#58: The man is made of awesome!

[merrieeee]

Lookie here!

[luckiest1]

Ha ha you beat me to it!

[liney23]

O.M.G... that is sooo funny (him kissing Casey). Wouldn't it be fun to know the back story on that!

My PBS station is playing Clay Friday night at 7pm. I can't wait and wish I had a better, bigger TV. I have my DVD from Chicago showing, but it's still in the wrapping.

[bottlecap]

We're in Windsor and I've already lost my first $10.00 CAD in the slot machines, but I suspect y'all don't care about that.

How about some pictures of the scrolling marquee in front of Caesars?

And a couple of clickables of the outside of Caesars:

[gbmifan]

Thanks for the picture of Caesar's, I am so looking forward to tomorrow. Lets just hope traffic is not to heavy and going into Canada has no backups. I am ready

[FearofH2O]

That looks really nice, bc. Have a fantastic time all you Windsor folks. I'm jealous of you right now but soon you'll be jealous of me.

[ldyjocelyn]

Have fun Windsor peeps! And don't lose too much money gambling! Maybe couchie's luck will rub off on one of you...

Clay's on my PBS station right now. I've got a perma grin on my face because of it! He's so suave! Sings good too. And then I'll throw money at the station and say "give me more Clay!"

[ldyjocelyn]

In My Life = sublime = happy ldyjocelyn.

[bottlecap]

Since I've read at CV that both Ben and Casey have been spotted here at the Windsor casino, I think it's okay to say that the buses were parked across the street when we got here this afternoon. EEEEEEEEE!!!!!

[bottlecap]

Milwaukee pictures via CV:

[ldyjocelyn]

Milwaukee pictures via CV:

First picture....isn't he just so adorable!

Third picture -- what the hell is going on?

Last picture....love Ruben's face. He plays that portion of the show so well!

[aikim]

70 Days until The Special Chicago Concert!

Happy Birthday to all celebrating!

Everyone have a great day!

Kim

[ldyjocelyn]

Windsor concert thread

To be honest, I'm not sure if anyone will be there this evening during the cellcert. Most of the FCAers who are in the concert threads are at the concert this evening. Plus, I'm packing for a family reunion this weekend, so I can't be sure I'll be able to listen to any of it. But those who can be there -- have fun!

[merrieeee]

Sob sob....I'll be here! :cry4:

Sorry can't resist........I'll be a "lover all alone"

[ldyjocelyn]

Recaps via the CH of the Milwaukee show. First up, artquest:

And then on to the show. We had seats in the balcony, but jojoct, who knows this venue well, stopped by the box office at the last minute, just before we hit the stairs. Four seats in a center table in the second row just showed up. We grabbed them and headed over to the best seats I think I ever had. It was a banquette - a curved booth - in the center with some stairs beside it. I had an end and jojoct had an end, and the four of us fit nicely in a booth sized for six. The banquette was raised about 6" off the floor, so I was able to turn to face the stage with my legs hanging off the end of the bench. I slipped off my sandals and was able to clap and swing my legs and dance whenever the mood hit me. GREAT! The table in back of us seated a young couple, some other folks, and an Elvis impersonator. Elvis is in da house!

I had agreed to do the cellcert, so I had Scarlett's phone. We ordered drinks, got the phone going, and the concert started. ETA, I just listened to the start of the cellcert. Looks like I left kimiye hanging in the wind. Sorry, sweetie. You did just fine, though.

I was almost a virgin - watched no clack, and only heard the cellcerts I hosted. I had skipped over the set list, though I must admit to saving a number of yummy photos. And let me say, it's much better to wait. Almost everything was new and fresh. For me, it's better to wait.

I won't go into a lot of details as apparently most of this is already familiar to folks. I will say the black suit was a bit of a mess. Let me repeat: Not polished cotton. That was a very nice woolen worsted. Nice suit. Has to be wool. Could be mixed with silk. Maybe was! Yummy. Except for the wrinkle thing. Maybe he's got John D. back in charge of wardrobe?

