My Summary of the Orlando Concert

Once again I’ve put off writing up my review of one of my tour concerts long enough. I reviewed Cary, but still haven’t done Ashville. But I think I’ll skip Ashville and go on to the last show of the tour, Orlando.

This is the first year I have been to both the first and the last shows of a tour. Now this is an awesome thing to be able to do. You get to see first hand what he is going to sing/do during the tour, not hear it online. Then, you get to see what goes on in the closing show, any practical jokes, all the emotion and tears. This year there weren’t any practical jokes, but there were plenty of emotions and tears to go around.

I was excited to be going to the Hard Rock Live Theater to see Clay. Especially since it was right outside of Universal Studios. Even without going to Universal, there is still a lighthearted, party atmosphere that is so much fun. A friend and I ate at the Hard Rock Café and then she headed off to her meet and greet. That’s when I got a picture with Jerome. Now I knew Jerome was tall, but standing next to Jerome for a picture made me realize just how tall. I look like I’m down on my knees!!

After the picture I headed over to Margaritaville to be with some other Clay friends. There’s nothing like sharing time with some of the best friends in the world. It’s still all about Clay…going to the concerts, enjoying clack, helping with his foundation…but it’s become about as much about the dear friends I’ve made as him. Of course, my thanks go to him for making it possible to make so many friends and share these concerts with them.

It was now time to head over to the Hard Rock Live to take our seats to see Clay. The marquee at the front of the theater blinked the various artists who would be performing there, including "Clay Aiken"...."August 19". It took me several tries to snap my camera just at the right time to catch both signs!

Little did we know that we would have to turn in our cameras and then later pay $3.00 to get our own cameras back. What is wrong with this picture? I was afraid that they would not be allowing pictures since my tickets said, “No cameras”, but I wasn’t prepared for having to do this. $3.00 to get my own camera back?? The lines were long. Thankfully a friend of mine who was already in line took my camera and checked it with hers. The concert started late because of the long lines.

Our seats were up in the balcony, but on the far right end right next to the stage. We were at a table for four and 4 of our other friends were up above us in the high back chairs. This is the first time I’ve been in the balcony for a Clay concert, but I must say, these were excellent seats! And the binoculars I bought gave me a great close-up view of that gorgeous face and green eyes! We also had servers at our tables. We could buy drinks and food if we wanted. I settled for a diet coke.

When the show started, I already had a sinking feeling in my stomach. I know I shouldn’t, but seeing Angela and Quiana come out waving, and knowing this would be the last time we would see them all for a while, well, it is like saying goodbye to good friends. And then when Clay walks out on the stage singing, “Here You Come Again”, it really starts to sink in. The show was fantastic as always. There seemed to be a lot of emotion in their voices tonight. Angela and Quiana were on fire singing their songs. I believe they hate to say goodbye as much as we do.

The song "When I See You Smile" was fun tonight. Everyone brought yellow smiley face lights to wave as Clay sang this song. And, it couldn't have been planned better. Right before he sang the song, Clay said something like, "Everyone needs to have a smile on their faces", something close to that. And when he began singing, up went the smiley faces swaying to the music! I think he was quite surprised and touched by this. He never knows what his fans are gonna do.

I believe that the TV Show Medley and Classics Medley were the best I had ever seen. Before the Classics Medley, a lady named Regina yelled down at him about singing Invisible and Bridge Over Troubled Waters and that started a long banter with her. Regina was sitting right in front of my table, so we were able to see straight on into Clay’s face as he talked with her (and thank you for binoculars!). He was hilarious. He’s a natural at coming up with the craziest things to say and do on the spur of the moment like that. And he was absolutely into all the dances during the medley. You can tell he loves doing these medleys. And I love watching him have such a great time! What an entertainer!

Somewhere during the show, Clay asked if anyone had a sharpie. Someone on the 1st or 2nd row threw one straight across the stage for him! No eyes were put out thankfully! Then Jerome brought more out. Clay, Quianna, and Angela signed the stools they had been sitting on for the whole tour; Jesse and Sean will also sign them. These stools will be auctioned off later on, two for BAF and one for UNICEF. I can say this, I looked at the stools with my binoculars. The biggest signature by far is Clay's! If I could afford one of the stools, I'd buy one for sure! Start saving your pennies right now!!

The last song, "Because You Love Me", has a lot of meaning at every show. But this last show seemed to hold even more emotions for it. There were tears in Clay’s eyes I believe when he sang it. He really meant those words, especially on the last night I believe, making certain the fans knew just how much they meant to him with the words he said before singing the song. And it seemed extra special this time when the fans waved their light sticks to the beat of the music. I was so proud to be a part of that. Maybe it also was special because there were still fans that had light sticks. The venue took up bunches of them as the fans entered the theater, and a man came by and told us to put ours in our purses or they would be taken up. How could we not have our light stick tribute to Clay? And on the last night? Thankfully enough fans still had theirs to make a beautiful tribute to Clay.

When the show was over, we all gathered outside in front of the venue and formed a long line for Clay to greet us and touch our hands. This has become quite a tradition. Clay has to go quickly through the line, saying ‘Thank you for coming…thank you very much” as he grabs hand after hand in the line. But he does it because he loves the fans. He does not want to miss a night of doing this for us. And we are forever grateful for that. Venue after venue has been amazed at the loyalty of the fans and at how Clay is willing to do this. Our relationship with Clay is one of a kind.

The tour was over much too soon for me, but aren’t they always? Another 3 months and the Christmas tour will be upon us. All I know to say very sincerely is this, “Thank you Clay for the most amazing tours anyone could ever put on. I wouldn’t miss them for the world!”