TIMELESS TOUR FAN REVIEWS AND RECAPS

[Marilyn]

NOT A RECAP-JUST NOTES

("Shadylil")
From GCA:


 

Scarlett was given a press pass


Don't know if it's true.

Yep, it's true. For tonight anyway. Scarlett can share the details if she wants.

I'm finally home and sooo tired but i wanted to hop on to make sure someone had shared a couple of things from tonight's show. We realized after getting off the cellcert that we'd forgotten to mention them.

Clay's gold hammer pants started falling off of him mid-dance. He had to hold them up with one hand and keep dancing. The he said something like "never missed a beat! That's a true professional." and ripped them off.

Clay popped himself in the mouth with the microphone at one point and then said (pitifully) "I'll be okay. The taste of blood isn't so bad. Ruben, please don't hit me again." It was funny.

Oh, and it wasn't spaghetti and meatballs. It was Spaghetti and Meatball. Singular. *g* Ruben seemed rather put out by being the Meatball *g* His opera song is gonna blow y'all away. Hilarious and good at the same time.

When Ruben got to the end of "Every Thing I Do I Do It For You" he gestured out into the audience and said "That's for you, Khobi" and blew his little girl a kiss. So much awwww.

Clay and Casey added some extra juice to DGBMH tonight. That was HOTTT. Okay, I know that part got mentioned on the cellstream but it bears repeating. Cloopy has a photo that will melt your screens.

This is NOT a recap. My eyes are crossing and I'm typing in bed in the dark. Just wanted to toss out a couple of things we forgot to mention.

Back tomorrow with more details. Today/tonight was awesome!

[Marilyn]

cincy at CV
 
 HAMMOND RECAP:




On Friday afternoon outside my hotel, I ran into ncwannbe, carole5230 and mercedes and we rode the shuttle together. We spent a little time in the casino and met up with toni and her sister and then we went to a steakhouse for an early dinner. The backwall of the restaurant was all glass, overlooking a marina and Lake Michigan. Beautiful sunny day!!! It was so great spending time with them and they (with the help of Kalua and cream) calmed me down before the big event.

Meet and greet. Jerome met us outside the Venue and called out the names of the four charity auction winners. We went inside where security people walked us to the front row. This was nice because we got a look at our wonderful FRONT ROW CENTER seats!!! (YAY!!!) Big hug and major thank-you to my fellow CVer who was my partner in the meet and greet!!! We were so dead center that there were no speakers to block our view, so we knew we were in for a show. (Living La Vida Loca KILLED me!!!) We met Cheryl and I gave her my gifts for Quiana and Casey and then we waited for Clay and Ruben.

I saw them walking in since I was the only one facing that way. I was on the end, so I ended up with Clay right in front of me! There were four of us charity winners, Clay, Ruben, Cheryl and a couple of other people around. Clay went down the line and asked our names and where we were from and gave us a hug. While Clay was talking with the others, I spent that time talking with Ruben and told him how much I like one of the songs on the cd I had brought him to sign. I mentioned that Ruben should come to Cincinnati because he has so many fans here and told Clay I was glad HE was coming to Cincinnati in March. He said, "Oh, am I?"

I had brought the Christmas stories book for him to sign and had my story dogeared so I could find it right away. He signed it, "Joan, Merry Christmas With Love, Clay Aiken." I love that because MCWL was the song he had just finished singing when I went on the stage in Cleveland to read a different story than the one he signed.

I asked him my question, which was, "Clay, I asked you 37 questions on the OFC (and he said, "and let me guess, I never answered a one). I said, "Right." He said, "So is that your question?" I told him no, "My questions I asked were good ones though....important things like world peace, education, Adam Lambert (he raised his eyes to the heavens and said, Oh Lord") but the only one I want to ask is, are you happy?" He smiled and replied, "It depends on the day, but today? Yes, I am very happy today."

One of the other winners was a lady who was in a wheelchair, so Clay went down to the other end to sign her items and speak with her. Then he came back to our end and said it was time for pictures. I went up and assumed the position and put my arm around his waist and he mine...Ruben was still talking to the other women, so Clay said, "I think we'd better wait for Ruben." My mamma having raised no dummies, I kept my arm right where it was until Ruben came to us and I included him in our "embrace." The first Cheryl took did not take (probably my silly grin was too strange for reproduction) and we had to take it over. Which meant I got to put my arms around the two of them again....oh well, a girl will do what she has to do. I remember that during both pictures, I was (stupidly) patting each of them on the back, the way a mother pats a baby to get them to sleep. I don't know if it was nervousness or what, but it just felt like the thing to do. (Groan...I'm so dumb). I thanked Ruben and then thanked Clay and he gave me a hug and said, "No, thank YOU so much." After all the pictures had been taken Clay came back and gave each of us another hug and again said thanks. I spoke to Ruben a bit more about his charity and he said they are hoping for four camps this coming year.

After the meet and greet, I went to meet up with neelie who was buying a ticket from me and there were a lot of CVers at the table. I had yet another Kalau and cream and this one must have had very little cream because when I called claym8, I told her I had just seen caperkeeper (who obviously wasn't even there.) LOL!

