Reliving Jukebox 2005: Clio, Michigan; Clio Amphitheatre

August 13...Clio Amphitheatre...Clay Aiken's 13th show...But 13 was not to be an unlucky number for Clay or his fans. In fact, Clay rocked the house with his singing, dancing, and his snarky humor!

Clay and his entourage made the 60 mile trek from Rochester Hills to Clio, Michigan in about an hour. I'm sure that long trip wore them out!!

The Clio Area Amphitheatre is an outdoor performing arts facility with an over all seating capacity of 3130 seats, with 2130 of those being reserved seating. It has attracted acts such as Michael Bolton, Semisonic, and, of course, our very own Clay Aiken!

The Flint Journal Review said that there were "about 2,500 people at the 3,100-seat venue. Make that a crowd of about 2,475 women and 25 men, a lopsided fan base that didn't go unnoticed by Aiken." The Review went on to say that Clay said to the men, "I know you've either been bribed, threatened or tortured to be here." As always, that Clay humor makes all his shows more fun!

The Performance

As always, every song in a Clay concert is memorable. But some of them always stand out in one way or another. One highlight, according to one fan, was I Can't Make You Love Me. SoliTaire52 said, "I think only one fan yelled anything during this song. The audience sat mesmerized, with Clay's voice floating, wrapping itself around us, and touching the deepest part of our souls, leaving us wanting more." Unchainedmelody said that all the songs were sung to perfection, including When Doves Cry, and that Clay "gave it respect and justice." She also thought Unchained Melody, Mandy, and Solitaire were all beautiful. She doesn't usually like Mandy, but she did Clay's version!

Another comment made was that the new songs were well received by the audience. "1000 Days sounds better each time I hear it. It's beautiful. And - Back For More needs to be on the radio, the radio, the radio....right NOW!!!!" Claysawesome thought that Clay's voice is "the absolute best that there is around...He can sing anything. I loved Great Balls of Fire and the Elvis Medley! Just WOW!"

Clay's backup singers were also enjoyed by many. I think he has some of the best backup singers around. Claysawesome said, "The backup singers did a fabulous job. Besides having great voices, Angela and Quiana seem like such nice and funny ladies, it's no wonder Clay keeps them with him through each tour. I enjoyed Jacob's songs as well." Unchainedmelody commented on Jacob, "I just have to mention Jacob and the Michael Jackson song. That was fabulous. You forget how good Michael was at one time and Jacob had every dance move down to perfection."

As you can see, there's something for everyone at Clay's performances. That powerful Aiken voice raises the roof! And that beautiful and gentle voice emotes in a way that brings out feelings we don't realize we have. Every performance by Clay is amazing, whether he's singing, dancing, or bantering with the audience.

Stump The Band
No Stump The Band in Clio

The Fans
The fans were "on" that night in Clio. The Flint Journal Review said that, "from the time Aiken stepped onto the stage dressed as The Fonz, licking his thumbs and bumping a "malfunctioning" jukebox with his forearm, the Claymates were on their feet and screaming. Fans sat silently only when Aiken belted out ballads." To me, this is typical of all Clay shows. Its hard not to show our adoration without standing screaming out our love for him! He just brings out the excitement in us!

Some of the fans that were at the concert took note of the electricity in the atmosphere. SoliTaire52 said that "Clio had a much better crowd than Meadowbrook. Meadowbrook is a beautiful ampitheatre and the concert was wonderful, don't get me wrong, but there was just something "different" about tonight vs last night. I do believe it was the crowd. They were on their feet from the first!"

Nmktchick had some great comments and the chemistry between Clay and the fans:

He was on fire last night. He seemed to feed off of the energy of the crowd and he gave it right back to us. Pretty early in the concert when Clay was talking he said, "Wow, you guys are close. Its kinda freaking me out a little", or something like that. Thats why we seemed like family to him last night. He was indeed very yappy last night, it was like being at a comedy show."

I love what The Flint Journal Review said about the fans:

Covering the 1950s and '60s during the first hour of the show, Aiken embraced the aw-shucks corny factor that made him a star on Season 2 of "Idol" - think judge Simon Cowell telling him to never dance again - and he ran with it, knowing that each shake of his tush and wink of an eye would send the crowd into a frenzy. A jump on the piano during "Great Balls of Fire" had women fanning themselves. In addition to seeing Aiken's ever-improving dance skills and his ability to play the piano, fans got to hear quite the range in his voice, often amazing listeners with low tones that many didn't know he had. He adapted well to the style and sound of each artist whose songs he sang, but in true "American Idol" fashion, he, well, made it his own.
He also unselfishly helped his fantastic band and three phenomenal backup singers make things their own, often singing backup for them.

