2004-03-09
10:05 p.m.

BEVR: BRENDA in NYC, JANNET, KAREN EH, KELLY in RI, LILA, PEJAY / UNIONDALE, NY, 3/4/04

Or, How a Bevy of Broads Juiced the Big Apple

1. I Feel the Need!!

PEJAY: I feel the need to explain that since last summer seeing other Broads' BEVRs was my only link to knowing the excitement of Clay in the flesh and it wasn't until this past Thursday night that I could experience him for myself. The anticipation and excitement for this event started when I realized I was the Uniondale coordinator since I lived on Long Island. I wanted to give my Broads coming from Nova Scotia, Michigan, Rhode Island and New York City a warm welcome and a fun time. I planned a few surprises in the Broads' goody bags and hoped my sense of humor would be welcomed. Finally the day arrives, I grab my huge purple shopping bag filled with 10 purple goody bags, and my girlfriend Toni (not a Broad yet but a lurker) and I venture out towards the Potters Pub, our planned destination. On the way I stop at the only Krispy Kreme donut shop on all of Long Island and pick up a dozen donuts, each in their own KK bag, and drop them into the goody bags. If anyone is close enough to the stage they could give it to Clay as a bonus!! Always thinking of my guy.

KELLY in RI: I set off to Uniondale with my friend (and PP lurker) KLA, to see the Man and meet some Broads. We sang along with every Clay song ever recorded and HOWLED at the top of our lungs the whole way, nearly driving off the road a few times! Do grown women normally have this much fun? A road trip to meet Broads and see HRH is one of the funnest things I have ever done!

BRENDA in NY: I was going to wait to order tickets, but my props goes to Pejay as she gave the shout out where to pre-order tickets through Musictoday and I, after a couple of missed attempts, got seats in SECT 115 row A #5&6 . I'm treating my sister, Cecelia, her birthday is March 18. She is a Ruben fan.....still trying to Clayvert her. I mentioned where I sat becos they are great seats NOW!. They weren't before (explain later). I didn't try to upgrade since I'm new to this stuff (It's all Clay Aiken's fault). Deciding to attend a Broadfest was anticipation in itself since I was meeting famous Ladies "yes you are" that I only read about, Jannet, Lila, K in RI, Karen eh ?, KLA, Toni and last but not least Pejay. Thanks again for making me feel like the Broad that I am. It was a pleasure and lots of fun.

LILA: I was working all morning. Absorbed, focused, paying the piper. At about 1:30 I finally finished a report that had been hanging over me and , to celebrate, popped in the CD I had burned of the full Raleigh concert MP3. That is when the gurgling and squealing began....I was going to see Live!Clay!Again! in just a few hours. JANNET and KAREN EH!, who are fluent in gurglesqueal looked at each other and said "Yes! That Broad is ready."

KAREN EH? and JANNET: Just as not all BEVRS are the same, neither are all concert experiences. Some BEVRS are sweet, some BEVRS are spicy, some BEVRS are juicy and some are all three rolled into one. Our concert experience was definitely of the "all three rolled into one" variety with the added element of suspense......will we or won't we? Will we or won't we score backstage passes? Will we or won't we pass out at the mere sight of that gorgeous man when he mounts the stage during Kyrie? Will we or won't we scream, cry, moan, and beg for mercy? Well.....sure we will......but it might have been nice to do that after we entered the arena instead of before.

2. Do You Want Fries With That?

PEJAY:Finally Toni and I reach our destination and walk into the pub and see two young pretty girls, one in a LBFCA T-shirt, at a long table set for ten. I ran over for my first live Broad contact and hugged Kelly from RI and KLA. We started laughing and talking immediately. Just then three more lovely women walk in, two of them with cell phones to their ears, voting TRL. They made me guess who each one was. I immediately figured out the broad wearing full purple, with a great necklace filled with pictures, pins, buttons, was definitely the famous Lila. Then the toss-up ....who was Jannet and who was Karen Eh? Call it a lucky guess but I picked each one. I kidded Karen and said "You look Canadian". More hugs, laughter, and chatter and in walk Brenda in NYC and her sister Cecelia, whom she introduced as a Ruben fan. We assured her that after just one night with Clay she would be Clayverted.

KELLI in RI: We were the first to arrive at the Potter's Pub. I had butterflies all tied up in my stomach! We took our places at the table and ordered some bevies. Pejay came in with her friend Toni carrying a GIGANTIC purple package of delights. Lila, Jannet and Karen Eh? came next. What a threesome!!! Brenda in NYC and her sister came last ;-), and the Broadly table was complete. I fianlly met Broads in person!!! RL and Delusion collided in a burst of love and lechery! WE WERE LOUD! We ordered food and drinks, exchanged gifts and chatter, and properly worked ourselves up for the COMING evening!

