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ClayManiacs.com  |  Archive  |  Tried and True Tour 2011  |  WESTBURY, NY-CAPITAL ONE BANK THEATER 02/26/2011
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Author Topic: WESTBURY, NY-CAPITAL ONE BANK THEATER 02/26/2011  (Read 29468 times)

Marilyn

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Re: WESTBURY, NY-CAPITAL ONE BANK THEATER 02/26/2011
« Reply #105 on: March 01, 2011, 09:16:33 PM »
linlovesclay

Just got home a little bit ago. Awesome concert!! I'll try to fill in some of the gaps/questions you guys had during the cellcert now that I've read through all the pages. The sounds heard right before it started, that someone said sounded like applause, was some people in the audience clapping to try and get the show started, and then there was booing.  Some jerk (man) said something really, really inappropriate right before it started. The idiot yelled  it out really loudly right before the overture started. The audience was not happy and booed the guy. He should have been kicked out. I hope that Clay didn't hear it.

On to happier things. For those wondering if Clay was moving around a lot, yes, he was. He was all over the place, but he had to be because of the circular stage. He walked from one side to the other so much that he probably lost a few pounds tonight! He had chairs at each side and took turns sitting on them as well as standing in the middle of the stage. Several times he said he was getting dizzy--he was really funny about it.

Yes, he said that the pipes broke this morning and that the place smelled like turnips and maintenance had to spray Febreze to try and get rid of the smell.

He talked to a husband who was videotaping while his wife watched the show. He couldn't get over how many men were in the audience, and seemed happy that they didn't seem to be ashamed to be there!

During the "real" version of SM, the mikes went nuts--lots of loud screeching. He switched mikes with Q, and hers did the same thing. At one point he had a mike in each hand and had them facing the floor. He then yelled "what the hell" and the audience cracked up. It was finally fixed and he was able to finish the song.

I hope there is video of WSN--the Brazilian and Klezmer were totally hysterical, especially the Brazilian. Really, really funny.

I already forgot the young, new guy's name (he was awesome). Clay asked what he did on his day off yesterday, and he said that he went to the Blue Note in the city (I think that's the name of it--I went once but not sure of the name. Jazz type club as I remember). Anyway, he was too young to get in and needed a fake ID. So Clay was teasing him about it and said that the young people in the audience shouldn't listen and get the idea that it was okay to do that.

I think that's it in regards to what I read here. He was awesome, looked great. His legs are so skinny--if I didn't love him so much I could really hate him for that!! He loved the energy the crowd had, and fed off of it. UM was awesome, and I fell in love with Love Story. Gave me goosebumps. Two guys sat in front of me and they had never seen him in concert. They don't have any of his cd's, haven't seen him on tv, and basically haven't heard anything about him since AI. They came because they were given free tickets from someone.  They both loved the show, loved Clay, and want to see him again. It was nice talking with them and seeing how much they enjoyed Clay doing his thing.

I'm exhausted, so please excuse any typos that I may have missed!! Time for bed--any guesses as to what I'll be thinking about as I try to fall asleep??!!


ALWAYS AND FOREVER-UNCONDITIONALLY!!!

Marilyn

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Re: WESTBURY, NY-CAPITAL ONE BANK THEATER 02/26/2011
« Reply #106 on: March 02, 2011, 04:53:38 PM »
ncwannabee

I've been trying to write this for days now, and I've never had enough time to sit down and do it all at once. Consequently, it got really long. Sorry about that. And it's way after the fact too, so not sure anybody really cares. But, since I finally got it written, here you go.

