#11 I love me some Clay Aiken! He (soft) rocks *g*

[muskifest]

Hello everybody! I'm in Miami Beach now...and tomorrow marks my first day back in the real world--working and whatnot. But right now I'm enjoying a glass of cabernet in my suite and trying to catch up. I haven't checked any reports from Tulsa yet, but I hope Clay did Tulsa the way he did Houston. :F_05BL17blowkiss:

On the flight from Houston to Ft. Lauderdale I started writing a reflection/essay/report about the Texas Twofer. It's been so long since I've written anything that I found the only way I could progress was to just write---not edit at all. I never finished but when I read over what I'd written I felt bad about it. I mean to write something about both Texas concerts---they truly were antitheses of each other in so many ways---but in this particular piece of writing, I'd only covered Frisco.

Reading it, I realized that what I felt reading it was too harsh and not really truly representative of how I felt when I left that soccer field Wednesday night. So I'm going to rest that piece of writing for a little bit and focus on my Houston review. Hopefully, I'll find a way to mesh them into one coherent essay. These two concerts and this experience are important to me. As I talked to my boss tonight and answered his questions about the concerts, I was honest. When I told him how I felt about Frisco, he said in a very shocked voice, "You mean this is the FIRST time you've had a bad concert?"

It really IS amazing that in all the concerts I've gone to since 2004, Frisco is the very first that I would classify as..."bad", and that is according to the standard of performances and productions I've become used to from Clay and company. And my boss's surprise gave me a dose of reality.

We really are spoiled, you know. Clay Aiken is unique and we are lucky enough to be reaping the rewards of loving and experiencing his special gifts in our lifetime. We're not USED to hearing bad notes or sloppy production or bad musicians or crappy venue support. And as someone who felt that those things are exactly what I got Wednesday night, I can tell you that it doesn't feel good. But you know what? For a number of 'star' acts, it ain't all that unusual. Like I said, I really do think we're spoiled.

Anyhoo....Houston will be that defining concert for me. Even with Clay obviously needing to look at the cheat sheets on the stage floor, I will forever LOVE that concert. Because it proved to me what I already had faith in---that Clay is who he is and can do what he does. And he will.

I love him.

And all you guys. This was such a great trip. I got to meet so many new 'old' friends in person for the first time, had a great time and won some fabooooo prizes at the consumate Clay Concert Pre-Party produced by the inimitable eHP! :Tour3: :TourExcite:

Oh, didn't I tell you that I won a very long, phallic prize? And that the mini-poster that just HAPPENED to be in MY bag at the party was the one and ONLY reproduction of Clay humping Angela at the Charlotte NAT?

Oh, my bad. Well...it's late now and I really do need to get to bed and be ready to be Ms. Meeting Manager tomorrow....

er.....unless there's already Tulsa clack posted somewhere?

[Ansamcw]

first picture from Tulsa...right after the shower comment

[Claygasm]

I'm home!!

Flight was delayed. Baggage was delayed. Terrible traffic leaving the airport. An asshole driver who practically ran me off the road!!

I want to follow Clay!!!

KAndre, have you got some minions on the ground that might be able to go and have a chat with the as-of-yet unnamed Shoving Chick?

ETA: From Goood Baby Brush at the CH:

On the phone with spotlightlover now and one of the organizers of the pre-concert event was on the flight and witnessed the event. She was questioned and had to sign a witness statement and everything.

According to the people who witnessed it, Clay was asleep with one leg crossed over the other (kind of parallel to floor) and his foot was apparently touching the armrest. The woman hit at his foot and told him to get his foot off her arm. Clay slept through that apparently and she got pissed and started swatting at him and smacking him. He woke up to the woman hitting him.

According to the witness, they were all questioned by authorities after the flight touched down and the woman was "led away" by authorities. They think she was arrested but don't know for sure, just that she was in custody.

Never a dull moment, eh?

Why do I find that so funny?? His big ass feet on an armrest and some wacko woman was swatting at him?? She must have been jealous because her husband has little teeny, um, feet....

Plane rides home must inspire one to write little essays. I wrote something on teeny little note paper (since I don't have a laptop....), mostly on the Houston concert. Right now, I am tired and its hot here and I have no a/c, so I'll see if its worth posting tomorrow.

For now, I am off to download clack and save pictures and read about Tulsa.