LILA: Once we settle in at the table Pejay beams "This is the best thing that happened to me, evah!". Dom Pejay then distributed the gorgeous purple goody bags with instructions to not touch, look, or open them 'til she told us to. As always, the rewards for obeying the master are great. Pejay had prepared little poems that introduced the goodies in the bag. The poems got increasingly lecherous, and by the time we got to the last of the gifts, all of which Pejay had graced with Clay's beautiful face, we were hysterical and quite loud. Our exuberance seemed to disconcert the couple adjacent to us. The fact that they had an impressive pile of money sitting in the middle of their table disconcerted US a bit. We finally figured out that they were placing OTB bets on the horses! It is still not clear whether the man kept lowering his head into his hands because his nags were losing, or because our gleeful noises were giving him a headache.

3. The Greatest Show On Earth

BRENDA in NYC: Now back to my seats. As you all know, Clayton's entrance is from the rear and down one of the aisles while singing Kyrie. Was my aisle the one? Security was there, but they're everywhere. The excitement builds as the lights dim and Kyrie starts... Where IS HE!! Where IS HE!! ...OH MY GOD!!! He's coming...down my aisle....I see HIM.... Focus! Focus!! Get your camera!! D**mn!!! Missed the picture! BUT....for 10 seconds he was passing within 2 feet of me I reached out TOUCHED HIS ARM! actually grabbed it and felt the strength in it and could feel the fabric of his jacket. I can still feel it!!! Still get all warm inside just thinking about it.

PEJAY: Wow! I was never so close to the stage at a concert....third row of the left section and could see everything. And there is Lila four seats away from me, closer to the catwalk. She tells me there was a mix-up with Karen and Jannet's tickets and they were not getting into the concert. That put a damper on the evening for us.

3a Send in the Clowns

KAREN EH? and JANNET: It seems there is a hazard to upgrading your tickets too many times and to attending too many concerts. Sometimes the paperwork just gets to be too much. Sometimes mistakes get made and the guy at the door in New York says, "M'am these tickets are for Washington...tomorrow night." Now, this REALLY can't be happening to us! It can't!! There is no way that we are not going to get into that concert tonight...no way!! But it seemsAttila the Box Office Dude has other ideas and he says there's "no way he can help us" because he is Master of his Ticket Domain. Never in our wildest dreams did we ever think we would meet the original "ticket b*stard" but we did. If you're curious, he has blond hair and he works at the Nassau Coliseum.

It was almost too much to bear.....traveling all these miles and getting turned away on a slight technicality. If it wasn't for Lila's quick thinking there might have been two extra floaters in the Hudson River that night.

"Weren't those E-Tickets?"

"Why as a matter of fact....they were."

"All you need is a computer to print them out again."

"Yeah.....but where?"

"There! Run, its seven-thirty already......Go!!

Thank goodness Clay was the headliner in Uniondale. Thank goodness our legs are long and our hearts strong. There's a lot to be said for sensible shoes. We thank heaven for the Angel in the Lobby.

We spent $700 on our airfare. We paid $400 for our third row seats. We almost paid dearly for leaving our tickets behind at Lila's so many miles away in New Jersey but we were rescued by the invaluable kindness of someone who knew two hopeless basket cases when he saw them. We dedicate this BEVR to the concierge at the Marriott Hotel who was more than happy to help us, who printed our tickets and handed them to us with a smile as big as......well...um.....you know who. Will he or won't he recover from the big Broadly hugs he got? Someone call and check on him in a couple of days. We need him to be healthy and strong to save the next damsel or two who shows up in distress.

3b. And in the center ring we have.....

PEJAY: Finally Kelly C is finished and we all go to meet at intermission as planned at Brenda's seat. Who do we find there but Karen and Jannet! YAY!! We go back to our seats and on the way a woman stops me and says "Pejay I am Judy". Now I am wondering how she knows my name. I forgot it is written on the back of my LBFCA t-shirt. We hugged and I explained how everything got mixed up. I just felt bad she did not meet us earlier. Lila came over to say hello to Judy and just minutes later the lights go out. There is a thunderous roar from the crowd of 13,000 screaming fans. I have been to many concerts but I never ever heard screams such as I heard there. The singers start singing Kyrie, and a minute or two later HE crossed right in front of me!

I just stood there with my mouth wide open. I looked at my girlfriend and said "I can't believe I am really looking at him." Tears came into my eyes. Once I came back to earth, I just could not believe how Clay handled himself on stage. He totally had control of the audience. He has so many different personas. He is cute, dorky Clay while kicking his feet dancing. He is tiger Clay prowling around the stage strutting his stuff. He is totally Sexy Clay while dancing to WDC

and warm loving Clay while doing the acoustic set. He was so happy to be there and you could just feel his love for the fans. He just draws you in and keeps you there. What a performer.

