Greenville was my first JBT concert. Finally. I enjoyed the campground so much the night before I stuck around until almost noon, set up my printer...it works great and now I can copy and scan as I zip along the freeway. LOL. Finding Greenville was easy, but finding a place to park in downtown Greenville became an issue...the Hyatt parking garage was just not an option, unless I wanted to rip off the roof of my van. I finally called the hotel and said I'd like to check in, but I couldn't find any place to put my van. They said valet parking could handle it for $12.00 a day, so that's what we did. Cheapest $12.00 I ever spent!! They whipped that thing around and backed it right in like it belonged there. Sigh.
My concert buddy was right behind me, coming up from Atlanta and we got checked in and caught up on some news, etc. She has already been to Toms River, GMA, Mohegan Sun, Darien Lakes, Pittsburgh and Atlanta. She will hit a total of 17 when she is done and on her way home while I am only racking up 9 this tour.
A preparty was held in a ballroom at the Hyatt so we attended. There was a raffle and I won the first item - a group of 20 Clay pins. I only have 2 of the pins, maybe 3, so this was a great prize to win. I was very excited to meet some CV'rs at the Pre-Party - "Waves" to wonderful CVr's. Fay Parker, Clay's mom, was at the party for a few minutes and they videotaped a lot of it to put together for Clay so he can see what a pre-party is all about. Now, if they would videotape a pajama party after the concerts, then Clay would get a real eye opener.
Off to the concert. I decided to wear the orange blouse and the orange O pin, Clayversity pin and CB pin as those are the two boards I post on. I could not believe how great my seat was...row C, but the stage had an orchestra pit and rows A & B behind that were shorter than my row, so I was right at the bottom of the stairs and had a clear, unobstructed view of the stage.
The concert started off with zest and continued non-stop for over 2 hours, with a 20 minute recess. I absolutely loved it all and it went by so fast I am thankful I have more concerts to attend. Clay demonstrated he indeed can dance, in every nuance of the word. He danced for us...and I think he danced for himself. The 50's medley was funky and fun and brought back lots of memories. I especially liked The Great Pretender, Only You and Mr. Sandman.
Unchained Melody has always been one of my favorite songs and he did it proud. The Elvis medley, with one of Elvis' best songs, Suspicious Minds was a killer. I do wish he would sing Love Me Tender straight, his voice is extremely sweet on this song and I think it gets overlooked with the piano comedy.
Solitaire, what can I say? Beautiful. The 60's songs were "my generation" and I was able to sing along with all of them.
The 70's brought us Barry Manilow and Mandy. I love Clay's version of this song, it's a little more wistful and plaintive than Barry's more robust rendition. Bridge over Troubled Water has never been one of my favorite songs, but Clay certainly owns that song now and he nailed it - I like this version much better than the choir backed AI song. Well, then...When Doves Cry. I understand the Clay fans seeing this at the first concert they were at first amazed that he sang this song again and then even more amazed at the snarky sexiness of the performance. I found it funny, not necessarily sexy, but then Mama Faye was in the audience and I may have seen a sanitized version!!! I would like to see Clay record this song......clean and pure....without any distractions.
The interaction with Quiana and Angela is hysterical...here is a cute pic.
I will have to admit the 80's and 90's were non-musical years for me, so although I recognized most of the songs, I could not relate to them in the same way I do with the 50's and 60's and maybe the 70's. I enjoyed the segments, but will want to hear them again in subsequent concerts. Clay's medley of his songs reminded me how much I loved MOAM and always will.
Which brings us to the two new songs. Back for More is catchy and fun and has the potential to be a big hit. It is truly "addictive". Just You, I need to hear better. I think I like it a lot,
Extras - Remember I mentioned my seat at the bottom of the stairs? On the AISLE. Yes, those are the stairs he used to come into the audience to look for a "dragged along guy". He stood right beside me while he talked to the young man, who came out of the row behind me and stood at the end of that aisle. Nick was standing behind me. I was rooted to the spot, he was so close I could have reached out and hugged him without even leaning over. It was very exciting. For the life of me I can't remember what he said to the guy, but I do remember he looked at me once for confirmation of something he had said about his album and I nodded. His eyes are, indeed, very green. I actually got a little fangirly. And I might even have eeeee'd a little, I don't know....it's all a blur.
Clay is destined to be an all around entertainer, I think. Not just a singer. He has great comedic timing and his stage presence just grows and grows.
Did I say I LOVED the concert? Did I EVER !!!!
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