AUGUST 1-CLUB NOKIA-LOS ANGELES CA

[Tiffany]

One Sweet Day

[Marilyn]

End of show banter.

Talking about being in college; Clay teasing Ruben about being older and in college while Clay still in high school.

End of show announced to folks

Clay - Next up celebrity rehab

Clay - Sorry show's over

Ruben - 2 hours and 9 minutes long

Ruben - Clay, come on over, these people not ready to go home yet.

Ruben - Have been to Africa, lots of places in Africa and other places.

Clay - Went to New Mexico one time; thought he needed a passport - lots of laughing

Clay - Teases Felix about once going to city of Vermont

Ruben - Talked to all the boys and they're going to make Clay 'a brother.'

Ruben - Audience noise makes him want to keep going with the show.

Ruben - Clay's been waiting for this all night. Clay - Just for the last 4 minutes.

Time Of My Life

[Tiffany]

BWAH That's clever and funny. Sounded like a great show minus the freaky cellstream. Hope we get lot's of clack from tonight.

Thanks Marilyn!!!

See you from WI on Tuesday.

[Marilyn]

Another tweet and photo from tonight's show:

JocelynRColeman @rubenstuddard & @clayaiken live in L.A. @ClubNokia. After their 18-city tour I say Vegas here we come! http://twitpic.com/2av5p5

[Marilyn]

From imsnoqueen at the CB:

Jaymes,Kelly Clarkson, and Clay's mom and grandma were all there.

[Marilyn]

wi-a-wi-a-THATS ALL FOLKS!!

[Marilyn]

Some tweets from overnight:

tabinsel

.Clay Aiken concert!! Don't judge me~ he's cool. ;P http://dailybooth.com/u/424pz
about 2 hours ago via DailyBooth

-

so cute - she took a pic of her there

kirstiekj: In this tweet, I will a) admit that I went to a Clay Aiken/Ruben Studdard concert tonight and b) say that it was actually incredibly fun.
about 3 hours ago via web

LAGirl888: Loved when Ruben Studdard & Clay Aiken sang and danced to @NKOTB 's The Right Stuff! They performed great together! Awesome concert! 
about 6 hours ago via Echofon

 

Hippi12: Clay Aiken is the sesiest man alive! He never fails to impress me.

(she posted a pic from the concert)

JesssMartinez: Concert just ended. Pretty fun, really. I forgot how well Clay Aiken can sing. Ruben Studdard isn't too bad either.
about 6 hours ago via txt

[Tiffany]

That's really nice to hear from NJU that enjoyed it.

[Tiffany]

Tweet from Quiana.

Fun Times lastnight with Angela,@ashes2lashes, @clayaiken, & @kelly_clarkson! I love you guys so much! @ashes2lashes that pomegranate jalepeno martini was the best! Xoxo

Ewwwwww That martini sounds gross. LOL But glad they got to spend some time together and had a fun night. Wonder where Ruben was?

Angela/Ashley is Kelly's long time friend. I'm a little surprised the other Angela didn't go to the concert since she lives in CA.

[Tiffany]

Enjoyed hearing about Shelley's recap. It's funny to hear how Clay and Ruben interact with each other off stage.

[clayharmony]

Clay and Ruben, Revisited/Travel Drama Notwithstanding

I’ve just returned from my Clay excursion in LA and I thought I’d write of my experience before going online and reading fan recaps from their August 1st show.
I’m going to forego the traditional recap format for reasons, which will become apparent…as in EEK and OMG! (For those just interested in the Clay part, remember the scroll bar is your friend...lol)

Nokia Center…are you kidding me?... musing of an old foggy! …or  great expectations, thwarted.

At the time I purchased tickets for this concert, it seemed clear that I’d not be traveling any great distance to hear Clay, as I’ve done in the past, nor was it certain when Clay would be touring in the west after this one concert.  Thus, I thought I’d splurge and use monies typically allocated to airline fees, and stay the weekend in a luxury hotel.  I can count on one hand the instances I’ve indulged in this form of travel.  I held great expectations for my hotel experience.  After researching those nearest the Club Nokia venue, I elected to stay at the new JW Marriott.  The rooms were pricey…but for only two nights, I wanted to savor how the other half lives.

