PINK ARMCHAIR AT CH
Milwaukee.
My group had seen Clay and Ruben at this venue back in 2010 -- despite having to run the gauntlet through the very smoky (*cough*) casino to get there (not to mention that every time we come to Milwaukee we end up driving around in circles! -- thank goodness for Google Maps), it's a great place. We had dinner at the same sports bar, at the same table, where we ate in 2010. My cheeseburger was just as good, too.
The venue: I think Clay is ideally suited to a nightclub vibe like this...intimate setting, tables and booths, every seat a good one. I loved seeing him up close like this. And as I sat there, I thought to myself that he could easily have done a whole show of just standup and gone over great with the NJU in that place. The crowd as a whole was much more subdued than the night before, but Clay as always handled it well. I suspect he was hoping for a few drunks to embarrass, but outside of the usual binoculars sighting, his customary references to "stalkers," and having to shut down a lady who kept trying to call his attention to a companion from Japan (Clay's rejoinder to her, "Take out your ticket. Whose name is on it?" was priceless), everything was pretty sedate. The older gentleman, "JimfromMilwaukee," was very cute...thanked Clay for coming and got the audience to applaud, which led Clay to give him a prize even after he got the song lyrics wrong. He got the lottery ticket; hope he wins.
The technical aspects were light years ahead of the poor Arcada the night before. Gorgeous and intricate lighting, beautiful backdrop (it looked, to my eyes, like puckered chiffon) which created some great effects, and later in the show there were glittering stars. Yes, it was lovely and the sound, as Clay mentioned, was terrific. The orchestra was notable for its enterprising trombone player, who provided a few very funny impromptu rimshots in response to Clay's jokes.
Yes, he did make a few comments about the "dungeon" of Arcada and its "disco lights"...I agree with zaraone that he probably isn't interested in returning there and didn't give a damn about burning bridges. And I did want to address this:
Quote:
if I weren't such a fan - I would have thought he was a diva.
I know what you mean, but as Clay always says...his name is on the ticket. The quality of the show ultimately reflects on him, and he had to play with the cards he was dealt. Clay has always been blunt and outspoken, and IMO he took lemons and made lemonade. His job was to entertain us, and he delivered, in spades.
And despite having no working monitors, somehow he still managed to sound amazing. He deserves a lot of credit for that -- it's not easy. That theatre, unfortunately, was just not equal to the technical demands of his show, which were pretty basic to begin with. The rundown appearance of the theatre would not have mattered if the mikes and speakers and monitors and lighting had been up to par.
And I'm speaking from painful experience here: a REAL diva would have brought the show to a screeching halt and walked off in a huff, never to return