The Show. Asheville had been my only other show, so I was surprised at the changes even though they were small. There are funny things from only Asheville like him needing a belt to keep his pants from falling down and then other funny things from Hammond that made it different and special as well. Ruben singing the fan suggested theme of "It's About Dahm Time" raegae style was too funny for words and I thought Clay and Ben were going to have to leave, they were laughing so hard!!! Clay's performances of Still the One and Suspicious Minds were great as usual and even though we were in front, we got up and danced. Clay turned the mike to us during End of the Road and pointed the mic right at me, so I can hear my terrible voice loud and clear on that. I loved Crying and his voice blending with Quiana's on that one. Ruben impressed me so much with his voice and you could feel the love between the two of them. I hated to see the concert end. We did get a reprise of Footloose after Clay had asked a 73 year-old man who was dancing all night long how old he was. And Clay seemed happy during the performance and was himself cracking up laughing so many times that I think he had to have been pleased with the show and the crowd's reaction. Lot and lots of men in the audience!!! 

[Marilyn]

Lorilovesgolf
I'm baaaaaaaack   and it felt so good to finally be Clayed!!!! 

My M&G was pushed back over an hour.  We all stood there from a little before 6:00 until 7:00!!!  Come to find out the bus just got there 30 mins before because of the weather.  There was a charity auction group and a group of 15 from the Beau Rivage, besides the 5 of us from the fan club waiting. Jerome came to get us and he informed us that because they got in so late the M&G's would have to move along quickly.  Figures!! Jerome sent the charity group back first.  The 5 of us from the fan club went next. I was such a nervous wreck!!  They took us through the venue and out an exit door into a hallway.  Jerome apologized as he informed us that this is where we would have our M&G!   

A few minutes later Clay came around the corner!  And OMG is he tall!  (I am only 5ft tall!).  He came straight to me and asked me my name and where I came from - he said "Oh that isnt far!!  He greeted each of us then Jerome said to get out what we wanted him to sign and ask questions.  I took his book so when I handed it to him, I asked him if he would be writing another book and he said that no, he had nothing new to add - I told him he most certainly did!!!  Everybody was very quiet, so not being the quiet person that I am, I asked him what he would be doing between now and the concert in January.  He said he would be hiding in a cave.  I asked him where this cave might be and he is said he wasn't telling then we would all be waiting outside of it for him!  He was very snarky.  Loved the closeness of the pictures - he really leans into you.   Can't wait to see mine!  After pictures he went  back around and gave us all very tight hugs and thanked us for coming!!  and he was gone!

He was wearing jeans and a plaid shirt. I think he had stubble - looked a little like he had been on a bus all day! and he is very skinny!  He was very sweet, very gracious and tried hard to make you feel very welcome.

The show was absolutely AWESOME!!!  Loved every single minute of it.  We had great seats.  The show was well over 2 hours long.  Clay and Ruben played off of each other so well - they really need to put this show as a special on TV.  I think people would love to see it.  And Ruben sounded amazing.  I was pleasantly surprised.  Clay sounded gorgeous as always.  My GF that I went with loved the show too - she has never see them in anything - doesn't really follow american idol but she had a great time too.

I got to meet Joanne Moody - didnt get to see Barb Wilson or Frankie and Mimi.    Just an amazing experience!!!!

[Marilyn]

glory

                                            WOW, WOW THE CONCERT WAS WONDERFUL.CLAY WAS CLAY HE LOOKED STRAIGHT AT ME I KNOW I HAD A SILLY GRIN ON MY FACE ONLY THING MISSING WAS ALL OF YOU    BUT JUDY AND ME DANCED AND SCREAMED THE PLACE WAS ON FIRE PACKED,THEY WERE SO FUNNY WHEN RUBEN WAS THE PREACHER CLAY KEPT LOOKING AROUND TO SEE WHO HE WAS TALKING TO, THEY CHANGED THINGS UP FROM ASHVILLE, RUBIN SAT ON CLAYS LAP CLAY ACTED LIKE HE COULD NOT WALK.

                                      THE VOICE WAS PURE MAGIC RUBIN WAS GOOD BETTER THAN ON AI.  I DID NOT HAVE A M&G BUT THE LOOK WAS SUFFICENT FOR NOW I WILL GET ONE SOME DAY.

                                     WE GOT HOME JUDY ME AND THE KIDS WENT OUT TO EAT, WELL JUDY GOT FOOD POISONIG BOTH OF US WERE UP ALL NIGHT ,THEN MY TV DIED AFTER27 YEARS,   SO I GOT A FLATSCREEN NOT BIG NOT SMALL. ANYWAY MY NEIGHBOR SET IT UP FOR ME. I COULD GO ON AND ON BUT YOU HAVE HEARD IT AND SEEN IT. IT TRULY WAS A MAGICAL SPECIAL NIGHT FOR ME.

[Marilyn]

clayrevolution19... at CV

 Eeeeee! Just got back from Biloxi--my only show! Haven't had time to read back, so I may be repeating what others have said.

What a show! Fantastic! Clay was gorgeous! His singing was flawless! His speaking voice was still a little hoarse, but not too bad.

First time I've heard Ruben live--he's amazing--I loved Mercy Mercy Me. The band was fantastic. The acoustics at the Beau Rivage are perfect.

A new guitarist came in at 4 pm and had learned the set by 8 pm. Wow!

There were no practical jokes for the last show. I thought sure Clay would play a joke on Ruben.

Clay's gold hammer pants were blindingly gold with the spotlights shining on them. As they were dancing, he told Ruben his pants were coming off. Bwah!

Did I mention he was absolutely gorgeous?

Ruben gave a shout-out to his family in the audience.

I guess you've heard about the spaghetti & meatball opera bit--it was a scream--so funny!

The sell-out audience gave them a standing ovation at the end.

