Throwback Thursday: Arthur Ashe Kids Day 8/29/09
Katie 
Headliner: Justin Bieber
Opener(s): Honor Society, Jordin Sparks
Venue: Arthur Ashe Stadium
Cost: $20
Setlist:
NKOTBSB – Take 2!
Thursday, June 2 I decided to once again head up to Mohegan Sun to check out the NKOTBSB tour. Jordin Sparks was opening at this show and I found a decently priced single seat on StubHub that afternoon. It was the front row of the upper section, but on the opposite side of the arena from where I had sat during Monday’s show.
When I got to the venue, doors were already open. Buying tickets off websites other than livenation/ticketmaster always makes me a bit nervous (especially when they are e-tickets) and when it was scanned – the kid’s scanner said “INVALID” I tried to remain calm but inside I was FREAKING OUT. He called over a supervisor and she scanned it and it still said “INVALID” but then did something else and told me I was all set. Whew! Then I spent the 40 minutes before the show started paranoid that someone was going to come with a ticket to the same seat. (Never happened, but the 2 girls next to me were in the wrong section so they had to leave when 2 girls with the ‘same seats’ showed up!)
The first opening act was once again “The Goonies”… they did the same set but the Arena was even less full for them than on Monday. (They also went on stage 20 mins earlier) Next up was Ashlyne Huff. She also did the same set but she and her dancers had on different outfits.
While I was sitting in my seat I saw Donnie tweet that it looked like JON would be joining them for the show! I am not sure why that got me so excited, but it did. (Originally Jon had tweeted that he thought he’d be cleared by the doctor to start shows back up again Friday)
Next up was my girl, Jordin Sparks. Her set was No Air, S.O.S., One Step at a Time, Tattoo and she did a mashup/medley of Irreplaceable (Beyonce) / Price Tag (Jessi J) / Perfect (Pink) / Where Is The Love (BEP). She decicated her song “Battlefield” to “her soldier Brian” who is her bodyguard that is heading off to Iraq soon. She said his family was in the audience (I believe he is originally from CT) and she finished off her set with her new single – I Am Woman. She had 2 male dancers that joined her for several of the songs.
Then it was time for NKOTBSB! The intro gets you soooo freaking hyped up for the show, it is ridiculous. Even when I knew what was coming – it still made me so excited in anticipation for the curtain to drop. And then there were 9 instead of 8! It was cool to see how the show changed to add Jon back in to the set up. He also seemed a bit rusty on his dance moves and was often looking at the other guys instead of straight ahead or wherever he was supposed to be looking and at one point Donnie grabbed him to take him down the stairs because it looked like Jon was a bit lost. In the beginning he seemed to be keeping up quite well with all the dance moves, but he kind of toned it down a bit more towards the end. I don’t blame him – it is a LONG show and a LOT of dancing!
Another difference with the show was that Joey McIntyre had a baby in the time between Monday and Thursday, so they showed a video of Joe wrapping the baby up and kissing her. Kira Katherine is adorable and has a TON of hair. (He said he hopes it doesn’t get crazy curly like his was as a kid lol)
About an hour in to the show my camera battery was blinking so I decided to turn it off and just enjoy the show and wait until the end of the show to get bow photos. It was nice that way I could attempt to pay attention to everything that was going on rather than focus on the lighting and when I could get a good photo, etc. I really need to keep a stash of batteries in my car for these last minute decisions!
During the encore, Nick came out in a white tank top instead of his jersey and I thought my camera had died after taking a few photos of him. Turns out – it didn’t… I just kept re-arranging the order the batteries were in and I was able to get a few more photos each time!
Ray Allen came out with NKOTB for the encore which was cool. He played for UCONN so I thought he’d get more of a cheer but maybe a lot of the audience didn’t know who he was?
The show was a lot of fun and I am glad that I got to see it a second time with Jordin and Jon included! The setlist was the same as Monday’s show so I am not going to bother posting it again.
Jordin Sparks Webster Theatre 6/12
Last night Jordin Sparks brought her Battlefield Tour to the Webster Theatre in Hartford, CT. When I arrived, there were 2 huge buses with Jordin’s face on them. One pledging to not Text and Drive and the other for Mike & Ike’s, one of the sponsors of her tour.
