#13 The Aiken Experience. There's nothing else like it.

[Couch Tomato]

..

Have a safe flight playbiller and anyone else who still has concerts left to attend.

Ditto. Glad you made it Playbiller and Lickiest!. Yay for KAndre and her magic ticket luck. Good luck to those heading out tomorrow: Divayenta, Cindilu, eHP and everybody!

I really, really like this idea! Make it a downloadable podcast for $2.50 a pop. I'd love to hear the fantabulous KAndre read these in that fantabulous voice!

BWAH.... or better yet, auction off a hang out date with KAndre at a Xmas concert and hear the stories for yourself. heeee.

Oh, I just want to make it clear I do too remember what wine I had! I had white, then red, then red, then red, then red then port!

Snicker.

Still have fingers crossed for dad.

YIKES!!! That's about as scary a topic as there is!

Muski and CG... I hear ya..although things are slowly getting better for me. We need a money and finance thread over here.... all tips will be welcome...I think I will start that up later.

Oh...ya'll know you can start any kind of thread you want, right. If you need help figuring out where it goes, just ask.

I don't know about the gorgeous part - but it was funny. She kept asking me if I had curly hair back in September!

LOL CG, I'm not that bad...I can remember this woman clear as day and it wasn't you. Heee. Who else was hanging around ya'll. Anybody?

This IS my first and really only home in Clay Land and I couldn't be prouder or happier! And while I may have ended up with you guys by default, you made me feel right at home immediately. I so appreciated that. I will admit to being a little nervous.....

Scmoop city. I was nervous too...only because I wanted you to have a good time and not regret coming out. I think by day 2 we were all hugging and eeeing and saying how much fun we were having every ten minutes heee.

As for your first concert rule, BRAVO!! And as KAndre mentioned, there were loud people in Pala too. I even turned around and shushed them!! KAndre said she was proud of me!! That made me all tingly right down to my toes!!

Bwah..you know I resisted this minion thing for years but now I'm feeling a little jellus.

I love reading all the recaps - especially the ones where I was there! Besides, by the time everyone else has posted their recaps, I won't have to!

Damn it...Why didn't I think of that!

Dayum... I wanna be in that car ridin' THAT guy....

uh....riding with that guy.

that's my girl

Bwha! That sounds very familiar to what happened to me at Meadowbrook. I was fiddling with my camera before the show, and the lady sitting right behind me tapped me on the shoulder to inform me that I needed to turn the flash off. This was right after I got handed a glowstick by somebody else and instructed to ONLY use it Because You Loved Me so the co-ordination between fans at the concert freaked me out. And I've been a part of this fandom since the beginning. Nothing should freak me out anymore, lol.

[/rant]

Clay fans are crazy, yo. [/understatement]

[/using brackets and backslashes to end my sentences.]

Sun,, in case I didn't welcome you properly...WELCOME to FCA. And

CMSU...

Very seldom does the trying to create a moment work. When they happen they happen. I've never had a glowstick at a clay concert [/not that there is anything wrong with glowsticks] Yeah, and the fake clay mommies (BWAH I'm sorry but I just love that) are something else. Don't understand why they instructed the photographers that enough was enough though. That seems quite silly to me. But I have to admit when I saw a lot of flashes going off at Indio it took me out of the concert for a minute and I wanted to hurt somebody. But I truly think that most of the flashers are the not just us folks. I think it's common to think that if it's dark, use a flash. How long did it take US to learn that. But I wouldn't attack anyone that flashes...just hope security does. I think sometimes trying to correct the one bad behavior (shouting out during ICMYLM) just makes things worse (a whole bunch of people saying shut up).That's why I just give my evil glare....[/for all the good it did at Pala]

JMH - thanks for the Weekly Reader link.

[bottlecap]

You Cary-ites have me worried. I'm sending provisions:

[atinal]

To all the FCAers heading to Cary or who are already there, have a great time. (As if anyone has to tell you that) try to stay cool. Oh and, eeeeeeeeeeee for me while you're there.

[Couch Tomato]

I'll be posthoing for the rest of the night as I catch up..good thing it's allowed!

[

ldyjocelyn, I'm telling you...we're on the right track with this 'favorite pair of cargo pants' thing. With luck, he's going to wear them until they literally fall off his body. Think of it as a really slowwwwwwwwww [TM CA] strip tease.

ETA...ack! ack! ack!, I'm at the top of the page and I have a fear of heights...

You guys are cracking me up with the top of the page angst. Although if I'm last post for too long I get paranoid

I'm a comfy dresser and I'll a wear my favorite jeans or a comfy top out... shoes too. OR maybe Clay just has twenty pairs of the same pants heee.

Post-ho'ing to say - I just posted a couple of WALLPAPERS on my site........

SEE YOU DOWN SOUTH!!

:F_05BL17blowkiss:

Thanks for the wallpapers!! Have Fun!

KAndre comes strolling casually in...

Bwah..why did this crack me up. Is this even possible?

I seem to have much less time on the computer these days... Did I mention my sister is here?

Glad everyone made it safe and sound to Raleigh... be careful out there! [/random TV reference]

Having someone around that isn't normally there surely can mess up the routine. Hope things work out for her soon...and not Clay's version of the word,

I loved Hill Street Blues. Great show. Wonder how it holds up today though.

