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2005-08-07 - 10:11 p.m.
Broad's Eye View Report - VALDOSTA - 08/06/05
ON THE ROAD AGAIN WITH THE ERBIN LEGEND...
(The Erbin = Erin & Robin, for all you non-Broads who read my site)
I use to live in Valdosta, Georgia while I attended Valdosta State University. So when I heard that Clay would be coming to Valdosta (that's pronounced Val-Dah-Sta, not Val-Doe-Sta for all you Yankees), Georgia of all places, I was very excited to go back to my old stomping ground.
I picked Robin up late Saturday morning and we ran to Wal-Mart to buy shoe polish to decorate my car (which is NOT an f'n minivan) before hitting the road.
We met Wendy, Mr. Wendy and their handsome boys in Valdosta and grabbed some lunch/dinner before the show.
As always, it was sweltering hot in Valdosta and by the time we took our seats we were dripping wet. Actually to give you an idea of just how hot and sticky that concert area was, Robin and I had purchased cotton candy and the minute you took it out of the bag it would start melting just from the moisture in the air. Very freaky to see your cotton candy turning dark and shrinking before your eyes.
Robin and I had 10th row seats, with which we were relatively pleased. Wendy was sitting in the general admission area (on the 5th row) with a friend from Florida. However when the show started there were tons of empty seats in the first 5 rows. Those rows were for season ticket holders at Wild Adventures (where the concert was held) and apparently a lot of the season ticket holders weren't there.
The show started and Clay strutted out. When I saw the show in Atlanta on Tuesday I was too far back to realize the attitude and seriousness with which Clay is walking out on stage. He was Mr. Diva and The Punisher rolled up into one. It was over the top attitute and he didn't break a smile once. Clay was into the persona of a "greaser" summoning his chicks. It was one of the hottest things I've ever seen him do.
A few minutes into the show Clay said, "All you guys dancing in the back, why don't you come up front? We'd love to see you dancing up here instead of all these empty seats." I was expecting a mad dash of crazy teen fans to come running by us, but nobody did. Instead Robin and I looked at each other and said, "Let's go."
I'm so glad that my best friend is a ballsy gal who isn't afraid to break a few rules now and then. So we scooted out of our row and up to the 5th row. We sat there for a few seconds until I realized that there were 5 empty seats on the front row just begging to be filled. Another sneak attack ensued.
And there we were in the front row, reliving the good time we had in Memphis almost exactly two years ago!
Clay was in the middle of his Elvis medley and having his way with that microphone stand while we started pinching ourselves to see if this was really happening.
Two minutes later and this cocky a-hole security guard was in our faces demanding that we show him our tickets. We tried to explain to the guard that Clay Aiken had specifically told us to come up there (snerk), but he wouldn't have it and demanded that we return to our seats. Knowing that he didn't actually know where our seats were, we only moved back to the 6th row where there were plenty of empty seats.
It seems to me like the last thing an artist would want to see is 50 empty chairs at the front of his/her concert, but the people in Valdosta, Georgia aren't that bright.
Once we finally settled on some seats, Robin and I started to savor each and every warm tender morsel that was the Valdosta Jukebox Tour concert...Clay fanning himself and occassionally wiping a bit of sweat off of his face; bugs flying around his head and him finally killing one on his white suit while singing "Mandy"; Clay doing his bobblehead dance during "Can't Buy Me Love; and announcing that while he couldn't dance he did "have some funk" and then lifted up his arm and sniffed his armpit. The sniffing of the armpits live and in person, gah!
Clay came out into the audience again to find a man to come be the extra "Pip". While making his way back to the stage, Clay quickly turned around and grabbed this grandma who was about half-way back and pulled her up front and put her in the first few rows so that she wouldn't have to stand the whole time to see. It was so sweet.
The hottest thing about "When Doves Cry" last night was at the very end when Clay went up the little steps in the back he reached down to grab hold of his pants leg, but actually grabbed the crotch. (Not his actual crotch, just the jeans' crotch). Even though it was accident, it was hotter than hot and Robin and I could not believe we were witnessing such a thing.
Despite the unbearable heat and bugs, Clay put on a fantastic show. He brought out bossy!in-charge!Clay! during the 90's bit by telling us: "And see this is my favorite part of the show 'cause I just got dressed in 20 seconds. And I'm tired. And I like to let them (back-up singers Jacob, Angela and Quiana) entertain me for a minute. So we're going to watch this for a second. (Clay is buttoning the cuffs of his sleeves and looking very amused with himself). Cause they're hot, and they have to do whatever I tell them to." God, I love it when he's snarky.
