Despite the heat and cumbersome attire, including black leather and polyester, Aiken’s voice ranged from “Love Me Tender” sweet to “When Doves Cry” seductive. At a few points in the show I thought the vocals were somewhat overpowered by the crashing drums but the purity of his voice was quite poignant during the 60’s medley of “Daydream Believer”, “Sugar-Sugar” and “Downtown”. The medley’s moved quickly as did Aiken from atop a Baldwin grand piano belting out “Great Balls of Fire”. The audience enjoyed his full versions of such chart-toppers as “Unchained Melody”, “Solitaire”, “Bridge over Troubled Waters” and “Mandy.” Manilow would be proud. Clay has obviously been working on his dance moves as evidenced by his fancy foot work while posing as a “pip” on the “Midnight Train to Georgia.” and his hip swivels during the Elvis Medley. (I thought Grease was cute) I believe his rendition of “Suspicious Minds” would have been lauded by “The King” himself. He chose to leave the Michael Jackson moves to his back up singer, Jacob Luttrell. How-ever, it should be noted that Aiken’s backup singers are on the stage for far more than vocal support. All three are quite talented and are an integral part of the show. Quiana Parler earned her own standing “O” with her powerful rendition of “I Will Always Love You.” Move over Whitney. With this being the fourth tour for this foursome, it seems that they have “bonded”, so to speak. It also seems that Mr. Aiken chose this show to possibly repay Ms. Fischer for some past misdeed. Throughout the evening, she was the target of his jokes and mischievous looks. He acknowledged their behavior to the audience by explaining that Ms. Fischer had crush on him and he had let her down easy.
From the enthusiasm of the fans and abundance of Clay-related regalia, it is apparent that Ms. Fischer is not the only one enamored by Mr. Aiken. Even though he has sung his new song, “Back for More” only a few times since the tour started, his devoted fans had no trouble singing along word for word. As they said back in the day, “The joint was jumping”. The song has a great “hook” and if the passion for it at Wolftrap is any indication of it’s mass effect, DJ’s will be spinning it every hour on the hour. His other new song entitled “1000 Days” is a typical Aiken ballad but has potential as well. For those wondering, Aiken says the new album will be out “when it’s ready”, apparently a joke among anxious fans.
This highly energized show was a treat for all in attendance, even those with lawn seats at the bottom of the hill. Despite white caps lapping at their backs from the run-off, these concert-goers hung in there ‘til the end, a testament to the quality of the show.