Clay's Blog

• TOMS RIVER -- JukeBox Tour Concert Review - 28 July 2005

  07/31/05 7 Comments

  My Review - Toms River JBT

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  Overview

  There were WAY too many songs to go thru' the entire set list so I'll just cover this as a whole... I am recapping my impressions after attending the concert, but before reviewing "Clack" or hearing most of the songs more than once

  I did not feel that Clay strayed into "karaoke" or even too far into the "cheese" -- Given the nature of the show, this could have been a major problem -- I was esp. worried about the "Elvis" portion, which might have come off as a silly caricature and nothing more -- Clay IS a consummate entertainer and he commands the stage completely, he's just such a natural in front of an audience -- I was esp. happy to see how much more comfortable he is in the "sexy/alpha male pop-star" on-stage persona which he now projects (note -- I am sure the cynics and critics will not agree with me here -- and there WERE a couple of cheesy moments)

  The medleys were well-done to excellent -- very few (if any) noticeable "clunky" change-overs and decent variety

  Song Choice -- Excellent, smart -- some songs that I did not expect but that turned out fine ('Can't Make Me Love You', 'Alone" & 'Mandy') -- almost every song was "recognizable", which I felt was important when dealing with such a diverse audience -- most were really FUN songs, the type that make you want to move, or at least sing along (esp. the 50's/60's stuff) -- I was actually pleased that Clay sang a full (or almost full) version of cover songs that he's become "identified" with (i.e. - "Solitaire", "Unchained Melody", "BOTW") even tho' there is an "AI connection"

  Sound/Singers -- Clay's voice sounded really, REALLY good; versatile, completley appropriate for the various genres, mainly bright & strong (esp. impressed with his strength in the lower register) but also quiet, tender and wistful (esp. during 'Mandy' and 'Love me Tender') -- I did hear some "missed" notes and at least 2 or 3 "cracks" but nothing worrisome or horrendous -- Angela tends towards "strident" at times, but she's got excellent stage presence -- Jacob was quite good, his sax-playing was MUCH less irritating and I liked how much fun he was having with "Rock With You" & "Can't Touch That" -- Quiana was amazing, esp. on her big ("IWALY") solo -- her voice is always beautiful, alone or with the others...I was pleasantly impressed by her stage-presence and how it has improved -- I do think the overall tone of all 3 back-up singers fits in great with Clay's voice & style, the blending, support and harmonies are tight and I have a feeling we'll see more and more improvement as the tour goes along -- the sound mix was off occasionally, esp. in some of the earlier songs (that may have been the clunky mics) and a few times the reverb was WAY up (possibly intentional) -- glad to hear there was no "helium" voice, no buzzing, no overwhelming and too-distracting bass (which has been a problem in some past concerts -- mostly AI2 & IT)

  The Band -- sounded real tight and they seem to be having a great time together, with the singers and with the "Star" -- the overall sound & production came across as professional -- I def. like Andy Abad on guitar, he has some unique "quirks" and seems to enjoy a bit of "ad-lib" work, but never so much as to become distracting... the drummer kept it going and I adore S'von -- I heard what may have been a few missed cues and maybe some note/chord boo-boos but overall it was an excellent mix and again, I'm sure we'll only see improvement as the tour moves along and the songs/medleys become more comfortable for everyone -- I THINK that it was a band-member doing the "Preacher" bit... he was Hysterical !!

