Clay Aiken Tried & True Concert a Showcase of Talent

Clay Aiken takes Tried & True Tour to Towson, MD.
Expandable photo by farouche.

Concert Varied, Up Close, Personal

Aiken More Than Amazing Voice

I enjoyed Clay Aiken's Tried & True Concert in Baltimore by way of a very clear cellcert Tuesday night, and there is nothing I could add to the fabulous review posted by Gloria Dietz of The Examiner.

Finally, a reviewer gets what CA fans have known for eight years. The headline -- Clay Aiken concert review: he is more than an amazing voice -- is just the beginning. Below are the opening graphs, but link to the entire article:

Clay Aiken knows how to entertain a crowd. He performed without an intermission for close to 2 hours at Goucher College in Towson. The venue was small and the seats were elevated with plenty of leg room, so there wasn’t a bad seat in the house.

This concert was as up close and personal as you can get. Clay commands the stage and this was like we were all one big happy family. He doesn’t just stand there and sing – he puts on a show that has lots of variety.

One thing in particular that is a real eye opener is that Clay lets his back-up singer and band members shine by putting the spotlight on them throughout the show. His bass player was able to tell a joke, he showcases their talent with their instruments and he banters with them as well as the audience.

The songs from his latest CD may have been from the 50’s and 60’s, but don’t let that fool you into thinking this was a boring or formal concert; his fans ranged from age 13 to 94.

Clay manages to outdo himself with every show he puts on. This concert was very casual with lots of humor and surprise acts along the way. His camaraderie with the audience is priceless, but his voice is astounding.

I first viewed these photos on my new iPhone in a doctor's waiting room this morning. They are much better full size. Link to The Baltimore Sun for the show.

Clay Aiken sings 'Something About Us' in Baltimore.
Link to YouTube to view video by Scarlett full screen.

Clay chats with two birthday "girls" in Baltimore.
View video by Scarlett full screen at YouTube.

Dim lighting perfect for Clay's rendition of 'Misty.'
View Scarlett's video full screen at YouTube.

Download these and other concert videos by Scarlett at her Baltimore link. More will be added, so remember to check back later.

Baltimore Set List

Where Do I Begin: Love Story Theme
Mack The Knife
There's A Kind Of Hush
Moon River
It's Impossible Jazzy Medley (The Way, This Is the Night, On My Way Here, Measure of a Man, A Thousand Days, Open Arms, Invisible)
Something About Us
Foggy Town In London Town (Quiana)
Auto Tune (I Got A Feelin')
Suspicious Minds
Build Me Up Buttercup
Breaking Up Is Hard To Do
Misty
Who's Sorry Now (Motown, Acoustic, A Capella, Ragtime)
It's Only Make Believe
Can't Take My Eyes Off
You Cry Me A River (Quiana)
Crying
Unchained Melody
Both Sides Now
In My Life

Below are five expandable Towson concert photos by farouche.

The Tried & True Tour continues in Charlotte, NC, at 7:30 pm tonight. Clay appeared on Charlotte Today this morning. See you after the show!

Have a great time, all!

Caro

Clay Aiken Tour Scores New Highs in Cleveland

Where do I begin? ... Theme from Love Story.
View Cleveland video by Scarlett full screen at YouTube.

Tried & True Troupe Thrills

Cleveland Concert Raises the Bar

Tried & True audiences thought Clay Aiken & Co. reached the pinnacle with the Pittsburgh performance, but Cleveland reports from Saturday's show prove this concert tour just keeps getting better each night.

From the famous "Invisible" shirt tug dating back to the American Idol 2 Tour to exquisite vocals by Clay and his singing partner, Quiana Parler, to the varied "stump the band" stylings for "Who's Sorry Now" (Bhangra, Latin, and opera in Cleveland), the talented musicians are presenting an entertaining show at every stop.

Instrumentalists include Ben Cohn, conductor/arranger/keyboards; Adam Fallen, guitar; Del Atkins, bass; and Felix Pollard, drums.