We only saw one bus after the show, but it turned out to be Ruben's bus. Jerome led Ruben and his family out to the bus. I got to shake Ruben's hand and tell him it was a great show and they should do it again. We never did see Clay's bus or find out if Clay was flying out or what.

At about 1:30 am, we were eating at a cafe at the casino, and suddenly one of my group pointed out Casey and Ben walking out of the cafe. I looked up a little too late to see who else was with them, but it looked like one or two other people. It wasn't Clay, unfortunately.

All in all, a fantastic show.

I just learned that Scarlett got a press pass to tape. How wonderful!

Off to download Clack! 

[Marilyn]

2old4Clay at CV

 My Hammond M&G recap:

Wasn’t I the lucky one, when I saw cincy’s post asking if anyone would like to join her for the charitybuzz auction. Now you see I had considered it myself, as I thought the auction numbers were quite low when compared to the dinner auctions, etc that we usually see at the Gala and GFI. I procrastinated and wondered who would want to share the cost and decided that it would not be feasible. Since I had met Clay previously I also wondered if I might end up on a new list of ‘’look out for her’ people. All in all though I put the idea out of my mind (but only for a few seconds). I happen to register at the site just hours before cincy’s post. I then realized that bidding for me wouldn’t be possible as the closing auction time was exactly when I would on the road to Milwaukee!

Then cincy posted, and my mind went crazy fighting itself and losing to what I have realized I do not possess…and that is self-control. Here is the funny part….I have never met cincy…but I took a chance and we emailed back and forth and came up with a bidding plan. Putting my absolute trust in a stranger, but because we both had the same goal, I gave her my pw to the auction site and we decided on a max bid. The rest was in her hands. A wonderful job she did too, because by the time I was almost to my Milwaukee exit she called and said we won! It was a bargain for us both.

Finally the time was getting close, and I received the confirming email several days before with all of our instructions. Now the dilemma was …do I bring gifts, what to wear for the picture (for which I was convinced I would look like a blip between Ruben and Clay) what to have he and Ruben sign…and do I have questions. Well…I always have questions, so the list for me was easy.

On a previous encounter with Clay we had talked about the Hammond concert (I grew up in Whiting…) and used to roller skate and go dancing right in the area where the boat was built and the overpass to get to it. I told him at one point he should get some White Castles….right down the street…and he said ‘oh no…I don’t do sliders.’ In my plans later for the M&G I had stopped at White Castle and bought a ‘crave case’, for those who don’t know that is an entire cardboard carry box that holds the little hamburgers.

All the M&G winners were outside the venue door waiting for our passes, I was a bit farther away wondering if some of my travel buddies were going to show up earlier. Jerome came out and started calling names…I was first…and no one recognized the name…basically he had it all wrong, as he couldn’t read the writing on the back of the pass…my last name is Winkler, but the W looked like a U and I guess he was saying something like ‘uncle’ when I walked up…the first name was close, but as they say no cigar. I finally identified myself and he determined that was me he was calling, so I was good to go. The 4 of us were escorted inside the venue by their security and then Cheryl got us situated.

I put together a gift bag for Cheryl, Casey and Quiana and a gift bag for Ruben and Clay, giving the girls bag to Cheryl when we walked into the venue at the appointed time. I did not want to transfer the guys gift to anyone but them, so it made me a bit nervous to hang on to it, but actually that was not the issue I thought it would be.
As cincy stated we were seated in the front row closest to the aisle and Cheryl got us settled, when in walks Clay, Ruben and Jerome…perhaps some others…but I only watch for Clay…I know it was some other security from the venue. If Devin or anyone else was there I have no clue….again tunnel vision when it comes to Mr. Aiken.

He recognized me, then had the other ladies give their names, etc. Seriously there is always that fog, I did ask the other 2 ladies their sn because that is how I know them but the only thing I heard was ‘lurker mostly’, so perhaps I wouldn’t have. Clay told me twice that he really liked my hair (which of course to me was the way it has been, but who knows what it was the last time we met.) He cracks me up the things he remembers. Speaking of hair...his looked like he had just taken out a bunch of spoolie curlers twisted every which way, and clothes..yes he was wearing some.
At this point (and because I want to get it over with before, questions, autographs and pictures) I get up the nerve to take out the White Castle crave box, and hand it to Clay.
Ruben was standing right next to him….Clay says ‘oh wow, you brought me White Castles…he seemed pretty excited about that (which totally was the complete opposite reaction when we had our previous discussion in their regard)..He looks at Ruben and says ' ..Ruben you can’t eat meat can you, and Rube responds ‘no’. At that point I had him open up the box (because if anyone knows…if they were really WC…you would have smelled them a mile away!) Inside I had two containers of homemade cookies, Peanut Butter ones, and Chocolate Chips. One container with Clay’s Cookies, and one container with Ruben’s Cookies. Sad to say, I already knew Ruben would not be able to eat these either, as he is a Vegan. Clay read the ingredients to him (as I listed both so they would know there was no allergy issues with them.). Clay was pretty excited that he would get to eat Ruben’s cookies too! I apologized to Ruben and told him I would not attempt to make Vegan cookies but perhaps he could share them with some of his family and friends. Ruben told me he would teach me how to cook Vegan, I responded…that since there is only me, I wouldn’t have much use for new cooking skills …Clay said..’what about your son, Georgene’ you can cook for him. Of course I responded that he does not live with me, he is in Florida. For the life of me I couldn’t remember how Clay knew I had a son. How dumb and Aiken foggy am I….someone later reminded me that I read my Christmas story….about my son…hence the real reason I felt comfortable with bringing cookies. In the girls gift bag…there was additional cookies for everyone!

