August 2010 – Concert Katie

Arthur Ashe Kids Day 2010

Katie August 29, 2010 0 Comments

Yesterday we went to Flushing, NY for the 15th annual Arthur Ashe Kids Day. It’s hard to believe this has been around for 15 years, but considering Hanson did it in 1997, I guess it makes sense! We got there earlier and just sat at the patio for a bit where we could kind of hear the Hess stage. There were a lot of acts on that stage, most of which I had never heard of, and the sound system must not have been that great because they all sounded awful from where we were sitting. (And there was no way that they booked that many awful acts!)

We went over to the Hess stage to check out Burnham, we stayed for 3 of their songs Rich Kids , Shy and Untouchable. When we left they were starting up with Glow In The Dark. They were the last band on the Hess stage so the crowd wasn’t all that huge for them, but those who were around seemed to really be into them. And Forrest is so little and cute 😉

When we left Burnham, we went over to the Arthur Ashe Stadium for the main stage show – which I am now watching on TV while I am blogging – I know, I know, I’m cheating just a little bit… For about an hour they had us just getting settled in and were teaching us about quick start tennis, which has tennis balls less compressed so it is easier for beginners to start playing tennis without needing to worry about the ball bouncing all over like crazy.

They also had a competition for some young tennis players, the winner would get to compete later against the pros and would win some money for their tennis program.

About 2pm it was time for the Jonas Brothers. They sang LA Baby, from their Disney show “Jonas LA”, then Adrienne Bailon and Quddus interviewed them. (I think they had said Q had hosted it for the past 10 years!) They also played S.O.S and Hold On.

Jonas Brothers tour mate and Camp Rock 2 Co-star Demi Lovato was up next – she sang Can’t Back Down from the movie as well as Get Back.

Then it was time for the pros to play the kids – Melanie Oudin, Novak Djokovic, Lindsey Vonn, Andy Roddick vs Nicole, Natan, Alex and Quinten. Nick Cannon was the umpire for the game and it was a combined game. The Kids ended up kicking the pros butts! Lindsey Vonn was having a lot of trouble getting the ball over the net and Andy kept throwing balls at her and then ended up sitting on the net so that she could get the ball over it LOL (She is a skiier after all)

After that, the Bryan Brothers band performed and were joined by Novak who made is rapping debut. They performed a song called Autograph and one other that I don’t remember the name of.

Next up was Joe and Demi performing Wouldn’t Change A Thing on the courts while they set up the stage for David Archuleta, who ended up singing his new single, Something ‘Bout Love and Crush. We ended up leaving after this as it was waaay too hot!

On the way back to where we parked, a guy with bootleg shirts ($10) was worried about my leg that I had hurt. (I have Cerebral Palsy and wear a leg brace) He ended up giving me one of the shirts for free lol

Photos coming soon…

Random

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Katie August 29, 2010 0 Comments

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Backstreet Boys Concert Hanson Photos Train

Baltimore Photos – Backstreet Boys, Hanson&more!

Katie August 27, 2010 0 Comments

Some photos from Sunday in Baltumore. I got back and ended up pretty sick and now have NO VOICE so that is why there has been some delay in getting stuff done.

Hard Rock Cafe
Concert photos are under the cut

VV Brown

Angel Taylor

Serena Ryder

Hanson (the lighting was horrible for their set)

Nick Carter

Howie D

Backstreet Bow

Train

Would You Rather Wednesday

Katie August 25, 2010 0 Comments

August 19

Relax in a jaciuzzi of a stranger’s saliva
or
Have diarrhea in a gravity-free chamber?

Grossss I don’t even want to think about this one…

August 20

Fall asleep on a hot grill for a half hour
Or
Have your tonsils vacuumed out?

Tonsils out. I think.

August 21/22

Have a detachable fu Manchu mustache boomerang
or
‘Thrusters” on the bottoms of your feet

Thrusters. I could fly that way…

August 23

Administer Tabasco sauce eye drops
or
vigorously rub a steak knife against your gums?

I can not handle eye drops in any capacity, so steak knife to the gums it is. (Good thing I am really not asked these things in real life…)

August 24

Blend your foot and imbibe the result
or
remove your nose with a toe nail clipper?

Blend my foot, I guess. I’ve caught skin with a nail clipper before and that hurts!

August 25
Take a power drill in the adam’s apple
or
fill your pants with raw meat and kick a pit bull in the side?

Drill to the adam’s apple. I do not like dogs, but I certainly would not kick them.