KELLY RI: At the arena, the lights dimmed and Clay appeared from a side door. I ducked past a guard, ran towards OMC and touched his arm. He was GORGEOUS! I honestly don't remember one note of Kyrie after that. Complete black out! When my senses returned I was standing in the 10th row (I must have shoved my way up) and there he was on stage. He seemed 20 feet tall! I had a cellcert in one hand and my camera in the other. I was overwhelmed with emotion, but mostly I just felt sooo happy! There is no way to describe how good it feels to love Clay and to share that love with so many wonderful people. I never liked big arena concerts because they are not intimate, but when Clay is on stage I feel like I could be in his living room, or better yet, his bedroom! (I can dream) A few details of the show; Clay's tongue on the Jumbo Screen. HOLY #$%^! Clay playing air guitar, wiggling his hips and his bendies and giggling like only he can! I was STUNNED over and over by his smile!

There is not enough band width in the universe to list all the moments that he took my breath away! He sounded glorious even if his voice wasn't 100%. He is a phenomenon to the likes of which the world has never seen!!!

LILA: Notable moments......We pulled into the Nassau Coliseum parking lot and the attendant takes our money and gives me a red ticket. I asked if we would need the ticket to exit and he said "No. It's a receipt." I wonder if Clay Aiken is tax deductible...After Kelly's set, while Clay's set was being erected, Pejay points to a woman wearing a purple jacket and says "is she one of us?" I call out "Excuse me! Are you wearing purple for a reason?" and instead of saying what kinda dumb question is that she answers "No, I'm not a Broad". Does everyone know about the Broads? Apparently so.....I got to meet longstanding-Broad Judy! ....I was 300% more "present" and less overwhelmed than at my maiden voyage in Raleigh. And my seat was close enough to see Angela say to Clay during WDC, while she plucked the front of his shirt to close the distance between them, "C'mon boy!"(Right click and save on WDC 47.8MB...at 2:14-2:15). Gasp!...I had a small Lecherous Broad for Clay sign that I had folded and clutched in my sweaty hands. I was singing along with Clay and he looked at me! I quickly unfolded the sign and he laughed!.....I had brought the Krispy Kreme from Pejay's goody bag in with me and told the ladies in the seats to my right that I wanted to try to give it to Clay. That KK (thank you Pejay!!) was my travel visa! I spent a good portion of the second half of Clay's set right up against the runway. You can see me in the photo below.

And although he did not take the KK from my hand, I was twice anointed by his spittlespray. I think a droplet entered through my eye. I may join the ranks of booty-knitting Broads.....There was a young girl (17, 18?) who decided to scale the railing and join Clay on the catwalk during his final song. The security guards did not support her decision and pushed her off the railing. She tumbled back against some other members of the audience and then the guards, holding her firmly by the shoulders, escorted her out while she wailed "I love you Clay" over and over. Honey, I understand.

4. The Afterglow

PEJAY:It is now two days later and I am a combination of still feeling high from

seeing him, but sad knowing I have to wait three weeks to see him again. I know after that concert I will really be in a funk, but I won't be alone in those feelings. I will have my broads to console me and give me my Clack. Clay I love you even more than I did before and I did not think that was possible. I had the greatest time with you and my wonderful new friends.

BRENDA in NYC: As an afterthought, I can understand why the need to see Clayton more than once... ONCE IS NOT ENOUGH and YOU JUST CAN'T GET TOO MUCH!!

KELLY RI: KLA and I drove home 4 hours through dense fog (literally and figuratively). Every mile I drove away from him was a pain in my heart, but I was *gushing* with love! Our love for Clay had grown (it never stops!), our love for each other, for the Broads and for the world had grown. Thanks to Clay, I know what love can do. And it is sooo wonderful!

KAREN EH? and JANNET: The feelings of fear, panic, frustration and extreme disappointment are easing a bit now that the event is two days removed. But the good feelings are lasting. We met the best bunch of Broads at dinner. We had the near death experience we had hoped for from the third row.....not the George Washington Bridge. We came close that night but saved a bit of ourselves for the next night in Washington......to be continued.

LILA: Grinding!Hip-pumping!Clay has launched me into a higher plane of lovefrenzy for this Man. I cannot get enough of him. But you know what? I cannot get enough of the Broads either!! The more I meet, the more I want to meet. You all keep me grounded and give sanity a new perspective. Not to mention that you are all so warm and such ding-dang FUN!!!

Thanks Claireh48 at the ClayBoard for the picture of Lila's head

The remaining pics were taken by Kelly in RI and Lila