2003-07-23
5:03 p.m.

BEVR: Joanne/Toronto

Clay does Canada!

My bag was packed: ticket, camera, sharpie, CD and an enormous honking poster that read, "CLAY: You Are The World's Freckled Stallion." The camera was last-minute. I'd asked hubby if I could borrow his digital earlier and he'd said no. But just moments before leaving with my friend and nieces, he changed his mind. Thanks, sweetie!

As I reported in the purple pages Monday, my LBFCA t-shirt didn't turn out, so I was forced to go incognito-- but as it turned out, when we got into the Air Canada Centre, I was not alone in a sea of red shoes and Clay shirts. It was an average-looking crowd. Didn't even see any red shoes as my gang lined up for pretzels and pizza. I just got a bottle of water. I was so excited that I thought I might hurl if I put any food in my stomach.

Then we went up to our seats. And I mean UP. Did I mention that I had nosebleed seats? Try the very top row of the entire arena. There was nothing above us! One of our party is afraid of heights, so I felt really bad. We had to climb sort of vertically up the side of the arena to get up there.

The lights dim, the screaming begins! From where we're sitting, Charles looks like a little bug, and the sound is awful - really muddy. Bleh. I watch Julia (don't get the hype), Ricky (sweet, but helium doesn't work for me), Kim C. (beeyotch - but she actually sounded good), Carmen (not bad, but not exciting). Then, as the introductions for Trenyce begin, I bid adieu to my seatmates... I head out to the hallway, down the stairs, around to the front of the area. As "Proud Mary" brings the crowd to its feet, I am making my way down to third row centre, with my SECOND TICKET!

I join Cheryl, who made ticket #2 possible, and then the fun begins! Kim L. rocked the house; she sounded so good. She said she'd received eight bouquets of roses in her dressing room. Cool!

But then His Beautiousness himself came rising through the floor for TITN and, oh, good lord, he looked fine! Cheryl and I each grabbed some glowsticks and shook 'em like maniacs. Clay was in front of me! I could see his skin, the way his shoulders moved, his long legs! His hair looked perfect tonight, too. I was screaming (I keep typing that without the "s" - oops!) so hard. I could see where the security guys were, right in front. If I jumped high enough and screamed loud enough, would someone give me a darned backstage pass?

Loved Ruben, too. He had lots of energy and sounded super.

Intermission, I ran back upstairs to my group. This was getting exhausting! They were enjoying themselves, mostly watching me. Yep, they could see me from way up there. Going gaga.

Back on the floor after intermission. OK, I won't bore you with the stuff you all already know. Here are the Toronto highlights:

- Someone threw Clay a red baby bib (?) with something written on it about him and Canada. Cute cause Ruben made him wear it for part of "The Girl is Mine."

- Someone else threw him a large pair of red long johns (girly, with frills). They were marked "100% Authentic Canadian Winter Thong." The crowd (and Clay) had a good laugh at that, and he wore that wrapped around his delicious bod for a while too. (I missed getting pics of that because by then my camera had lost its charge. But I'm sure they'll make the rounds online).

- "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" was gorgeous! I was really amazed at how good it sounded. I just burst into tears and cried the whole way through. I love Quiet Clay.

- During the band intro, I was watching Clay and he was just "on" the whole time. Doing a little pretend drum solo, goofing with the guitarist, making faces and having fun. Cheryl and I just kept squealing and screaming! I'm still screaming in my mind!

- But the kicker was when he showed up in a white I Love T.O. shirt (remember "I love to what?") for Invisible. Man, he looks good in white. OK, but the real kicker is that he's got it tucked into the front of his pants. The rest is hanging loose, but the front is tucked and there is a gift there in plain view and it's glorious. Oh, OK, but the REAL kicker is that he's also got his 13 1/2s wrapped in soft, soft brown suede. The boy's wearing moccasins! How entirely yummy is that? Invisible was FANTASTIC. There was a very obvious jersey clutch (right in front of us!) and some goooood knee bends. That song sounds so good live. And it was so cool to sing along to a song hardly anyone else knew!

- The end of the show. I didn't want it to ever end, but it was time to scream "goodbye." Kim L. was pointing out signs to Clay and one of them was from a woman behind me. He gave a big thumbs-up sign to the woman and I think blew a kiss and really locked eyes with her, and Kim gave her the thumbs-up too. I turned to read her sign and it said, "I survived cancer and came to see Clay." Awww. I hope that woman got backstage.

So, I didn't get backstage, I didn't get to show him my sign (it was too big!), I didn't go wait by the buses cause I had teens to drive home. But the night was magical, and all I can say is, See you on your solo tour, you hot, beautiful man! And bring the moccasins!

Joanne

-

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."