Ah…that reality didn’t manifest itself this go around, to my dismay.  Upon our arrival, Saturday afternoon, my cousin/friend and Clay companion, found us in a sea of youngsters skateboarding around the complex, or gripping such in their hands.  Racing between the nearby eateries, Nokia, and the hotel, unaccompanied children were unfettered by adult supervision.  Feelings arose in me harkening back to my tired old role, supervising kids on the school playground, which I had gladly put to rest, just as soon as I retired.

It turns out the X Games (staged for skateboarders, motorcycle riders by ESPN) were going on at the Staple Center, a skateboarders showcase exhibit was set up near the Club Nokia and the heavy metal band, Scorpion, was performing at the larger Nokia venue.  Most of the attendees were also booked at the Marriott.  Thus, my friend and I had to dodge them as they were rushing by us, crushing into the elevators and down the hotel corridors. 

Early on, we were all set to finally gain access to an elevator up to our room, and thankfully, my friend shouted out to me to wait…as the floor was drenched in spilt coffee, and discarded coffee cups.  We were initially assigned a 6th floor room, and through the double paned glass, the bass of the band, and assorted related sounds boomed.  Wanting to be fully rested for our Claying the next night, we asked and received a quieter room higher up, on the 16th floor.  After dinner, we relaxed and prepared ourselves for plenty of rest; we had both been quite busy in the days preceding our arrival, with trip preparation and the like.

The quiet didn’t not prevail, I was in a dream state and somehow at attendance at a frat party? Or?...waking up, it was 2:30 am; my cousin had tried to find the telephone to alert the main desk of the presence of ‘party animals’ right out side our door.  She (and two other guests) had gone out to the corridor twice to reasonably ask them to keep it down, beginning around 2 am…uh, right after last call, duh!...without success.  A couple of girls were screaming at each other…and others were hovered around them.  It seems ‘club central’ was in the room right next door to us.  After two phone calls, close to 3:30 pm, things calmed down a bit…and then an explosion of activity…several young men/women in their twenties ran down the hall.  This time I stood at the door to see what on earth was going on now.  A fellow attired in swim trunks raced down past several rooms, shouting to his friends, “Would you like me to change into my underwear?”  With that, I called the main desk again, and for the most part, my cousin and I pretty much gave up all pretense of sleep.  We congratulated ourselves on at least being there a day early and felt certain we could relax and catch up on our sleep Sunday.  We had no formal plans, just ready to be leisurely, reading, surfing the net, sunning by the pool, etc.

Slick and Slippery, oh no!

As I was surfing the net, reading the message boards, my cousin donned her swimsuit and sauntered down to the pool to sun herself, and avail herself of the Jacuzzi.  After a period of time catching the rays, she took a trip to the poolside bathroom, before she entered the Jacuzzi.  On the floor, between the bathroom and the showers, an inch or so of water collected unobserved by her.  She proceeded to make her way, only to slip and land on her wrist and rear.  A fellow guest alerted the staff inside, and a security employee said they’d send for an ambulance.  My cousin had managed to stand up, and she said she was shaken and wanted to return to the room and then assess the situation to consider what medical assistance she desired, but in any event, she felt an ambulance was not warranted, as she was more than ambulatory.

The hotel sent another security employee to the room.  She had a first aid messenger bag with her.  My cousin asked if she could have something to wrap her wrist for the time being and wait until later (after our concert) to see if she needed to head on over to an emergency room for further treatment.  This security gal could only offer her gauze, and some beige length of material.  I proceeded to wrap my cousin’s wrist in it, after I learned that she didn’t have any ace bandages on hand.  The gal also had the housekeeper bring in a plastic bag of ice for my cousin. 

I asked when a manger was going to come check on her to take a report, and the security gal said someone would be in, in an hour or so.  We waited that out.  And, now we needed to grab a light bite to eat, before our concert time.  So we decided go on down and get a few appetizers at the hotel lounge/bar area, and try to find a manager to respond to my cousin’s lingering questions and concerns regarding her accident.