These past few days were a blast. Loved meeting everyone. LOVED the kick-ass pre-party given by the hostesses with mostestes, the eHP (and yes, KAndre, you are still evil - despite being a sweetheart!). I can't remember the last time I had so much fun before, during and after a Clay party as I did in Houston.

I can't wait for Philly! I hope to see you all there - even though we won't be traveling in the same circles this time.

Off to get my clack fix!

:F_05BL17blowkiss:

[ldyjocelyn]

Ever heard of that old song -- "He Touched Me?" Well guess what? It came true for me this evening.

*Where's that Thud Emoticon when you need it?*

Clayzor, keepingfaith, kf's sister and I decided that we needed to see Clay one more time...and pretty soon we found Jerome. He was sighting the crowd and basically got all of us to get in a single line, basically in one big circle. He actually made us hold hands in order to get us in single file. And then we waited. And waited. And waited.

Finally, Clay came out, with Jerome leading the way. He started on the far end from me, of course, but everyone was well behaved. And then, he was in front of me. "Thank you ladies for coming." (Heh, little does he know....) And I was right back with "Thank you Clay." I shook his hand, and then as he kept going, I got a touch of arm too. I then promptly died on the spot. He looked fantastic -- white polo shirt, jeans, and that fantastic stubble.

After the experience of a lifetime, I found the eHP -- and they were over the moon as well. The entire eHP, Clayzor, keepingfaith, her sister and I all got to touch Clay, and every single one of us was acting like a freakin' 12 year old.

The best night of my life.

Short review of the concert: much of the audience sucked. Standing up in the middle of his talking just to announce things. And the flash bulbs were insane. I was floored at the insensitivity that I saw in so much of this audience this evening. Clay was fantastic, but was mostly thrown off his banter timing because of the sucky audience. This time I did cry during LAA, and was sobbing during BYLM.

Absolutely unbelievable. I can now die a happy woman.

Oh, and the other story of the day? Good Lord, I'm glad he's pressing charges. Everything I've heard suggests that the woman was just a first class ass.

Now, I've got to go find out more about this cussing story. I'm glad Clay know when to use a good "fuck." Heh.

[Claygasm]

Ldyj - why did the audience suck and what cussing story???

What did I miss???

And I'm glad you got to touch Clay. Couldn't happen to a nicer person!

ETA: Damn! Away from my own computer for a few days and there is SO MUCH clack to download!!! I'm glad I'm not working now. Downloading could become a full time job!

Edited July 8, 2007 by Claygasm

[Couch Tomato]

Nice to see all the travelers making it home.

Muski, your boss offered up a great perspective. The bottom line is CLAY CARES and wants everyone to have a good experience and he always tries to make it so. He's not always perfect..but the funny thing is there is rarely universal consensus. I should probably change that to never. heee. KAndre and Play had a great concert experience... it's an individual thing.

Your boss is a wise guy...don't forget to tell me when that accountant retires heee. But like I was telling you earlier today on the phone...(yeah she's on my speed dieal LOL) I've been to soooo many Clay concerts. Out of the close to thirty, only one was a disappointment to me. But the twenty something others are what makes me a concert ho (concert ho lite these days). And if I go to reviews and recaps of that show that I found disappointing I would probably find a thousand glowing reports. I say embrace Houston.....and party on to the California shows.

Looking forward to your airplane ramblings CG. I've written many a concert recap on a plane. heee.

Waves to Heidi..glad you had a great time. LOL at your lust.

LdyJ..whoo hooo thanks for your insight..can't wait to hear from you and keeping faith..oh wait atinal is at this one tonight as well. Hope it was ok for her...I wonder if the whole incident today had him off kilter. They were definitely laughing up a storm though. whoo hooo.

I feel slight improvement on my back..think I will go get ice...and of course...

Carolina Clay thanks for the kind words about FCA yesterday.

ETA: where is it written that we have to bold everybody's name. I love you all but god I hate that crap. heee. I respect and love you all..truly...heee. edit edit edit..hope that is everyone. heee.

CG - Apparantly Clay cussed in a meet and greet tonight. No full story has been forthcoming as of yet. Well that I can find.

I could hear the screaming and shouting out of turn through the cellstream..quite surprising.

ETA: to bold CG..LOL

[ldyjocelyn]

The audience was sucky because they had no freakin' manners. As I said, people were just standing up and talking to Clay, trying to hold conversations with him while the man was on the stage, trying to be Mr. Entertainer. Loud and obnoxious conversations too. It really wasn't pretty.