M&G Westbury

Jerome came to gather us M&Gers (9 of us) and gave us our directives (no touchy-feely.) Darn! Just when I was planning to pull an Arlene. Hee! He asked if we were ready to go. One brave lady mentioned going to the ladies room. Before you know it, at least half of us were running to the bathroom. Not like we were nervous or anything like that. We got back and reassembled ourselves in order (we each had a number) and off we went into the seating area of the theatre. We were heading down to the front row when , to the best of my knowledge, I believe a woman (maybe # 1 or # 2) must have mentioned that it was too steep for her and asked if we had to go the whole way down to the front. In any event, all I know is we abruptly stopped and did a left turn into a row about half way down in the section. We all sat down, took off our coats, pulled out our items to be signed and prepared to be dazzled. It was quite dark there stuck in the middle, so Jerome asked the venue folks to turn up the lights. They said “no can do” due to union rules. WTH? Sooooo, we gathered up all our stuff again, stood up, and trooped back up the aisle (like the good little soldiers we were) to the back row of the orchestra, where it was a little brighter. But, we realized that # 1 was now in the # 9 slot, due to the fact that we did not exit the row in the same direction from which we entered it. So, after some rather 3 Stooges-like stops and starts and backwards and forwards, we finally managed to reseat ourselves in the proper order. (However, our careful maneuvering ended up all for naught, as a 10th person came to join us as a late arrival and just like that, our order was shot to heck. Shucks! There went our gold star for M&G member perfect formation LOL!)

Anyway, Jerome left us there to go get the man. Soon he returned from the back of the stage with Clay and Mary in his wake. Clay actually hung out at the stage a bit, looking at a few things and moving the stools to his desired locations which, btw, worked INCREDIBLY well for me and my M&G buddy mercedes during the show, as he sat down right in front of us. [pause for fan-girly moment - EEEEEEE!] Finally he started toward the front edge of the stage and we could tell he was going to work his way up to us. There was a fairly deep step off the front of the stage onto the floor that led up to the aisle he would take to get to us. Next thing I know, he’s climbing onto Mary’s back piggy-back style to navigate the step down and she carried him a few steps up the aisle with his arms around her neck. [pause for insanely-jealous-of-Mary-moment] Of course, he’s so tall that his feet we’re practically dragging on the ground anyway! Watching this, I immediately started trying to formulate how I could innocently ask for the piggy-back pose for my picture, but I figured that wouldn’t go over so well, given the no touchy-feely mandate.

He strode up the aisle and stepped into the row below us saying hello as he did so. He then proceeded to move down the row asking each of us our names, and shaking our hands. When he was through, he made his way back to the center of the row and stopped directly in front of mercedes and me. Inside I was EEEEEEing like crazy, but like the mature, poised woman I am, I’m positive I looked calm and cool on the outside. [insert eye-rolling snort of sarcasm here] He had on hidden button-fly jeans, white sneaks, a gray tee shirt under a gray plaid shirt and a blue vest with brown trim on top. He asked where each of us was from, and when he heard that mercedes had an apartment in the city, he asked if he could use it when she wasn’t there – that it was too expensive to stay in a hotel in the city! I think I would have thrown my keys at him right then and there LOL!

With all those preliminaries out of the way, he launched into a story about how bad the venue smelled when they first arrived. He explained that evidently a pipe had burst, and the place stunk like . . . and he paused to find the right analogy to use and finally came up with “bad turnips.” He said once soundcheck was over he “ran out of the building – I mean literally ran. “ He turned toward Mary and said, “Didn’t I Mary? Didn’t I run?” Mary dutifully nodded her assent. He said it was so bad he thought he was going to throw up, and that Quiana had resorted to rubbing Vicks (I think it was Vicks) under her nose to distort the smell. He said it was much better now.

He asked us to get out our items to be signed and said that while he was signing, we could ask him questions. It is a bit disconcerting, as he’s getting handed the things to sign, asking how to spell the person’s name correctly, and still fielding questions all at the same time. He truly is a very talented multi-tasker. But, because of that set-up, it seemed people were a bit hesitant to ask questions. So, as he was right in front of me, I jumped right in. I had seen a question on CV that someone had suggested about the song Home that he sang at Broadway Backwards. So, I asked him if it was his idea to sing the song, or the producers of the show or whatnot. He said it was his idea. Several of us mentioned how gorgeous it was.
Someone else then asked if he’d go back on 30 Rock again? He said of course he would, but he would have to be asked. He mentioned that people don’t seem to get it. They seem to think that he has the ability to do whatever he wants, whenever he wants. He said that sounded like his mom, who had said to him “why don’t you just sing at the Grammys?”