(ummm, I might think twice about telling the other Clay groupies fanatics bitches fans where you put that ticket, not that we'd do bodily harm to get at it or anything *cough* )

Bwah!

Weather report: 101 degrees, 39% humidity, heat index 111 degrees. We went out and sat on the porch in the sun and it's hard to breathe. We lasted about 20 minutes and that was that. The good news is that the concert isn't until 8:30 pm and the forecast tomorrow only calls for a high of 98 degrees.

Oh wow..it is HOOOOOOOOOOT. Yikes..I hope it cools off for Clay and the gang. The lights will only make things worse for him. Should make him bring the funny though.

OT: What on earth are they doing to Court tV. First they got rid of the actual court stuff in the evenings. And now they are replacing forensic files and The Investigators and Body of Evidence with crap like Bounty Girls Miami? geesh.

[jmh123]

Oh, God... more pictures with the yummy hair!! And I guess I'm the only one who likes those shorts and pretty much wears my favorite clothes until they are threads. Plus, we've already discussed ironing. LOL!

Nope, you're not the only one. I love the fact that Clay does this too.

I seem to have much less time on the computer these days... Did I mention my sister is here?

I love her to death, but... I cannot wait for a mood shift. Oy.

Hang in there....been there, done that, but mine was out in two weeks. Not sure yours is going to be that fiercely ready to move on.

The People magazine thing CMSU. Probably very surreal for him too. (But then, I think him singing to Flat!Clay! was probably OTT surreal for him...and I mean that as no offense artquest...)

Real Clay, in his persona as Performing Clay, acknowledges and then dances with Flat Clay. Not only surreal but post-modernist as well.

PS: Remind me to never, ever, ride with KAndre. Not that it wouldn't be fun, no siree Bob, but I'm looking forward to grandchildren some day and would like to live that long. Waves. Loved your recap.

PPS: Mr. Artquest was thrilled to meet some of the FCA posse. He would wave back too, if I let him near the boards.

Why Mr. Artquest would find the FCA totally harmless, I'm sure. No smutting here.

(This just means that we would like to do his hair.)

I wish someone could've gotten Clay and flat Clay in the same shot--maybe someone will do some video magic. I'd love to see that.

I'm seeing Clay tomorrow. EEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!! :Tour3: :Tour3:

[Claygasm]

Yes, I'm up. What of it? Actually, it's a combination of me having ANOTHER weather related headache, and my husband being sleepless as well (job stress). Ugh.

But....

WENN photos: Clay Aiken arrives at his Manhattan hotel 8-8-07

Dude...WTF is it with the CUTOFF cargo pants? I mean, really -- I know it's casual time and all, but I would think you could afford shorts with hems. Just sayin'. And I do love you dude.

OTOH -- and close your ears CG -- EEEEEEEEEE! Glasses!!!!!

Ewwwwww!! Glasses!!! The cutoff shorts are getting a bit old too! But what I REALLY want to know is why was he in NY? I was sure he would have flown straight home to see his pups! Do you think he just wanted to see "Idol: The Musical" again?? <snark>

Clay is the Weekly Reader's featured celebrity of the month, just in time for back-to-school:

http://www.weeklyreader.com/

If you click on his picture on the front page, it takes you to a page about Clay:

Clay Aiken: An American Idol on a Mission

And at the end of that piece, there's a link that takes you to an interview:

Interview

Ooooo!!! YUM! UNICEF pictures!!! I miss the beard....

CG, I continue to think about you and your father. Keep us posted!

Thanks for asking. Well, today's news is they did a biopsy of some stuff they removed during the endoscopic exam and apparently they all came out ok. They did an MRI - over 2 months ago he had one because his doctor saw a shadow around the tail of his pancreas, which was inconclusive, and he was scheduled for a follow-up MRI anyway this month. He never really got a straight answer (at least that he can tell) about the results but thinks one of the many doctors who was in today said there was something there that may or may not be cancer. So that is very worrisome. He hopes to find out more when he speaks with his doctor tomorrow. Trouble is, she comes in around 6:30AM and wakes him up to speak with him and he is usually not terribly with it.

So please, keep all good thoughts and positive energy and prayers coming! I really, really appreciate it!

posted by dab1119 at the CB.

Clay left NYC yesterday(Wednesday). I saw him at the airport waiting for his flight to Raleigh. I was on stand-by for the same flight, but did not get on. He was alone. He was escorted on the plane by a VIP rep & was the first one on it.

...so at least we know where he's not...and hopefully, that they were making sure he had a lot of leg room. lol

Safe travels for all those heading south!!!

Ok, I repeat - what was he doing in NY???? Inquiring minds want to know!

KAndre comes strolling casually in...

