2003-08-25
5:30 p.m.

BEVR: Sarah/Oklahoma City

Broad's Eye View Report: Sarah/Oklahoma City

Hey all! Time for my very own BEVR. I thought this day would never come!! I remember when I first purchased my tickets thinking, "Ah, August 21st. That's not THAT far away." I quickly discovered that in fact it was an ETERNITY away and that I should never be made to wait for anything that long ever again! Especially Clay! *hehe*

Ok so my Concert-Going-Entourage consisted of my Fiance' and my mom and dad. Originally it was just going to be fiance' and myself, but then my mother caught wind of it and BEGGED to go. (She's a big Clay fan. Not quite obsessive...not quite Broad material, but a fan nonetheless.) So I got her a ticket and Dad just kinda got dragged along, although he did watch the show last season and seemed to enjoy it.

I was all decked out (well, come to find out I wasn't nearly as decked out as a Broad CAN be...more on that later *hehe*) in my "Aiken4Clay" t-shirt and red sandals. I'd bought my fiance' a "sl**on Supporter" shirt...partially as a joke but he wore it anyway. I was actually a little afraid that I would be responsible for his mauling if he wore it to the concert. Clay fans don't equal sl**on fans usually...and I just had a feeling there would be a lot of Clay fans in-da-house. But he wore it anyway.

I decorated the car, too. I made a sign for the back that said "House Divided" with a picture of Clay on my side and Ruben on fiance's side. (Quick note to those who don't remember me: My fiance' and I watched American Idol together from the start. He liked Ruben the whole time while I loved Clay the whole time. Naturally it came down to the two of them and when Clay lost and I cried....fiance' thought it strange. Turns out I'm much more of a ... *ahem* FAN...*ahem* then he'd thought. I was a little worried going into this concert experience that I would go so wild over Clay that fiance' would freak and run. So instead of just flaunting my love for Clay I tried to tie fiance' into it as well...putting SOME attention on Ruben. It seemed to work!!! *ta da*) Then on his window I put a "I Voted For" sign with pictures of Ruben. I did the same thing on my side except I had picked some PRIZE Clay photos to represent my choice. (I got to gaze at them all the way there, too, because I made the signs out of vellum. Kinda like a window cling. TRANSPARENT BABY, YEAH! =o) )

We live in Kansas so we had a little over a two-hour drive. When we got to downtown Oklahoma City, we ate at a Mexican restaurant near the Ford Center, where the concert was going to be. (I later found out that a big Clay meeting took place not too far from where we ate, but in a different restaurant. Dang it.) I had my eyes peeled for other concert goers, but my dad spotted the first one. "I think that woman's shirt said "Claymate!" he exclaimed. My mom turned to look and said, "Oh no...surely not." They were saying this because the woman was just that, a WOMAN. Not a teenager or person of mid-20's, as they expected most of the AI fans to be. I QUICKLY set them straight on this, telling them that most of the people at the concert would probably be their age...maybe older. They didn't believe me. We saw quite a few Clay fans there in the restaurant and my excitement just grew and grew. When my mom and I went to the bathroom, I noticed several ladies pointing to my shirt, smiling and whispering. I smiled at them and gave them big thumbs up and they giggled and gave me thumbs up back. =o)

So then we headed to the Ford Center. On our way there we saw TONS of Clay shirts, signs...even a fantastic little lady who was DECKED out from head to toe in Clay gear. She had on a backpack that said "Clay Survival Gear," a visor with "Clay" written all over it, hearts, glitter, RED, everything. Walking into the stadium we were greeted by a TON of red. So much so that my dad said something about it...asking if that was significant. I was obliged to explain and my fianc� goes, "Oh, so that's the deal with your red sandals....I was wondering why you thought red went with that outfit." *HAHAHA* Thanks, sweetie. Love you, too. =o)

I went straight to the merchandise stand because I'm one of those idiots that will shell out 15 bucks for a program that has a giant picture of Clay's face inside. And I did. And $30 for a Clay shirt. I know, I know...terrible people are making money off our Clay's innocence and goodness....BUT I HAD TO BUY IT BECAUSE HIS EYES WERE DAGGUM TWINKLING OFF THAT NAVY BLUE COTTON! I swear! =o) (Besides it gave me something to hug on the car ride home. *hehe*)

