Revisiting Aiken's Tour Finale

ORLANDO 2007 -- Amazing_CA graphic, photo by Invisible26

A LAP and LACIE Collaboration

Recollections of Orlando Concert

Usually a final concert is filled with trickery, playful antics that performers and audience can enjoy. The vocals in the Orlando show were magnificent treasures; but for the most part, the laughs were the epitome of subtlety.

For days, LAP (laptop) and LACIE (external hard drive) have been reviewing highlights of the final show of Clay Aiken's Summer Symphony Tour. Here are their recollections ...

LAP: I wonder if Caro realizes this is the third day of her blogging routine. She seems rather involved with real life -- a new nephew, enrolling fall students, and whatnot.

LACIE: She did write the lead, but methinks we should take a look at her notes and see what we can assemble.

LAP: To be honest, we caught the blogging bug a few months ago, and we really would like another spin.

LACIE: It's not as if we don't know what's going on in Clay Land. If we're not watching clack, we're reading about it.

Orlando Clackapalooza Time

LAP: These past few days have been a regular Orlando Clackapalooza, so that might be a good subject for our blog entry.

LACIE: Btw, we just happened to catch Leroy1704's post at Clayversity and "borrowed" that term from her.

LAP: Last night, we both needed smelling salts when Caro stopped the clack long enough to watch a couple of movies, meaning LACIE went to bed early while I turned into a DVD player.

LACIE: LOL, I had about an hour's snooze before she checked on the vault alerts at intermission. "Right-click and Save" zapped me from a deep sleep to download mode in a skinny minute.

LAP: One of our favorite songs, "I Want To Know What Love Is," evolved from a gorgeous duet into a magnificent, classic trio in Orlando. Quiana [Parler]and Angela [Fisher] were very clever teasing and tricking Clay as to which would be his singing partner on this song. Each night in Orlando the poor guy had to guess, and in Orlando they both were!

LACIE: How about that ending? Be still, my heart! Clay improvised low register riffs with Quiana and soared into the higher altitudes with Angela. We need to stop talking and roll IWTKWLI.

LAP: Click on Irishbookgal's photo to link to IWTKWLI, posted at YouTube by kb0326 ... and watch for "Heartache" and "Pain."

Photo by Irishbookgal links to IWTKWLI

LACIE: (Fanning self) Lawd Jesus, I just can't get enough of that one.

LAP: Next up are three Not.Just.Us stories, two from the tour and one from real life. Hope you like these as much as we do.

Clay Impresses Theater Owner

DEEPSOUTHGURRL: In West Palm, a man in his late 30s sat next to me. He had treated a young couple to the show for her birthday, and they were sitting in front of us.He saw Clay on AI, thought he should have won; but that was it -- no concerts, no CD's, nothing since.

As the concert progressed, he was really enjoying it; but he never stood for anything. At intermission, I learned he is the owner of a theater in Delray Beach down the road from West Palm. He named some of the performers he has had and they were all names we know.

He was really into the second part, too. Then came The Classics segment; we all stood up and there he sat. I told him, "I'm sorry, but you have got to stand up now. You are going to miss it all sitting in that chair. Trust me." He said, "Yes, 'mam" and stood up. He clapped, he laughed, he danced.

By the time Clay did his "support your local theaters and arts" speech, this man was absolutely in the palm of his hand. He said "Wow, I have never heard a performer so supportive. I think this man is more outstanding than I could have imagined."

I really enjoyed his company, and he really enjoyed Clay Aiken!

Teacher Becomes 'One of Those'

MARGARET5828: At the Asheville concert, I sat next to a 30-year-old teacher who had been a fan since "Take" but had never been to a concert. She acted just like a teenager, jumping up, clapping, cheering, and having a ball.

She asked me where I was from, I told northern Indiana, and she said, "Oh, you're one of those." I assume she meant "crazy fan." I didn't say anything, just loaned her my binoculars on MOAM and LAA. She was a goner for sure. HEEE!!!