Y'all know I was gonna do white-water rafting instead of the Cary thing, right? Because that seemed reasonable. Especially looking at the freakin' 103 degrees weather.com expects it to hit tomorrow. But nooooooo, Clay whines at my ass about coming and hitting on the goddam lawn, and off we go. I even refused to buy the damn lawn ticket until the last minute. Then my dear, darling PerusingOne (who apparently lives on ticketmaster) called me yesterday because she could get me a seat in Section 4 on Row Q. I bounce with joy. Then she said something about 'glitch'. I scream, "Buy! Buy! Buy!" and throw myself onto ticketmaster's flat and stingy bosom in case something goes wrong. I type in "Clay Aiken". I select Cary. I select "1" and "Best Available". It gives me a gobbledygook word. I type it in. It lies and says it's thinking for less than a minute. A page appears. It says, "Sec 4". I sez, "good, good". It says, "Row A". I sez, "whu...". It says "Seat 4". I go back to look at "Row A". I touch the screen and make a screen print. I click "Buy Right Now Dammit." I do the TicketFast rip off thing (they know perfectly well printing my ticket from a website is nothing but profit for those bastards). I carefully put copies of my ticket in my purse, my suitcase, my bra, my shoe, and taped to my back. I call PerusingOne. She, who clearly has taken numerous logic courses, tries to convince me my ticket is actually hers. I laugh gently at her.

This oughta be good.

Between this and youR luck in Pala at the casino, well, all I can say is you are one lucky bitch! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

I keep looking at this picture from People online.....

Now, I KNOW he is wearing the dreaded glasses. I KNOW he has on the dreaded cargo shorts. I KNOW he looks like he is developing a Krispy Kreme belly, but for some reason, I find him extremely HOT in this picture!!!

Oh and Scarlett dear! Render hard!! I cannot wait for your beautious clack!!!

Now, one note about that SCC song - based solely on the title and the fact those words were uttered by a Marine (who I truly believe are completely and utterly brainwashed by our government).....

WARNING!!! POLITICAL STATEMENT AHEAD!!!!!!

.

God I hope it isn't a bunch of government/military brainwashing crap trying to convince us that the war in Iraq is really about protecting the American way of life or I might have to throw up and thank RCA profusely for it NOT being on Clay's album.

[bottlecap]

I keep looking at this picture from People online.....

Now, I KNOW he is wearing the dreaded glasses. I KNOW he has on the dreaded cargo shorts. I KNOW he looks like he is developing a Krispy Kreme belly, but for some reason, I find him extremely HOT in this picture!!!

Maybe because he kinda sorta looks just a little pissed off and like he's about five seconds away from going all Principal Aiken on somebody? Seriously, he's got he's lips all sucked in and everything...

[Claygasm]

Look at our naughty, naughty boyfriend!!

[JennaZ]

OT: What on earth are they doing to Court tV. First they got rid of the actual court stuff in the evenings. And now they are replacing forensic files and The Investigators and Body of Evidence with crap like Bounty Girls Miami? geesh.

What's happening to Court TV? Major format change.

Court TV Changes Name to truTV

Thanks for asking. Well, today's news is they did a biopsy of some stuff they removed during the endoscopic exam and apparently they all came out ok. They did an MRI - over 2 months ago he had one because his doctor saw a shadow around the tail of his pancreas, which was inconclusive, and he was scheduled for a follow-up MRI anyway this month. He never really got a straight answer (at least that he can tell) about the results but thinks one of the many doctors who was in today said there was something there that may or may not be cancer. So that is very worrisome. He hopes to find out more when he speaks with his doctor tomorrow. Trouble is, she comes in around 6:30AM and wakes him up to speak with him and he is usually not terribly with it.

Hoping for the best. My thoughts are with you...

Loved the photos, btw!

And congratulations, KAndre on the fantastic upgrade!

[Couch Tomato]

Ah Clay in his glasses...love them.

As for the SCC almost made the album song..I will download that one song when the album is out. I certainly don't want the entire album and if there is some sort clack about the song I'm sure it will be made available. I'm just really curious about it.

I'd say goodfreakinlord! *I* was living on ticketmaster as well, and *I* got section 4 row Q also (for which I'm very grateful, she added hurriedly, so as not to offend the ticket gods who had me sitting on the lawn til then). Maybe said ticket gods were so impressed with your recap, they just knew you'd need to be up close to get another one!

Yay for all the upgrading lunatics FCAers. Have fun!! And LOL...best not to mess with the ticket gods.

Seriously, if you miss your flight again, I will beat your ass and leave it at the airport this time.

Bwah..Solo you are my type of women....

You know KAndre, merrieeee, and I aren't getting there until Friday, right? You never listen to PerusingOne so I don't know who's going to stop you.

bwah... I want to hang out with the entire eHP... hmmm where ya'll going Xmas

Just got back from my mom's. Today's her birthday--she's officially 94 today.

Happy Birhday JMHmom.

Do you think he just wanted to see "Idol: The Musical" again?? <snark>

Bwah CG. Thanks for the update about your dad.

Now, I KNOW he is wearing the dreaded glasses. I KNOW he has on the dreaded cargo shorts. I KNOW he looks like he is developing a Krispy Kreme belly, but for some reason, I find him extremely HOT in this picture!!!

whiplash. heee. And he probably was HOOOOOOOOOOT in more ways than one. God I hope it cools down before the concert tomrorrow night.

JennaZ -- oh god, I knew something was freakin' up. This new BRAND shit sounds awful. OH well, time to watch more sports LOL.

[bottlecap]

I just had to lift this from I Can Has Cheezburger?:

[ldyjocelyn]

I just had to lift this from I Can Has Cheezburger?:

Ahem.

I posted a link to this yesterday. Does no one read my posts?

*sob*

OTOH...

Look at our naughty, naughty boyfriend!!