I had decided that the items I would bring for signature would be some of the wonderful concert pictures that have been taken this tour. I have some signed things of Clay that I bid on at auction, and of course they are all the serious snaps of him. I had about 7 pictures with me, a couple of them collages, but I chose 1 from the stool banter, and 1 with the preacher skit. Ruben and Clay are pictured in both, but I had Rube sign the stool picture and Clay sign the preacher picture. Ruben then wanted to see the others I had, and said he wouldn’t mind having a pic….so in the end I gave Clay and Ruben all the extras I had with me.

During all this time…though actually it only took a matter of minutes to get through the cookie chatter, Clay asked for questions as he was signing our things. I asked him if he was satisfied with this tour, if he felt it was successful. I didn’t get a complete response because he had to get silly and say ‘except that Ruben was always beating up on him’
I then asked a question that had been brought up in one of our cellcert threads about him lip-synching to the Bee Gees. His strong response ‘absolutely not! He sings every word,
and if we watched various video we would know because he doesn't always sing the same words.
He did mention the ‘fake’ piano playing, and something about Invisible…but again responded ‘I have never lip-synched or intend to in the future’.

I asked Rube what his plans were after this tour was over and he said his daughter is starting into basketball with the new school year so he is going to be involved with that, and the he has a trip to Asia with David Foster. Questions and autographs were flying all around, and then it was picture time. I put my right arm around Ruben and left one around Clay, I’m wondering how that’s going to look in this picture, as I’m probably under their arm pits…Clay did good and leaned in…and Cheryl said it was a good picture. Here’s hoping.

We then got good bye hugs and thank you’s and off we went. Part of the prize was a ‘backstage tour’…but that did not happen..Does it really matter…no…the entire 15-20 minutes we got was amazing. The one lady had a walker, so the rest of us moved out of the way, so she could stay seated, and Ruben and Clay stooped down beside her for her picture. For some of us they signed multiple items. Cheryl asked beforehand if we hand things for Ruben and we all said yes, she seemed very pleased with that.

There was a bit of ticket mixup but in a good way for cincy and me. It said the ‘winner’, which would be the credit card bidding person, would pick up 2 premium tickets. I went up and they only had 1 ticket…so I questioned about the other one, and the girl went to check with the manager. The 1st ticket was row BB….she came back with 2 tickets for row AA…dead center, so I gave back the row BB ticket. When I met up with cincy before the M&G she said she already picked up her ticket….and they gave her row BB, which was the mate to the original they had handed me. Evidently they separated each name provided in the auction. Anyway, cincy went to turn back her row BB ticket, since I had the better ones, and they told her to keep it! She allowed me to pass it on to my friend, who is a tiny thing, and this only being her 2nd CA concert we moved her into 2nd row. Everything worked out great.

Since I have rambled on and you are all now fast asleep, there is no need to recap the show…except to say, it was amazing, I danced and watched every move with no monitors blocking our view. Of course during the first song we had two photographers who thought they had free reign to stand in front of us and everyone else, until security made them move away from the front of the stage. My favorite songs are always the up tempo because that boy can dance…oh to ever be on the dance floor with him…I would pay for that opportunity. Footloose and LLVL….to die for…always and forever!

I ran into Scarlett a bit after the show as we were both in search of Jerome, the 3 of us (my friend Emma) had dinner after our meet up with him. I traveled and shared conversation and breakfast with artz11 and nuts4anerd. Thank you for the company ladies.

Who would have ever thought at this stage of my life, I would have these wonderful experiences. It does not replace the piece that is missing, but Clay Aiken sure fills in the gaps really well. So when does that next tour start?
 

[Marilyn]

Shamrock at CV

 My M &G from Hampton Beach…. for what it’s worth. I have a bad case of CRS. If you want to know everything that happened, read ForeverYoung’s recap. She did an outstanding job of recalling everything. I wasn’t really nervous, so I don’t know why the details are so foggy.

We had our meeting outdoors, underneath a stairway. We were lined up in our chairs waiting for Clay to arrive when ForeverYoung asked Cheryl if we could see the picture on her Timeless Tour badge. She showed it to all of us. Without my reading glasses I could make out Ruben, but I couldn’t really see the rest of it clearly. Cheryl offered me her glasses, but they didn’t help. I later found out I missed the chance to see Clay in a leather corset thingy.

When Clay walked in he went down the line shaking hands and asking each of us our name. He then stood facing us the rest of the time….I think. At least I don’t remember him sitting down. Cheryl and Jerome were also there the entire time, and maybe some other security. He looked breathtakingly good. His hair was kind of messy (no product in it yet), and he had quite a bit of stubble. Hair and stubble looked very red to me. I thought he had on a blue plaid shirt with long sleeves, but later was told by one of the other participants that he had on a short sleeve blue striped shirt. At least I got the color right. I never saw his jeans or shoes. I couldn’t take my eyes off his face. I would not make a good eye witness.

He was very friendly. He asked each of us where we were from. When I said Indianapolis, he asked me if I drove to New Hampshire. That would be a looong drive. I told him I flew in. He then said “what do you do in Indianapolis?” I wasn’t sure what he said so I repeated, “ you want to know what I do in Indianapolis?” He said again, “yes, what do you do?” I bet he was thinking I’ve got a live one here. Maybe I was nervous after all. I told him I worked for USAirways for 30 years. He responded that he thought AirTran was in Indianapolis. I think he was thinking of the now out of business American Trans Air, but I wasn’t going to correct him. I just assured him USAirways had a reservation office in Indy for many years.