Backstreet Boys Concert Hanson Train

106.5 Mixfest featuring Hanson, Backstreet Boys, Train and more!

Katie August 24, 2010 0 Comments

We got to Baltimore about 3pm, the show was set to start at 6. We parked right near the buses and hung out near them for a little bit. Around 4:15 Taylor came out and we got a photo with him. I apparently missed Nick from Backstreet Boys running by (although it might have been better that I did miss him lol) After we met Taylor, we headed over to the other pier to eat and go to the Hard Rock Cafe to pick up some bears. I was excited that they had the Mermaid bear! I was told they were no longer selling that one.

When we got back to Pier 6, gates were open. We went in and entered to win upgraded front row seats and then Maribeth played Plinko and won a T-Shirt. I opted to not play because I didn’t want to waste my luck on the front row to win a T-shirt.

At 6pm, VV Brown performed. She did 6 songs. Then they broke down her set and Angel Taylor came out and I believe she did 6 songs as well. Next up was Serena Ryder and she also did about 6 songs. All 3 of the ladies were great, but I am always a little bit impatient and want Hanson to perform first haha

7:50 Hanson came out – the sun had just set (thank god – it was in a really bad spot blinding us for most of Serena Ryder’s set) and they also streamed their performance on the Mix 106.5 website and Hanson.net. They did 9 songs,
1. Waiting for This/Watch Over Me/Rock N Roll Razorblade/In The City medley
2. If Only
3. And I Waited
4. This Time Around
5. Penny & Me
6. Thinking ‘Bout Somethin’
7. MMMBop
8. Give A Little
9. Where’s The Love

The place went pretty crazy for MMMBop and the crowd seemed really receptive of them, which was nice 🙂

Backstreet Boys were up next – I still forget that Kevin left the group sometimes. Their set was really short! They did
Everybody (Backstreets Back)
If I Knew Then What I Knew Now
Shape Of My Heart
Straight Through My Heart
I Want It That Way

And let me just say for someone who had a sore throat, I was screaming along a bit too much…

Next up was Train – we only ended up staying for 2 of their songs. Then we went to check out the bus situation and saw AJ go by and then security tried to shoo all the BSB fans away, then Taylor came out and they all went running back. It seemed like they might have been gearing up to leave, and there wasn’t room on the barricades so we decided to just leave.

“Just leave” meant an 18 point turn lol to back out of the spot our car ended up in! And then get $3 in quarters when we left the parking lot. (Where was this dude and his quarters when I needed them at the penny machine at the rest stop?)

I still haven’t gotten my photos on to the computer – Ive been sick since I got home so most of my time has been spent sleeping! I will try to get them up tonight or tomorrow and make a few photo posts!

Concert Hanson Rooney

Hanson Pittsburgh, PA 8/20/10 Shout It Out Tour

Katie August 21, 2010 0 Comments

Before heading to the venue, we went to Station Square in Pittsburgh to the Hard Rock Cafe and to check things out. We had planned on getting to the venue a little late since it was seated and we could! Parking was a MESS. Basically it was all on the street and the area was very hilly (which I am convinced that all of Pittsburgh is since people live in the side of the mountain it seems…)

We had thought we had 5th row but was surprised to see that it was actually 3rd row, right on the aisle. I made my way in when Rooney was in the middle of their set – I know they performed Blueside, I can’t get enough and Shakin. I think I might have seen 1 or 2 other songs as well. I had intended to go meet them after their set, but I had been feeling kind of funny all day and was so hot that I decided to just sit and get some “rest” in while I could.

Hanson seemed to come on to the stage relatively quickly, which was surprising. I think they came out at about 9:45. I really had just one song I wanted to hear for the night (I like to get 1-2 songs in the setlist I had never heard live before, but since going to 5 of 5 and hearing all their album stuff it is becoming much harder for that to happen) which was Dancing In The Streets. When we got through the first part of the set and the acoustic set and then they ended up singing “Hold On Im Coming” I thought we were doomed, but they did end up singing it!!

Some other highlights included – Taylor seemed like he was going to slip whenever he was on the actual stage and not the carpet under his piano. One time I swear that he grabbed on the mic stand to catch himself. They did “Change In My Life” completely acapella with no mics or anything since the venue was built for music and had great acoustics. It was amazing how quiet the crowd got and it was a very moving performance. They also did “Save Me” which I think I had only heard two other times, so that was a nice surprise. Taylor from Rooney came out and played for Oh Darling with them, and Zac said he was the evil Taylor, then Taylor (Hanson) said he thought that was him so Zac said Taylor (Rooney) was the good Taylor and then said that he was really confused.

The guys were all covered in sweat after the show, as was pretty much everyone in the audience. The AC was definitely ON in the place but for some reason it was not really effective at all. (I was sweating like crazy from the moment I stepped into the seated area)

They had more merch available than at my last shows – so I was able to get the green camera shirt that I wanted so badly to get in MA. They were sold out of the crazy bands though.