After taking pictures of the buses, I went to find security to see about getting a seat inside. Within 2 minutes everything was put in place and one of the guys was apologizing for taking “so long” to get an answer for me! They are so much nicer at this venue than a certain other ‘legendary’ venue in CT…
Then I hung out with security and got to see how many people asked where Will Call was and even told a guy where to go to pick up his M&G; wristbands. He had an extra, did he thank me by giving me it? No. haha.
There were a few cheers as Jordin entered the building escorted by her bodyguard, Brian. Next thing I know she is in the lobby across from me! That is where the M&G; was being held. Brian ended up closing the door, but it was glass so I was still able to see her with all the fans. Her hair was long and she looked great!
A little after 7 we were let inside, I snagged a stool and then got my picture taken with a fake Jordin on a green screen LOL I was almost going to make the girl make it so I looked taller than Jordin, but Jordin is a giant so no one would have believed that!
The first band on was Days Difference, unfortunately a couple of couples of Yankee fans decided to stand right in front of me, so I couldn’t see them much at all. I didn’t really like what I heard either, but I hear a lot of good things about them on twitter so maybe I should check out their studio stuff before i completely write them off.
Next up was Kate Voegele – I had seen her I think 3 times with Hanson on their Walk tour and wasn’t that into her then, but she seemed more tolerable last night. I was a bit surprised she came out wearing a Union Jack top, since the World Cup game was such a huge deal earlier in the day (not that I follow Soccer) and a few songs in she mentioned that she just realized she was wearing it, but was screaming for USA during the game and she wanted to make sure we all knew she was for USA in the game and her outfit choice was just a coincidence. Her second to last song was a cover of ‘Hallelujah’ which she prefaced by saying that she knew that it had been covered a lot, but she didn’t care. I think I can go for the rest of my life without hearing it again though. When she started it, the little boy sitting behind me said ‘this song is from Shrek!’ haha
Then it was time to set the stage up for the main event, Jordin Sparks! She seemed a little bit more in her element last night than she did last month at the casino. The casino show was her first show of the tour so there were probably still some kinks to work out with her performance, but the crowd was also more energetic and of course standing vs sitting. (Me and a couple of the kids around me being the exception) The crowd ranged in age from a tiny baby (with no ear protection!) to grandmothers.
It was incredibly hot inside the venue, Jordin mentioned it after almost every song and before singing Tattoo actually asked for them to turn off some of the stage lights. Then she thanked everyone who voted for her on Idol and everyone who might not have seen her on Idol but was there tonight supporting her. She also spoke a bit about her pledge to not txt and drive and how if you’re not old enough to drive yet to hold your parents accountable. She mentioned that she often tells her mom to not text and her mom will say “but I’m emailing!” Also mentioned were Mike & Ike’s and their new Alex’s Lemonade flavor and she encouraged everyone to look in to the foundation.
She finished up her set with her first single, Tattoo, and then her single with Chris Brown, No Air. She had the crowd sing some of Chris’ parts and the rest was sung by one of her backup singers. Then she did a curtsy on each side of the stage and the show was over.
It was chaos trying to leave the venue lobby, as both opening acts were signing autographs and had drawn quite a crowd. Jordin’s merch guy was actually standing up on the table to take orders!
When I got outside, after being incredibly hot from the show, it was raining. It started pouring like crazy and lightning on the highway on the way home, but I made it home just before midnight, safe and sound.
Setlist and photos under the cut.
Battlefield
S.O.S
Watch You Go
Emergency 911
It Takes More
Don’t Let It Go To Your Head
One Step at a Time
Walking on Snow
No Parade
Freeze
Young and In Love
Tattoo
No Air
Jordin Sparks 5/1
Tonight Jordin Sparks played in the Wolf’s Den at Mohegan Sun to kick off her Battlefield Tour! I had won through Mohegan Sun’s twitter an “All Access Pass” – which made the night amazing!
We got there early and sat down to play some slots. When I put my card in, it told me I had a $15 slot bonus to play! I played the first $5 and Lauren still hadn’t played her $5 so then I played a second $5 as well. Then we decided we weren’t having any luck so we would go up to the hotel lobby where we were told to wait for more information on the meet and greet.
While we were waiting for 6:15 to roll around, we saw Jordin and her bodyguard and some of her staff walk by us! Then we met up with Michelle, who had our GIANT passes for us. First we stopped to see the line for her autograph singing and were informed we would have a private meet and greet and then we’d get to watch Jordin film a youtube video.
