I have SO MUCH to tell you all!! I just got back from the BEST FREAKING SHOW I'VE EVER SEEN!! (Or maybe it's just because I was close enough to see Clay spit when he sang, LOL!)Prepare for the long story!!
We started our Clay adventure by getting to Columbus around noon. We had 3 hours to kill and decided to drive by the stadium. While we were driving we saw 3 girls decked out in Kelly shirts waiting for their busses to arrive. Katie and I decided to wait with them in hopes of seeing Clay arrive. After waiting a while we decided to get lunch and come back. A little crowd was waiting, but it was worth it!!! Around 3 we saw the tour bus pull in to the venue. After about 15 minutes Clay came out of the bus, waved and smiled at us, and walked into the arena. We weren't very close because the bus pulled into a lower fenced off level we couldn't get past. This started our day of Clay fun.
For dinner we attended the Clay preparty (my sister is an avid Clay message board user and hooked it up for us). I believe there were over 200 people registered. All types of people showed up. I was amazed at how broad clay's fan base is. I got to sign the banner that's going from city to city. People had pictures from Clayvention and many had stories of meeting him, etc. And hey, it was good food too! Can't be beat!!
Finally it was concert time. We had second row seats, so I was unable to contain myself. Kelly was first and being a Kelly fan as well, thought she put on a good set. We flipped our Clay sign and made one that said "Kelly, we love your movie." She saw it, smiled, and waved. That was sweet. During Thankful she showed a slideshow of snapshots of her and her friends and family. It was really cute and goes to show how "normal" Kelly still is in her business. Everyone was polite, but it was terribly obvious that most of the people weren't there for her. I felt kinda bad, so I tried to cheer loudly.
FINALLY it was time for Clay. I almost fell over when I found out that when he walks in during Kyrie he was walking down the aisle by me!! My sister touched him and I was busy snapping pictures. Jerome (his bodyguard) was pretty good at fending off fans, but it was still awesome!! Clay sat on top of the speaker directly in front of me. (when I fidn a way to get these pictures online I'll let you guys know. They're great.) The arena was going INSANE. He had the day before off, so he was refreshed for our show. When he talked on the phone it was to one of Katie's clayboard friends, and the rest of her internet friends said it was the funniest one he's done since. He actually did change the words in "I Survived You" so he didn't swear. I guess he was pretty serious when he said he wouldn't sing it again! Kelly and Clay's duet at the end was amazing. I need to get a copy of it!! It was seriously better than I imagined. I'm sure I"ll have more input from the concert, but this post is already obnoxiously long!!
Your post gave me chills, Phisigprincess! Thanks so much for sharing your experience with us. I'm sure you'll cherish your memories for years to come 
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- Tickets were sold out less in less than an hour. 
. It was so funny last week when Simon told Ruben he would pay him to re-enter the contest 
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