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ClayManiacs.com  |  Archive  |  Tried and True Tour 2011  |  PITTSBURGH, PA-Carnegie Music Hall in Homestead 02/18/2011
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Author Topic: PITTSBURGH, PA-Carnegie Music Hall in Homestead 02/18/2011  (Read 38947 times)

Marilyn

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Re: PITTSBURGH, PA-Carnegie Music Hall in Homestead 02/18/2011
« Reply #105 on: February 20, 2011, 10:11:49 AM »
ALWAYS AND FOREVER-UNCONDITIONALLY!!!

Marilyn

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Re: PITTSBURGH, PA-Carnegie Music Hall in Homestead 02/18/2011
« Reply #106 on: February 21, 2011, 11:39:45 PM »
oldmoviegal

Where do I begin?

I’m finally back from Pittsburgh, where I was able to combine last Friday’s concert with a family reunion. I never got any proper time at a computer to post a recap, but I wanted to assemble a few of my thoughts about the concert before the whole thing melts into a euphoric buzz and I can’t recall any of the details.

This was my only show of this tour, but my oh my, what a night it was! I already recapped some of this on the cellcert, but I have been kicking around the little moments that made up such a spectacular evening. Best of all was my seat, which was front row center and superduperclose to the stage – it gave me a completely unrestricted view of Clay and the whole stage, and it allowed for some great interactions with Clay (seriously, pinch me, because it all seemed like a dream). So you’ve seen how he looked (gorgeous), how he sounded (awesome), and how he danced the mambo for, like, three seconds. Which means I’m just going to collect up some of my memories and impressions, and throw them out there in random order, in case any of this hasn’t been covered yet. . . .

The Theme from Love Story is absolutely stunning. Worth the ticket price, the airfare, the six-hour delay on the tarmac at O’Hare, the whole thing. He could have taken a bow when it was over and walked off the stage, and I still would have felt like I’d had a complete concert experience.

About midway through the show, he started joking about the raked stage (which was pretty steep) – said that his abs would be tired tomorrow from all of the exertion. Quiana said that he should lift up his shirt and show his abs, but alas, he declined (insert frowny emoticon here). Later, when he came back on stage to sing Crying, he did a little Chaplinesque series of hops that made it look like he was losing his balance on the slanted surface – terribly cute, and demonstrated what an agile physical comedian he is.

When he was talking about Top 40 radio, he asked who people listened to – Justin Bieber, Kings of Leon, Bruno Mars (my suggestion) – he said that it pained him to say it but Justin Bieber wasn’t that bad of a singer, and then (he gestured to me) he said that Bruno Mars is a very talented vocalist. This is when someone on the side said that they listened to Liza Minnelli, and he said, “They play Liza Minnelli on the Top 40 radio station here? This is the most homosexual city ever!” The person then said that they also played Clay’s records, and he responded, “My statement still stands.” Bwah! Someone else called out that they listened to the Jonas Brothers, and he asked if there was a particular song – they replied, That’s the Way We Roll. Clay smirked, repeated the title, and said, “Doesn’t that just scream art to you?” And then he said that he was going to sing a bit of a song using AutoTune, because “that’s the way I roll.” Double bwah!

I hadn’t watched any clack before my concert, although I had listened to everything – so I hadn’t realized, until Clay pointed it out, that the band is equipped with iPads instead of traditional music stands. He said that Ben had dragged them into the 21st century by incorporating more technology, and Del turned his stand around and gave a demonstration of how they just tap the screen to turn the page.

Speaking of Del. . .when Clay was introducing the band, he mentioned that Felix had become an avid golfer – “like Tiger Woods, but with a happy marriage. . .yeah, that’ll end up on YouTube.” And then he asked Del if he golfed – and Del responded with a joke, about what happens to old golfers: they don’t die, they just lose their balls. Clay repeated it for the crowd, since Del didn’t have a microphone, but then the punchline seemed to sink in, because Clay doubled over laughing at what he just said.