Michelle then escorted us to the backstage area of the wolf’s den which was SO cool. We got to sneak a peak out from the stage and see what it would be like if we were the drummer. We hung around and waited for Jordin to come in.
We introduced ourselves to her and she congratulated us for winning the contest and said she used to try to win things all the time, but never did, so Lauren told her how I win everything and I explained that I don’t usually win money, just concert tickets and stuff like that. She also said she liked my watch and she was SO nervous for the show! We kept telling her she would be great and she said we better be singing along because she knew what we were wearing and would be looking for us! We also took pics with her, a group one and then individual ones (which was her request, so cool) and she signed my CD and almost spelled my name wrong even though I spelled it for her LOL I’m sure it had been a long day for her though!
Then we sat and watched them film the youtube video. She actually mentioned us saying she had a couple fans with her now, but we don’t know what is going to make the final cut but I can’t wait to see!
Michelle has our M&G; pics and should get them to me by Monday so I will post them once I get them! Then we got escorted out to our reserved seats, they weren’t really close, but they were not bad at all – not that the wolf’s den has a bad seat in the house anyway! Then someone came and gave us 4 $10 drink tickets so we of course used those – first we had a Hansel & Gretel – soo good but strong haha and followed it up with a Willy Wonka which had coffee in the mix as well haha I don’t think I’ve ever had 2 drinks so close together in my life.
Jordin came out a little after 8 and played about an hour set. Her band/backup/entourage was HUGE especially on such a small stage (3 backup singers and 4 members of the band) but the show was GREAT and you should definitely check it out if she is coming to your town – and chances are she IS because the tour got extended from 15 shows to 35 recently. Also, she is the sweetest girl ever as well lol
Photos coming soon… setlist under the cut!
Battlefield
S.O.S
Watch You Go
Emergency 911
It Takes More
Don’t Let It Get To Your Head
One Step At A Time
Walking on Snow
Freeze
No Parade
Young and In Love
Tattoo
No Air
Arthur ashe kids day
In the summer of 1997, Hanson performed at kids day. I found out after the fact that a friend of my dads would have taken me and I have been bitter about it ever since.
When I found out Honor Society would be playing the event this year, I knew I had to go. We ended up getting general admission tickets and just before the event Lauren won tickets from Twist Magazine that were much better than what we had.
Hurricane Danny tried to ruin our day, it was raining a lot in the morning but when it was time for the stadium show, the skies cleared.
We got to see a bunch of tennis stars as well as comedic actors will ferrell and will arnett play in a game ref'ed by Kenan of SNL.
Jordin Sparks performed first, singing Battlefield, One Step At A Time and SOS (Let the Music Play)
Honor Society was up second and played Over You and See U In The Dark. There were people honor rolling in various sections of the stadium. It was such a proud moment to be a part of their national television debut.
Justin Bieber was the 3rd performer and did 3 songs which were hard to hear due to all the girls screaming for him. I wasn't all that impressed with him.
We also got a close up view of the unisphere and the spaceships for Men In Black.
Despite the staffers not being very knowledgable and a few overzealous parents, it turned out to be a great day! (And I told a woman I was 12 to get a free hat. I was supposed to be there when I was 12, so maybe now I won't be bitter anymore lol)
Photos of the performances and tennis stars coming soon!!
Sent via BlackBerry by AT
Jordin Sparks M&G 7/21
After Jordin’s set we made our way to where the M&G; was being held. We saw a line, which was actually for Honor Society, and other people with our wristbands were in the line so we thought we were in the right place. Then some other people “cut” and the people in front of us were getting upset.
Funnily enough, they were so gung-ho on being “first” in the line, they never double checked that they were in the RIGHT line. We spotted my contact, Sean, that had given us the second wristband and he told us to go through the doors to backstage. We could see the catering area and Jordin’s band was there.
We ended up in the first few people who were going in to see Jordin. We couldn’t do pics with our own camera and couldn’t get an autograph. Jordin was also on vocal rest so she wasn’t supposed to talk to us and I guess we were supposed to limit talking to her as well.
I went first to see her, she was nodding enthusiastically to the girl in front of me so I thought maybe she really wasn’t talking to anyone. Lauren held my purse and I went up to Jordin.
