BeaversOnIdol.com - "We ain't seen nothin' yet"

Clay Aiken's Jukebox Tour
by Linda Lanshe (2005/08/15)

Just who is Clay Aiken? Is he a ballad singer? Is he a pop singer? Can he rock out? That question was answered when I had the pleasure of attending two of Clay Aiken's Jukebox Tour concerts, Darien Lakes, NY, and Wolftrap, VA.

I had watched a few videos from the Toms River, NJ, show so I knew what to expect, or at least I thought I did. But what I saw on that stage blew me away. Here's a 26-year-old guy, just 2-1/2 years into his career, and the professionalism and complexity of his newest tour is that of a seasoned veteran.

Aiken covers the past 60 years of Rock N Roll, starting in the 50's and ending in the future. I understand that he chose the songs based on Fred Bronson's "Billboard Book of Number One Hits." Michael Orland, the Musical Director on American Idol arranged the songs with a cohesiveness that makes the entire concert flow effortlessly. The opening is rather simple, a lighted jukebox appears on stage, his band members nonchalantly walk out and asks the audience, "Should I put a quarter in it?"

"We Built this City on Rock 'N Roll'." Aha! The Jukebox skips...

"On Rock 'n Roll"

"On Rock 'n Roll"

"On Rock 'n Roll"

"On Rock 'n Roll"

And out walks Aiken channeling the Fonz, dressed in a black leather jacket, black pants, escorting Laverne and Shirley, or perhaps the Pink Ladies, Angela and Quiana, his back-up vocalists. They pause at the jukebox, listen, then Aiken licks his fingers, stands next to the jukebox, up goes his arm, fist clenched, and POUNDS that jukebox into submission, letting it know who's boss and the show begins.

The music hits you like a wall of sound, non stop, wave after wave of rock n roll, sung by a guy who maybe a lot of people didn't know could sing rock n roll. Well, guess what? Aiken took the songs of the 50's, revved them up and powered them out like a rebel with a cause, Aiken-style. Starting with Twistin the Night Away, to At the Hop, Johnny B. Goode, Rockin' Robin, The Great Pretender, Mr. Sandman, That'll Be the Day, Great Balls of Fire, and Rock n Roll is here to Stay, Aiken made his way through the 50's as if he's lived them. His Great Balls of Fire was sung atop the piano, with hip thrusts, on pointe, and was amazing to experience. I say experience, not watch, because one has to experience this performance to appreciate it, one can't merely sit back and watch, it's impossible, and Aiken won't let you passively enjoy this show, he forces you to become as involved as he is.

The set quiets down as Aiken sings Unchained Melody, a hold-over from American Idol and a real crowd-pleaser, but he doesn't let you get too settled in, oh, no, not Aiken. So what does he do? He takes on the King and he out-Elvised, Elvis. Sitting at the piano, Aiken accompanies himself singing Love Me Tender. Now, Love me Tender is a patented Elvis song, no one's really ever covered that song, at least not on the radio that I remember, but does that stop Aiken from trying? The man's got guts. His Elvis medley tackles a lot of Elvis' major hits, the aforementioned Love me Tender, Hound Dog, Blue Suede Shoes, Don't Be Cruel, Heartbreak Hotel, Jailhouse Rock, and the exquisite I Can't Help Falling in Love With You, and ending with a full version of Suspicious Minds. I never would have thought that Clay Aiken would not only have tackled Elvis, but that he would channel Elvis so well. Aiken doesn't imitate Elvis, Aiken becomes Elvis, Aiken out-sings Elvis, and Aiken makes you believe that he's lived with those songs his entire life. Yeah, he's that good.

Aiken continues with his version of Solitaire and makes his way through the 60's, covering The Beatles, The Monkeys, The Turtles, and ends his first set singing a Motown medley. Then he lets us rest during a 20 minute intermission. We need it.

The second half of the concert isn't as strong, in total, as the first half, but there are some gems that just won't be ignored. Aiken's 70's set brings us audience interaction, some disco, some Bee Gees, the wonderful Bridge Over Troubled Water and a low-key, beautifully sung version of Manilow's Mandy. My only fault with the 70's set is that an entire segment of music was ignored. One critic asked in a review, “Didn't Aiken ever own a Led Zeppelin album?” I also wonder why Aiken left out some of the most ground-breaking music of that era.

Prince's When Doves Cry has to be mentioned even though Aiken already covered this song during his Independent Tour in the Spring of 2004. He and his back-up vocalists start the song off in choir robes, fooling the "Un-Clayed" in the audience that it was a religious or spiritual song, until those robes are ripped off and Aiken turns on the sensuality with back-up Angela Fisher, doing a bit of dirty dancing that have the women in the audience swooning, for want of a better word.

The 80's set includes a terrific Rock with You by back-up Jacob Luttrell, who not only sings this song wonderfully, but dances and entertains us with Michael Jackson-esque moves that are a real crowd–pleaser. Aiken sings a powerful Alone by Heart, and ends the set with a softly sung, 4-part harmony on Christopher Cross' Sailing.

The 90's set surprises us, once again, with Aiken's song choices. You Can't Touch brings out Aiken's rapier wit and personality, Black Velvet showcases Angela Fisher's command of this song, and End of the Road is a masterpiece of soaring harmonies by all four singers. The next two songs are, perhaps, the most surprising, The Goo Goo Dolls Iris and Ricky Martin's Livin' La Vida Loca. Both songs garner screams from the audience, yet Aiken does a fantastic job singing what could be outside his comfort level. This set ends with the haunting Bonnie Raitt song, I Can't Make You Love Me. Aiken sits alone under a spotlight and plaintively sings the shiznitz out of this song, evoking a longing for a love that just won't or can't love you back. As the spotlight dies on Aiken, Quiana Parler quietly takes the stage for what could be a career-making performance of Whitney Houston's I Will Always Love You. You can hear a pin drop during her rendition of this song and at the end, the crowd surges to its feet, giving her a well-deserved standing ovation.

As the show closes, Aiken sings a few of his songs from his multi-platinum album, 2003's "Measure of a Man,"
and introduces a few new songs. The crowd loves Back for More as evidenced by the head-bobbing and the fist pumping. The two new slow to mid-tempo songs he introduces are Just You and 1000 Days. These songs are perhaps a bit harder for the audience to get into, as they come after the crowd-pleasing Back for More, but Aiken, again, sings the shiznitz out of them. Aiken ends with his hit song, Invisible and the crowd soars to its feet, loving both the song and the singer.

Some observations about this show: The energy that Aiken brings into a venue is absolutely amazing. From young girls, to teens, to the twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, sixty, seventy and older-somethings, to husbands, to the families, Aiken brings something for everyone. The diversity of an Aiken crowd is truly a phenomenon in my concert going experience. Not only can Aiken sing, he nails his songs with passion and professionalism, yet not only does he have fun on stage, he makes his audience participate in the concert as if they were a part of the show. Aiken is not just a singer, not just a performer, but he is truly an entertainer. This show is the best of his short career and if this is any indication of what is yet to come, hold on to your hats because we ain't seen nothin' yet.

Linda is a Registered Representative and an amateur musician, living in Allentown PA. Comments on this article may be