The opening mashup was cute, Clay's cute, Ruben's cute, and so on. Clay could sing "This Is The Night" to me forever, and I don't think I'd get bored. Casey truly has an amazing figure, and we all agreed there was nothing under that dress but good muscle tone. Quiana looked good and sounded better. I still think she's singing "Climb Every Woman." During the course of the evening, well-mannered security folks were moving around asking folks not to take video. Scarlett's phone was lying on the edge of the table, microphone facing the stage all night long. They did take a look every time they passed, but no one said anything to me at all. They did talk tojojoct, but she kept taking still pictures.

Right at the beginning there was a very enthusiastic response from some of the folks sitting at the front row tables. Ruben asked the lights to be turned up and then told them to hush! Which they did. Didn't bring down anyone's spirits as he did it with great class. A happily inebriated woman got up and proclaimed her love for Clay. "I love you! I'm a lesbian and I love you!" Most of my lesbian friends look like anyone else, but this young woman pretty much fit the stereotype. Clay or Ruben asked if she was drunk. "Yes!" Then Clay said something like, "I don't think a lesbian and I have anything to offer each other." She laughed, we laughed, and then she seemed satisfied and sat down.

The Pastor Studdard bit was one of the funniest things I've ever seen. I'm sorry for hooting so loudly on the cellcert, but frankly I was laughing my ass off. It's not too long; it's perfect. Clay made these sounds I've never heard from a human. Attack Kat said it sounded like a goose. I thought it sounded like a dying goose getting goosed by a donkey. Kinda a honk/bray/moan thing. I had tears in my eyes by the time it was done. Bravo, guys, bravo.

I smiled, I grinned, I laughed, I cried. Afterwards my face hurt from all the happiness.

And then from Pink Armchair:

Well, it was a memorable evening on several fronts. Mostly because hensey and I had won our first – and judging from its deleterious effect on my bank balance, probably my last – charity M&G auction, which resulted in the loss of my "first row" virginity (as ficus pointed out, I can cross that off my bucket list). And yes, it was good for me! And I hope it was good for hensey, too – in seven years of hauling our group to concerts in her van, she was the only one of us who had never gotten the chance to talk to Clay. About time, if you ask me!

For my part, I was a little leery of doing this so soon after Clay had been at my station, but we really had a "que sera, sera" attitude about the auction. And evidently it was meant to be, because there we were.

Except to say that we'd met them before, I'm not going to reveal the names of the other pair in the M&G with us – I figure it's their story to tell if they choose. Anyway, we were met by Jerome, who thankfully felt the need to see my I.D. I think at this stage of the game that's probably a good thing. *g*

Jerome ushered us onstage for our backstage tour, and after apologizing for there being, really, no backstage for us to tour (this being a casino), he let us hold the microphones instead. As I had already held a microphone or two in my time (but never Clay's...shut up!), I took a gander at the instruments and drums and soundboard and some other cool stuff. We met the lighting director, a friendly but rather jaded young woman who told us she was "with the tour." Nice green Crocs flipflops is what I mostly remember about her.

We went out into the house, parked our stuff, and waited for Clay and Ruben, who appeared almost immediately. Clothing report: Ruben was all in black, with a long chain around his neck and sporting a black baseball cap emblazoned with a white "B" (Baltimore? Boston? Birmingham?). Clay wore jeans, a striped dark blue polo shirt with a long-sleeved gray tee-shirt under it. He hadn't shaved yet. Looked great.

We each got a hug, which was really nice. I understood after that why Ruben is called "the Velvet Teddy Bear" because that's pretty much how he felt. I don't remember how Clay felt because I never do! And my clothes and hair reeked so badly of secondhand smoke from the casino that I can't tell you much about how anything else, including Clay, smelled either.

Clay said to hensey, "Do Ah know you?" No, said hensey, she didn't think he did, telling him her name. Clay looked happy to meet somebody new.

Soldiering on, I told Ruben how much I had enjoyed him in the David Foster & Friends show in Chicago, saying I had just wanted to "put him in my pocket and take him home." (Yeah, I actually said that.) "Whatcha got at yore house for me?" he asked with an innocent leer. My witty riposte: "Um…huh?" He asked patiently, "D'ya cook?" "Not even a little," I confessed. He waved his hand dismissively as if to say, well, too bad for YOU then.