Immediately she made me feel like we had been best friends forever. I told her Congratulations on the new album and she said thank you and gave me a huge hug! We took the picture and she was telling me how I was in for a great show by the Jonas Brothers. I told her that I was there last night and she grabbed my arm and was like “OH! So you know how great it is!” Lauren came up next and I took my purse back and held hers for her and she got her picture taken and talked to Jordin for a bit.
Then we made our way back to the stage where the Jonas Brothers were already performing “Thats Just The Way We Roll” We only missed a song and a half – not too bad!
Jonas Brothers 7/21 Uniondale, NY
Lauren and I left for the show a little after 2. We made good time getting to the venue and then checked Will Call to see if our tickets were there. We were hoping for section 118, which is where Honor Society entered and exited the night before.
We got section 108, Row A. Except there was only one M&G; wristband in the envelope. So while I called my contact, Lauren looked up where our seats were. We met up with my contact and got the second wristband. Then we saw that we were in the FOAM ZONE for the show!
Once we realized all the stairs we’d have to go down, we asked about an elevator and were directed to escalators. We walked around the perimeter to our seats. Mine was a trick seat that wouldn’t stay down once I stood up. Lauren went to get us some $5 hot dogs.
Meanwhile, a woman and 2 girls showed up. Leaving 1 empty seat next to us. We had been assuming that the people next to us also would have won the tickets from the promoters auction. She asked us how we got our seats and we said that we got them from the auction. She said she had gotten hers from stubhub that MORNING.
Then, 2 more girls showed up. They had the seat next to us and the one the mom was sitting in. The usher came over to see what the problem was and they each had a ticket for the same seat. So they called a supervisor over. All 5 of them left and then we saw the 2 girls go to the front row of the section near the middle circle!! If only they had put those tickets in MY envelope and not the other girls! We would have been right under Andy’s main mic!!
Honor Society added in Nobody Has To Know to their setlist, which was super exciting because that’s my favorite song of theirs. They totally rocked it and just seemed completely ON and we got awesome pictures and it was great.
Then was the wondergirls, followed by Jordin. During Jordin’s last song we left to go get in line for the M&G.; Another post will be coming with details on that.
By the time we got out of the M&G;, Jonas was in the middle of their second song. The guard wanted us to go up and around so I pointed to my brace and he escorted us on the floor to our section. The seats were awesome and we totally got foamed and I was so excited because last year we were one row too far back from where Kevin foamed. It was really COLD though. Then the poor workers had to mop it all up so people wouldn’t slip. (Though they didnt do a great job of it)
When the show ended, we decided to walk up the stairs (quite a work out) to go check out the Honor Society signing. The line was SUPER long. We tried to get Andrew’s attention and he waved to girls riiight in front of us but didn’t see us! We decided the line was too long to wait in, and that we’d preorder at the next show to say our goodbyes since it was our last show of the tour. Their first week album sales are going to be tremendous from all these presales! The lines have been just as long every night from what I’ve been hearing!
Honor Society:
Over You
Two Rebels
Nobody Has To Know
Full Moon Crazy
See U In The Dark
Wondergirls:
Nobody
Jordin Sparks:
One Step at a Time
Young and In Love
Freeze
Tattoo
Walking on Snow
S.O.S. (Let the Music Play)
No Air
Jonas Brothers 7/20
We got to the venue in about a half an hour, and parked in the handicapped spot and ate our food. A little while later we heard a big commotion, and turned to see a car with tinted windows coming towards us, with Big Rob in the passenger seat. Must’ve been the Jonas Brothers arriving for soundcheck!
Around 6pm we decided to head inside. There was a bit of a problem with my camera, they thought it was too big, but we ended up getting it in. It had to be smaller than “your palm” but I said i had tiny hands and it wasn’t smaller than the guy checking bags palm so they let me in with it.
6:30 doors to the venue opened and we realized there were NO RAILINGS. Ut oh. Luckily we were the only ones there for the section so my cousin helped me down to the seat and then we stayed put all night. (Up was a lot easier than down)
I spotted Honor Society walking to the stage and freaked out. Which was funny, because earlier I was telling the dad next to me that I’m too old to scream. But you’re never too old to get too excited over Honor Society 😉
Our seats weren’t as bad as I had been envisioning them as, so that was cool. We were on the end of the rain catwalk.
Jonas added in a couple of new songs – from their TV Show before singing the theme song Live To Party. They did Give Love A Try and Pizza Girl.
