKOKOK, I'm getting to it. So we're sitting in our seats waiting for the show to start, and right next to me was a gaggle of policemen and some lady, and my first thought was, she's being arrested. Poor thing! Then Lynda Loveland came walking up the aisle, and I thought, she'll vouch for her, and well it was Faye, being protected, not arrested. Faye was with two young men of about the right age to be Parker, and ever since we've been speculating which one (if either) it was. We also saw Jaymes with some friends and one of the maybe-Parkers hugged one of those friends.

So this was how we were passing the time, waiting for the show to start.

I have some kind of post-viral thing, have had it for years, and really didn't think I was going to make it. But it was Clay!!! So somehow I did. I felt almost like I was in a dream the whole time, an excellent dream. I will surely crash now for days, but it was worth it. OK OK, the show...

The lead guitar player started playing the theme song for American Idol, and I don't think most people recognized it. I recognized those notes, dada dum dada dum, but then he went on from there. Shortly after, the PA system came on and played Ruben singing, and the judges talking to him, a male voice I didn't recognize, and then Gladys with the "Velvet Teddybear" line. Ruben came out and sang something, briefly, and then there was another bit about Clay, a male voice saying, what? Duh. I forgot! Something about him making it to the end or being competition for the rest or something. And Clay sang, something... briefly, and then off they went. They were very funny together and both in fine voice. It seemed like Clay felt very liberated to be able to sing as loud as he wanted, as this is a large outdoor venue. A very diverse crowd, not sold out, but good and full. There's seating in the very back, and then lawn seating, and then seating at the front of the stage, and that's where we were, last row on one side.

I was surprised at how few people I recognized, which is good--not like the old days when it was the same fans at every concert. There were lots of men, people of different ages, even some families.

Not good at set lists, obviously. I had not listened to any clack, but did download some, so I had some idea what to expect. The medleys were lots of fun--Clay actually danced very well in the Back Street Boys part. The back-up singer sang Let's Get Physical, and she had changed into this sexy outfit with cleavage and slit up to here on one side, and Clay and Ruben started doing some serious calisthenics, in unison, while she sang. They wore themselves out and had to stop to breath after, and she was pretend peeved at them for upstaging her.

The first medley was Motown, and Clay sang TLS towards the end of that one, a long and gorgeous version. The back-up singer was good throughout, and seemed to get a kick out of them. They took turns joining her to sing back-up for one other many times. There was also a vocal track, as well as some instruments, that was played for some songs. Ruben did a Luther medley, which was wonderful. And then, a high point for me was this--I was expecting Barry Manilow, but Clay sat down on a stool and said, "For those of you who have been to other shows, we're going to do something different tonight. Ruben and I both have sons now, Ruben's is 2 or 3, a "mature 2", and mine is now 14, believe it or not, and has taken driver's ed. already." So, he sang Moon River and dedicated it to Parker. Sigh.........

Unchained Melody was amazing--took me back to the first time I heard that, at the PBS taping, and came home saying, "What was that?" WOW. He did a little bit different vocals at the end, high notes of course, didn't do that run up to neeeeeed that he does on the album, but did do a beautiful high "neeeeeed your love" and some riffing at the end. I think this is where Ruben said, you're getting all excited because you're home, doing all these high notes and improvising and sang a high note back at him. Ruben made several nice comments about it being home for Clay, and Clay, of course, talked about being home. Someone from the audience said, "welcome back," and he came back quick as can be with, "I live here. Where've you been?" He also talked about why he had not been performing, and had been doing other things, and lots of people laughed even though he never said specifically that he had run for Congress, while he mouthed things like, "never again," and big mistake," and staged whispered, "please tell me don't do it again."

There was also a short intermission, which I think wasn't the case in all the shows, and afterwards Clay did the "where's Ruben?" bit - but then he also sang quite a lot of "Hello" by himself before Ruben came out, and it was beautiful!!!!

Clay also said some nice things about how fans not only supported them buying their music and tickets to shows, but fans had actually voted for them, and they would not have had so much success with the fans.

Let's see, they bantered about going home for the top 3 and being blown away by how many people came out to see them, and Clay talked about landing in a helicopter in the middle of the Durham Bulls baseball field and there were 15,000 people there and he could not believe it.

Ruben did a cute imitation of Clive Davis--they were in the final three when he met him, and he said, "should you make it to the finale, I have chosen these songs for you," and Ruben got Flying with Wings, and Clay said, "because you won, you're stuck with it." He got "This is the Night," and it was the hardest song to sing ever, and he would not be singing that again, but did BTOW instead.