I posted a link to this picture the day before yesterday. However, I'm not complaining one BIT that it got posted. 'Cause I love that little shit.

atinal, thanks for the alert on the clack of WTLGD. I saw it -- too funny. BTW, PerusingOne PM'd me and said that Scarlett's flight got delayed, and she probably wouldn't be doing any rendering until tomorrow. Maybe.

What IS it with all the flight delays?

Glasses!Clay! Yummy. I think for me I like him with glasses because I wear glasses, have since I was a young child. I like to identify with him, what can I say?

The SCC song -- I'll be interested in hearing it, we'll have to see if it makes my political skin crawl or not.

Went out for dinner this evening, wearing my new Clay Aiken tour shirt. As my husband and I were eating, a lady came up to me and said "so, when did you see him for this tour?" EEEE! I managed to talk to her for a few minutes -- I think I'm still in shock though that someone from my little bitty town is also a Clay fan, because I can't remember what screen name she said she posted as on the OFC. I think it was iloveidol3 or ilikeidol3. Not sure. Also, she was floored when I said that I flew to see him this tour, and with my number of concerts total. Heh. As I said, I think she's online, but not very much. Darn, I should have given her the FCA page. Shoot.

Happy birthday jmhmom!

Another clack question: which Indio clip has him talking about it being so hawt, and then some guy in the audience talks about how Indians like it hot, where Clay then says "us white boys don't?" Please advise.

I'd truly love to download all the clack available, but I simply can't. No time. (Why can't I be paid to watch clack?)

[Couch Tomato]

My recap yesterday didn't include mentioning the FCAers I met because I had already written a post about that after the concert. But want to reiterate it was just so much fun to meet all of you. I did mention meeting Jamar but wanted to thank her again for recognizing the DCAT pin and coming up to me and Ansa. Whoo hooo thank goodness we had our own recognizeable gear.

Recap and Dummies Guide to Clay Concert Etiquette

OK we had a plan. We'd (me, Claygasm, Ansa and BLF) get up, go to IHOP, buy lunch to take to the winery and head to the winery to meet Kandre. We had all the addresses to load into Morticia whom we had all come to love already. I mean Morticia had personality. She gleefully told us she was reeeeeeeecalculating every time we made a wrong turn. And she got soooooo sad when she lost satellite connection and had to break the news to us.

When we get in the car I receive a call from Kandre who has landed in LA and will be coming to the winery but when she says she has to turn around and go back to Los Angeles get Scarlett at 2:30 we're like "OH NO.. you'll never make it. Let's just meet at Pala. Forget the winery. That's insane."

Kandre airily tells us that the winery is half the reason she came and at what point did we ever think she was sane and some babble about not knowing what the eHP was made of. So we agreed, told her we're going to breakfast and will see her there. But for some reason as we turned out of the hotel Morticia just wanted us to turn left onto the ramp. WHAT RAMP. Why is she talking about a ramp. We keep driving thinking Morticia would find her bearings but she was stuck on us taking a ramp. We slap Morticia. Turn her off and on. Meanwhile BLF has a real map in hand – but no need for that. Morticia kicks back in and we are on our way, CG behind the wheel.

After a leisurely breakfast, which apparently makes us late to the winery (but it's not our fault because I thought LA traffic was HORRENDOUS) – because as we're getting back in the car after our stuffed waffles with blueberries and chorizo and eggs or two of everything, Kandre is on the phone. She's at the winery already! WHAT? Uh oh… we bypass the lunch grab and high tail it as fast as a mini van can go to the Wiens winery.

Kandre is waiting graciously for us…ahem…we oooh and ahhh over the red Miata. Thankfully they have food cuz Kandre has probably only had a ½ cup soda and some nuts to sustain her from her plane trip. We pay for our wine tastings, get entertained by a funny young chick behind the counter that basically tells us if we like it it's good shit, if we don't it's bad shit. She's my kind of girl. We sit outside between fill ups and chat about everything from Kandre's torturing of her mom as a youth to the crazy ass fandom and the more we drank the funnier everything got. As things are winding down, we get a call from Muskifest letting us know she would be joining us in LA since the Blaze had lost. We were appropriately restrained until we hung up the phone. (Actually seriously, I am so proud of Muski for attending to her daughter and Carrie for going much further than anyone thought at the beginning of the season).

By this time, and it wasn't just the alcohol, we are all schmoopie and huggy. We say goodbye to Kandre and we head on to Pala where we do the usual..well it was in her name and now it's in mine but she's paying thing. Oh first we hit Ralph's and got appropriate drinking supplies, snacks and offerings to the goddess (you've already seen pictures of said 4.95 nifty tiara/earring set).At the hotel, we run into Mr. Artquest on the way to our room. The sound check is going on when we get there and when we get to our room we have a perfect view of the venue.