Also, before one song I think Nick’s blood sugar might have been low because he was drinking something and Kevin and Joe were babbling about what their next single should be and definitely stalling for time so Nick could have a chance to feel better again.
In Boston, Honor Society, Jordin and the Wondergirls came out to bow at the end of the show, but tonight Honor Society was in Union Square trying to sell more tickets to Wednesday’s show, so no one came out. Only Jonas bowed.
We got stuck in traffic on the way home, mostly due to construction and the toll, but still made pretty good time home! I stayed up pretty late working on Honor Society blog stuff, because I was able to sleep in Tuesday because there was nothing going on in the afternoon – just another Jonas show that night and a Jordin M&G;!
Honor Society:
Over You
Two Rebels
Full Moon Crazy
See U In The Dark
Wondergirls:
Nobody
Jordin Sparks:
One Step at a Time
Young and In Love
Freeze
Tattoo
Walking on Snow
S.O.S. (Let the Music Play)
No Air
Jonas:
Paranoid
That’s Just the Way We Roll
Poison Ivy
Hold On
Play My Music
Fly with Me
Black Keys/A Little Bit Longer
Much Better
Year 3000
Tonight
Gotta Find You
Turn Right
When You Look Me in the Eyes
Sweet Caroline (Neil Diamond cover)
Give Love A Try / Pizza Girl
Live to Party
BB Good
World War III
Battlefield (with Jordin Sparks)
Lovebug
S.O.S.
Burnin’ Up
Jonas Brothers 7/18/09 Boston MA TD Banknorth Garden
We hung out outside the Garden for a while. Jordin’s promoters were giving out Mike and Ike’s (including a special Alex’s Lemonade stand version), Burger King was holding a screaming contest and the Wondergirls stopped by to teach us their dance to Nobody.
Then we sat for a while and waited for our friend Christine to show up. The T wasn’t working so there was some drama with her getting to us.
Finally doors were open. I immediately got a bottle of water and then we went to our seats. The railings weren’t spaced too far apart so it was easy getting down to our 3rd row lower level.
We settled in and started playing with our glo lights. Mine were all duds. Thanks, Target! Lauren’s exploded all over her just a couple minutes before Honor Society was set to hit the stage.
After Honor Society’s set, Lauren left to go clean off the purple mess that was now.. everywhere. 2 seconds after she left, Honor Society walked right past our section, Alex giving his drumstick to a girl in row 1 and Mike giving a pick to a girl in row 2. And there I was in row 3, but they didn’t see me lol
Next up was The Wondergirls, who I guess are HUGE in Asia, but haven’t really caught on in the states yet. They are adorable and my favorite part is when they ask “Who is your favorite? Kevin? Joe? Nick? Wondergirls?”
Then Jordin Sparks did 7 songs. She’s also quite adorable and I hadn’t seen her seasons idol tour so it was my first time seeing her.
And then we waited. And then it was time for Jonas! The band came out and walked right past our section but we didn’t see Jonas getting snuck to the stage.
They started off with Paranoid and almost the whole show was very high energy. The only real dip in the energy was when Nick did Black Keys / A Little Bit Longer complete with his speech about how he’s not letting it slow him down. (We get it)
At one point the middle stage was a trampoline and Nick and Joe was jumping all over the place, and each other.
The highlight of the night for me was the rain screen, where it rained words (“hopeless”), hearts, the Jonas logo and the word ‘ Jonas ‘ in the script font. How DID they do that?
And in a blink the show was over and we had to go track down our friend so we could make the long trek home!
Honor Society:
Over You
Two Rebels
Full Moon Crazy
See U In The Dark
Wondergirls:
Nobody
Jordin Sparks:
One Step at a Time
Young and In Love
Freeze
Tattoo
Walking on Snow
S.O.S. (Let the Music Play)
No Air
Jonas:
Paranoid
That’s Just the Way We Roll
Poison Ivy
Hold On
Play My Music
Fly with Me
Black Keys/A Little Bit Longer
Much Better
Year 3000
Tonight
Gotta Find You
Turn Right
When You Look Me in the Eyes
Sweet Caroline (Neil Diamond cover)
Live to Party
BB Good
World War III
Battlefield (with Jordin Sparks)
Lovebug
S.O.S.
Burnin’ Up”