GAMBIE: The woman whose cubicle is next to mine knows I am a Clay fan and asks me questions every once in awhile. Yesterday I brought in my "A Thousand Different Ways" CD to listen to, and she wanted to see it.

I opened the notes so that she could she the poster on the back side. She grabbed it from my hands and said rather loudly, "MY, GOD! NOW I UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE FOLLOW HIM AROUND THE COUNTRY! WOW, THIS GUY IS JUST WOW!"

One by one they fall under the power of the Aiken.

Photos Highlight Special Moments

LACIE: We know the drill. It's time for a clickable photo interlude.

LAP: These are all from the Orlando concert. The fourth photo is when the "switcheroos" took place on "A Thousand Days." Sean [McDaniel] played piano, Jesse [Vargas] became the drummer, and Quiana did a fantastic imitation of Clay as he stepped into her backup role.

LACIE: The final picture was taken after Clay sang his special thank you to the fans, "Because You Love Me." What a guy! Oh, where's my hankie?

PHOTO INTERLUDE: These five clickables are snapshots of special moments during the tour's finale in Orlando. Included are photos by Okie4Clay, 1; Invisible926, 2 and 4; Irishbookgal, 3; and Brightstar, 5.

TBAF Fifth Grader Challenge: $82,961.97

LAP: Before we forget, we need to take care of a little business. As most CA fans know, Clay will be taping Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? at 11 a.m. PDT Tuesday, Aug. 28.

LACIE: The Bubel/Aiken Foundation is enlisting supporters to make a pledge for each correct answer Singer Man gives. At 10 p.m. Monday, the pledge total was $82,961.97.

LAP: Even though the taping is today and word will soon be out about Clay's performance, TBAF thanks supporters for their continued donations. The money is earmaked for the creation of 100 "Let's ALL Play" camps in 2008.

Detailed info about the challenge and the method by which fans can make a pledge is available at TBAF website.

Fan Provides Science CliffsNotes

LACIE: I certainly hope Clay has been studying for the "Fifth Grader" show. In case he hasn't noticed, Madaelynn posted two science lesson blogs about bats and insects.

LAP: They are tour-related, great reads, and super CliffsNotes for a singer preparing for "Smarter Than a Fifth Grader." Clay's fans really do have his back.

LACIE: According to the photos on my hard drive, they've got his front, too. OMG, where's that fan again?

LAP: Caro reviewed several news items and BAF fund-raisers in the previous blog. Anyone who missed them might want to take a scroll below.

Clickable

LAP: Thursday night Clay won The Insider's poll asking which celebrity viewers would like to see on Dancing with the Stars.

LACIE: Clayboard's Renee4Clay was quoted on the show: "I just saw Clay Aiken on tour, and that man can move."

MOAM Vocals Outstanding

LAP: Getting back to the music, we thought the VOX was amazing during Clay's performance of "Measure of a Man," the title track of his first album.

LACIE: Clay really outdid himself on the Orlando rendition, and the audience showed him much appreciation with an extended standing ovation.

LAP: You can link to Spotlightlover's video of MOAM by clicking on this photo by Toni7babe:

Photo by Toni7babe links to MOAM

LACIE: Hope y'all enjoyed our Orlando reminiscences. We hope Caro appreciates that we wrote, coded, and uploaded her blog.

LAP: Below is a clickable of Amazing_CA's opening graphic:

LAP and LACIE: It's been real, Clay Nation. Have an awesome week!

Caro

RELATED TAGS: Clay Aiken, A Thousand Different Ways, 2007 Summer Symphony Tour, Measure of a Man, I Want To Know What Love Is, Lover All Alone, A Thousand Days, Because You Loved Me, Quiana Parler, Angela Fisher, Jesse Vargas, Sean McDaniel, The Bubel/Aiken Foundation, Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?, TBAF Challenge, The Insider, Official Fan Club, Claymates, Clay Nation