The "fuck" story is through about 5 channels at this point, but he did mention that he cussed in the M&G during the show. I guess he was telling a story about a professor in college, and this professor used the phrase "what the fuck." And that's exactly the way he told the story.

In other words, he's a regular guy. God, I love him.

[YSRN]

It's so fun to watch you all return from your events... Wee! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

Clay cussed?

That audience did suck... hugely. Who the hell was the woman with the water bottle or something like that who said she waited 3.5 years to meet Clay. And he said, she'd have to wait longer?

*passes couchie some ice and drugs* Sorry. I can totally relate. Especially to the five minutes to figure out how to roll out of bed before you pee yourself.

God, maybe Clay's right. We are old ladies. Hee. I'm gonna git him for that!!

Can't wait to hear from everyone about their trips... everyone. All of it. Good, bad, and snuggly!

[JennaZ]

Welcome back, weary travellers!

[JennaZ]

Welcome back, weary travelers! Thank you for sharing your experiences with us.

[Claygasm]

The audience was sucky because they had no freakin' manners. As I said, people were just standing up and talking to Clay, trying to hold conversations with him while the man was on the stage, trying to be Mr. Entertainer. Loud and obnoxious conversations too. It really wasn't pretty.

Thanks for explaining. What a bunch of jerks! I'm surprised KAndre and the rest of the eHP didn't take them all out right there and then!

The "fuck" story is through about 5 channels at this point, but he did mention that he cussed in the M&G during the show. I guess he was telling a story about a professor in college, and this professor used the phrase "what the fuck." And that's exactly the way he told the story.

In other words, he's a regular guy. God, I love him.

Ah, but there will be some who will be wringing their hands over that!! Me? I bet it wasn't the first time he said fuck - and I bet it won't be the last! Wouldn't be surprised if he said it earlier on his plane ride!

That audience did suck... hugely. Who the hell was the woman with the water bottle or something like that who said she waited 3.5 years to meet Clay. And he said, she'd have to wait longer?

You go Clay!

God, maybe Clay's right. We are old ladies. Hee. I'm gonna git him for that!!

Speak for yourself!! Yeah, if I ever have the chance, I intend to make him pay for that remark! And I am soooooo going to enjoy it!

Off to bed! I have lots of clack to watch in the morning!

'Night all! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

[playbiller]

I really do believe that expectations affect our enjoyment level. Years ago I stopped expecting anything except having a good time. I go to tons of local concerts (freebies) and always have a good time AND get to bring my dog (except to the Met in the park series)! Not every one I watch is as talented as Clay, but they always do something to entertain me, loved fake Elvis and the pretend Beatles. When my sister comes here -I have her scheduled to not only see Idol the Musical, but the Duprees, and a local "salute to Billy Joel". The nice thing is, that if you don't like it, you can leave. Since I spend so much time attending concerts in weird places and with people of various levels of talent, I do take into account where I sit - especially the Met in the park. Maybe that makes me easy to please, but Clay more than met my expectations in Frisco. I wasn't looking for him to top himself, but to entertain me - if he topped himself, fine, otherwise - eh. Clay does not always have to be Superstar to make me happy, he just has to be Clay.

I think some people missed Clay moe than I did - heck he always played near me so I did see him several times a year, even if only at Christmas. So, I am pretty easy to please. My main thing is to not think of the expense of seeing Clay - I am fine then, everything fits into my budget, it is just the individual items that tend to piss me off - like the 10 dollar a day charge for internet at the hotel that could not handle the traffic!. One more month and I get some income - hooray! I will be nicer than. Really!

As to the Houston concert - the ceiling was one of those accoustical ones that you can lower pieces to changethe sound and parts of the ceiling hid lights and cameras - at one point Clay was giving the top tier people a hard time by threatening to have the ceiling lowered ans "squish" them. They seemed to enjoy those comments. Now, some people could consider that a hick comment, but apparently no one did.

Edited July 8, 2007 by playbiller

[YSRN]

Oodles of Tulsa shots from the CB:

Heh, the board only let's me post 10 at a time!

[treenuts]

Ever heard of that old song -- "He Touched Me?" Well guess what? It came true for me this evening.

*Where's that Thud Emoticon when you need it?*

Clayzor, keepingfaith, kf's sister and I decided that we needed to see Clay one more time...and pretty soon we found Jerome. He was sighting the crowd and basically got all of us to get in a single line, basically in one big circle. He actually made us hold hands in order to get us in single file. And then we waited. And waited. And waited.