I just want to take a moment to say that the Clay Love was OVERWHELMING in that auditorium. I felt so special with my Aiken t-shirt on because I was part of the MAJORITY...the "in crowd," if you will. And the creativity of these Broads & Claymates & PRoC's was incredible, too. I saw a "Life is like a bowl of Vincents..." shirt! I WANT ONE! =o) I saw a gal completely decked out in red... shoes, socks, pants, Clay shirt, hat, everything. And my personal favorite was a gal who MUST be a Broad because she had on KRISPY KREME BOXERS!!! I hesitated to explain that one to my fiance'. He thought it a bit strange...but laughed. *haha*

The stadium was much smaller than I'd expected and not nearly sold out. But those who were there were THERE. Clearly a great deal of excitement in the air and not too many fuddy duddies to dampen the mood. Our seats were great, too. Floor seats, directly center with the stage. Wish they could have been a little bit closer...but we were on the front row of the second section from the front...so our view was just fine.

So the lights dim and everyone screams and scurries to their seats. The clip montage begins with the AI theme playing and my love for the crowd is sealed when Clay's face appears and the place fills with screams! It was PIERCING! No one else got screams. I got so excited and waited with my fellow Clay maniacs for his face to be shown again...and then we all SCREAMED in unison. My family looked at me as if I was nuts. And I was! Eventually the few Ruben fans in the joint caught on and tried to rival us...but they couldn't even come close. It was fantastic.

I won't go through each performance cause I know that's been done, but I will say that I gained a tremendous amount of respect for all of the performers...except Carmen and Kim C. Kimberly was screamy and gruff and just kind of...there. She didn't seem into it and was doing the same moves over and over again while trying WAY too hard to be a rocker chick. Didn't enjoy her all night. And Carmen...poor lil' Carmen was giving me Baby Spice flashbacks. She's cuter in real life than on tv...but just kind of goofy as a performer. But the others were all fabulous (even Julia impressed me - I was FLOORED by that).

Well, with each passing performance I grew more and more excited and by the time Kimberly Locke finished her song I thought I would explode. And I guess everyone else in the crowd felt the same way because the minute she said, "Well, we all get to introduce someone tonight and..." the stadium erupted again. She paused, but ended up having to introduce him through the screaming because no one was stopping. The pictures on the screen really did us in...it just got louder and louder. Oh, and I was helping, let me tell you. =o)

But then...something terrible happened. I've read other BEVR's about Broads having out of body experiences and brain lapses during the concerts but I really wasn't prepared for the feeling that washed over me. It was half panic, half euphoria and a little bit of "Where am I? Who am I? Is that really Clay up there?" all rolled into one! My body was flooded with so many thoughts and emotions and feelings that I completely missed TITN. Completely. I can hardly remember it. I took some pictures and "WHOO!"ed...but I can't for the life of me conjure up ANY of that performance in my memory! It's terrible!!! I heard him, I saw him, I FELT him for Heaven sake...but I can't remember it. In fact, I didn't totally "snap out of it" until the screaming died down enough for him to speak when the song was over. Then I blinked a few times, shook my senses together and swore that I would never let that happen again!

Clay's voice was definitely hoarse when he spoke...poor boy. He introduced Ruben and the big dude sang....yada yada yada. During the break I reloaded my camera with fresh film and tried to prepare myself to be much more on the ball when Clay came back out. None of this head tripping stuff. COULD NOT STAND FOR IT.

I won't go into detail about every number because again...I know that's been done. I'll just give the highlights (most of which you've probably already heard but hey, this is MY BEVR! =o) )

*Before TGIM Ruben and Clay stood with their backs to the crowd. Ruben was singing some silly song like "We've come here to sing for you....songs of joy...songs of joy..." he sang it really choppy because they were both snickering so much. Clay was really giggling hard. Then, out of the laughter, Clay goes, "oooooOOOOOOOOK-LAHOMA! Where the wind goes circling down the plains....." and the crowd went NUTS!!!! It was so cool. Even as a Kansan I could appreciate this crowd-pleaser. They both started giggling again. My dad later said that one of his favorite parts of the show was this section...with Clay and Ruben just standing up there, talking to each other and the crowd. It really showed off their chemistry. Ruben is so much better with Clay by his side. Ruben did a "Public Service Announcement," telling us that this was supposed to be a FAMILY FRIENDLY show and things like "Handcuffs Of Love" and bras and panties were not family friendly materials. Meanwhile, Clay is playing with a red bra, twisting it and turning it, inside out, upside down....it was hilarious. He said, "Hey Ruben, what about these crotchless panties?" The crowd ROARED. To hear Clay say "Crotchless Panties"...wow. That was worth the price of admission, right there! *haha* Ruben looked at him for a second and then said, "Clay, man, that's a bra." Clay kinda fumbled with it a while longer and then shook his head. "I'm confused." Then Ruben made another "PSA" about them getting hurt by the stuff people were throwing on stage. Right after he got down talking about the story on USA Today called "This person poked Ruben and Clay's eyes out, do no like them," someone chucked a bottle of Coke up on stage!! They jumped a foot! Clay squeaked, "Hey that really could've hurt me!" Turns out it WAS for Clay...the tag read, "Clay's the Real Thing."