Of course the place had no problems with cameras, after I had made the decision to only bring my smaller camera for the trip. Same thing happened in NJ, stupid wishy washy camera policy… but at least I did get some photos, which of course not being posted until Monday at the earliest.

Under the cut is the setlist for the evening!

1. Waiting for This/Watch Over Me/Rock N Roll Razorblade/In The City medley
2. Make It Out Alive
3. If Only
4. And I Waited
5. A Minute Without You
6. Penny and Me
7. Thinking of You
8. Hey
9. Carry You There

10. Madeline
11. Every Word I say
12. Change in My Life (acapella, no mics)

13. Save Me
14. Been There Before
15. Thinking ‘Bout Somethin’
16. Hold On I’m Comin’
17. Where’s The Love
18. This Time Around
19. Voice in The Chorus
20. Oh! Darlin’
21. MMMBop
22. Give A Little
23. Dancin’ in the Street

24. Lost Without Each Other

Concert Hanson

Hanson 92.9FM Appearance + Performance

Katie August 21, 2010 0 Comments

Thursday morning at 7am I got a call from my friend Maribeth exclaiming ‘I WON!’ We had been trying to tickets to a special event that Q92.9 in Pittsburgh would be doing with Hanson and she managed to get through. (I was not up early enough to even attempt to win) The only downside was that we’d have to get to the “secret location” at 6am and Maribeth’s house is about ohhh 3 hours away. So we were faced with the decision to get up at 2am and drive there, or get a hotel for the night and drive there Thursday night after I arrived in PA. We opted for the latter.

Due to construction we got to the hotel about 1am and set our alarms for sometime in the 4am hour. (Ew!) We left at about 5 and headed to the “Secret Location” which was the Carnegie Science Center. We waited around and we saw people were being let in so we went in. It was a little like ‘night at the museum’ since the place wasn’t going to open until around 10am.

We went up a ramp and saw that the Q92 morning show had their stuff set up to broadcast live from the location. Then we were told that they were filming a music video doing Hanson’s Thinking Bout Somethin dance and that 2 shots (out of millions) would be with the band.

I opted out of dancing as I didn’t want to break my leg… and was sitting off to the side watching stuff being shot and then ended up being told to go downstairs to be on the air. I was asked if I would rather lose 10 pounds or “get busy”. Funny that I get a would you rather question… haha. Also glad I was so far away from home that no one would hear me!

Then we hung around downstairs and were playing with a fountain for a little bit and at 8 Hanson came. The radio interviewed them and Zac got in a couple of zings at Taylor – he seemed to be in a playful mood. Then Hanson got set up to perform and did a soundcheck of Thinking Bout Somethin. Then they did it for real on the air. While there was some downtime, they played around singing Shake A Tailfeather and then they went back on the air to sing Waiting For This.

They ended up going into another rendition of Shake A Tailfeather, but Taylor accidentally hit the drum button on the keyboard which turned into a crazy song about Science and the fountain that we had been playing with earlier! (Isaac tried to play with it, but it was already turned off so it didnt really work lol)

Then they played Thinking Bout Somethin 2 times for us for the video with the dancers. Kind of sick of that song… hahaha

After they did group photos and I got near Zac for ours. Maribeth got the photos on her camera so I am waiting for her to get them uploaded 🙂 (I dont have a memory card reader with me so I won’t have any of my own photos up until Monday at the earliest!)

Then they were wandering around and signing and we got Zac and then Taylor to sign our stuff, but Isaac had already gotten dragged away. Kind of bummed we couldn’t get all 3 when we weren’t sure when we’d have the chance to get Isaac’s signature, but they had to go do a TV interview.

The performance became my 50th Hanson concert (By (my) definition if they do at least 1 song it would count – but I was debating calling it 49 and a half if they only did Thinking Bout Somethin. The science song was so ridiculous that I decided to go ahead and call it #50, and they did other songs as well so i didn’t want to ‘cheat’ on my count haha)

Concert

Battle of the Bands Mohegan Sun

Katie August 21, 2010 0 Comments

Wednesday Christine, Lauren and I went up to the casino to see a Battle of the Bands because Joey Fatone of NSYNC would be guest judging.

We got there early and gambled a bit before grabbing a pizza at Pepe’s Pizza. Then we went up to the roof where the battle would be going on to see what it looked like. We found the judges table and saw the stage – which had nothing set up on it.

A little before 7:30 (when the battle was set to begin) I saw a door open and Joey and a woman walked out! He went up to the table and then a woman called him down to take photos with her daughters. We went over and got photos with him.

I gushed that he was my favorite and he said “aww thank you!” and one of the handlers or guys running the event was like “Do you want a picture of Joey?” um, I just said he was my favorite of COURSE I do! So Joey took it and signed it and then Lauren and Christine got signed pics as well.

