RED BANK: Recaps

Clack
ClackUnlimited.com

From the CB's Kelly4Clay:

I'm sitting here at my mom's house with Sue4AllYouDo after an incredible night in Red Bank!

Clay sounded amazing tonight, despite the fact that he was clearly not feeling well. How he continues to entertain us with such funny banter while feeling ill is beyond comprehension. And the voice tonight was incredible. You could tell as the night progressed that he was becoming more and more unsteady, but he still gave 100%. After DSIAFCD, he looked extremely uncomfortable, so we weren't surprised when he didn't come out to sing the encore. Regardless, the concert was phenomenal! The audience was so supportive tonight and really showed Clay the love. Of all the concerts so far this tour, this crowd really seemed to be the most enthusiastic and electric and Clay was really feeding off that energy.

It was great to finally meet, NyMom, Zippy, sanebc, Sash, SLC and Mamarose!! And thanks Sue for filling in at the last minute, and traveling with me to Red Bank.

Last but not least, thanks to Clay for an incredible evening, and we hope you feel better soon!!!

From the CB's Shycon:

My last concert and I cried thinking that maybe it will be quite a while till the next tour. :bluesniff

He was gorgeous and so casual and seemed lighthearted. He saw familiar faces in the first few rows as always and there was lots of interaction as always.

Too many darn flashes and they really bothered Clay especially toward the end of the concert. Once while he was on the left side of the stage, he actually staggered several steps. Lots of holding on to the stool while singing tonight.

The dizziness was especially evident during DSIAFCD and when he said good night and signed thank you to us, he then staggered off the stage to the wings....the lights came up and canned music played so we knew there would be no encore. So sad. Of course we were worried about him and as reported by BFS he looked so vulnerable walking to the bus and getting on board.

We stayed till the bus pulled out, sad to see him off, not knowing when we will see him again.

He was very snarky tonight asking who had been to more than 5 of this year's Christmas shows. I raised my hand but ducked my head down. Hee! I think he said we are the ones to be afraid off...following him all over the country. LOL

Wonderful concert except for the worry of seeing the vertigo kick in.

dda,I enjoyed meeting you and rosebud and ncctl tonight. I love putting faces to names.

God speed, Clay!

From the CB's CorieLuvzClay:

How do you reach down inside yourself and choose from the array of emotions…exactly which one to write about…at some point they begin their own little race…love is so very far ahead…oh no, wait a minute…heartsick is catching up…but then there comes pride rounding out the bend…and tonight they are in a dead heat and there is a triple tie!!!

He takes the stage like a Prince…tall, sleek & slender as ever. The shoulders are broad and straight, he walks with his head held high and with such confidence. The chestnut colored mane has a silky sheen and it flows, beautifully framing his gorgeous face and sparkling Jade colored eyes. Clay was happy, upbeat and spot on with his amazing voice. Articulate and eloquent in the pronunciation of each and every word and hitting his notes effortlessly. He was as funny as always…telling the husbands in the audience that they would be happier after the show, when they got home, that they had come…and then he made a cute remark that this was a family show. Clay even reassured us all that his fly was zipped up tonight!! And then with the first banter of the evening he asked for the house lights to come up and for the spotlight to be killed and as they were lowered Clay would say all the way, all the way…kill the spotlight. Then he told us that he’s been sick and that he was feeling dizzy tonight. Even with that he told us that if he was going to fall off the stage he shouldn’t do it in front of the center orchestra seats….that he’d better “go over here” where they looked like they wouldn’t eat him up or eat him alive and pointed to right orchestra…being funny and cute and clever in the face of all the pain he was going through.

It never ceases to amaze me how he can quip and joke and be so quick witted when obviously so ill. I was heartsick for him as the night wore on…he squinted in the harsh lights, said his head hurt, every now and then he would touch his right ear and make a painful face and then touch the side of his neck right under that ear. A few times he touched his other ear as well. My heart was just breaking for the obvious pain he was in and all I wanted to say was…Clay, please leave the stage and crawl into bed…in the dark and in your comfy PJs, we love you and you can do that…we’re a family. Go to bed honey and don’t worry about us…you’ve already given so much! This was my one and only concert this season and I would have gladly given it away to know that he would be resting and snuggled under his covers, finally in blessed peace and quiet.

I suffer with migraines and I cannot even begin to imagine what it was like for Clay these past three nights to be under blaring lights, sing the strenuous songs and notes he sang all while enduring a 30+ piece Symphony playing right on top of him. The man is dedicated to a fault, he is the consummate performer and I have never been prouder to be a Clay Aiken fan, nor have I ever felt as much love as I have for him with this concert series.

My friend came with me and I merely told her that he’s had an ear infection for a couple of days and told her nothing more…by the end of the show she was gripping my arm and just kept saying “OMG, poor baby”, “Oooooh poor baby” she could not believe the strength and determination Clay had to try his best to finish the show.

I don’t remember which song he was on but definitely by OCOCE he had been steadying himself against the stool and it was difficult to watch as he’d put his hand behind him onto the stool, try to bring it to the mic again and then go right back to the stool. By DSIAFCD, I knew in my heart that he would not be coming back out again for the encore song…he was teetering a bit and clearly had trouble balancing and Jesse Vargas quickly followed Clay out. The friend I was with knows Jesse through a Community Arts center she works with called Plays in the Park here in NJ…she loves Jesse and said she was sure that by the time Jesse got to Clay he turned to the Orchestra and made a hand signal for them to cut…they began getting up and taking their instruments with them. Although I would have loved to hear Clay sing AIW in person and hear that voice reverberate off the walls, I was relieved for his sake that he did not come back out, I felt terrible because I knew that that meant that he felt worse then last night and the night before, but relieved nonetheless that he would be getting the care that was so obviously needed!

It was a stellar performance, by a stellar performer…he sang every song and hit every single note…there was even a time where by the end of the song there was actually a light echoing and I can’t remember now which song it was but I hope it was captured on clack, it gave me chills!! Clay got several, well deserved Standing O’s. The honey coated voice flowed smoothly and sweetly tonight, we were treated to gentle whispers and stunning heaven bound notes. Clay sang from the depths of his heart just as he does every night.

Every single time I think I could not love him more, every single time I think I could not be prouder of him…Clay one-ups himself and tonight…yet again…I fell in love all over again, deeper still, with this exceptional young man and was struck anew with deep pride for him and how he handles life situations, both personal and professional. I just couldn’t be prouder if he were my own child!!

Thank God there is a day off tomorrow…God Bless you Clay and thank you for all you give to us!