Finally, Clay came out, with Jerome leading the way. He started on the far end from me, of course, but everyone was well behaved. And then, he was in front of me. "Thank you ladies for coming." (Heh, little does he know....) And I was right back with "Thank you Clay." I shook his hand, and then as he kept going, I got a touch of arm too. I then promptly died on the spot. He looked fantastic -- white polo shirt, jeans, and that fantastic stubble.

After the experience of a lifetime, I found the eHP -- and they were over the moon as well. The entire eHP, Clayzor, keepingfaith, her sister and I all got to touch Clay, and every single one of us was acting like a freakin' 12 year old.

The best night of my life.

Ldyj,I loved your story here. Especially the part I have hi-lited above.

-----------

Oh, and the other story of the day? Good Lord, I'm glad he's pressing charges. Everything I've heard suggests that the woman was just a first class ass.

Now, I've got to go find out more about this cussing story. I'm glad Clay know when to use a good "fuck." Heh.

Did Clay mention he IS planning on pressing charges? Was this on stage?

-----------

The "fuck" story is through about 5 channels at this point, but he did mention that he cussed in the M&G during the show. I guess he was telling a story about a professor in college, and this professor used the phrase "what the fuck." And that's exactly the way he told the story.

In other words, he's a regular guy. God, I love him.

DITTO!!

Thanx to everyone for your shared experiences & recaps. {{{{{TO ALL}}}}}

It would be pretty tough to live vicariously without those of you who enable us.

and

{{{{{{Clay}}}}}} cause you've had a pretty shitty past 24 hours babY!

[Guest huskerfalcon]

Waves to muskifest and Claygasm.... you guys rock!! Oh yeah?!?

Edited July 8, 2007 by huskerfalcon

[bottlecap]

Two questions:

Is it too soon to be looking for a goldarngirl / luckiest1 Production of the "Best of Houston?"

Did the Plane Witch also give him fleas or something?

[luckiest1]

Is it too soon to be looking for a goldarngirl / luckiest1 Production of the "Best of Houston?"

Hee, we are still stuck in the middle of another JBT. If I can stop watching DCAT clack, we'll finish it soon. And we haven't even talked about venues on the DCAT, but I betcha Syracuse or Canandaigua will be among them. Perhaps Houston.

Clay more than met my expectations in Frisco. I wasn't looking for him to top himself, but to entertain me - if he topped himself, fine, otherwise - eh. Clay does not always have to be Superstar to make me happy, he just has to be Clay.

Play, I have loved your attitude this week. ITA, even though I wasn't in Frisco. Every concert is different and unique, but I can honestly say I've never had a disappointing experience.

ldyjocelyn, thanks so much for your little bus line recap. So glad you guys got to touch him! We had a great bus line experience in Williamsport last Christmas, too. And BWAH if he really said "fuck" in the M&G. Haven't many people been dying to hear him say that for years? Doesn't surprise me, I never thought he couldn't cuss with the best of them when he's on his own time, but hilarious that he did it in a M&G (if true). Hopefully we'll get a few more first-hand recaps over at the OFC.

I'm sick of the plane story already. Hope the media just drops it. Although if Clay can use it to his advantage (i.e. funny banter, etc) all the better for him. Woman had serious issues, from the sound of it.

Edited July 8, 2007 by luckiest1

[Ansamcw]

I hope I am not the only one not stressing about this airplane story. Its just another day for the controversy king. I think what makes this a story is the fact that the FBI and a celebrity was involved in what was pretty much a benign situation. this is going to just come and go.

Of course fans are up in arms against TC for not countering the story and saying Clay was sleeping and the woman attacked him...well from what I know of Clay's handling of stories in the past...he does not like playing the pointing game... I think if he is asked about it he will give his side of the story but at this point...probably the least said about this the better for him.

[muskifest]

Dang. A hand. A foot. What possible appendage could be involved in the next Clay Aiken body part controversy? (And how do I get an up-close-and-personal experience with it?

