2003-07-23
12:51 p.m.

BEVR: Jenny/Toronto

Here's my BEVR from Toronto.

Okay, so it was the greatest week of my life - not only did I get to see James Taylor in concert on Friday, but then, TuesClay was the AI show!! A shout out to my mummy (and fellow broad) Danita and my so-very-understanding and patient daddy, for the tickets.

My sister (Who is not Clayverted to the extent that I am, but still cannot help but be blown away by Mr. Sugarpants' voice) and I got to the show with literally seconds to spare before the lights went down and the unfortunate Randy video started. Our tardiness was due to an afternoon movie and a subway trip that went awry. We were laughing to ourselves about 'virtual' Randy, and how funny and so like AI it would be if the whole show turned out to be videotaped. We were sitting in a crowd of Clay fans, which was awesome. Not a lot of red near us ('cept for me!!), but tons of it everywhere else. So the show starts and they start coming out and introducing eachother, and it was really neat to finally hear what all their voices sounded like in person. I thought that Trenyce was really great- good with the crowd too. I also was pleasantly surprised by Carmen. A lot of the warbling didn't come across, and her performance of "Let's Hear it for the Boy" made me remember why I liked her way back in the top 32. But I'm getting ahead of myself here.

So having read the BEVRs, I knew Clay was going to rise out of the stage, so I knew where to look, but I wasn't prepared for my reaction. At one point my sister told me to quit "doing those creepy full-body screams." But whoever said that he just rips the screams out of you was soooo right. We got not one, but FOUR knee bends. We got the mic grab, which I swear almost brought the house down. And when you look at the expression on his face you know that he' loving every minute of it, and that he knows exactly what effect those knee bends are going to have. BTW, he was wearing the purple tie. And he's so great with the crowd! All the giggling, and the little mini waves, and the "y'all's." I wanted to laugh and cry all at the same time.

Then Ruben came out and I was very impressed by his voice- I haven't heard it not hoarse in like forever, so it was really gratifying to finally realize that Ruben fans are not completely tone-deaf. I thought the crowd response to Ruben and Clay was really interesting. They both get huge screaming applause, but Ruben's is like "man that was a great song Ruben- you're so cool" kind of applause, while with Clay, his applause is more like "oh-my-god-your-song-was-so-good and now I'm coming to tear off your clothes." Clay fans are so vocal, and like, manic! I'm proud to be one of them.

Okay, so what else? I thought that the rapport between Ruben and Clay was absolutely great. They are so funny together. I would pay money to see the two of them talk to each other for two hours.

My view of the grinding was somewhat blocked by Ricky initially, but I got a good look at it later on. He really likes that, doesn't he? I also loved when (at the end of either the BEE GEES or Bootylicious) they all hit a pose in couples, and he was with Julia, and he put his hand on her hip/thigh whatever. Bootylicious is right!!

It is SO all about Invisible. I love it. I love the mocassins. I loved how at one point he was pointing his big feet and showing them off. I loved the I love TO shirt he was wearing, instead of a jersey, and how he had it tucked into the front of his jeans and how he still did the clutch anyway. It was a great clutch, let me tell you. And how he stalked across the stage for the chorus. And how he whisperssssssssssssss...

GBTUSA was interesting; we were wondering whether they might replace it with something else, seeing as though they were not in the USA, but they didn't, which didn't surprise us. It's just such a patriotic song, and with all the hubub between the US and Canada with the war and everything, it felt kind of wierd to hear them singing it. They obviously felt a bit awkward too; right at the beginning, Clay quickly said "love you, Canada!," as if to say, "sorry that 19E is making us wave our flag at you."

Just about everybody was wearing Toronto Maple Leafs jerseys, and Julia was wearing a Canadian Idol shirt. There were several more apologetic "love you Canada's" before the song ended, and Clay most definitely didn't cry, which made me feel even more that he was a bit wierded out. Just for the record, it's a lovely song, and I certainly enjoyed listening to it, but I felt like it was a wierd thing to hear in Toronto, not to mention as the ending to the show. Of course, it was the AMERICAN Idol show, so what did I expect, really?

When I had screamed myself hoarse, and they all left the stage for the last time, I felt so sad. It was like my one chance to hang out with Buttercup was over, and I might never see him again. I missed him. My sister Molly said she did too, which made me feel better. You just want to have him over for supper, you know. All lechery aside, he is a really extraordinary person. And I am so thrilled to have been able to see him in the flesh. I'm also so glad to have an outlet to share my experience! Just think, the next time I see him it will be his own show- no more KimberMe.

Jenny

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Note from Nelle: You, too, can participate in the LBFCA Summer Series, and have your Broad's Eye View Report of Clay's Summer Concert Tour on the LBFCA Main Page. Just send it to Nelle via email, and she'll post it ASAP. (If you are a lurker, or otherwise wish to remain anonymous, just let me know that in your email). Don't worry about your BEVR not being the same size or looking the same as anyone elses. Here at LBFCA we celebrate diversity. Every BEVR is unique. This is your personal experience of witnessing what Katynka so gloriously described as "a little hockey-jersey-clutchin', white-leather-wearin', DTTR revealin', mic-flickin', thigh-strokin', eye-f***in', smokin', jokin', singin', hunk-o-burnin' libido."