I really love hearing Clay sing the Rick Astley song "Never Gonna Give You Up," he pulls out his low notes, even if he's dancing like an orangutang (according to Robin). And I love to watch him move that sinewy body to "Livin' La Vida Loca."
So the concert was going just wonderfully, Clay was doing his thing, Robin and I were enjoying it from the 6th row when at about 9:30 just right after Clay finishes the 1990's part of the show and is getting ready to introduce the 2000's, about 30 or so young fans rush to the stage. You could tell it frightened Clay a bit as he jumped back. But he handled it very well exclaiming, "What are you doing? Is this something you do here at a certain time in the show?"
Robin and I were dumbstruck. She turned to me and said, "What are they doing?" I had no idea what had just happened. Then Robin said, "What are WE doing?" Next thing I know we're grabbing our belongings and running up there to join them. At that moment the crowd was only one person thick along the entire security barrier. So Robin and I found a place near the middle and were just one person back from the stage. It was the closest we've been to him since Memphis, at least for any prolonged amount of time. Afterall, Robin has touched the Aiken, twice! *darts jealous eyes her way*
It was friggin' unbelievable! We had just bum-rushed the stage at a Clay Aiken concert!
While he was standing up there remarking about the audience being piled up at the front, Clay asked if this was one of those situations where he could fall down into the audience and we hold him up (he was trying to describe crowd surfing). For a half-second I had this wonderful fantasy of Clay Aiken crowd surfing at his own concert, being passed around and groped by his fans. Hee hee.
Then Clay said he was going to take a request and asked the audience if there were a song from the 50's, 60's, etc. that they hadn't covered that we would like to hear. People started screaming and Clay threatened to go "teacher-mode" on us. Ooooh, school me, Clay. School me, please!
I couldn't believe that Clay was doing an extra song for us, what a treat! The young girl standing directly in front of me and Robin politely raised her hand. Clay saw her and walked over and then...sat down right in front of us. For a minute we thought he was going to jump down and I could feel my eyes start to get a little looney. But instead he just dangled those long legs over the edge. Robin and I were mesmerized. We couldn't even take a picture. He's beauty is indescribable. Even if he had a big red bug bite/zit on the left side of his forehead. Not until after the Aiken turned his face was I able to collect my thoughts and snap a picture.
Just look at that sweaty boy!
The young lady requested "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)" which we haven't heard Clay sing since the American Idol days. I don't know if this is something new that Clay will be doing at each show (asking for audience requests), but it sure did feel special to have that extra bit of time with him.
Clay then sang his medley from MOAM followed by two new songs that potentially could be on his new album. The night before (Friday night) I had stayed online with Lisa reading reports about the new song "1000 Days" that Clay sang at the Cary, NC show. We stayed up until 2 am waiting for Clack finally receiving an mp3 of the new song. We listened and I thought it was kind of boring. I've been obsessively in love with "Back for More" since the day I heard it and "Just You" has actually moved to me tears, but this third new song wasn't doing much for me. Lisa said that maybe I needed to hear it in person to really know for sure how I felt. Well, even though the lyrics are a tad corny, Clay rocked this song. It was not in any way, shape or form boring. I was pumping my fist and singing along. It was fantastic!
Then it was time for "Back for More" or what we can call making one of my dreams come true. I've been wanting to rock out at a Clay Aiken concert, general admission style, not having to conform to any rules about where to stand and just letting loose. And last night in Valdosta, Georgia we did just that. There was fist pumping and I even saw (and partook in) lots of devil horns. it was fantastic. And I think Clay might have enjoyed it a tiny bit. I know the audience being up there and a tad out of control freaked him out some, but we were very well behaved considering. I didn't see anyone try to grab for him or pushing or squishing people. There were a pair of panties thrown up. It was fantabulous.
It was amazing to be that close to him, we were postively beside ourselves. At one point Robin hit me excitedly and yelled into my ear, "Oh my God, I just saw the bottom of his shoe. I just saw Clay Aiken's tread!"
We rocked to "Invisible" and waved our goodbyes. Confetti shot everywhere and Robin was able to grab some for us to remember this most wonderful night by.
We slowly filed out and joined back up with Wendy displaying the biggest sh*t-eating grins ever. Then we called Nelle to tell her all about it!
This morning we made one quick drive by my alma mater so I could show Robin where I lived and then we headed back home in a state of bliss.
Thank you Robin for enduring physical pain to go to this concert with me. I owe you again for the most wonderful Clay Aiken concert experience ever! I love you!
Soundtrack of my day: Clay Aiken and Robin's awesome homemade cd's
Last night I....rocked out at a Clay Aiken concert!