We visited the main desk and asked to speak to a manager; they agreed for him to come join us in the lounge area.  The head of hotel security showed up some time later.  He told my cousin that the accident had been reported, gave her the claim number and assured her that the hotel would provide a taxi for her to go on in to an emergency facility should she desire it, or if she preferred to wait and take of it at home in the next day or two, that would also be fine.  We stated to him repeatedly, that medical treatment was desired, not declined, and my cousin said she consider when/where she wanted it to occur.  I asked about some documentation, an incident report and all, which he claimed was unnecessary.  He said vouchers would be provided for her transportation to emergency, and she was to give the claim number to emergency personnel upon her arrival, to cover the cost of her visit.

Time for Comedic Gold: Claben and not a moment too soon.

We had scoped out Club Nokia ahead of time to familiarize ourselves with the location and the venue itself.  And, even employing my trusty cane, I wanted to verify ease of access and possible seating prior to concert entry.  We introduced ourselves to some of the staff on site, early in the day.  They were more than pleasant, and willing to assist me with seating (standing for any length of time is problematic) before the doors officially opened.

As my excitement mounted, we made our way over to the venue about 5:30 (doors opened at 6 PM).  Upon my arrival, we found our security contact, and he brought out some folding chairs for my cousin and I.  She was equally glad to be seated; her wrist was throbbing by that time.  I was counting on the humor of this particular concert to distract her from it all.

Out seats were quite wonderful.  We were a few rows back from the stage, only about 10 feet.  What an intimate feel it had.  The place reminded me of any old time dance hall, actually, kind of like the old Hollywood Palladium.  There was plenty of wood all over, and I thought it would be quite acoustically sound.  We were seated over to the left of the stage, and from my recollection of a little clack (I wanted some feeling of surprise), I felt like doing the happy dance since it seemed Clay would be in front of us, a goodly portion of the time.  And indeed he was!!!  I think he and Ruben knew the two male couples seated directly in front of us, too.  We found him, and Ruben, peering over at them, not infrequently.

I had the pleasure of sitting next to BeeDawn.  I enjoyed getting acquainted with her briefly.  And, I was delighted to meet Berkeley too.  I had read her brilliant posts/writings from the very beginning and was so pleased to be able to share my admiration of her gifts to her directly.

The place was once again, like a reunion of old friends, as we recognized each other from previously shared Clay concert experiences.  I had run into Copin’ and met her daughter prior to entering the venue, and learned that Faye and a few others were expected to be at this concert as well.  So, when the lights dimmed for more than a few seconds, I thought, OK…they are seating them at this point, thus avoiding unwanted fanfare…?.  After that, the speaker started booming with the announcement…in 2003 and so forth.  It was a little hard to make out the words…however; I found the dissonant harmonies hilarious.

I loved seeing Clay and Ruben interact together.  It sure brought back some favorite memories from AI2.  And, some of my favorite medleys of JBT were reprised, which was terrific.  Some highlights for me was Ruben’s Superstar, absolutely heartfelt, and Casey’s solo…where does that wee, little gal get all of that lung power?!  (…sounds like a familiar refrain, doesn’t it? lol).  And…the Clay highlight for me isn’t a singular moment, but the priceless, hilarious expressions he wore throughout the comedic interchanges.  I forgot my binoculars again…I was so close, he might have snarked about that.  And, of course, some new commentary…the bit about Hollywood really being Glendale was funny…and we locals lapped it up, to Clay’s delight.

I think the drummer is such a cutie (I personally met him after a Kimmel show…got a kiss on the cheek too…lol)…a standout instrumentally for me, was the guitarist…the one that was highlighted early on I think during one of Ruben’s solos.  He’s superb!

I do wonder if Clay/Ruben and the gang felt a little less response from us because of unique seating in this venue.  When Ruben had us clapping by seated areas, one could hardly hear the balcony folks.  From my performing days, it really does stimulate entertainers to feed off of audience engagement.

In no time at all, it was done…and Ruben was such a tease, holding out for more time in the closing from Clay…I gather his 70s bit was edited down some, and by golly he was going to work some ‘Ruben’ minutes back in!

Unmet medical assistance, obtuse hotel management, a dramatic conclusion.

With the best of plans, we went on to enjoy some late night post concert fare at the Yard House (why, oh why, does music have to be blaring?...am I too old?...not sure I want to know? lol) and then, it seemed my cousin felt a trip to the emergency room was in order.

