The Clay Aiken Christmas Experience

I fell a little behind in my recapping. Totally skipped the lovely evening of ballet (Suzanne Farrell), courtesy of a friend with season tickets, and the very interesting world premiere of Young Robin Hood at Round House (as always, I liked the dancer the best). Autumn just gets busy, you know?

I didn't have to travel nearly as far as some of his more dedicated fans, but the two Clay Aiken Christmas concerts I was able to attend were just far enough away to prompt me to splurge on hotel reservations. Shippen Place in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, was quite lovely, as was the venue, Luhr's Center on campus of Ship-U. Very classy place. The town, a bit run down, however, though I'd be happy to go again sometime.

That is, unless of course Clay promises to come closer to home: e.g., the Birchmere, Strathmore, Kennedy Center, National, Warner, Constitution Hall, and the forthcoming Bethesda Blues and Jazz Club, opening (they say) in February. (I already called dibs on front-row center when Clay plays there.)

Just four days after Shippensburg, Clay played at Easton, Maryland's historic Avalon Theatre (which I have yet to type without adding a g on the end - Avalong). It looked down-in-the-dumps in the Google Street photos I saw, but in real life it was quaint and cozy inside. And the town of Easton is exactly the kind of small town I'd love to live in. I'd totally go back, even if Clay played all of those above mentioned venues in the same tour.

Those who know nothing of these things and still sneer with an air of superiority ask why in the world one goes to more than one Clay Aiken concert in the same tour. Not to mention the fact (which they wouldn't know anyway) that the 2012 iteration of the Joyful Noise Tour (JNT) is more or less a "Best of" previous versions (but without dancers, truckloads of sets and equipment, and elves and heh-heh fairies).

The venues, the towns, the pick-up musicians, the condition of Clay's voice, and the vicissitudes of Clay's hair all make for completely different experiences from one night to the next. Even his banter, dependent on the same basic sets of tall tales, writhes to hilarious alterations.

This year's big audience interaction bit involved someone being chosen to pull a random Christmas carol out of the bowl and see how much of the lyrics they get right. It's funny because Clay himself has a tendency to rely on his own "random-lyric generator," as it has been lovingly named. I was all set to do dramatic interpretations of "Little Drummer Boy" or "Rudolph, the Reindeer with the Red Nose" (using person-first language here), but he didn't call on me.

Those who know nothing of these things and still sneer with an air of superiority actually think Clay ought to know me by first name by now, since I'm apparently his "number-one fan." In fact, even with two "meet and greets" now, and two group photos at the charity galas, I still haven't made eye contact with the guy. I'm not nearly vivacious enough (that's a nice word for it - vivacious) to get his attention. Those who are and do, well, that's entertaining, too. All part of the Clay Aiken experience.

The other reason to go to multiple venues is to see what works on my camera. Camera settings I borrowed from other "clack" gatherers worked pretty well in the gorgeous and spacious auditorium at Shippensburg, but not at all in Easton's tiny Avalon. (Pause to delete another g.) And for video, I just totally used the wrong format (AVCHD) in Shippensburg; switching to mp4 for Easton worked pretty well, except for having the "up my nose" view from the second row.

So here is just a little taste of the Clay Aiken Christmas Experiences.

Shippensburg:

And Easton:

Autumn in Bethesda

Just a few pix. Click to enlarge.

Credit all: C. G. Wagner

After a storm:

Setting sun on autumn leaves:

Morning illumination:

and the new public art installation at Union Hardware:

Great Grottoes

As most Clay Aiken fans know, after a tour has ended, the Man is inclined to retreat to what we lovingly call his "man-cave." There's something to be said for having a great grotto (though depending on which rumors you believe, he may be in the process of finding a new grotto... who knows? Maybe back to Wake Co., an area of political interest to him).

Grottoes may or may not have added geological appeal to the Man, again depending on which rumors you believe. I can't say that it was geology necessarily that led me to my day trip today. But it was Clay. Or rather, a nice long drive gave me the opportunity to listen to my two-disc custom made CD of the Timeless Tour (Biloxi show) featuring Clay and Ruben Studdard, and an interest of mine was (irrationally) Boonsboro, Maryland (irrational because it should be spelled with an e, having been founded by cousins of Daniel Boone).

A change of scenery is always good for someone who lives in a box--a noisy city box. In searching the Net for Boonsboro, I found a couple of interesting destinations: Washington Monument State Park and Crystal Grottoes Caverns.

So off I went, on a hot day with the a/c and CA blasting. First stop is Washington Monument, which isn't the one you're thinking of. This was actually (according to the brochure) the first monument completed in honor of George Washington, built by the citizens of Boonsboro in 1827.

The monument was used by the Union Army as a signal tower during the Civil War, as it offered an outstanding view of the valley below, including Middletown, Maryland.

Truthfully, I didn't spend a lot of time contemplating history. It was hot, and I am in no way an outdoor cat. I met a sweet kid on the Appalachian Trail, passing through from Maine on her way to Georgia. Now there's someone who won't be grottoed.

Got back in the car and let Clay and Ruben continue toward the end of the first half of their concert... In mileage, I can't tell you how far away from my apartment Boonsboro is, but it is just a little bit more than half the length of the Timeless Tour, which was over two hours.

In Boonsboro, head west on Rte 34 to get to Crystal Grottoes Caverns.

I was glad to see a family from New Jersey waiting for the "next tour," which was apparently whenever there were enough people to take down to the caverns. The young man leading us was not a professional geologist, but learned all he needed on the job, which he'd been doing for about a year. This cavern has (according to the brochure) "more formations per square foot than any Cave known to man and is the most naturally kept Caverns in the world."

Okay, of course there's something Clay related in all this. The formations in their natural state are covered in clay. Heh. Our young guide explained that there is a massive "noncommercial" area of the caverns that are still being excavated, explored, cleaned. I asked what they used to clean the clay off the formations, and he said "toothbrushes and toothpaste." I confess to wondering whether it was cinnamon or mint.

This was a day trip for me, and a pleasant one at that. I had brought my computer and an overnight bag with me in case I wanted to stay over. Boonsboro didn't offer much else to attract me, certainly not the cafe that also offered guns and ammunition. Middletown was a nice stop for lunch, but I really did want to head back home.

To my grotto - and Clay and Ruben along the way.

Love, hosaa
caving

Credit: All photos by C. G. Wagner

Bethesda Snow, Feb. 3, 2010

It was just so pretty this morning....