While he was signing our items, he asked if we had any questions. I asked him if he wrote the skits for the tour. He answered that there was really only one skit…. the preacher/healing skit. He said Ruben just started doing it, and it took off from there. I know other questions were asked, but I truly can’t remember.

All too soon it was time to have my picture taken with him. He put his arm around my back, so I put my arm around his back. I think our heads were touching. I not even sure I smiled. Next we each got a great hug, and then he was gone. It was a wonderful experience. I just wish I could remember more of it.
 

[Marilyn]

Lissical
 
 Great! Okay I'm going to post my Hammond recap here.
My First Clay Concert Experience...

Okay, I hope that this is going to make sense because I'm still in a bit of a fog, lol. First off, I just want to say how great it was to meet a few of you guys! I wish I could have met more, but the venue filled up fast and then the show started....and well the rest is history.

All right, on to the concert. I have watched a whole lot of Clack from the Timeless Tour concerts, so I pretty much knew what to expect and when to expect it. What I DIDN'T expect was to have my jaw literally drop to the floor when Clay came out from stage left (I happened to be sitting on the side he walked out of...eeee!!!!). OMG. I just have to say that he and Ruben really compliment each other well with their singing! The whole intro with FWW/TITN was hilarious. So much funnier in person! I loved the opening banter; it was little different...they didn't talk about their "similarities" very much, but I didn't care at all, hehe. Finally it was time to start the 60s with 'the King'. Clay singing Suspicious Minds...WOW. I actually got video of it!!!!! And I got video of him singing Still the One. Also Stool Banter (which was so funny...I'll get to that in a minute) and the beginning of the 90s.

All right, now onto the 70s -- oh yeah, I got Clack of the before/after (sort of anyway) banter of that and got some of the 70s too.  Clay kissed Casey! At least I think he did. From the angle I was at, it looked like he did, but I couldn't really tell for sure. But it was so cute!!

I don't think I've ever laughed so much in my life.. Just saying...

Next! Ummm...what was next...oh yes, the stool banter. Oh my goodness, I was laughing so hard when I watched this! I pretty much got most of it on video (though all the videos are kind of grainy...oh well it was a digital camera). Anyway, Clay sat down on the stool as usual and Ruben started to lean on him, saying his feet hurt from standing for so long, etc. Clay as always just ignored him and tried to go on with how they are like variety acts. But then Ruben did something he's never done before... HE SAT ON CLAY'S LAP! I'm not joking! OMG it was soooo funny! Seeing Clay's face (and hearing him for that matter) was just too funny. I'm sure others have better details than I do with this banter, but after the whole stool thing (oh and Clay messed up the stool joke, hehe), they decided to get the audience involved! They asked for a theme song. Theme was "It's About Damn Time" (hahaha) and the music was Reggae. Oh my gosh. Ruben was HILARIOUS when he sang it! Clay was kind of cracking up too. Just great though. Clay's MTAF was out of this world!

Onto the 80s! And yes I'm sure I'm missing huge chunks of the concert.... So, it was the usual banter about what "macho" things were in the 80s vs. care bears, My Buddy (which included Ruben singing the song, taking Clay's hand and swinging it...so cute!) and then he expanded on the Care Bears! I could not stop laughing. So then they finally went into the music of the 80s. I loved all of it (especially 'Alone'...wow!!!)!!! And of course, Footloose. EVERYONE stood up when they started singing it!! Great job to both of them! Once they were finished, I didn't think there was going to be an encore, but then Clay mentioned a man who was sitting in my section. He had been dancing (seriously I saw him and he could really move!) non-stop throughout Footloose. Clay asked him how old he was -- 73! Clay and Ruben were so impressed that they wanted to see him do it again...so what did they do? ENCORE!!!!

I can't remember exactly *when* 'The Revival' took place in the concert, so I'll just put it here. Now this lasted for 12 minutes. How do I know? I got all of it on video!  Unfortunately at this moment, I'm still in a fog so I can't remember all the details, lol. But it was great as always!

I absolutely loved Clay's intro to Ruben. You can tell that they're really great friends.  I hope they will always stay that way. Ruben's "Everything I Do (I Do It For You)" was GORGEOUS. That man can SING!!

Then it was time for the 90s...oh boy. Clay said Ruben did a great job on the song, but Clay was nowhere to be seen...hmmm....Ruben asked where he was and Clay said he was coming; had to zip up the zipper on his pants, lol. Then he came out in GOLD hammer pants! OMG I was laughing so hard! It was pure genius! Ruben had to stop for a moment and turn around, hehe. So after Clay kept telling Ruben he really did know about the 90s, he decided to prove it by starting the medley. LOVED IT!

The end of the show didn't have too much banter in it; I think the two of them were kind of tired (I wonder why? ). Of course Ruben somehow turned back into the Preacher for a moment, hehe. Oh and just before they sang TOML, Clay caught some people about to leave....he stopped them LOL!

One of the best parts of the show? Ethel came up to the stage and asked Ruben to sign her 'Lackofrythmitis' (or however that's spelled) shirt! After some back and forth talking, Ruben finally did.  Clay didn't, saying he was scared of her (you could tell he was completely joking since he had a smile on his face the whole time). At any rate, I'm VERY happy for Ethel!!

