Champions for Change Gala 2008 Concert

Oh goodness, not sure how much of the Concert portion we will get, but let's start off with a little "What I Don't Need" which was found on YouTube taped by lonelynomore44. Yeah, that is a great place to start, enjoy!



Now for "Where I Draw The Line", also taped by lonelynomore44 and found on YouTube, goodness we need a tour, goofs and all, LOL:



Okay, now OMWH is a little rough, perhaps it is a difficult song for him to sing, so give it a minute for Clay to get his voice going, LOL. This video is by tugger12345 and can be found at YouTube.



A very sweet recap from clayniac24 at the Clayboard:

The Gala was beyond expectations. It was a thrilling evening from beginning to end! I haven't had a chance to read all the reports so far, so I'll just report a few items of interest (that may already have been reported). When Rich Donavan, a wonderful honoree tonight (he suffers from cerebral palsy and works tirelessly with corporations to get jobs for the handicapped), took the stage, he received a thunderous standing ovation. In response he thanked us for the "round of applause", and added, "I think you have competition, Clay". The audience loved it.

The CVS Caremark honoree said, "I'm the only one in a black tie----everyone keeps handing me their glasses. When Clay's stool went up for auction, the auctioneer asked Clay if he could sit on it. Clay fired back, "Fine, but it may decrease the value."

Tammy, a darling young gal who was my roommate on the BAF 7 day cruise last year, won the TV set in the raffle. She went up on stage and said she'd donate it back for a kiss from Clay. Clay kissed her cheek and said, "keep the TV". So sweet.

Clay's singing was overwhelmingly phenomenal. Gorgeous! And he was so adorable all night. Every face in the room was smiling throughout his time on the stage, until the last song, Right Here Waiting. Then quite a few gals wound up crying. It was such a touching version of the song. He told us that Jaymes suggested he add it. I felt strongly that he was talking to the fans who have left.....that he was right here waiting for them to return. If they could have been there tonight, they couldn't have resisted returning.

Another sweet report from hippoga from the Clayboard:

Quick recap-an incredible night!

I was in a gold table of 10 fans and we were group #12 for a picture. Jerry Aiken called our group number and we went out into the hallway where Jerome told us to leave our purses and bags on a chair. We chatted with him for a bit until the group ahead of us finished. We entered the room where pictures were being taken and the professional photographer "arranged" us as we came in. Clay was chatted with James and Kristi as we were positioned and then he came over and shook everyone's hand and told us how glad he was we were there and that he recognized some of us. Funny thing, he thought my friend Alice said her name was "malice" and he ran with that! LOL!He was so handsome! Dark hair with highlights and a dark suit with a very subtle plaid design. He stood in the middle of our group and Diane Buble stood at the end (next to me!). The picture was taken and we (reluctantly!) made way for the next group.

We were table 24 in the ballroom. About two rows back and just to the left of the microphone. I could see Clay very well...a very good seat! Linda Loveland was very warm and articulate as mistress of ceremonies. Clay's speech was absolutely from his heart and he's so amazed at what his "experiment" with Diane Buble 5 years ago has accomplished. He noted that his speech was no doubt being broadcast to the fans on the message boards, too! The three recipients of the Champions of Change awards were amazing-parents of a child with a disability, an individual with a disability who is a financial whiz and a company working on inclusion projects. They all received well-deserved standing ovations.

The auction was a hoot!! Clay did everything he could to raise the bid! He tried on the leather jacket and even got it zipped up! He made the Sir Robin bear dance! He wore the blue "Someone else's star" shirt and seranaded the winner bidder. That rendition was so amazing...such a pure, powerful voice. He put an extra autograph on the stool and made a face at buying his "stool"! SO MUCH FUN!

AND then he sang! He killed time while the musicians got ready by finding out which fan had come the farthest. I can't spell the country! LOL! Sounded like the place where the dementors keep prisoners in Harry Potter! LOL! Then he sang YWSOB to us! IN accent! And we all sang the "jews" part and he assured us that he would never say such a thing. Then "When I see you smile"...I hope he could see the smiles on our faces and "Where I draw the line"...hearing OMWH songs in person! Clay is always so much better in person than his albums. "Everything I DOn't need" just about did us in...growling and emoting...I'm still not sure if it's "Well now" or Well, well!" BUT who the heck cares!? OMWH was so poiqnant with recent events and the crowd clapped a bit for "Faith has conquered fear" and he had us sing that to him at the end. Thank you Jaymes for suggesting the final song, a practically accoustic version of "Right Here Waiting for You"....a song from Clay to us and from us to him. There were a lot of "misty" eyes in the audience especially when he lowered the mic and sang just to us.

Incredible. I'm so glad I came. I am so proud to be a Clay fan and to be able to support him and his foundation.

This is a jumbled mess of a report...I hope you can see that I'm still grinning from ear to ear....with a little bit of misty eyes, too.

Can't wait to get home ....the wonders of Clack await!

HCorbett10 posted this on the Clayboard, a wonderful review:

From Brightstar from CV:

Well, I'm home and I'm spent. What a remarkable, memorable evening! I don't have time for a big recap, so I'll just post a few thoughts. It was definitely a night of love. Love from us to Clay, love from him to us, and reminders of the need for and benefits of inclusion-and that everyone has the capacity to love. A very moving night from start to finish.

And for those few who feared Clay would somehow change or be changed or seem different somehow-he is exactly the same. The same funny, snarky, beautiful, compassionate, bossy, loving, take-charge, talented guy. I thought I would die laughing when he said he knew that many on the message boards hated his shirt. And that "we" called it ugly-no, a word that rhymes with ugly. Cracked.me.up. His references to cell phones and message boards and videos that would be up in 30 minutes were hilarious and showed that he is quite tuned in to his fans on the boards.

It felt so good to hear him sing again. Singing "his" songs live. His voice, after all these years, still blows me away. Despite the few times he sounded as if he was about to lose his voice, he was vocally so strong-- powerful, beautiful, and moving. Sexily moving in ETIDN and poignantly moving in "Right Here Waiting". One in a million may be really underestimating it. No voice, no performer grabs me and moves me as he does.

And what a perfectly perfect choice of songs to end the night. Right Here Waiting. It was very softly and intimately sung, so personal, so beautiful. It seemed as if he were singing to each of us individually-his heart wide open, singing to many whose hearts were also wide open, but also to those who may have closed themselves off to him just lately. He was not only telling us how much he loved and appreciated us, but also seemed to be sending the reassurance that he would be there waiting for those who had "left" if they ever wanted to come back. I honestly don't know of another man so generous and so loving. What an honor to be there! What a joy to be his fan.

And so I go to bed now, to relive and remember. So many gifts, so much to treasure-it will take weeks to wrap my mind around it all.

Safe travels to all as you go home.