After Crying, Clay talked in such glowing terms about Quiana – said, “We can have a whole conversation with our eyes during a song.” He said that she is his favorite person to duet with, the best voice he knew, and the singer he knows best when they are singing. It was really sweet, and also very sincere – they have great chemistry together. (While they were singing Crying, there were a couple of spots where Clay was making small gestures to Quiana with his fingers, almost conducting and letting her know where he was going to go with a note.) Clay also told the story about how, the night before in Knoxville, he had come onstage from the other side because something was going on backstage that blocked his path – and he said, “You know how, in a really long marriage, you get used to sleeping on one side of the bed? I’m so accustomed to singing that song with Quiana on my left that I almost couldn’t remember the words when I was on the other side. So it was good to be back on my side tonight.”

Unchained Melody was magnificent – seeing this live is always amazing, because it’s like watching an elaborate magician’s trick and trying to figure out how exactly they do it. It’s like he’s levitating, or making an elephant disappear, or walking the high wire without a net. The effect is truly shocking, and the crowd responded with sincere appreciation. I should also mention that, when he was introducing the song and talking about the arrangement, the audience was completely absorbed – and, when he got to the final line, “And now I have my own version to sing,” people sort of gasped, and a murmur ran through the crowd. I’ve always thought this was a dramatic and well-crafted line, a mission statement of sorts. But I realized, when hearing the reaction of the audience, exactly how potent that line is – and how well it sets up the amazing performance that follows it.

When he came out for the encore and explained that he was going to switch up the songs because his throat was getting sore, and then began to sing Both Sides Now, I thought I was going to swoon. I said on the cellcert that it was like finding a unicorn in my backyard, and I really didn’t mean that as a joke. It truly was like stumbling upon something rare and beautiful and unexpected. It made an already perfect night – a clear, crisp, windy night with a perfect full moon – seem even more special and lovely.

Then, when he was doing the intro to In My Life, he started pointing out people who were holding cell phones, and explained to the audience (which was at least half NJU) about the concept of cellcerts. Since I was sitting right in front of him, and he saw my phone, he asked me who was on the other end. So I said, “Oh, some friends.” And he laughed, “Friendssss? As long as there are empty seats, they should have bought a ticket.” Felix exclaimed, “The whole family came on one ticket!” Clay laughed and said to the audience, “You have to understand, right now there are people on the internet who are listening and typing out every word we say. Someone just typed” – and here he mimed typing, and imitated a very prissy female voice – “Felix just said that the whole family came on one ticket. Enter.” And he made a very exaggerated gesture of hitting the “enter” button with his index finger. It was hilarious. . .and then I realized he was asking me why my “friends” didn’t buy tickets! So I replied, “Oh, they buy tickets, alright. They’re not just claim-jumpers!” And Clay exploded – “Flame-jumpers?!?” Huge laughter, and Ben told him, no, claim-jumpers. And Clay said, with great mock outrage, “I thought, what did she just call me??” It was hilarious, and wildly surreal at the same time. (I think it’s safe to say that this was the high point of 2011 for me, and one of the best moments of the past 8 years as a Clay fan.)

The whole night was just. . .magic. It couldn’t have been more perfect if I had written the script. And I feel giddier than I have in a long time – somehow, on that stage in Pittsburgh, my longtime pretend boyfriend has become my brand-new crush.
ALWAYS AND FOREVER-UNCONDITIONALLY!!!

Marilyn

  • ANN News Team
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  • THE EPITOME OF DECORUM
Re: PITTSBURGH, PA-Carnegie Music Hall in Homestead 02/18/2011
« Reply #107 on: March 09, 2011, 08:15:37 PM »
The following Scarlett clips from the Pittsburgh concert were also uploaded:

Where Do I Begin: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPyS1kceswQ

Opening Show Banter: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALbAWrPGwlw

There's A Kind Of Hush: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L60epJ89fW4

Can't Take My Eyes Off You: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u63Td3jurWw

Misty: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OB0kSuWJ5u8

ALWAYS AND FOREVER-UNCONDITIONALLY!!!

ClayManiacs.com  |  Archive  |  Tried and True Tour 2011  |  PITTSBURGH, PA-Carnegie Music Hall in Homestead 02/18/2011
 

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