The encore was "Impossible Dream," and rather then singing it as a duet, they took turns line by line, and it was sooooo good. The meaning of the song really came through.

OK, so I pulled a lot of stuff out of my hat and probably made some things up, but it was wonderful--it's been years and years since I've seen him perform live. So of course I now want to go again. LOL. Not likely to happen though. I looked for FearofH2O and Playbiller, but there were a lot of people there, and I never saw them. I hope they made it. 

[ldyjocelyn]

Yay jmh!  Glad you had a fabulous time!

[ldyjocelyn]

FINALLY have some time to catch up.  I'm going to be throwing a LOT of links here.

Sharon Lawrence (actress from NYPD Blue) recorded a FANTASTIC bit on Instagram. She definitely loves Clay!

Need to see if I can find this interview!

[ldyjocelyn]

https://www.instagram.com/p/CrlMkG6rik1/

Jim Tharpe, PA, 4/27/23

 

[ldyjocelyn]

To Love Somebody

Bridge Over Troubled Water

The Impossible Dream

All from 4/27 in Pennsylvania.

[ldyjocelyn]

Facebook LONG video from April 28

That's our Clay, wearing a skort!

[ldyjocelyn]

From washgirl at CV, used with permission.  Two different recaps.

Quote

 

Just finished two of my three concerts.  OMG!!!!!!!  They were amazing!  Clay’s voice is Amazing!  What a show!  The moment he entered the stage I started to cry.  He’s back.  So much fun!  Ruben and Clay work together seamlessly and….lovingly.  The looks on their faces when one is singing and the other quiet on the stage—-smiles of joy and appreciation for each other voices.  I found the concerts to be perfectly balanced between Ruben and Clay.  I also didn’t think it was too loud and I was in the front (hee) row last night.  These guys and the audience are having a blast!  Clay KILLS it on To Love Somebody, Bridge, and Holey Moley Unchained.  His hands!  So beautiful, so expressive.  Ms. Microphone Stand is very, very lucky.  I couldn’t breathe. Thank you, thank you Ruben for bringing Clay’s voice back to us.

FYI, during the sound check, I asked Clay about the Fall schedule.  He said they had heard back from around six venues, but weren’t close to pulling the whole thing together yet. 

 

Quote

Back from parx casino.  Yes, it was a shorter show, but it was still awesome!  Highlights included a woman shouting out “I love you Clay” when he finished To Love Somebody and then he took off his jacket and lots of woo woos and hoots came from the audience.  Clay responded “I’m almost 45, calm yourself!”  And towards the end, he called out someone “Ma’am, you’re in the third row.  Why are you using binoculars?”  Of course, the binoculars woman was our own Jasr 😂.   It was hot up there on that stage, literally and figuratively.  I’m so sad that this was my final show. Sniff 😢

 

[ldyjocelyn]

From jasr at CV, used with permission. Also a couple of recaps, plus some great pictures!

Quote

 

Hi, just got back from RedBank and Jim Thorpe. These were my first 2 shows. I have watched some video, but honestly, the video doesn't do the show justice. I had forgotten how much I missed Clay singing live until I heard the first note of Open Arms Wednesday night at RedBnk. I actually had tears in my eyes,which truly surprised me. The acoustics at the Count Basie are spectacular and with the shape both of their voices are in, the sound was just spectacular. The show is well put together and evenly balanced between Ruben and Clay. The song choices definitely play to their vocal strengths. "To Love Somebody" left me breathless- literally. His voice is so powerful, and the echo you get in that theater- mind blowing. Of course we were fortunate enough to be in the middle of the 3rd row which afforded us great views of "To Love Somebody", "Unchained Melody" and "Bridge Over Troubled Water". As a huge Manilow fan, I have to say- he does Manilow better than Manilow. The duet at the end - Impossible Dream- just so beautiful and again plays to both of their vocal strengths.

Last night in Jim Thorpe we were front row. A little neck challenging, but we sat on our soundcheck VIP bags and it elevated us enough to ease the neck cricks somewhat. He did "Unchained Melody" and "To Love Somebody" right in front of us. Better than the night before. What he is doing with "Unchained Melody" is just, well , amazing and welll... you have all watched the performances so you know what I am getting at. "Bridge Over Troubled Water"- blows the last note out of the theater. The banter and the medleys are so much fun and the audience is definitely having a good time. Neat venue, great sound. We did the soundcheck prior to the show. They were both chatty and sweet and I got a little back rub at picture time.

It was great to see lots of old friends and make some new ones.

Off to our last one tonight at Parx, which is only 15 minutes from my house.  They are having a blast up there and it translates to audience enjoyment.

