2005-11-12 - 4:53 p.m.
My Northwest BEVR
or
What an Opening...Night
The last time I drove down to Seattle, it was to go to the airport so that I could travel another 3000 miles each way to see Clay Aiken perform his Jukebox Tour in New England. While I was driving, Clay was performing that very show in Toronto. When I arrived in Seattle, I found out that he’d announced to his mostly Canadian audience that he’d be starting his Joyful Noise Tour in Vancouver BC. (“EEEEEEEEEE!”)
On November 2nd. (“Oh.”)
That’s a little early for a Christmas concert, isn’t it? Even Clay acknowledged that when he said, “You’ll have to take down your Halloween decorations really quickly.”
I had a little fun on the boards with the Hallowismas thing, and wondered which Clay I’d be getting at my concert, the Dark Spirit of All Hallowed’s Eve, or the Angelic Spirit of Christmas? For the record, I’m willing to accommodate Clay’s spirit whatever its incarnation.
In that spirit (hee!) I’m really subtitling this Vancouver/Seattle BEVR Naughty or Nice.
Yes, I know I’ve already subtitled it up above, but if you know anything about me by now, it’s that I live in a very warped reality. Also, do not be alarmed by the pictures I’ve displayed throughout this BEVR. Yes, I took them with my very own camera. No, my talents know no bounds, either upper or lower. I may have blinded Clay with my beauty (though thankfully he didn’t trip on any equipment backstage this time), but I did not blind him with my flash. Neither did I use the correct setting on my camera. I really shouldn’t go out unsupervised.
Naughty: Constantly pulling crappy tickets in the Vancouver presale, but somehow buying four of them anyway.
Nice: Getting one good single seat in the regular Vancouver ticket sales
Naughty: Taking my whole family with me to Opening Night, but not sitting with any of them.
Nice: I was the closest to Clay that I’ve been since Indiana last summer! And even closer in the fifth row than I was in my Seattle second row seat.
Naughty: Hearing that Clay wrote some “vignettes” for this show and seriously worrying about how much they’d suck.
Nice: Realizing they didn’t suck at all! My boyfriend is talented, y’all!
Naughty: My thoughts about the handsome man in the sparkly black suit.
Naughtier: My thoughts about the handsome man in the sparkly black suit when I later found out that he was playing the part of an angel.
Nice: Clay’s sparkly black suit, which only lasted two shows, may it rest in peace.
Nicer: Clay singing MDYK with the words in the correct order. Apparently, his lyric cheat sheet was in the pocket of the sparkly black suit, because he’s only ever sung that song correctly live while he was wearing it. Two times, y’all.
Nicest: Clay’s voice. Guh. It just keeps getting better and better.
*cue the tinkly music as Clay switches the scene around*
Nice: Not having to travel to the east coast for a concert.
Naughty: My internal maniacal laughter as I think about the east coast folks listening to a cellstream after midnight! Mwahahahaha.
Nice: Clay’s magic hand movements.
Naughty: How I’d like to experience Clay’s magic hand movements up close and very personal.
Nice: Seeing Faye Parker in person for the first time and thinking how proud she must be of her handsome talented son.
Naughty: Seeing Faye Parker in person for the first time and thinking about how much I want to do her handsome talented son.
Nice: Clay’s angelic white suit.
Naughty: My thoughts about the man in the angelic white suit.
Nice: Hearing Celebrate Me Home the first time Clay’s ever performed it live, and then hearing it on continual loop in my own head because it was just so frickin’ extraordinary.
Nicer: Finding out that nearly everyone else, including folks listening on the cellstream, were also blown away by that performance.
Naughty: How Clay’s growling made me feel from my head to my toes.
Nice: Seeing Clay thank Stephen Curtis Chapman for the use of O Come O Come Emmanuel in the tour program, a song which I’ve been dying to hear Clay sing again.
Naughty: My initial reaction when I realized Jacob was singing it.
Nice: Jacob’s rendition of O Come O Come Emmanuel.
Nice: Sleighride. It’s my favorite song on Clay’s Christmas album, after MDYK. The sit-down dancing was a blast and Clay’s vocals were perfect.
Nicer: Pairing that song with the utter joy and fun of Jingle Bells. I was bouncing in my seat the whole time.
Naughty: Laughing a little at Clay when he did his first après-Sleighride wall mount in Vancouver. He’d obviously landed a little too hard on his bottom, and had to jump up and down a couple of times to shake it off.
Naughtier: My thoughts on soothing his aching bottom, especially when combined with my thoughts on Clay “shaking it off.”
Naughty: Hearing the opening strains of the Christmas Waltz and groaning. Why oh why would Clay reprise that horrible song? Surely he’s no longer sucking up to or snarking on Clive Davis.
Nice: Clay’s phenomenal new treatment of that song. The dancing is so sweet and endearing, and his angel is allowed to become slightly devilish. He and the song are simply perfect.
Naughty: Getting royally ticked at some people who decided to leave during Good News and who were totally blocking my view of Clay on the stage in Seattle.
Nice: Realizing the people blocking my view were Quiana, Angela, and Jacob. They also stood right next to me in Vancouver and it’s cool to be able to hear them actually singing without the benefit of the sound system. They are amazingly talented.
Naughty: The way some other fans made me feel when I mentioned that I was watching the dancers and not Clay. I’m still having trouble navigating this whole “Bad Fan” thing.
Nice: Realizing that even though I wasn’t always watching Clay, I was watching his creation unfold in front of me, and I found it as captivating as I normally find him.
Nice: Clay’s Joyful Noise Tour of 2004.
Nicer: Clay’s Joyful Noise Tour of 2005.
Nicest: Experiencing Clay’s Joyful Noise Tour in both my cities, and hearing Clay say the name of my specific suburban city, as his first local actors hailed from here.
Naughty: Having to go to work the day after both shows. Ugh. I've never done that before.
Nice: Sharing Opening Night with Clay and my family, even if we weren’t sitting together.
Nicer: Sharing an amazing Seattle concert experience with a healthy Clay and some very good friends.
Nicest: Actually being in the Christmas spirit a week after Halloween. That’s the power of The Aiken and his magical angel, whether he’s wearing black or white.
In summary, I realize that while most of my thoughts are still naughty, they make me feel awfully nice. And isn’t that what the Hallowismas spirit is really all about?
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