Concert Recaps Fill in Blanks

Like countless fans connected to the concert via Cyberspace, I was on the receiving end of a cellcert Saturday night. Separated by expandable photos by cindilu2, these recaps from fans in the Palace Theatre house help replay the Cleveland concert.

cindilu2: Fantastic concert. By far the best of my three. "Unchained" was beyond amazing. Best I've heard him sing it since Raleigh. "Both Sides Now" was a special treat, and "In My Life" was simply sublime.

Hobbes: My favorites were "Unchained Melody," "Build Me Up Buttercup", "Mack The Knife", and "Love Story"; but the opera was my favorite moment of the evening. It was amazing. The Indian (Bhangra) version was great, too, with Quiana taking on most of it. Clay was laughing too hard at her dancing to add much.

When Clay was talking about the band members he said that Felix and his wife had an anniversary coming up on Feb. 28. Felix had told him that he and his wife had danced their first dance to "Something About Us," so he is going to have them dance to the song on stage that night.

When he did his bit jokingly complaining about cellcerters, he asked a woman who she was talking to and where she was. The certer was from Peru and the person receiving the cert (Mindy) was in Kansas. He asked if she could fly in all the way from Peru, why couldn’t Mindy show up from Kansas. Very cute!

Beagle3: The concert was awesome. There were a lot of men, the most I've ever seen at a Clay Aiken concert; and it was nice to see. This was the first of my five concerts, and I can't wait to see it again in Cincinnati.

Eight of us are in our suite reliving the concert. Unfortunately, there's a huge fraternity convention in the hotel this weekend, which does not bode well for sleeping. I think we'll be up most of the night.

all4luv: I loved the colors of the lighting they used as a backdrop for the stage. The blues were especially beautiful.

I have not seen "Solitaire" in this concert series yet as my two shows so far have been last night and tonight. I can say that "Both Sides Now" is a masterpiece, and I would not give up him performing that song for any other!

Cyn: In our Meet & Greet, Clay was asked about his choice of opening songs, "Love Story." He said the song was supposed to be on the TNT CD, but it didn’t make the final cut. He really loves the song and decided the lyrics ("Where do I begin ...?") would be a great way to start the concert.

Featured videos by Scarlett include "Who's Sorry Now," Quiana's solo ("Cry Me a River"), "Suspcious Minds," "Unchained Melody," and "Both Sides Now." To save video/audio files, see Cleveland Clack.

'Who's Sorry Now' in three genres.
See Cleveland video full screen at YouTube.

Quiana sings 'Cry Me a River.'
Link to YouTube to view Cleveland video full screen.

Clay & Co. sing 'Suspicious Minds' in Cleveland.
View video full screen at YouTube.

Clay's signature 'Unchained Melody' closes concert.
View Cleveland video by Scarlett full screen at YouTube.

Cleveland encore features 'Both Sides Now.'
View video by Scarlett full screen at YouTube.

Postscripts to Scarlett's videos are her one-sentence summary of the Cleveland concert and a clickable screen cap from the show:

It's always been wonderful, but last night was way beyond that.

Click to expand Cleveland screen cap by Scarlett.

Have an awesome week, Clay Nation! Catch you after Connecticut ...

Caro

Word Is Out: Aiken-Studdard Show Loads of Fun!

Ruben and Clay open Timeless Tour show in Lancaster, PA.
View video by Scarlett full screen at YouTube.

Clay Aiken, Ruben Studdard & Co.

Shows Generate Ticket Sales

The word is out -- the Timeless Tour show of Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard is a two-hour song and comedy fest not to be missed.

In addition to promotional stories by local media, positive reviews spread by excited concert goers has last-minute ticket buyers hitting box offices right up until show times.

The Portsmouth Sinfonia, musicians playing instruments completely unfamiliar to them, produce the hilarious rendition of "Also sprach Zarathustra" by Richard Strauss in the Timeless Tour opener. Check them out at YouTube.