But there was no doubt that Aiken was the heartthrob star of the show. His grinding dance with a backup singer during his version of Prince's "When Doves Cry" during the '80s segment had many swooning.

"This is too much for my heart," said Jean Roman, 65, of Toledo, who had never attended a concert until Aiken stole her heart on "Idol" in 2003. The Clio show was the third Aiken concert she had attended in a week.

It was Aiken's six-song set of his own works at the end of the show that garnered the biggest applause of the evening, proving that while he has built a 2005 tour around songs of the past, he's going to have plenty of fans in the future.

As you can see, this seems to be one of the more exciting concerts between Clay and the fans that there was. Makes me wish I had been there!!

Classic Clay Moments

You want some classic Clay moments? Well, you've got them aplenty at this concert. I'll save the best for last, even though it happened toward the beginning of the show.

During the 70's part of the show, Clay always finds one of the "few" men in the audience who looks like they aren't having fun there and would rather be home watching a repeat of "Designing Women". He then has them come on stage to dress up and dance to "Carwash" with his backup singers. Well, Clay did something different tonight. It just so happened that Miss Michigan was in the audience, so he asked her to come on stage for this part of the show. Treyclay says, "She was great! She put the crown on the afro wig and had BIG sunglasses and several boas.... and she danced real funky and almost... well, she did... steal the show from Angela and Quiana on this song. They were watching her with eyes wide and enjoyed the heck out of her."

Another highlight to leiningerm was when Clay saw all the signs that said "Touch". Well, we all know how he feels about that song! Leiningerm said, "I'm sure you've seen the clips of that, when he paced the stage, telling everyone to "hold them high." Then he sounded like he was challenging us, that "if everyone in the audience holds up a sign," (looking SO VERY SERIOUS like he meant every word--we
were on the edges of our seats) then the snark...'I still will NOT sing that song!'" Looks to me like Clay is sticking to his word on this one!

One more highlight, and you all will remember and love this one. Clay was in a very chatty mood at this show. Maybe its because he felt everyone was so close to the stage and it was so intimate. Then, as Clay was sitting at the piano, ready to play Love Me Tender, he began what is now one of the great Clay classics. Its too good to just scan over. So here, as word for word as I could get it, is that classic Clay moment:

You people with your cameras, you’re cracking me up...there’s a lady right here -- yes I’m talking about you -- who took 20 minutes to sit down for that song because she didn’t want her camera to jolt at any point while her camera was videoing it, because, God forbid, the clack skip around (laughter and clapping) Yeah I know your words! (more laughter and cheers)

If you are video taping, please be respectful of the people who are behind you or if you are gonna stand up, make sure you don’t stand in front of them -- you know who I’m talking to.

Anyway, as we sat down together to do the set list for this show, we realized that there was somebody in the 50’s who had more #1 hits...I’m sorry, I’m just picking on you, its okay. You what? (woman says something) Oh, well see, the people behind you can’t see me now...its all good. There’s people here that are gonna be mad that I said that. There are gonna be people here that are happy that I said that. You can’t ever make anybody happy all together. I figure I should just speak my mind. Why not?

So, its like a forum here just for discussion...its a town forum. You say what you wanna say and I'll say what I wanna say, and we’ll all be happy. And this girl will video tape it and put it on the internet tonight.

What a great classic moment that will be with us for years. No one will ever forget, "God forbid the clack skip around" or "Yeah I know your words"!

What more can you say about a show like the Clio show...intimate feel, great singing, great dancing, snarky banter, Miss Michigan, and a Classic Clay Moment! What wonderful memories for those who attended and those of us who got to enjoy through that awesome clack that Clay loves!

Pictures by Karen Eh and ImFeelingit Dawg

Links

• CDD Jukebox Archives: Clio, MI
• Photos from the concert
• Flint Journal pre-concert article
  
• Flint Journal review
• Recaps from Claymates
• Clayboard cellcert
• Measure of a Fan clack
  

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken, A Thousand Different Ways, American Idol, Invisible