Once the concert was over, I looked over to my boyfriend and I asked him how he liked it. He smiled a little and said he liked it! He said he was glad I brought him with me.  And he's now LOOKING FORWARD to coming to Cleveland with me! WOW!

All right all, this is probably the best that I'm going to be able to do here! I'll probably add comments or whatnot later when I remember more, lol. I really did have the time of my life though!

~Lisa
 

[Marilyn]

jclay
 

 My recap of my one and only concert-Biloxi

Meeting everyone before the concert was so much fun. AAIT and I stopped by the box office area about 6:00 just to see what was happening and there were several other people hanging around so we got to talk and laugh with a few for a while.

We came back down around 7:00 to wait for the doors to open and I got a call from texwriter and heard that the buses didn't get in until 5:30 so we figured they might start a little late.

We got to our seats and talked to those around us, all CVer's happily and a couple of Mr. CVer's. We got oki all set up and prayed that she would work. We were a little concerned because cellphone service was a little spotty depending on the carrier. We had an usher right in front of us and had no front shielding since the seats right in front of us didn't fill up. I'm very sorry oki didn't come through, but at least we were able to give a cellcert.

Right before the concert started a group of 9 (I think) came and filled up the front row of our section. We immediately recognized Ruben's wife and daughter. Ruben's wife is beautiful. During the concert Ruben mentioned his wife, daughter, mother, grandmother, aunt and neighbors (and maybe I missed others). Ruben's wife took several cellphone pictures during the concert. It was very cute.

The concert was fabulous and I'll let the clack tell the story. Although the clack police were out in full force at the beginning I know several got clack, including the illustrious scarlett who was given a press pass from Jerome. Yeah!!!!!!!!!!

During one of the songs early when they are playfully trying to get position from each other, Ruben accidentally hit Clay in the mouth with the microphone when he "shoved" him aside. Clay made some jokes about it and I could see him rubbing his lip when he was off to the side not singing. I think it hurt. But it didn't affect his singing at all.

Ok - the kiss. It was steamy, but playful. As Casey and Clay got closer and closer during the song, Casey finally put her arm around Clay's neck and kinda pulled him in, although there wasn't much space between them at that point anyway. After the kiss, they both had big big smiles.

During Ruben's preacher bit, he didn't say much to Sister Quiana, but I think that was because his family was there. The keyboardist played the Price is Right theme during the bit and Ruben walked over and told him no more game show theme songs. It was about the only "last show" antic we caught.

The Spaghetti and Meatball in opera was a hoot. Ruben kept saying he didn't want to be a meatball. Ben had to play his intro a couple of times for Ruben to think of what to say. Clay was off on the side cracking up. But Ruben pulled out his inner opera star and did a great job. Bravo Ruben. Ruben said he was sure Clay would be the spaghetti and Clay said he wasn't that skinny - he was more like . . . . . fettucini. Quick thinking.

LLVL was get-out-the-fans hot, hawt.

Clay's jeans are so frayed that 2 or 3 inch pieces were dragging around with him.

Then the show was over. AAIT and I said that neither of us were as sad as we sometimes are when we get to the end of a tour since we know what is ahead. There are plans and that makes it easier for one thing to end knowing something else will soon be beginning.

In closing -  - and I had a great time!!!!!!!!!!!! 

[Marilyn]

kwhite1022 at CV

My Hammond Recap:

Ok, Everyone has pretty much already posted all the important stuff about the concert and how great it was and how amazing he looked. Ill just talk a quick minute about how great it was meeting up with new and old friends. Not many people know, but I barely made it to this, my one and only concert this summer. Heh, my car companions were sweating it out!! Waves to Claikendee and Ashleysgram! My grandmother passed away earlier in the week, and I also had sitter issues as Ive never had before, but I was able to make everything work. My grandmother lived to 99, I should be so lucky!! It was kind of a shock as she hadnt been "sick" but she had been starting to fail in recent months. In the end, I was able to make it happen and picked up my cohorts at around 3 EST to head out to Hammond. Other then worry Id wreck Ashleysgrams beautiful 2008 Jeep (her hubby has way too much faith in me!) the trip went fast! We were able to get to the venue in plenty of time to meet the Cvers at the Pub. It was so great to see familiar faces like Cablegirl, and Poisen Ivy, and then meet tons of new fans such as Sadie, Neelie and her lurker sister, Clays Rainbow, Cincy , Glory and our newbie Lissical. I think we overwhelmed the staff there, but man my grilled chicken was amazing!! It was great to just sit with people who feel like family, who know the fan terminology, who know about your life on the boards. Its a different kind of connection. Its also fun to try and figure out where youve possibly met each other before, especially as some look so familiar, doesnt take long before you start going through the list of concerts youve attended and zero in on the place! When we went to the concert I ran into Toni and Aikim who Id met before in Sterling Heights! Had a quick hello with 2oldforclay and Momof3boys. I love that you can go just a few hundred miles out of your way and see familiar faces or fly thousands of miles to place like Raleigh or NY and see familiar faces there as well. The show was amazing, lots of new bits that were not on the clack Id watched. Of course MTAF about put me under, but what a way to go! I still love TITN, and could listen to him sing that for another 10 years......and I hope I do. I hope we all do. 

[fhmmany2]

Hello!

My Biloxi recap:

This is the one and only time in 8 years that I did not read a recap, a review, or attend a cell cert prior to going to my concert. I am going to do the same thing from now on! It was wonderful to be surprised! I have still not read other reviews prior to writing mine.

