Justin Timberlake – Man of the Woods – Mohegan Sun

Katie April 15, 2019 0 Comments

This weekend Justin had back-to-back shows at the Mohegan Sun Arena.  These shows were originally scheduled for December 2018, but since Justin was dealing with some vocal issues they were postponed and ended up being the last 2 shows of the tour.

The setlist for each night was the same, but I had mirrored seats for each night so that was kind of cool and totally made for a different show for me each night. Night 1 the main stage was blocked by a freaking tree a lot of the time when Justin was dead center so that was obnoxious. Night 2 I thought I was safe, but there was a camera blocking me here and there.  I really wouldn’t have cared about the “obstruction” if the tickets weren’t $400+ a piece – face value.

The first night Justin took some time to look at signs  – which apparently the arena got in trouble for so there was no outright mention of signs the 2nd night.  There was a sign that someone got a speeding ticket on the way there and Justin said he was glad she was safe – but wasn’t going to say how fast she was going.  Someone else mentioned that they had just had a baby 6 days ago so Justin asked if the baby was there. (It was not)  A lot of people with pregnancy announcements.

It took me until night 2 to really appreciate the show. It may have been because the first night he opened with his 6 dancers behind him which just made me miss NSYNC and by the 2nd night I was over that and could just enjoy it for the great performance that it was.  The stage goes across the whole length of the arena which really allowed pretty much everyone to be “close” at some point.  I was more near the center bar area each night but he split his time fairly evenly, I thought.

After the last show… he was saying thank you and said “I’m probably never doing this again”  What “this” is – we aren’t sure.  Play shows in Connecticut? Tour? Record music? Do a large scale tour? Be a solo artist? (Wishful thinking)  It kind of took the air out of the balloon… I guess what he meant will be found out in time…

2Cellos at Mohegan Sun

Katie April 15, 2019 0 Comments

When Jon McLaughlin announced that he was going to be opening for 2Cellos and that their tour would be coming to Mohegan Sun, I immediately started looking for tickets. It had already been on sale, so all my favorite spots seemed to be taken.  A friend ended up snagging a free pair of tickets for us and for the low, low price of free, I’ll sit almost anywhere.  We had a decent spot in the back of the arena.  Jon opened and did 6 songs and seemed to win over the crowd a lot, everyone seemed to be having a lot of fun with the call and response he did in his songs.  After his set he announced he’d be signing autographs so we headed over to say hi.

When we got back to our seats, 2Cellos was already on their 2nd song.  I had no idea anything about 2Cellos before this show and didn’t at all know what to expect.  I have to say, it was one of the weirdest shows I have ever been to, but was definitely enjoyable.  There are 2 cellos on stage and that’s it (except for when a drummer joins them) and they play a lot of songs you will probably recognize.  One of them spoke only once while the other seemed to speak more – but said “This next song… is beautiful… and romantic…” before every song he introduced. It was comical.  Towards the end, things really picked up and one of them was even playing cello while walking through the crowd with it strapped to him and while spinning around in circles on his back on the stage.  They also tried to get some sing a longs going – especially the “Why Why?” in Human Nature and a lot towards the end when they did Highway to Hell and I Can’t Get No Satisfaction.

I’m really glad I ended up going, had Jon not been opening I wouldn’t have even thought about going to this show – it was amazing how I had never heard of these guys yet they had a jam packed arena crowd on their feet and totally into their performance. Usually they say to pay attention to the openers but sometimes the openers (from 12 years ago) become one of your favorites and then end up opening you up to a whole new world with a headliner!