In LA, emergency room treatment can be chaotic…a stream of gunshot wounds, stabbings et al prevail...unreimbursed, emergency room closures abound.  There is one credible establishment for medical treatment, Cedar’s Sinai, anywhere near where we were.  So, per the stated offer by security personnel, my cousin planned to avail herself of it.  We contacted yet another management staffer at the front desk to procure us a taxi, and then we’d be on our way.  By going over near midnight, on a Sunday evening, we were hopeful that we’d not be stuck waiting for an inordinate amount of time.  And, then we could return to the hotel, and get some overdue rest. Twas not to be.  No, not at all.

We waited for about 20 minutes, after which I said to my cousin, it shouldn't take this long for a taxi to appear.  Yet another gentleman came over, we had to bring him up to speed about it all, and then comes this explosive news.  The hotel had filed the claim, and in so doing, stated that my cousin, by not accepting the ambulance ride, had turned down medical assistance!  With great consternation, we related the discussions that had ensued earlier that day.  And, without any documentation, they were prepared to just send us on over via a taxi, to whereever we chose.  I insisted we needed something in writing guaranteeing that hotel was assuming all costs.  That was not forthcoming.  My cousin received a document only that claim was filed, and that accident occurred on the hotel premises.  After more debate, we boarded the cab.

The cab seemed to be on its last legs.  The driver appeared to know no English.  And, I had to sit in front, since there was no legroom in back …well, maybe six inches…and I can’t keep my knees bent in tight spaces like that.  Thus, my cousin could barely hear me over the loud engine noise. 

The cab driver took off by proceeding over the freeway on the east for some strange reason, and then looped around, heading to Hollywood.  A drunk driver careened by us a the ramp of one of the multiple freeway mergers he made, trying to take us to this hospital, which should have been a simple proposition over surface streets. 

We were close to arrival when he stated about what the fare would cost, and after he mentioned he had no idea how we were going to be transported back to the hotel.  It turned out that he expected us to pay him!  He had not received any vouchers from the hotel staff. (Staffers were on hand when we boarded.)  Upon that news, I told him to take us back to the hotel.  My cousin was crying by then.  She had no extra money for cab fare/or emergency room treatment.  I reassured her we would get this all straightened out and some day have a few laughs over it all.  And then, this driver starts heading out on a one-way street to enter the freeway, going the wrong way!!!! 

That was it.  I shouted at him, “Don’t you know what you are doing? …or where you are going?”  He managed to back out and take us another way.  I thought I needed to get a grip, calm down, and problem solve our way out of this mess, beginning with becoming a bit acquainted with this driver.  Turns out that he is recently from India, usually takes fares in Brentwood (way over on the west side) and didn’t know the LA downtown area at all.  Hello! 

Upon our return to the hotel, once again, we are at the front desk.  This time, I announced we were checking out immediately, and that the taxi driver needed to be paid.  I lucked out; the gentleman in attendance was an auditor I had befriended during previous conversations, while my cousin was dealing with the more inept managers.  This particular fellow is an auditor with the hotel.  And by inference, in response to my subtle (?) inquiry, let me know that management is ‘fluid’ at this site.  Ah, no surprise there!!

With him, I was able to negotiate a dismissal of Sunday night’s charges, and on his own volition, he provided me with line management’s direct reports.  (He recognized a letter from me, and from a personal injury attorney was more than likely forthcoming.)

So, our Clay saga concludes with us traveling the So Cal freeways at the cherished hour of 3 am in the morning back to my cousin’s house.  We were grateful to be home!  And, we managed to have a few laughs on the way there…and great Clay/Ruben reviews.

Postscript.  My cousin saw her doctor today.  He initially thought her wrist was broken.  Thankfully, it turns out it was not, but it is badly sprained.

[Tiffany]

Wow Johanna! That's quite of an eventful trip. So sorry about your cousin's wrist. That stinks. Hope she can have a quick recovery. And Sorry about all the noise in your room at the hotel. Some people just don't have any sense of thinking about others when they want to do whatever they want.

Glad you had a wonderful time at the concert anyway. At least nothing went wrong there. LOL And Eeeeee on your close seats!!! I enjoyed reading your review. You have a way with words. Thanks for bringing it over here.

[Marilyn]

Great review, Johanna- hope your cousin is ok!!

[Marilyn]

[Marilyn]