One of the other ladies attempted to play a practical joke on them, saying that she was really there for a Twilight M&G, and produced photos of the two dweebs from that movie. (Don't ask me who they are – I don't have a clue.) It fell a little flat, or at least Clay seemed to think so, because he told her bluntly, "That's not funny." Then, in full teacher mode, he proceeded to explain how she should have altered her delivery to make it work.

I interjected, "Oh, so you're a comedy coach now?" I don't recall saying this, but one of the ladies assured me afterward that I did. Yeah, judging from the eyeroll he bestowed on me, Clay didn't think it was too scintillating either. He turned to Ruben, pointed at me, and said a little facetiously, "She works for PBS," as if to say, "That's why she thinks she's so smart." Nodding, Ruben looked back at Clay knowingly ("ahhh, one of those").

Then somebody asked Ruben if he was finding good vegan food on the road (or something like that) and he and Clay launched into what looked like a mock bickering match/vaudeville routine about "NAYSTEE vegan food," with Clay insisting that he drove all the way from someplace (New Orleans or Atlanta) to Birmingham because Ruben had invited him to a homecooked vegan meal and when he finally got there ("after drivin' fer HOURS!!" claimed Clay melodramatically), Ruben had "forgotten to cook," so they went out for...

"Chinese," said Clay.

"Thai," corrected Ruben with an eyeroll.

"Same difference," said Clay with a shrug. We laughed. Ruben cringed.

Contemplating the burger I was about to order in the sports bar, I said I didn't think I could ever go vegan. Ruben said to me mournfully, "So…y'all just cain't give up the brown stuff?"

"No," I said. "I like chocolate cake too much." Okay...Dorothy Parker I'm not. But everybody laughed, and Clay said something like, "Red velvet for me."

Then, abruptly, they wanted to sign stuff. I pulled out the T&T press release I had written – the only thing I could think of that referenced both of them. Ruben signed it"God Bless You" with his name, and Clay wrote "Julia – Thanks so much" and his name. hensey had them sign her teeny little iPod, and they somehow managed to get both of their names on there.

Moving on to the photos: nobody seemed to want to go first, so Clay finally said, "Julia, git over here." I did "git over" there, couldn't decide which side to stand on and switched a couple of times…in goodnatured exasperation, Clay finally grabbed my arm and dragged me over to his right, pulling me in; Ruben sandwiched me in there, and THIS is what we got. Well, they look good, anyway!

And yes, that's the actual size, making me think they sent thumbnails instead of the actual images. But c'est la vie. Maybe I'll figure out how to make it bigger eventually. And no, it isn't Photoshopped. Not. At. All. *g*

More thanks and hugs on the way out, and they were gone. It was a lot of fun to hang out with them, listen to them play off each other, and just generally shoot the breeze.

I'll skip over dinner, except to say that there were lots of great old friends there. I finally met the wonderful Leroy1704 after God knows how long! And we sat withShamrock, ficus, Ms Crabtree, deweygirl and our concert buddies Snix, ShyGirl, and poor gimpy Beagle3, who got to ride in a wheelchair through the casino, just like the high rollers. And Beagle3's friend Gladys, who had never seen Clay live before. I understand she was impressed. We also saw several others -- artquest, jojoct, cloopy -- in the venue. Sorry if I'm forgetting anyone -- I'm sure I am.

Speaking of high rollers, that's what hensey and I felt like as we took our front row center seats. Good lord. I had never sat that close at any performance in my life. Except for a few choice bits being blocked by the monitors on the floor a couple of inches from our faces, the view was phenomenal, especially if you like kneecaps. Of course, when you know you are completely visible to the performers at all times, you'd better keep your chin off the edge of the stage, your tongue in your mouth, and pay attention, and I noticed each of them glancing our way once or twice, not surprising since we were practically sitting on their laps. Of course, it was easy to stay engaged because the show was FABULOUS. Hilarious, goofy, charming…and they sang pretty good, too. Loved Casey to death (hated how cute and skinny she is, but loved her), loved Quiana as always. The instrumentalists were da bomb!

Notable things:

The "I'm a leshbian and I lurrrrrrrve you!" dialogue was a riot.

