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2005-09-02 - 5:08 p.m.
Broad's Eye View Report - CLIO, MICHIGAN - 08/13/05
a/k/a One of the Best Days of My Life
The Cinnamon Stick Ranch
The sole reason why I flew all the way to Michigan to see Clay Aiken was to have this day. Most Broadfests are crazy...fun, but usually very chaotic. It�s usually a big rush and if we�re at a restaurant, it�s difficult to visit with everyone. Ever since hearing the reports of the Broadfest that took place last summer in Clio, I wanted to be a part of this magical place. Clio, Michigan lived up to and even surpassed all of my expectations. And by the end of the night I was promising myself that anytime Clay Aiken is in Clio, Michigan, so will I.
The afternoon was wonderful. Paula and Diana in the Lou kicked off the day of celebration by stopping by before the Clackhouse party. Shortly after Robin surprised me and called! She was very groggy but it was such a treat to hear from her.
I think everyone from the Rochester Hills concert/Broadfest was in attendance again with the addition of Grape, Cinda, Chris, Merry, IvanaTramp and IvanaTramp�s beautiful BIT. The whole afternoon was like a dream...sitting out on the patio snacking and drinking, exchanging gifts and lusting after the most beautiful boy in the world.
I want to thank everyone for all of the wonderful gifts: Jannet for the nametags, Grape for the very special bracelet (I�m still in awe of it!), Sue for the cards, m.e.e. for the African ring, Nancy in the Peg for the keychain, Nelle for the W.A.C. pin, Pats for the bookmarks, IvanaTramp�s BIT for the adorable handmade lamb, Carol in FL for the pins, and Paula in the Loo for leaving that bottle of Riesling...it was very tasty.
Carol in FL and Merry had their meet and greet that night and we were all very excited for them. Karen Eh? had shipped Plaque Mounted Clay to Jannet�s house and so PMC was able to join us at the Broadfest.
Isn�t he cute?
Karen so graciously allowed each Broad to sign his rear.
If it hadn�t been for the fact that we were seeing Clay Aiken that night, I would have never wanted the afternoon to end. To each of you pictured below (plus the Loo sisters) I love you! Thank you for sharing this day with me.
I was very happy that Katynka, Melissa, Kelly and Leah dropped by the ranch before we left for the show. Nelle and I invited them into our honeymoon suite and rolled around on the bed with them, Melissa even lett me run my fingers through her hair. I really love her hair. We switched around tickets because Kat wanted to sit with me and Nelle. Aww.
The Concert Because they had sold out of keychains the night before, Kelly, Leah, Melissa, Kat and I waited on Nelle at the merchandise stand to get her keychain. While waiting on Nelle, out of the corner of my eye I saw a man-clown approaching. I managed to squeak �What is that?� before I jumped behind Kat to protect me. Turns out it was neither a man nor a clown, but rather a �very enthusiastic� fan who was wearing an enormously tall top hat that was either decorated with rhinestones or burnt out of velvet (I wasn�t sure which) city skyline and the words �MOTOWN� emblazoned across. I think it was even lit up, but it was daytime so I�m not sure. She also had a sign taped to her back that said, �When the show starts, the hat comes off.� Well thank goodness for that. Underneath her disclaimer, her sign informed us that she was �the lady with the arms� last year in Clio. Kelly and Leah, who were at the Clio concert last year, told us that this woman had shown up last year with an over-sized mechanical arm, apparently to try to reach Clay from a long distance. Ahahahahahahahahaha! I know that I may show up in some ridiculous accessories (feather boas, tiaras, 20 lbs of pins danging from my neck) but this woman is taking concert gear to a whole new level. Bless her heart. (I saw the same woman in Toledo and was able to snag a picture of her, so be on the lookout for that in my Toledo BEVR).
I guess after seeing the enormous Motown hat, Melissa decided that a Clay Aiken bucket hat wasn�t so ridiculous. And after receiving Katynka�s approval, she bought one. I must admit that if I looked half as adorable as Melissa does in her bucket hat, I�d probably be the owner of one, too. Finally it was time to find our seats.
The Clio Ampitheater is a t-tiny amphitheater that has a steep incline resembling a cereal bowl. Because of this most of the seats are very, very good. Even though we were in the 17 or 18th row, it felt as close as the 9th or 10th row at some other venues. It was small enough for us to easily walk to the other side of the venue and visit with Kelly, Leah and Melissa or to walk down to the front row and hear about Carol in FL and Merry�s meet and greet. Merry was just about beside herself, it was so cute!
I was very excited because they had the text messaging system up for this show. I hadn�t been to a concert yet that had this feature and since it was part of the whole Jukebox Tour experience, I just had to send a text. I wrote something very simple like �Lecherous Broads for Clay Aiken!� However, Kelly and Leah entertained us with their humorous texts.