Pala was a great concert. My sister in law attended this show with me. She is a fan of Clay from Idol. Bought his first album. Shine was her favorite song. I sent her MCWL for Christmas but when I got there that year she had already bought it for herself. She didn't know about ATDW. I'll send it to her along with Lover All Alone and a concert DVD for a keepsake. It was amazing to sit next to someone who had never seen Clay in concert. She ooo'd and ahhhed and said awesome softly from time to time. She was quite tickled by the claymates. She said to me things like "did you know that Clay's fans are called claymates?" Apparantly she has been living under a rock or else we're just not as famous as we think. The Clay paraphernalia like earrings and handbags and necklaces also intrigued her. Also she said "good luck" when the no flash rule was announced. I told her that yes we will be following our master's command on that one. Her favorites from the concert were Measure of a Man and Lover All Alone and Without You. She also loved Listen by Angela..she had just seen Dream Girls for the first time a few days before. And she laughed a lot. As for me, I loved everything. I have fallen madly, seriously in love with These Open Arms. HOW ON EARTH DID THAT HAPPEN?

I must say I really am loving Quiana and Ang on this tour. For the first time IMO they are really contributing to the banter part of the concert, rather than just being somebody for Clay to play off. During NAT I always wished Quiana would get him back when he teased her about the passport. And they are so comfortable with each other. I just totally love how they worked it when Clay decided to sing to flat Clay. Ha. That was hysterical. Thanks Artquest for bringing him along. My SIL did have her out of control moment (make note to send her concert etiquette rules) when Clay was wrapping up things talking about the local artists in the area. It was kinda quiet when she screamed out AWESOME and she was oh so delighted that he responded to her. *note to self – find clack of said moment).

Anyway, after the show we grabbed food and headed to the room where we had magaritas waiting. Kandre and Scarlett (who are one hell of a comedy team) and LovesPopCulture of the CH joined us and we laughed, and teased and just had a great time. My SIL fit right in and it must have been the margarita cuz I brought up my brother's FIRST wife. She was very amused by the word Claygasm and CG raised her hand to confess it was her name tag with that name on it. We gave Kandre her very nice tiara; she has much disdain for the earrings that went along with them. Must consult new minion welcoming handbook because I thought it was appropriately blingy. I walked my SIL to valet parking – and she reiterated that she had a wonderful time with Clay and meeting my friends. And any time he is in the area she wants to join us. Also, she got all schmoopie talking about Lover All Alone and she said she listened to the worlds closely. Also started getting on my personal single situation which of course meant I patted her on the head, gave her a big hug, and pushed her into her SUV. HA.

We went to the room and plotted our strategy for the next day. To airport- pick up Muski - into LA - dinner with JennaZ-more libations for the long wait in stacked parking - I'm sure it would all go like clockwork.

This was a perfect day. Just being able to chat with Ansa face to face instead of through a keyboard was so exciting. And I was thrilled we actually liked the real US. heee. BLF having fun with more than just me. heee. Knowing that CG was having a good time with us... so many things. Spending time with KAndre and Scarlett was a blast. Not to mention, Pala was a magical and very special concert. The whole day was perfect - one of my most favorite Clayventures ever.

Part 2 of Concert Etiquette Rules for Dummies

Things didn't get any better in Pala. Did you know Clay had a new ring in Pala? I never notice such things but I had no choice in Pala as the social club behind me talked about it for a full minute while Clay was singing. They were extremely excited, "Did you see the ring. He has on a ring. Oh wow, the boards are going to blow up. What kind of a ring is it. Blah blah blah blah." My best Darth Vader glare did nothing at all to shut them up. In fact, they looked at me as though I had nerve to interrupt them. Here he is, the object of your "affection" on stage singing yet you are more interested in eeeee'ing about him with your friends like you are sitting at home on your computer. Is the fact that he is wearing a new ring really more important that the fact that he is singing to you from the stage? I don't get it. Sitting next to me was someone who had never seen Clay before – EVER. She wasn't on her 5 th concert of THIS tour. She was on her first EVER. And your chatter distracted her. You took her attention away from Clay and put it upon yourselves…over a ring.

If a "not just us" is at a Clay concert, let Clay do the converting or at the very least follow the "not just us" fan's lead. Aggressive campaigning and filling up some person's ear you don't know with the goings on in the Clay fandom is going overboard. Clay's voice will do all the work. You just be ready with a CNN card or FCA card or whichever informational area you choose to promote. My SIL had never seen Clay before, had never even heard the term Claymate before that very day, was pounced upon by people who didn't know her explaining with the intensity of a thousand suns that he was the best EVAH. People! You scared the living crap out of her.

[Scarlett]

I should be working on the clip around midnight Raleigh time (assuming the naptime nazis aren't about), and should get that snip to you v. soon [tm:Clay-who-also-said-it's-more-special]. /jk

You know KAndre, merrieeee, and I aren't getting there until Friday, right? You never listen to PerusingOne so I don't know who's going to stop you.

How about a humongous thunderstorm in DC ? For the first time this year, I was 1.5 hours early for check-in. I breezed throught security, had a long quiet meal at Terminal E (the one with the Pappadeaux places) before heading back to my gate in Terminal C and getting a frantic call from PerusingOne saying that my plane's been delayed 30 min... 1 hr... 2 hrs... 2.5 hrs... I look outed the window, up at the sky. Nothing. I check edRaleigh weather -- humid but clear. What's causing all these delays? Turns out that our plane was supposed to come from DC and it was stalled there due to bad weather. *sighs*

Sorry, ldyjocelyn! That'll teach me to give actual time estimates for Clack.