Someone asked him how he kept from laughing during Spamalot when Tom Deckman and Rick Holmes were up there being so funny. He said “I didn’t – and I was supposed to be dead!” (or something to that effect – not sure of correct quotes)

There was a bit of a lull, so I jumped in again and told him that at the gala last year, he had promised our photo group that he would tell us what Arlene had said to him (we had asked him while having our group photo taken). He looked puzzled and said “I don’t think I know Arlene. Who is that?” I said the woman who molested you at the Chicago PBS concert. He said “Oh….OH!” as his eyes widened and it seemed to sink in who she was. He said “Did I promise to tell you?” Mercedes and I both nodded yes. He said he really didn’t remember what she said, but that it was “really dirty.” And, he followed that up by saying that she “had her hand down mah pants.” [pause for major OMG! moment] We all sort of involuntarily gasped and he went on to explain that “this part of her hand . . .” (as he showed us the tips of his fingers) had gone down the waistband of his pants in the back!! He said something to the effect of “that’s when I said I’m done here” and forcefully shook off her hand from his arm and disengaged himself from her. We all sort of expressed our disbelief that she had done that to him.

By now he had worked down the row and it was time for me to hand him what I wanted signed. Let me preface it by saying that mercedes and I had the same item, and we had gotten the idea in the wee hours of the morning after the Towson concert a few nights before. So I reached into my envelope and pulled out my Yoshi knife! (as did mercedes) I’m telling you, the man was sooooo excited! He looked at us and said “Did you use them yet? Aren’t they great? He asked where we wanted them signed, on the handle or on the blade? While we contemplated, we told him they were virgin Yoshi knives that hadn’t been used. He then told us he was going to sign them on the handle, so that way we could still use them. (yeah, like we’re going to do that. Mine went directly into my super-secret Clay drawer – the one that when I die and they find it, they’ll know just how bad I really have it!) Anyway, he was all animated and smiling as he told us he’d left the knife up on stage during the Towson concert. We said “we know” and “that’s where we got the idea” to have them as our signed item. He started telling us the story of how he brought his knife to soundcheck that day because he wanted to impress the others and see if it really did cut as well as it showed on TV. He said he threw an apple up in the air, let it fall, and threw the knife at the apple. “And it cut it right in half!!!” he said with such apparent glee on his face we just had to laugh. The knives have a protective sheath that they come with, and when I handed mine to him, I had the sheath on it. Mercedes was next and she had removed the sheath while she was contemplating where to have Clay sign it. So, she was holding it like that when Clay started to reach for it, then he quickly snatched his hand back and said how sharp the knives really are. “It’ll cut you!” he said to her. She put the sheath back on and he took it to sign. The woman on the other side of me said “be careful,” and he snarkily replied “Well the cover’s on it now” and then said “yes, mom.” We wondered if he had gotten the knife (and his and Quiana’s new iphones) in the mall next to the Sheraton that was next door to the venue. There had been a post earlier in the day that had spotted Felix there. But he said no, they had gotten them in Baltimore before getting into Towson.

Someone asked him a question (if memory serves me correctly?) if he could pull off a New York accent? He said he could, but not right at the moment. He said if he hung around a New Yorker for about a week, he’d have it down pat. He said he could learn to do pretty much any accent except an “American” accent. He said he doesn’t think he has much of an accent (at which point we snickered, and he laughed and pointed at mercedes and said something like “oh, like you don’t have an accent either.”) He went on to elaborate that since he doesn’t hear his own accent, it would be impossible for him to do an American accent, as he wouldn’t know what to change. I think he mentioned his British accent in Spam, and then somehow a Kiwi accent came up. He said he could do that, and told us that his favorite movie ever had people speaking in a Kiwi accent. Hee – I think he told us we could Google that to try and figure out what movie it is!