This concert was wonderful - so much fun, and the music was outstanding. We had great seats - in fact, there is not a bad seat in this theatre. If you ever have a chance to see Clay here, please take the opportunity. We were in Section 102 - the same section as Ruben's family. We had heard that the two sections nearest the Stage - 101 and 106 - were reserved for "high rollers" at the time public tickets were sold, but I don't think we could have had better seats (I've never liked or wanted floor seats unless they were on the first 3 rows or so). I was not sure if I would like Clay sharing the Stage with another artist or not, but I loved it. You can see true affection between Clay and Ruben - I can see this as a TV series - if the variety show can ever be brought back, these two are the ones to do it! I won't go into specifics of the concert itself - I'm sure hundreds of other people will do so - but I just wanted to say that I think my favortie Tour has changed from the Juke Box Tour to this one. I was so happy to hear several of my favorites from the JBT - including the Turtles' "Happy Together" (when my husband and I were engaged, it was "our" song).

The venue did have a "no cameras" policy,  and they did enforce that to some extent. As soon as the lights went down I could see 10-12 video cameras in the floor section, and (don't ask me why after all these years)  there were  about 8 people in the audience using flashes on their cameras. There was an employee of the casino running around talking to people taking videos or photos with flashes. He did not kick them out, though, and he did not take their cameras. He came back to our section after he had talked to someone every time, and he had to see my camera, but he never said a word to me. My husband made the comment that the only way to stop the ClayNation from taking photos and videos is to assign a security person to each Clay fan. 

On a personal note, I have always wanted my husband to  be a Clay fan - don't know why - I've just always wanted to ClayVert him. He has attended concerts (this one, like one 3 years ago was included in a trip for our Anniversary) but I know he has gone to concerts  just for me. It was wonderful to hear him laugh, clap, and really enjoy the music this time!  He is still talking about what a great concert it was!  

I did enjoy seeing JoAnn, Wilson Barb, and Mimi - I'm so sorry I did not get a chance to meet Lori. I also heard that Karen from the Red Thong Thread attended - wish I could have met all of our members who attended. I did  get a chance to reconnect with the Clay Fan Club from New Orleans.  It was good to see them again.

Here are a few of my photos (I took 82 in all  ) They are not  great, as some already posted on the Boards, but they are mine, and I wanted to share them with you. They are thumbnails - Click To Enlarge:

Clay and Ruben - I just love to see them together:



Just Clay:



It seems like we once had members who enjoyed photos of Clay in Jeans:







His Clayness singing "Mandy" (I love to hear him sing that song!!!)





Sick Clay (I believe the Disease was "LackaRythmnItis")





After being cured by Pastor Studdard



And of course I had to have a photo of a Glory Note:



JOANN, MIMI AND WILSON BARB - I am having some copies made for you. I did not post our group photo - I did that once before after another concert, and someone got upset and asked me to remove their photo. If it is O.K. with you, I will post our photo later..............

EDIT - I forgot to post the lip lock with Casey - for a gay guy, he did seem to be enjoying this:

[Marilyn]

ashleysgram at CV

 There are a lot of things I can do really well, but writing isn't one of them, so here's my attempt at a recap of my Hammond concert. We got to the casino just in time to meet fellow Cvers at Benny's Pub for dinner. It was great to see Cablegirl, and Poison Ivy again and to meet several CVers such as, Sadie, Glory, Clays Rainbow, and our new Cver, Lissical a concert virgin.. I loved hearing all about Cincy's M&G, and getting to talk with her, and with Neelie and her sister. I also got to to talk to Akim as we were going into the venue.

After a misunderstanding with our seats which caused Kwhite and I several stressful moments, and thanks to some very understanding ushers, we were able to get seats in the handicap row which was only one row back from our original seats and right behind our travel buddy, Claikendee. Our seats were dead center, and even though we were in the last row on the floor, we had a great view and could see Clay's expressions and even the twinkle in his eye very well.

The show was fantastic and I loved every minute of it. I love all the clack that I watched before, but this is the kind of show that you have to see in person to really appreciate the flow, Clay's facial expressions and physical comedy, and the rapport he and Ruben have. They are a such joy to watch. My two favorite medleys were the 70's and 80's although the gold Hammer pants in the 90's segment were a riot . We got a kiss with DGBMH.....Clay and Casey are just so natural and at ease with their flirting which makes that little scene even hotter. What can I say about MTAF.....Love it! Footloose had us all up and dancing. Clay's ability to sing every song genre so well, is a testament to his amazing talent.

When Ruben sat on Clay's lap during the stool banter, I about peed my pants from laughing so hard, especially when Clay went limping off stage to get the other stool complaining the whole time that Ruben probably broke his leg. I hope the clack catches that moment. The whole theme song and banter was also a lot of fun.

Ruben is funny as pastor Studdard, but Clay is hysterical as the boy with “lack-of-rhythymitis”. He is a master as the afflicted one with his pathetic expressions. I think the segue into "When I See You Smile" is perfect when pastor Studdard wants him to testify and Clay begins the song speaking in his pitiful “testifying” voice and then breaks into full singing voice. It all flows very well.

It was a thrill to be in the presence of those four very talented people. Clay and Ruben really do need a show of their own....hopefully in the near future. 

[Marilyn]

Concert Re-cap from Biloxi by KeepingFaith at the CH.