OTOH, if I had to pick a place to be plopped down at 2:30 am with no access to voice mail (since the speeddial number changed and I don't have the actual voicemail phone), it would have to be Raleigh-Durham airport. Ten minutes here and I'm in my happy place -- nevermind that I started the day so cranky that I couldn't appreciate pictures of the most gorgeous guy walking around my favorite place on earth + that even messier flight delay. But people are just so nice here. Really. From the hotel shuttle driver who wanted to lift me into the shuttle when the step was a bit too high for me, to the hotel lobby clerk who greeted me by name and proceeded to give me step-by-step directions to my room -- go straight out those doors then turn left then open another door then get into the elevator, go to the 3rd floor, when you get out of the elevator turn to your left and your room will be the 2nd door on the right (!), to my fellow passengers on the flight (the ones from here, not from back home), etc....if niceness were bullets, it would have been a bloodbath. Also, PerusingOne left an ice cream sandwich for me in the freezer. And then waited up for me. '*contented sigh* This is how the world should be.

Solo's going.... so why are you sitting there posting instead of working.... ok, ok, signing off now. Thanks for waiting and sorry for grumbling about everything. Clay's singing tonight. All is well.

Oh but I do have one last gripe before I completely get into the Cary concert happiness fog... ITA with couchie on loud cellcerters. I don't mean people who don't know better and just get carried away. I mean experienced cellcerters who ought to know how cellcerts and clack work. I have direct experience with one and now I have super-clear .wav files of this word-for-word recap, overlaid on Clay's singing, with extra comments whenever Clay didn't quite hit something ITHO or moved too much or didn't move enough, etc. I'm not talking about people who can't help but cry, laugh, giggle, squeeeee. I've gasped OMG over my own audio myself and I'm not trying to make anyone suppress reactions -- but talking over the songs? And repeating the banter word for word? If the phone can't transmit it clearly, borrow someone else's. I'm sitting right there and my phone's not being used. If the person on the other end that night had only known what you were doing to pcm audio, she would have reached in through the phone line and grabbed your tonsils. *takes a deep breath* There, I got it out of my system. Thanks for listening/scrolling. On to good times today...

Edited August 10, 2007 by Scarlett

[bottlecap]

Yikes! I just looked at weather.com for Cary - midday temperatures expected to be 100 degrees with a feels-like temperature of 110, and an excessive heat warning has been issued. Take care you guys! I hope the venue is prepared to deal with the crowds and the temperature....

:glasses: :urhot:

[ldyjocelyn]

Everyone in Cary tonight -- have fun. Don't forget to wang chung (and drink lots of fluids) too!

The Asheville Mountain Xpress

Forming Clay into Rock

Forming Clay into rock

by Alli Marshall in Vol. 14 / Iss. 02 on 08/08/2007

After 2003 American Idol runner-up Clay Aiken performed in Syracuse, N.Y. (backed by the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, no less), the Web site Syracuse.com dubbed the pop singer “the beloved singing teddy bear placed near a young girl’s flouncy canopied bed.”

From Idol to icon: Although American Idol runner-up Clay Aiken may lack the artistic credibility that comes with a long career of paying dues, his devoted fans — the “Claymates”— don’t seem to mind.

Aiken, as his devoted fans (known as “Claymates") can attest, is often given short shrift, celebrity-wise: Benign-geek status was not exactly the reputation favored by rock gods like Jim Morrison or Robert Plant. But the N.C. native (whose pre-Idol aspiration was to become a school principal and someday raise a family) is probably better suited to tender ballads and sports jackets than primal screams and leather chaps.

Following in the footsteps of good-guy crooners like Wayne Newton, Mel Tormé, Burt Bacharach and Engelbert Humperdinck, Aiken has carved out his own corner. That is, if playing widely accessible “concert the whole family will enjoy”—as one fan dubbed them—can be considered a niche market.

The entertainer’s most unique quality, ironically, may be his bid for across-the-board acceptability. Sneer if you must, but when the Top-40 charts are clogged with angsty Avril Lavigne and Amy Lee numbers, a reprise of the feel-good Laverne & Shirley theme song kind of hits the spot.

Getting Clay

Part of what differentiates Aiken from his fellow touring Idols is that, at each stop, he teams up with the symphony of that particular city.

“It’s rare and exciting for us to be able to do something like this,” enthuses Asheville Symphony Artistic Administrator Sally Keeney.

Whereas a typical symphony concert involves 85 to 90 musicians on stage, the group backing Aiken’s Biltmore Estate Summer Evening Concert Series appearance numbers 42. “It’s a more pops-y size,” Keeney explains. “It will give a nice, rich sound with all those strings.”

What will Aiken be performing to the orchestral wall of sound? Don’t expect an aria from The Marriage of Figaro. The pop star’s fans are treated to a program of Aiken’s hits along with medleys of easily recognizable tunes from radio and television. At the Syracuse show, Aiken and his musicians ran through such unlikely selections as “Like a Virgin,” “(Party Like It’s) 1999” and “Beat It.” At another concert, he led a singalong to “The Way You Make Me Feel.” (Lyric sheets were circulated through the audience beforehand.)

But fans are quick to argue that sound bites of the Welcome Back, Kotter intro don’t equate to Clay-lite.

“He sings ["Baby Got Back” and “Sexy Back"] to make fun of how commercialized and soulless most of the songs that get radio play today are,” fan “Natalie” commented on the Xpress blogsite, responding to an open call to defend Aiken’s talents.