  Production -- also tight and professional -- stage-hands worked quickly and fairly unobtrusively, the sound and lighting was good (a few missed lighting cues (one of which was REAL bad, leaving Clay stranded in the dark for quite a while... but maybe I only noticed because I did some "spotlight" work ages ago and tend to watch for that stuff)

  Stuff I Loved

  Fonz-Clay (g'ah leather jacket, tight pants)

  the little "teacher lecture" before each decade G

  Absolutely Adored Clay playing the piano during "Love Me Tender" -- totally unexpected and extremely touching -- I really felt like he did this "for us" and I was as proud of him as if he was my own kid at a recital -- his nervous "Oh Jesus" before he started was so sweet and so Clay

  The entire 50's medely and Elvis-medley (esp. "JailHouse Rock") - "Unchained Melody" - "Solitaire

  "Daydream Believer" (I had a total crush on Davy Jones) and Clay doing the "Monkee Walk" with the girls

  "Nights on Broadway"- "Mandy" (surprisingly) - "Bridge Over Troubled Water"

  The snark and the ratcheted up sexy that was "When Doves Cry" (and later, in "Living La Vida Loca") - "Iris"

  "I Can't Make You Love Me"... cracked hold-note and all....

  Quiana's "I Will Always Love You" and Clay's generosity (and confidence) in letting others have the spotlight

  Clay DANCING for us, Clay singing about taking off his clothes and tossing the vest, Clay, the back-ups & the band ALL having FUN & the audience having FUN right back

  "Back For More"

  Stuff I Liked

  Everything Else -- HONESTLY !! There was not ONE thing where I rolled my eyes or one song that wished it was not in the set... (alltho' there were a couple I would have liked added)

  Like the stage set & the backdrops -- really quite simple but worked fine for the show -- I did think they should have had some sort of backdrop or better lighting effect for the final segment ("00's") -- I think it was just a blank backdrop the whole time (of course, I hardly take my eyes off Clay all show long)

  Things I Might Change

  The ONLY thing I would change is I would cut a verse and chorus out of "Sailing" (which doesn't really go anywhere and is the only spot in the show that drags a bit) I would then add a verse and chorus to "Iris" (GREAT lyrics for Clay and the type of song should be built upon more)

  Audience/Impressions

  The audience was diverse in age, but skewing towards women & white (not unexpected) -- I did see plenty of guys, including YOUNG guys -- my favorites were a HUGE, biker-looking guy with tattoos and a shaved head who was jumping up and down, doing the wavy-arms thing and SCREAMING for Clay to pick him to come on stage !! He was SO cool !!! and 2 little girls right in front of us (maybe 8 & 6) who danced thru' EVERY song, eee'd along with all the ladies and had matching Clay shirts -- adorable

  The audience was enthusiastic and responsive and really seemed to have FUN -- most stood thru' the fast songs but some sat down for the quieter songs, more as the night went on -- thankfully there was very little distracting, attention seeking screaming (you know -- the "I Love You, Clay" squeals at inappropriate times) and hardly any signs near us -- "Invisible" is still a huge crowd-pleaser and I could hear the entire place singing -- I thought that "Back for More" got the better response of the 2 new songs, but that may have been because it was a "faster, rockier" song

  Not Just Us -- directly behind us were 3 women, probably 60-something, dressed beautifully, looked well-to-do -- they only knew Clay from American Idol and decided to attend because they lived close by the venue -- they had both his CDs ("MOAM" & "MCWL") and said they saw him on a few morning/talk shows but that was about it -- no idea of the demos, never saw a concert before -- I kept an eye on them (worried a bit about how they'd like Clay's concert persona) but let me tell you -- all THREE were thudding by night's end -- I turned around during "When Doves Cry" and the one woman was fanning herself and had the brightest smile on her face !! (I think maybe I should have given her an "O" pin) -- they were impressed, surprised at how "acticve" and connected Clay was, and were up and dancing thru' much of the show -- I did get the one woman's address and will be sending her a burned Demo-CD

  Bottom Line

  I had an absolutely FABULOUS time -- words cannot describe how very special it is for me to be able to "share" a show & Clay with both my Mom and my daughter and to just know they they're having as great a time as I am - seeing my daughter crying (with both joy and because of fond remembrance) during "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and knowing that this is a memory that we'll both have forever makes my heart sing... this is only part of what what makes Clay so special to me....

  I CAN'T WAIT 'til the Borgata show.... EEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

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