All instrumental music majors are required to take classes in the various orchestral families. A woodwind specialist, I sounded just like the Portsmouth trumpeters in brass class. However, I could wail on French Horn and trombone in my college days. *g*

Review: 'Good Music, Talent Timeless'

Anne Marie Coar's review of the Timeless Tour performance at the American Music Theatre in Lancaster, PA, is spot on. Here are excerpts of her article at Suite 101:

The approximately two-hour long Timeless Tour was as much about entertainment and the rapport between two former American Idol "rivals," Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard, as it was about the music, which spanned the past 60 years.

Before the show began, a sinister-voiced announcer dramatically and humorously retold the moments leading up to the final 2003 showdown between Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard.

American Idol winner Studdard then took the stage and began singing his coronation song and first single, "Flying Without Wings." Midway through, Aiken appeared from the wings and launched into "This is the Night."

The pair, amid microphone grabs and playful shoves, switched back and forth between the two songs, amid cheers from the packed audience at Lancaster, Pennsylvania’s American Music Theatre. [snip]

Aiken and Studdard returned to the stage for an encore performance of "Time of My Life." As the pair’s powerful vocals filled the theatre for one last time that night, Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard proved good music is not the only thing that is timeless. Talent is too.

The tour's final five shows begin with tonight's 8 p.m. performance at the Hampton Beach Casino in Hampton Beach, NH. Other concerts include:

Aug-11 - New York, NY - The Hammestein, 8 pm
Aug-12 - Verona, NY - Turning Stone Casino, 8 pm
Aug-13 - Hammond, IN - Horseshoe Casino, 7:30 pm
Aug-14 - Biloxi, MS - Beau Rivage, 8 pm

Clay's 'Still the One' solo spotlights swinging band in Lancaster.
View video by Scarlett full screen at YouTube.

Verona Promotes Timeless Show

Promo for Thursday's 8 p.m. Verona concert -- Variety Show at Turning Point -- features a phone interview with Clay before the show in Snoqualmie, WA. Below are excerpts from the story at Syracuse.com:

The last time Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard most famously shared a stage together, the big guy with the soulful voice won the season two “American Idol” title and the thin man with the pop chops was named runner-up.

Aiken and Studdard have remained good friends since that night in 2003 when Studdard narrowly earned more votes than Aiken out of the 24 million cast by viewers of the Fox TV show.

Many times when they talked, Aiken says during a phone interview before a show in Snoqualmie, Wash., they spoke of a common desire to go out on tour together.

Finally, they made it happen.

You can read the entire article here. Another interview with Clay, complete with audio, is available at Fox All Access: Clay Aiken & Ruben Studdard Tak a Summer Vacation Together.

The clickable collection below capture moments from the Lancaster, PA, and Windsor, Ontario, shows. Visual artists represented include Irishbookgal, 1, 2, 4; Fountaindawg graphic with photos by nickiwicki, 3; and amazedinnj, 5.

Hammond Venue Anticipates Tour

In Idols bring Timeless tunes to fans, the advance story for Northwest Indiana, Ruben's interview gets the word out about Friday's 7:30 p.m. concert at The Venue at Hammond's Horseshoe Casino:

It's fitting that Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard share a concert stage.

After all, they were the last two battling it out during 2003's "American Idol" finale. Studdard took top honors, and Aiken ranked second. [snip]

These days, Aiken and Studdard aren't competing for praise and votes. They've united on stage for their Timeless summer tour. Their show touches down Friday at The Venue at Hammond's Horseshoe Casino.

"We're having a great time doing the show," said Ruben Studdard, during a recent telephone interview. "It's not often you get the chance to go on the road with someone who is your friend."

The singers will be performing standards as well as renditions of classic pop hits made famous through the decades. [snip]

Feedback on the show has been positive.

"The audiences are having a great time. The fans are loving it," he added.

The entire article can be read here.

Have a wonderful week, Clay Nation!

Caro

Thank you for your blog comments and props for the contributing artists. To leave a remark, scroll to the bottom of that section, click on the "Post a Comment" link, and write in the box provided. Many thnx for stopping by today! - Caro