In fact, symphony Executive Director Steve Hageman feels that Aiken’s appearance “increases our credibility.”

Apparently, a Michael Jackson cover doesn’t spell flippancy as much as tasteful and talented sardonicism.

“Clay Aiken and his managers are very good musicians,” Hageman continues. “They have to be, at that level.”

In this case, the Biltmore Estate contracted with the local symphony as support for Aiken’s performance, a reversal of a more common arrangement where the orchestras hire the vocalists. (The Asheville Symphony was working with a group of orchestras to book The Moody Blues on a yearlong tour, an effort that eventually fell flat.)

“There were a heck of a lot of symphony people having their socks knocked off after watching Clay’s performances,” blogger “Kayla,” who’s attended four out of nine shows on the Aiken tour, told Xpress.

“It is [RCA chairman] Clive Davis who put him in the ‘Manilow’ box,” she charges. “But believe me, Clay Aiken is so much more than that.”

It could be argued that Barry Manilow himself, with his countless hit singles, multiplatinum albums and worldwide record sales numbering more than 75 million, is something more than a tawdry troubadour. Aiken actually might be lucky to follow in the footsteps of the man who wrote, you know, the songs.

But Aiken, seemingly uncomfortable with accepting overnight stardom outright, is going beyond introducing Claymates to civic orchestras. Pre-Idol, the Raleigh native was a special-ed teacher, and he continues that particular line of work through the Bubel/Aiken Foundation charity he co-founded.

He’s also a celebrity ambassador for UNICEF and has traveled in that capacity to Uganda, Indonesia and Afghanistan. The latter trip earned him more press for the beard he grew out of respect for local customs than for his charity work.

Celebrity—even that gained from an oft-panned reality series—is a bumpy road. Aiken himself admitted to Ability Magazine, “Somebody once said, ‘You asked for it.’ And I thought, ‘Did I really ask for it?’ When I auditioned for [idol], I never for a second believed that I was going ... to be in the top 15, much less the top two.”

Three albums on, Aiken’s tenuous stardom is finally looking less like a fluke and more like the real thing.

“He is the best all-around entertainer I have ever seen,” blogger “CarylAnn” (who’s seen Elton John, Billy Joel and Journey) told Xpress. “Clay has it all. The voice, the comedic timing and the way he interacts with his fans and makes fun of himself is hilarious.”

Or, as Claymate “Carol” puts it, “People are finally starting to ‘get’ Clay.”

Clay Aiken and the Asheville Symphony Orchestra play the Biltmore Estate’s Summer Evening Concert Series on Saturday, Aug. 11. 8 p.m. At press time, tickets for the show were sold out. (800) 624-1575.

Now, I think there's a LOT to like in this article. For example, the one blogger who talks about the classics medley as picking on the radio hits of today -- that's always how I've seen this portion of the show. (I know of others, though, who see it way differently....) I also liked the Asheville symphony director with his comment about TC being good musicians. I like CarylAnn and her "Clay has it all...." Finally, this writer really found out about the rest of the stuff that Clay is so passionate about -- UNICEF, BAF.

OTOH...blogger Kayla makes my blood boil. Once again, it is stated as fact that "Clive forced him into the Manilow box." Someday I'd like to talk to Kayla and find out her source. But....this article does a pretty nice job of doing the "hey, if he has Manilow's career with all his sales and such, is that a bad thing?" Kinda turned the Manilow comparison on its ear, something that more than a few of us have said.

:F_05BL17blowkiss: Scarlett. Thanks for trying...I'll be patient.

I'm off to an all-day meeting. *sigh*

[luckiest1]

Wheeeeeeeeeeee! No more days till Cary!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :Tour3: :Tour3: :Tour3:

I spoke to cindilu2 from the Detroit airport - her flight was on time, she was just getting ready to board. Will talk to her again from Charlotte to make sure her connecting flight goes off without a hitch. *crosses fingers*

Yes, it's gonna be another scorcher here today. I won't even mind some scattered showers, if they happen. As long as we don't get another violent storm like we did yesterday in Wilson. We watched the weather on the Raleigh news last night and apparently it was only Wilson that got the severe weather. 5.5 inches of rain in less than an hour! Which my sandals can attest to, since I had to slop through it to get from the Pizza Hut to the car. Seriously, I thought the awning was gonna rip right off the front of the restaurant, the wind was so crazy.

I luuuurves the glasses pics! Please, God, let him wear the glasses on one of the next 3 shows. I will die a happy woman!

[bottlecap]

Alright, somebody in my corporation besides me is a Clay Fan on the sly. We have a corporate-wide intranet site that has company news and whatnot on it. One of the articles this morning has tips on setting your e-mail when you're out of the office for vacation. The title of the article? "Where's Waldo?" Hee.

:Tour3: :TourExcite: :Tour3: :TourExcite:

[muskifest]

Bottle, you're baaaaaaad. Where's Waldo, indeed! hee!

So I was at the end of a blah-blah PM to Claygasm last night when the whole neighborhood went dark! BLACKOUT!