Hammered lesbian (getting out of her seat, staggering toward the front): HEYYYY! I LURRRVE YOU!!

Ruben (flattered): Why, thank ya vurry much.

Hammered lesbian (slurring): Not YOU. (jabbing her finger unsteadily toward Clay) HIM!

Clay (drily): So…yore a lesbian? Not much we kin do fer each other then, is thayre? (rim shot)

Hammered lesbian (vigorously shaking her head): NOPE. NOT A THING! *hic*

(Security whisks her away)

Clay: Wow…these guys mean bizness!

The Clay-Casey kiss: well, kill me now! From 10 feet away, it sure looked like a dare to me. They got closer and closer and closer…her egging him on, him smirking, and then her surprise as he actually PLANTED one on her, then both of them cracking up. Clay looked so proud of himself. It was priceless. I'm so glad Snix got that fabulous photo of it.

***

This is a tome, I know. Just suffice it to say that I loved the show and could probably watch it every night for a year. (I'm so glad I still have Hammond.) I hope Clay and Ruben get to do a run of it -- or something like it – somewhere again sometime. The chemistry between them was perfect and they revealed themselves to be very skilled physical comedians. Some people have compared them to Martin and Lewis; to me, they were more like Laurel and Hardy (or maybe Crosby and Hope) on steroids.

And as far as Clay having "lack of rhythmitis?" HAH! Don't you believe it.

Also from the CH:

http://cbs5.com/wire....2.1843338.html

Best Sellers-VideoThe Associated Press,

(AP) Weekly charts for the nation's most popular videos as they appear in next week's issue of Billboard magazine. Reprinted with permission:

Top Music Video Sales (Compiled from a national sample of sales reports)

1. "Beyond The Lighted Stage," Rush.

2. "The Best Of The Hoppers: From The Homecoming Series," The Hoppers

3. "360 Degrees At The Rose Bowl," U2.

4. "London Calling: Live In Hyde Park," Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band.

5. "Tried And True: LIVE!" Clay Aiken

[luckiest1]

As my daughter said to me this morning, "Happy Clay Day!!!!" EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEe! A group of 12 of us had a nice, pre-concert dinner last night, and we willl be leaving for Windsor today at about 1 pm. Good to know the buses arrived safely! Can't wait to see everyone!

[liney23]

Milwaukee pictures via CV:

First picture....isn't he just so adorable!

Third picture -- what the hell is going on?

Last picture....love Ruben's face. He plays that portion of the show so well!

ldyj... third picture. That's when Clay has the black sheet on and is afflicted. He must of decided that night to lean on Passa Studdard. Funny!

Just wanted to say... YAHOO!!!!!!!!!!!! Prop 8 was overturned!!!!!! I got home last night after my third night of working until 8:30 and past and I was dead tired. I turned on the tv and watched the end of SYTYCD. The news came on and my whole being got energized. To say it made my day was an understatement. For those who don't know, California passed Prop 8 last election against gay marriage. It will go to the Supreme Court eventially where it will be the civil rights issue it is instead of the emotional issue so many make it. I'm so happy!!!

Taking a break... back to work... dang it... I wanna see Clay again. Oct 14, Chicago. Aikim knows how many days that is away!

[keepingfaith]

What was this nonsense I was hearing about a wrinkled suit? Just shows to go ya!

[merrieeee]

Lookie lookie!

[keepingfaith]

Yes, I saw that tooooooo. cough cough

[ldyjocelyn]

Sweet. Where did it come from?

I'd still do him. Even if he has no interest in me. (Although he might be more interested in me than the drunk lesbian...)

[ldyjocelyn]

Also from the ConClayve:

A Conversation with Clay AIken

WKNO PBS station.

_____

AHA! Found the picture, part of this interview:

lancasteronline.com

Once "Idols", Now Friends

Once 'Idols,' now friends

Clay Aiken, Ruben Studdard join forces for tour

By JON FERGUSON, Staff Writer

Seven years after squaring off against each other on the second season of "American Idol," Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard are again sharing the same stage.

The two singers will bring their "Timeless" tour to the American Music Theatre Sunday night.

It's the first time they've toured together and Aiken says they'll be performing songs from the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. He says they have an 85-song set list to choose from.