Sayin' hey! and See ya! First day of the conference...already been for a quick walk on the beach and now I must become Ms. Meeting Manager. (I did take some moments this morning, however, to watch some Tulsa clack. heh)

Hi to huskerfalcon! and YEAY! for my binoculars finding a way into some fellow Claylover's hands! :Tour3: Thanks, play, for babysitting them. :F_05BL17blowkiss:

Sorta glad there's a break before the next concert...with the conference and all keeping me busy, I'll have some time to collect all the clack from the first three concerts and organize them before another welcome onslaught begins! :TourExcite:

And I must say that his lovely jeans fit quite nicely in Houston. Yes, they did.

[KAndre]

Hey to the FCA from Tulsa!

I swear, this concert series has ably demonstrated to me why multiple concerts are a necessity for me - these 3 could hardly be more different. Frisco struck me as the ugly duckling of the bunch - between fans with certain expectations (and we all have them) to the general audience that didn't have any...in general, I'm just one of those people that for Clay concerts, I tend to concentrate on what works for me - and being in the fun part of the audience is one of the things that make it work for me. Houston was the fuckin' swan (incredibly beautiful with stuck up parts). Tulsa was a mallard or goose that bites, I gotta think some more.

We have GOT to do a FCA get together - we are so kickass!

I flove my new tablet PC but it's typing my usual screeds - but tonight when get home - I stupidly promise to finish my recap of the Texas two-fer and Tulsa by Monday because apparently there are people waiting for me to finish my Xmas recaps.

[playbiller]

OMG!!!!111!!!

Can that story have been picked up more - hey media - there is a war going on, criminals are being pardoned and some cities are going bankrupt! I looked at a few and it is unbelieveable - some of them picked up like 3 sentences of the story and ran it as a stand alone article? What's with that - I mean I am not talking about being in the midle of gssip, but actually stand alone news.

Anone who think that Clay's career is over should consider how a little bit of talk about him is news, when major stories about others do not get covered - weird. What is with this stuff? Oh well, maybe it will help him get his talk show.

ETA - Attitude? I have an attitude? No, really, I do go to concerts outside for the most part. I have to check, but Ruben is singing at the South Street Seaport pier and if I have not missed it, I am going into NYC to see it. I love the concerts on the pier. I love outdoor concerts, although I don't expect to ge close or have the best sound. When I "saw" Al Hirt long ago and far far away or the pin dot Paul Simon. I did get really close to the Greatful Dead and Jefferson Airplane as they had a sudden unannounced concert in the park while I was there - I have no idea what that was about, but it was great fun for about 100 of us AND I was so young, I could not have been born yet. My favorite though has to be going with a friend to see fake Elvis and having her put on her fake Elvis fan imitation, including fainting when she caught his sweaty scarf and screaming out I Love You Elvis. She was a riot and made the show for me - I will never ever take her to a Clay concert, she is too tacky.

Edited July 8, 2007 by playbiller

[YSRN]

I hope I am not the only one not stressing about this airplane story. Its just another day for the controversy king. I think what makes this a story is the fact that the FBI and a celebrity was involved in what was pretty much a benign situation. this is going to just come and go.

Of course fans are up in arms against TC for not countering the story and saying Clay was sleeping and the woman attacked him...well from what I know of Clay's handling of stories in the past...he does not like playing the pointing game... I think if he is asked about it he will give his side of the story but at this point...probably the least said about this the better for him.

Nope, you're not the only one. Just proves people like gossip more than they like to admit. All kinds of people.

Bring on the clack!!!

Houston was the fuckin' swan (incredibly beautiful with stuck up parts). Tulsa was a mallard or goose that bites, I gotta think some more.

[Couch Tomato]

I hear you Play...had to blog about this one...

[cha cha trusty]

I'll tell ya what.

I wouldn't want his stinky foot on my armrest either.

But if it was me and a fellow passenger, I'd have a tough time even getting the flight attendant to take notice.

Did that woman hold a press conference or something??

~~~~

I totally missed last night's concert. We had a bunch of peeps here for my SIL's 30th bday. CRAP!!

[YSRN]

I dunno.... I think Google Alerts completely removed the heirarchy of news which gives the illusion of more importance to nonsense. Try searching for other things -- you search Clay Aiken on Google News it returns 320 items. You search Iraq War, you get 78,820. Hell, you search butterflies, and you get 2,498. The day those numbers switch around is the day I'll start to worry. Until then, blip. It's Entertainment News (i.e. gossip and celebrity garbage) and it has it's place. I don't see it as replacing "real" news though the state of newscasters/reporters is a whole 'nother topic.

Edited July 8, 2007 by YSRN