Then they announced that one of the bands in the battle wasn’t going to be there so it was only going to be one band… and it was Gone By Daylight who we had seen open for Lifehouse, so being that our mission was accomplished in meeting Joey (!!!) we decided to go gamble some more and I ended up leaving with $20 more than I started with!

Concert

Tom Petty&the Heartbreakers 8/17/10 Hartford, CT

Katie August 18, 2010 0 Comments

Last night was my dad’s pick of shows for my Ultimate Access Pass, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers with Crosby, Stills & Nash opening. We got to the venue a little before doors, and waited to be let in. Gates opened at 6:30 and we went in to go to the lawn – but couldn’t be let into the area because it sounded like CSN were soundchecking. I thought that kind of thing needed to be done before doors! The security told us they would let us in at 7, but it wasn’t until a little after 7 that they actually let us head to the lawn.

We picked our spot and waited for 8pm to roll around, when the concert would start. Crosby, Stills & Nash came out and did an amazing performance. Their harmonies were perfect and they definitely still got it even if they are “old”. I was incredibly impressed by their performance (I love harmonies. Especially 3 part – I am a Hanson fan after all) which was about an hour – 10 songs. They said goodbye and then came back to do an encore of “For What It’s Worth” which was interesting. I had never seen an opener do an encore before, but I guess it was a bit more of a co-headlining gig anyway.

After their set, a fight broke out behind us on the lawn, and the only security in our section was a small female who called for backup – but by the time backup arrived the fight had been resolved. There was an hour break between Crosby Stills and Nash and Tom Petty coming out on stage – which I thought was a bit ridiculous. They were also checking on the equipment, which once again, I always thought was done long before doors opened. I don’t know if there was a problem discovered with the equipment that made for the delay or if there is always that much of a delay for this tour.

About a half an hour into this wait, there was another fight in front of the handicapped section. I saw the scuffle going on and next thing I knew, a kid was flying through the air. Of course the kid that punched him ran and security was trying to make sure that the kid was ok (he was taken away on a stretcher and I hope he will be ok) and not listening to the people in our section who had seen the kid and had a description of him. Instead, security came back to get statements when Tom was on stage. I have a feeling if there was only 30 minutes to wait instead of the hour – that fight probably wouldn’t have ended up happening.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers took the stage about 10pm. I didn’t realize how many hits they had and how many of them I actually knew! I really liked their stage set up – the top of the stage had several screens which had different video feeds on them. Sometimes there were 2 or 3 different band members being shown and they were a lot better quality than the screens we had out on the lawn. It was nice to get to see some different views! They are touring to promote their new album – MOJO – which we were able to text and get for free (although it is going to take up to 48 hours to get emailed to us and I haven’t gotten it yet – I’m sure there were a lot of requests they are fielding!) They did 3 or 4 of the new songs mixed in with all their singles.

Their set ended at about 11:30, but they did a 10 or so minute encore of Running Down The Dream and American Girl. While we were starting to pack up, one of the guys we were with was pointing out something. At first we thought it was just smoke from the food stand nearby, but taking a step to the right we noticed it was a HUGE fire. We weren’t sure exactly where it was, but we thought it might be in the parking lot. We hung around “inside” for a bit longer, figuring if firetrucks and everything were on their way we’d end up stuck in the parkinglot anyway.

By the time we got out to to the parking lot they seemed to have the fire under control but there was a lot of smoke and the air smelled really bad. I’m not sure what was on fire (a car?) and I can’t find any news reports about it either, though we’ve been looking for them since we were in the car on the way home! (Funny, a google search of “comcast theatre fire” brought up my Kings of Leon review because of their song ‘Sex is on fire’)

Aside from the craziness that went on -it was a great show and definitely recommended!

Concert

Crosby, Stills&Nash Tom Petty&The Heartbreakers Setlists 8/17/10

Katie August 18, 2010 0 Comments

Last night was Crosby, Stills & Nash and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers at the Comcast Theatre. I guess I wasn’t paying enough attention during Crosby, Stills & Nash’s set because I can’t recall what their second song was. Tom Petty & The Heartbreaker’s setlist was tweeted by Live Nation and paired up with my notes it seems to be accurate. More on this show coming later.

Crosby, Stills & Nash
Woodstock
Military Madness
Long Time Gone
Bluebird
Deja Vu
Goodbye Ruby Tuesday
Our House
Southern Cross
Almost Cut My Hair
Wooden Ships
—
For What It’s Worth

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Listen To Her Heart
You Don’t Know How It Feels
I Won’t Back Down
Free Fallin’
Oh Well
Mary Jane
Kings Highway
Breakdown

Jefferson Jericho Blues
Good Enough
Runnin’ Mans Bible
I Should Have Known It
Learning To Fly
Don’t Come Around Here No More
Refugee

—
Runnin’ Down A Dream
American Girl