Thank you Ruben for bringing Clay's voice back to us. We owe you big time velvet teddy bear.

 

Quote

 

So last night we got the abridged casino show. The only real downside I see to it is that poor Ruben and Clay don't get a break. The show is so energetic that by the end you can see how pooped they are. But they sounded fantastic and DH who was with us last night, thoroughly enjoyed the show. He was sitting in the row behind us as we couldn't get 4 seats together. He made some new friends , LOL , as he always does. Crowd was very receptive and the venue was pretty filled. It was great for us as we only live 15 minutes away- and since the weather was so dreadful last night, that was a blessing. As for the binoculars, well, I just felt like having a little fun, hehe. 

I love the Impossible Dream, but what I love more is their intro to the song. It is so heartfelt, and maybe perhaps because it was my last show , it touched me even more. They were thanking us for all the great memories they have made over the past 20 years - well THANK YOU CLAY for all the great memories and friends we have made over the past 20 years. All of us have seen major changes in our lives, some good, some bad. But all made better and more bearable by the joy Clay has brought into our lives. Thank you again Ruben for bringing that voice back to us and giving us the chance to make more joyful memories.

 

 

[ldyjocelyn]

Good Instagram of UM from Friday night.

[ldyjocelyn]

Video from Cary on Saturday.

Ruben and Clay Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CrpFqNPr_M-/

[ldyjocelyn]

Lots of pictures and videos from Koka Booth in Cary here.

[ldyjocelyn]

The show last night had a couple of opening acts, including Jeanne Jolly, who posted this on her Instagram story.

 

[gbmifan]

Wonderful video and recaps.  My concert is Tues. and cannot wait.  My concert buddy has not seen anything because she is not on the boards.  I have watched some but am trying to keep it to a minimum. 

[ldyjocelyn]

Long instagram -- I haven't watched it yet, but I understand that Clay sang "Moon River" last night, which is not normally in the setlist, because Parker was there.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CrqeDMIr3i-/

And with that...I think I'm caught up!

[Twilight926]

Hi everyone, it’s been a while 

Had some time to soak in going to Cary. 
I have to say that getting to see and hang out with friends is part as much as part of the experience for me as seeing Clay is. This was such a fun weekend! 

Soundcheck was a lot of fun! Im so glad it end up happening! 

Koka Both is such a pretty Venue! As my friend Terri and I were going to our seats we saw Tonya and some other folks associated with "National Inclusion Project"! I hate that I missed him didnt see him ,Nick was there. It felt like such a family reunion! 
My group was in the second row on the side. I tried to stay away from spoilers I knew a few songs hadnt watched any video. I thought it was a fun show with powerhouse voices! I really enjoyed the show! Clay sounded an amazing I thought Ruben sounded great too!! I love the boy band medley never thought I hear Clay sing NSYNC ha! Im so glad I tried not to see spoilers before hand. This was my only show. I loved every moment! 

[beanerknits]

1 hour ago, ldyjocelyn said:

Lots of pictures and videos from Koka Booth in Cary here.

Ldyjocelyn,

Thanks for gathering all the links/photos/etc for us here. One question.

 When I clicked on the line referenced here, I get message that link was broken, or page removed. Was that line above suppose to take us to a pictures/videos ?

[ldyjocelyn]

55 minutes ago, beanerknits said:

Ldyjocelyn,

Thanks for gathering all the links/photos/etc for us here. One question.

 When I clicked on the line referenced here, I get message that link was broken, or page removed. Was that line above suppose to take us to a pictures/videos ?

Try this link, see if it works. Two photos of the attendees, and then videos of Clay. 

[ldyjocelyn]

2 hours ago, gbmifan said:

Wonderful video and recaps.  My concert is Tues. and cannot wait.  My concert buddy has not seen anything because she is not on the boards.  I have watched some but am trying to keep it to a minimum. 

Welcome back gbmifan!  I hope you enjoy your show Tuesday!  Bring back a great report!

Thank you Twilight for your report too!  And the pictures are YUMMY!

[ldyjocelyn]

A series of Instagram photos and videos from the Koka Booth, from someone who worked the show yesterday.  The funny thing is the backstage/worker badge, a take off of Miami Vice from the 1980's. The badge and the comparison, with Phillip Michael Thomas and Don Johnson.

 

 

[ldyjocelyn]

New podcast, Ericcast podcast, with Clay and Ruben.  25 minutes in length

iHeart link

Apple Podcasts Link

[ldyjocelyn]

From FB last night, looks like a great venue!

https://www.facebook...W4atS2TWLzoh2vl