Finally, as no one else said anything, I piped up one more time and said that some of the fandom was in a tizzy, and that they were upset about the prospect of perhaps not seeing him for the rest of the year. So, I said the fandom just wants to know “will we see you in any capacity, other than the gala, for the rest of the year? We don’t need specifics, just wink once for yes and twice for no.” He sort of grinned, then purposely changed the subject by saying “and now on to pictures.” I turned to mercedes and jokingly said “he’s ignoring us” and he laughed and said “people ask the same question all the time about what I’m going to be doing.” Mercedes said “that’s because they need to know – they’re scared. Clay looked directly at her and asked “What are they scared of?” She answered, “that you’re going away.” It was an “Awwwwww” moment. He told us “I’m not going away. I mean, I don’t really want to be in the studio right now, but I’m not quitting.” Mercedes thanked him and said “That’s what we needed to know.” He looked straight at us and stated again “It’s not my decision to quit.”

Now it was time for pictures. While we were waiting in our proper numbered order, I reminded myself over and over again to lean in. Too bad I didn’t remind myself to look at the camera. I had managed to pretty much avoid the fog up to this point, but there’s something that happens when you’re standing beside the man. I leaned in (or so I thought, but I think I leaned more “back” than “in”) and I do recall feeling my arm around him and then I must have lost all cognitive function for a moment or two because I completely forgot they were going to take a picture. When I suddenly came to, what resulted was a panic-stricken, OMG-Mary’s-taking-a-picture-and-I’m-not-looking-at-the-camera, last-minute- corner-of-my-eye sort of look. I do remember smiling, as that seems to be the default expression (sort of a vapid grin) when I’m around the man. Shades of Jack Nicholson in that demented One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest photo we always see where he’s looking sideways with an evil grin. Hey, it’s a good look if one can pull it off. I don’t recommend it for a M&G picture, though.

Sadly, with pictures now taken, our time had come to an end. After stepping aside after my picture, I had moved out of the way and was standing just inside a row of the aisle close to where we had posed for our pictures. Jerome began to lead Clay out, and luckily they started walking down the aisle in which I was standing. I had regained enough mental capacity by then so that I and a few others were able to get a hug from him on his way out. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!

If you’ve made it this far, I’m impressed at your fortitude. I guess my final summation is this: I’m not sure why I, a reasonably intelligent and articulate person (reasonably being the operative word there) turn into an immature, simpering, obnoxious idiot when the man is around. But, I’m willing to have more opportunities to find out. All in the name of research, y’all.
ALWAYS AND FOREVER-UNCONDITIONALLY!!!

Marilyn

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Re: WESTBURY, NY-CAPITAL ONE BANK THEATER 02/26/2011
« Reply #107 on: March 02, 2011, 08:47:17 PM »
mercedes clarified:

If its ok I will speak for ncwannabe. He said he is not quitting and in no way did he sound like someone else had the power. He looked at us and said," well, I am not quitting." This was in response to me saying I was worried and we don't want him to go away. He wasn't sharing any other info but he wanted us to know he is not going anywhere. I hope this helps...

and from ncwannabee- the original poster:

Hi!

I had signed off of CV here at work and I'm trying hard to get out of here, but I looked at my Blackberry and saw there is a bit of a question about his last statement in my recap. So I logged back on!

I, in no way whatsoever, took the statement to be anything other than him trying to make it perfectly clear that he is not quitting. I think he stated it in that manner because he wanted it to be clear that he had not entertained such a decision. I also had absolutely no impression that he was being pressured by outside forces to quit

Matter of fact, I think he may be more determined than ever to stay in the game. I think he now considers this his career - a career in which he fully intends to excel. Maybe in the first few years it was more of a lark, but he's learned a lot and I now think this is his life and this is what he does and this is what he is - an entertainer.
ALWAYS AND FOREVER-UNCONDITIONALLY!!!

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