My initial report is that the show at the Beau Rivage Theater was a tour de force. The acoustics were the best I've ever heard; the lighting was fabulous; the seats were spacious and comfortable; the temperature was perfect; and Saturday night the hotel/casino hosted the best show ever seen in Biloxi. Clay and Ruben rocked the house, and I'll give you my report on the NJUs that I overheard as soon as I come down enough to think and type at the same time. Okay, I'll give it a try. There is no exaggeration or hyperbole in any of this. This is word for word. A couple walking out beside me, a 50-ish couple, were effusive in their praise, with the woman saying that "Both those boys are so talented, they both have great voices," and the man saying in thick Southern accent, "That's the best show I've ever seen. That's God-given talent. God-given. And that preacher skit was the funniest thing I ever saw in my life." Another man, walking out behind me said to someone, and I couldn't actually see him and didn't want to turn around, but he said, again in thick accent, "I've paid to see comedians who didn't make me laugh that hard, and those boys can SING better'n anythang I ever heard." Apparently there are no "guys" in Mississippi, only boys, as in good old ones. There were a lot of men in the audience, more than I've ever seen before at a Clay Aiken concert. There was one man, sitting alone near the back of the floor, who danced, clapped, and sang through the show -- and he was an older gentleman. The entire audience howled at the self-identifying gay jokes Clay made, so nobody in that Mississippi audience went away unaware that Clay Aiken is a gay man who just happens to have a charismatic presence, a natural sense of comedic timing, and a "God-given" voice. I thought it was maybe one of the best moments in Clay's evolving career. If he can win over the men of Mississippi, it's a changed world already. And Clay Aiken has it. IT. He has IT.

Yesterday morning as my buddies and I were singing, All You Need Is Love in the hotel elevator (yeah we really were), a woman got on and said to us, laughingly, "The concert was last night girls." Merrieeee asked if she had seen the show and the woman said, "Oh yes, wasn't Clay wonderful!! We asked her how many times she had seen Clay, and the woman said, "That was the first time I've ever seen him." We all noted later that it was specifically CLAY the woman had commented on. Oh, he was on fire. Ruben the Singing Meatball was amazing too. It was one for the ages. One thing that was striking to me is that at the beginning of the show there were definitely Clay fans and Ruben fans. Some fans didn't clap for one or the other. By the end of the show everybody was a Clay and Ruben fan and cheered everything happening on the stage. There was something so unifying and beautiful about that whole experience at the Beau Rivage. I'll never forget it. Yeah, I'm still high.

Oh, and Casey was trying a French kiss on Clay when he jerked away. An astute lip reader translated from his backstage comments to Ben before MTAF.

[Marilyn]

Some more NJU comments from nunu at the CH:

On the subject of NJU in the audience; there was a woman sitting behind me in Biloxi (before I moved to the front row) who was approximately 85 yrs old (with her son). She said with a heavy Southern drawl: "Well there's only one song I wanna' hear him sing and that's Bridge Over Troubled Waters". Trying to head off her future disappointment, I turned around and asked "Do you like This Is the Night?" She said yes, but BOTW was the best song and Clay sang it the best and that's what she wanted to hear. I asked if she liked Ruben and she said "Yes but I didn't want him to win!"

After we moved, a woman was sitting behind us with her husband. She leaned forward and said she was excited to see Clay and even though he played for the other team, she thought we should all surround him and attack him. Since she sounded like she was there just for Clay, I asked her if she liked Ruben and she said "He better not mess up any of Clay's singing - he better be off the stage when Clay was singing." After the show I asked her how she liked it and she said she loved it and had a great time.

Two couples had been brought to the front row to my left right before the show started. The man sitting next to me had so much fun - I think they knew Clay and Ruben from AI but didn't seem to be fans that followed them throughout the years. As soon as Clay started talking he turned to me and asked where he was from. I think this was a Claymate test - he wanted to see how much I knew. I said North Carolina and felt lucky I wasn't asked the shoe size. He had a blast, clapping, dancing in his seat,turning to me and asking questions like "Is this the Four Tops - oh that was before your time". (He seemed to be a huge R&b fan) All four of them seemed to have a ball and reached to touch Ruben's hand when he reached down.

So from my standpoint it seemed like a lot of AI watchers but not necessarily Clay or Ruben followers, but all seemed to have a great time.

[Marilyn]

Nancy9213


 We got back from Biloxi yesterday late afternoon. The concert was AWESOME!!! Clay and Ruben were in their element. My sister-in-law went to the show with me and she was laughing so hard I thought she was going to pee herself. Clay also brought her to tears with some of the songs, I'm sure because they were from the time that she met my brother and they started their life together. My brother, of course, stayed in the Casino since he wasn't interested in seeing my pretend BF.

I gotta tell you, I have been so very blessed and lucky for the past month or two and have won small amounts in the Fl. lottery and scratch off tickets. I was hoping my luck would hold out for this trip, and it did. I won a couple small jackpots and now have my TNT Concert roadtrip fully funded. Now I just have to convince myself and my daughter that it is OK that I come visit her in Charlotte in Feb, say around the 23rd.

Back to the concert talk..... After the concert we ran into several people in the casino and on the trolly ride back to The Grand where we stayed, and they were all blown away by Clay and Ruben's talent. More gave comments regarding Clay's powerful vocals and they were wanting to see more of him. I hope they get to see the TNT concert this spring.

Thank you to all of the Clack takers. You Rock! If anyone has audio of the entire concert I would like to be directed to it. I love listening to the entire concerts when I am on a long drive so I can relive my concert experience over and over.

Well, gotta work early tomorrow so goodnight CV.