The venue was packed with internet fans. It was like one big family reunion. I visited with my friend Ficus from the Clackhouse. Nelle, Kat and I spotted Ethel. She had had a rough day and we wanted to give her a hug and tell her much we love and appreciate her. Paula and Diana in the Loo were sitting near us and Paula had the honor of doing the Clackhouse cellcert.
When Felix came out to ask for a quarter and start the show, Merry was the one who gave him the quarter! Clay came out onto the stage with that devilish attitude that I love so much.
The audience was fantastic! And Clay was really playing it up. He commented on Mrs. Loki�s camera filming and said, �God forbid the Clack skip around.� We went nuts. It was the first time we had ever heard Clay say the word Clack. (For those of read my blog and are not Clay Aiken fans the word Clack was made up by fans and refers to any picture, video, article, etc. of Clay. It�s like our crack. Clay + crack = Clack). Then Clay laughed and said, �Yeah, I know your words.� More cheers and applause. It was so cool to have this direct shout-out from Clay to the entire internet fandom. And further proof that the boy lurks at the fansites.
My one required crappy picture
After the 50's set Clay said something about many of us remember the 1950's which was met with some grumbling in the audience. He tried to cover himself by saying that his mom was around in 195....then changed his mind about giving an exact date cause he �might get a spankin.� The crowed erupted again and Clay told us to �Calm down.�
I was sitting between Kat and her man clapping and whooping and Nelle with her hand over her heart and tears flowing. I remember Kat gasped and put her hands on her chest when he first walked over to our side during �Downtown.� It�s such a treat to share a concert experience with some of your best friends on earth.
During intermission, we ran over and visited with Melissa, Kelly and Leach. They had decided they wanted Clay to sing �Love Shack� during Stump the Band. We also spotted MnM. It was really good to see MnM again and gathering Clack! We also met Mrs. Loki for the first time who was sitting with MnM.
Clay had pulled Miss Michigan who was in attendance up to play the Pip part. She did a great job dancing.
I really love those white pants that he wears for 1970's. The boy looks so good in white.
The acoustics at the Clio Amphitheater were incredible! It was the clearest I have heard Clay at a concert. When Clay sang �I Can�t Make You Love Me� I thought Nelle might explode. It was so tender and very haunting. We held one another and exchanged hugs after the performance, it was so moving. I also made note of a big moan that escaped Kat�s lips during the first ass grinding of �When Doves Cry.�
Clay did indeed treat us to another "Stump the Band" moment. There were several people in the audience holding up signs for "Touch" Clay immediately addressed them and said, "Now y'all who are holding up signs for me to sing "Touch" you can just put those down. Cause I ain't gonna sing it. Let me tell ya something about "Touch"...if every single one of you shows up holding a sign for "Touch"..... (at this point the little wheels in my brain started turning, I gasped and turned to Kat and said, "OMG, we can so do that.") But noooooo Clay Aiken had to bust our bubble and finished off with...."I still ain't singing it." Awww, that's so mean Clay! I'm beginning to think Clay did not want "Touch" on the album in the first place and he determined not to give it one more moment of his time. The boy is stubborn. Remember his trek into vegentarianism back in high school? Clay ended up singing "Build Me Up Buttercup."
This was such an incredible audience. They were loud yet respectful. It really felt like most of the venue was filled with devoted Clay fans, there was such electricity in the air. So when Clay started into his new song �1000 Days� he sang it like he did in Valdosta, which was a more rocked out version. The crowd was so amped that when he started to sing �Back for More� every one pumped their fists along to the beat of the song. It was fantastic. See Clay, you�d make such a great rock star! I only hope that we have more powerful songs like this on the new album.
I was so very sad to see this concert end, it was so amazing. But I knew that there was a good chance that Clay might come out and greet some of the fans by his bus. I got separated from Nelle and Kat as we hightailed it down to his bus. Luckily I ran into Jannet and she and I planted ourselves at the rope at the tail end of his bus. I have waited outside after a show for Clay before, but each time I�ve missed out on getting touched by him. I didn�t want to come away empty handed again. We heard the screams and knew that Clay was about to round the corner. When he did I focused solely on his hands - not wanting to accidently get passed over like I did in Dayton last summer - and sure enough bam! Clay�s forefinger and thumb connected with mine and slid across the palm of my left hand. His fingers felt very firm and dry and strong. Unfortunately, at the exact moment Aaron (Clay�s new bodyguard) wrapped his arm around Clay�s wait and pulled him back. That was it. No more greeting. Not even Jannet who was right to my left got to touch him. I was the very last one that Clay Aiken fingered.
I could not have asked for a better way to end my Clio, Michigan experience. (Well, I actually can think of some other ways, but I won�t go there).
**thanks to huskerfalcon, Tasapio, Newland and Karen Eh? for the fantastic photos