*Other funny bantering included Clay pointing out a sign to Ruben that said, "Clay is better than sex." He said "Hey Rube, just wanted you to see this." Ruben read it out loud and of course the crowd went nutso. They both laughed onstage.

*Ruben wore an OU hat...which of course the crowd liked. Well someone tossed a Nebraska football onstage with a note on it that said "Clay loves Nebraska." Oooooh boy, lemme tell ya. Whoever threw that was NOT a Clay fan. Ruben read it out loud and the crowd instantly turned into a bunch of OU fans...booing and hissing. Clay looked stunned. "What? I can't even SPELL Nebraska!" It was so cute. All through the night after that Ruben would say (out of nowhere) "Clay loves Nebraska!" Yeah yeah, Ruben. Whatever it takes to get you cheers. ;)

*When "To Love Somebody" started, everyone went nuts. Myself included. I screamed and jumped up and down like a 5th grader. But the nice thing about this crowd (*haha* myself included) is that they knew when to SHUT UP. I've been to some concerts where people just scream and scream and scream...and you can never hear the singing. But I guess I already knew that Clay worshipers are different kinds of fans. We respect the man...AND we can't HEAR him if we're screaming.

*CYFTLT was amazing. More beautiful than I had hoped...and I had HIGH hopes, lemme tell ya. I hadn't read much about it so I didn't know he waited between the last two lyrics. I'm glad I didn't know beforehand, because I thought it was special JUST for us. (Dur, be real, Sarah. *haha*) I HAVE heard, however, that he waited longer than usual. I like to believe that. =o) It was quite effective. He had me quivering.

*At several points the AI contestants said (Clay himself said it once, actually) that we were one of the smallest crowds but DEFINITELY one of the loudest. I'd like to take partial credit for that, right now. ;) We were very enthusiastic, though.

*One of the things I enjoyed during the night more than anything else was watching Clay DANCE. The boy's got some really, really cute moves and I just love his facial expressions when he's doing them. He looks so serious...like "Yeah man, I'm getting DOWN tonight!" He even bit his lip a few times, which...well, you know. *reow* But one of my FAVORITE parts of the evening was watching Clay while Ruben introduced the band! I RELISHED every moment of that! He was totally grooving out. He had this sexy arm thing that I tried so hard to get a picture of...I hope it turned out or I can find one someplace because it was HOT! (You can see glimpses of it during the "Air Drums in St. Louis" clip on this site: jansjoyousjungle, but it's not quite the same. Still adorable, though.)

*Ok, last but most certainly not least...INVISIBLE! Wow, what an awesome performance that was. I loved the energy that seemed to just OOZE out of the boy during this song. Practically running from one end of the stage to the other, clapping, knee bends, jumping, CLUUUUUTCHING! OH.MY.FLIPPIN'.GOSH! Broads...oh dear, dear Broads. I had seen the pictures. I had seen the animations and even the clips but there was NOTHING on this earth that could have prepared me for that! THE CLUTCHES ARE SO HOT!!! But my love affair with Invisible and The Clutch were just about ruined when Jerome (isn't that the name of the whoppin' huge bodyguard?) caused a scene DIRECTLY in front of me as he took a videotape away from some lady. My thoughts were: 1. Get out of the way! I CAN'T SEE CLAY! 2. I CAN'T SEE CLAY! 3. Hey! Give that tape back to her! I want to watch it on the net later! *hehe* Eventually they did move, though, and I could see Clay perfectly fine again. *sigh*

In conclusion...it was a wonderful evening, slight imperfections and all. I'm still beating myself up about the TITN thing, but at least I have live performances of that from AI and The View, etc. And the really good news is that my fiance' had a fabulous time and still loves me even though I acted like a maniac the entire evening. =o)

Thanks for reading! MUCH LOVE TO ALL!

Sarah

-Note from Nelle: You, too, can participate in the LBFCA Summer Series, and have your Broad's Eye View Report, or, for any other Brude's out there, your Summary of Clay, about 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***ing, smokin,' jokin,' singin,' hunk-o-burnin' libido."