I had such a wonderful time in NYC...albeit a soggy one. Valeda was my travelmate and we covered many NYC streets in our 2 days there. As soon as we arrived at Grand Central Station, we walked over to the Shubert Theater on 44th Street and Broadway. What a thrill it was to see the Shubert Theater marquee knowing that in just a few short months Clay will be performing at that theater!
So many others have already covered most of the details and emotion of the evening. I will try to add bits and pieces of things that hopefully are not too redundant.
Arriving at Lincoln Center was one of the most amazing feelings! It was such a thrill for me to be there. I was in awe and I had this huge grin on my face the minute we stepped into Lincoln Center Plaza and I stood in front of Avery Fisher Hall.
Being at the tribute was such a blast of the past for me. So many of the performers were people that I had listened to in my younger years. I was tickled to see and hear Cousin Brucie! I grew up listening to Cousin Brucie on the radio. Let's just say I was one of his "cousins" which is what he called his radio listeners. He called us "cousins" Friday night, too. I still recognized his voice like it was yesterday.
David Foster was wonderful. I didn't read about the loss of his recording studio in Malibu until I returned home from NYC. You would never have known that anything had happened. He was funny and charming and talented, too. After watching (and loving) all of the clack from the David Foster Gala last year, it was such a thrill to get to see David Foster live and to see Clay and him interact together with such mutual respect, warmth and humor.
At some point, I read a post about a CBS DJ who said he was going to introduce Clay that night at the Sedaka Tribute. The DJ did not introduce Clay; David Foster did. But, the CBS DJ did walk out after Clay sang Solitaire and as he walked out he said, "Wow".
The CBS DJ introduced Lou Christie. After he sang, Cousin Brucie came back out to introduce the next performer. Cousin Brucie said something about how all of these performers make it seem so easy. He said something about how he goes into the shower (presumably to sound good singing). Then he said, "This Clay!". I'm not sure exactly what his next words were and I can't make it out in the audio. But, it was something like..."This Clay! How about him?". Now, mind you....there had already been another performer after Clay....Lou Christie with two backup singers...and Cousin Brucie was referring to Clay's phenomenal performance. He was impressed! So that was TWO DJ's that were impressed by Clay: the CBS DJ and Cousin Brucie. Made me feel soooooo good.
Michael Dorf, the producer of the show, spoke at the beginning about the proceeds of the show going to the Elton John Aids Foundation. When Clay walked off the stage after his performance, Michael Dorf shook his hand and patted Clay on the shoulder. It was another good feeling to see another respected producer interacting with Clay with warm regards.
David Foster talked about Neil's achievements spanning so many decades and how that puts him in such "rare air". I loved that expression and thought it captured Clay, too. I think Clay is another one of those "rare air" performers.
WOO-EEEEE!!! (TM Neil Sedaka). Yep. I just had to say that because that was the expression that Neil Sedaka used several times throughout the evening when he was describing a strong feeling. Sort of like his version of "WooHoo". Valeda and I had fun the rest of the weekend saying, "Woo-eeeee!" whenever we were happy about something.
Everyone has already described how wonderful Clay looked and sounded. I was struck by his hands. In the beginning he seemed to hold his hands in an particular way so that his right thumb seemed to be touching the palm of his left hand. Upon watching the wonderful clack of the event, I could almost tell what verse he was singing because of the movements of his hands throughout the song. They were beautiful and distinct. At one point, he pulled his left hand towards his face, almost in front of it. The emotion was palpable. And then towards the end, his hands were in this "one hand pressing into the palm" of the other hand position. He had his right hand on his abdomen at one point, and it reminded both Valeda and me of when he sang "This is the Night" on the finale night. He used his hands so expressively and beautifully.
This was already mentioned, but, I, too, noticed how David Foster stopped the music right before Clay sang the last big note in Solitaire...and then the music joined in again. It reminded me of when David had Clay singing the note in UM at the Foster Gala and talked about showcasing a showstopping note by doing that.
After his performance, Clay nods his head to the audience, he points and bows to David (who played the piano) and then he gave a slight bow towards the first tier box where Neil was sitting. It might not be apparent to viewers of the video that Clay was bowing to Neil for the third bow since you can't see where Neil is sitting in the video.
When Neil came out on stage, it felt so good to be able to stand and applaud the man who was one of the first celebrities to acknowledge Clay's talent. Neil's emotional and emphatic praise of Clay as a guest judge on AI endeared Neil to me. I was so happy to be able to be a part of honoring Neil in this small way.
I was elated to hear after the performance that there would be clack. I was hoping for audio, but to find out that there would also be video was just such a gift. I am so happy that fans who could not be there could share in that moment. I am so grateful to all who made it possible to get clack of that amazing performance.
Finally, when I opened the Lincoln Center Playbill for the gala, there was a print advertisement for a car on the first two pages. This is what the ad said:
"Increases dopamine, serotonin and adrenaline. And that's just sitting still."
I smiled as I thought, "Forget the car. That describes Clay!".
Whether it's sitting in front of a computer waiting for a ticket sale to start, or reading the words, "HE BLOGGED", or sitting in the orchestra at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center in NYC....to quote Cousin Brucie, "This Clay"....
Increases dopamine,
serotonin,
and adrenaline.
And that's just sitting still.
Woo-eeeeeeeeee!!
Thanks, Clay!
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