Of course, neither Kenny nor I had any idea where a flashlight was...and all the candles we'd had in our downstairs bathroom were still in a jumbled mess inside one of those big black lawn garbage bags where I threw them in a hurry upon discovering the Great Water Heater Flood of Aught Seven some time back. After some digging in the bag on the patio (and some loud Elaine Benis-type cries of "DIE, dog!" to the yapping pooch pissed off from being left out in the neighbor's patio) I found some candles and went about making our living room rather romantic looking. Kenny found a flashlight and as I was lighting the candles, I said, "You know...if we were younger and full of vim and vigor, we'd take advantage of this blackout and the absence of both kids and..."

"Have a quickie?"

"Uh...no, I was thinking more about a marathon. Quickies, I can still manage." We both BWAHed.

Carrie came home from a friend's house then and upon seeing all the candles said, "Cool! Let's play a game!" I'd already settled into my corner of the sofa with my Harry Potter book and a candle, ready to play pioneer. Kenny was on his laptop doing something and we both at the same time said, "No!"..

"Aw, come on...we never play games!" (Never mind that week of softball in New Mexico.)..."Oh, FINE! I'll watch tv."

Hello? What part of no electricity did you not understand?

Ultimately, she plopped down on the sofa between me and Shadow and played Marble Blast Gold on my laptop, I read Harry Potter with the aid of a handy-dandy tiny flashlight I found, and Kenny read a paragraph of his book before snoring in the recliner nearby.

We woke up to the joy of lights and the internet again....but it was sorta "cool" while it lasted.

Never did rewrite that PM to CG, though.

How the HELL are Clay and the girls and those orchestra members going to do their thing in that heat I'm hearing about? For all the discomfort the audience members might feel, the performers are going to have to endure more. I honestly hope the venue has arranged for some sort of help with keeping heatstroke out of tonight's picture.

Be overly cautious, everybody! Drink, drink, drink! And leave the alcoholic bevs for later, when you're in an airconditioned joint, okay? :F_05BL17blowkiss:

[jmh123]

I'll second that about the booze. And really all sodas and the like too. Just plain water is the best.

I'm drained from my practice day in the heat yesterday, and still dehydrated although I sucked up the water all day. Off to get ready and pack for tomorrow.

Great recap Couchie!!

[cindilu2]

In Charlotte airport, waiting on my Raleigh connection. Got some kind of weird WiFi connection that's makin' me nervous, so I'm not staying connected. I have NO idea what it is, lol. All I know is I'm breathing NC air and I'm happppppppppppppy!!!!

Hope to meet everybody I can at the concert tonight.

HA! Breathing NC air, and on the top of the page. Whee!!!!

:-)

Edited August 10, 2007 by cindilu2

[luckiest1]

Woo hoo! cindilu2 is in the state! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

We are just getting ready to drive into Cary, swing by the BAF lemonade stand at the venue and hopefully pick up some cool neckerchiefs, check into our hotel, and head to Lucky32. The heat index is already showing that it feels like 108 degrees outside. Yowza!

Edited August 10, 2007 by lickiest1

[muskifest]

KAndre and Couchie---LOVED your recaps! And couchie I must take issue with this statement :

We were appropriately restrained until we hung up the phone.

Ahem. No...there was quite a bit of whoopdeedoo WHILE I was on the phone, but it was great knowing you guys were happy to hear I was coming. :F_05BL17blowkiss:

Oh, and ldyjocelyn.....I FLOVED this article! Thanks for bringing it over. The title's uber-cool, too!

The Asheville Mountain Xpress

Forming Clay into Rock

Edited August 10, 2007 by muskifest

[Couch Tomato]

totally off topic...just found out there is a pre-sale for SYTYCD tickets that starts today at 10am in whatever time zone you are in. PM me if you need password. Regular sale is tomorrow.

Stay cool everybody!!

ETA: Crappy seats came up so didn't bother. It's not Clay after all. Besides I think I'll take my neice to see the 12 Girls Band instead.

[laughn]

Because, by avatar count alone, you can see how many people LOVE Cedar Point hair Clay...and because bunches of people are away at the concerts and can't kick my butt for filling up the page with silly chatter when there's rivets to find, I figured I'd drop this off now... my thoughts as to why Clay doesn’t wear his hair on stage like he does in those pictures. To me it looks like Clay is making a clear separation between who he is professionally with the private guy. I don’t know if it’s planned or just accidental...and since I’m a visual kind of gal…

This is Clayton. Clayton Holmes Aiken to be exact. He’s the guy who takes a flashlight out at 2 am to hunt bullfrogs in his backyard. He’s the guy who conducts radio interviews in his pajamas wearing only one contact…the guy who falls asleep on airplanes and lets his big toe wander.

On the other hand, this is Clay Aiken…Singer/entertainer extraordinaire who has thousands of women (and men) following his career, following his tours, and following his tour bus. Many declare their love on message boards daily. 'nuff said

( now, this is called driving the point home )

CHA riding

CA riding

CHA reading out loud

CA reading out loud

CHA receiving recognition

CA receiving recognition

CHA talking on the phone

CA talking on the phone

Now what I think is appealing and sexy and down-right hawt is when those two parts of that man come out to play at the same time. The current M&Gs are a good example...as is his concert banter and the walk at the bus lines. Pure yumminess.

Now, back to important stuff...Have fun and stay cool tonight everyone!!!

Edited August 10, 2007 by laughn