"If people name two or three big songs from any one of those decades, chances are we're doing at least one of them," Aiken says from his tour bus while it travels through Wisconsin.

Aiken, 31, says he and Studdard, who won the "American Idol" competition that year, share the stage about 85 percent of the time during the show and do a lot of singing together.

"Occasionally, we'll take a break and let the other person sing a solo song so the other person can rest or wipe the sweat off his face," Aiken says.

The North Carolina native says he hasn't watched "American Idol" for the past five years, though he and Studdard remain friends and have always stayed in touch.

"Ruben and I have talked for several years actually about wanting to do something together," he says. "We hadn't performed together or sung together since we were on 'Idol.' It was something that we talked about wanting to do and kept putting it off because of his obligations, my obligations or just pure laziness. Finally, we decided to stop talking about it and just do it."

Though Studdard topped Aiken on "American Idol," Aiken has enjoyed more commercial success during their post--"Idol" careers.

Buoyed by enthusiastic fans called Claymates, Aiken's debut album, "Measure of a Man" (2003), went on to sell almost three millions copies.

He released a Christmas album the following year that sold over a million copies.

However, he hasn't been able to sustain those numbers and his 2008 album, "On My Way Here," sold about 150,000 copies.

His latest album, "Tried and True," was released in June and features popular songs like "Crying," "Moon River," "Misty," "Unchained Melody" (which he sang on "Idol") and "Suspicious Minds."

"These are songs that are so wonderfully written -- great standards, almost -- that it was easy for me to settle in with them," he says. "I've heard them my whole life."

Except for "Suspicious Minds," Aiken says he won't be singing songs from the album during his tour with Studdard. He says they agreed not to use the tour as an opportunity to promote their solo albums. (Studdard's fourth album, "Love Is," produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, was released in May 2009.)

Aiken says he will tour behind the album in the winter.

During his career, Aiken had been dogged by questions about his sexuality. Rumors persisted that he was gay, though Aiken for years denied it.

In 2008, Aiken disclosed in an interview with People magazine that he is gay.

"I think it's probably been relatively neutral," Aiken says when asked how the disclosure has affected his career. "Obviously, there were some people who weren't thrilled with it. But, at the same time, it allows me to be more comfortable with myself and be more open. It makes it easier to perform and I think people see that and gravitate toward it."

[treenuts]

I'm pretty sure I just conceived simply by looking at that pciture! Holy shit!!! But if not, I'm certain to soon since I just made it my background.

It's been a long, weird week since getting back from Reno. Sorry I haven't posted here sooner but I've been in a slight funk. It would be an understatement to say that Monday was not a good day for me. But onward and upward annnd apparantly given the nature of Clay's "activities" of late on stage I'd say forward as well.

I had the BEST TIME last weekend in Reno meeting all of y'all and seeing Clay in his magnifcent suit and most of all white shirt w/jeans!!!No yellowmonstershirtthathidesthepackageofperfection LLVL was Hawt!

It must have been a shout out to meeee!

Thanks to liney for being my roomie and for dragging me down and introducing me to some wonderful ladies from CV!

*waves to Permaswooned if she's lurking about here* What a beautiful person you are!

And to ldyj , my seat buddy for the show. I think I got a wee bit too excited a few times (understatement). Hope your bruises are healing (sorry about that, lol) and keepingfaith whose a hoot an a holla and a smut sister in crime

And what a pleasure it was to finally meet the queen of the triple cherries baybay, Couchie who lives so close that it seems strange we never got together before and of course the lovely Couchiemom! My favorite new person who had the best line of the evening as she exited the theater uttering "I'm in loooove"!! bwah

I briefly introduced myself to claylove in the elevator but missed wandacleo and many others unfortunately but I hope to make it up this coming winter when Clay comes to San Franfreakingcisco for the TnT Tour!

I have only seen Clay once before in concert and I can safely say THIS was by far my best show yet! hee

[luckiest1]

Wheeeeeeee posting from the 4th row in the venue! Zero tolerance policy announced for video and flash. 4400 seats sold. Morelater!

[FearofH2O]

Great sound at CV tonight.