O-Town at Patchogue Theater

Katie July 26, 2023 0 Comments

Wednesday O-Town brought their Pop 2000 tour to Patchogue Theater on Long Island.  Weeknights and Long Island don’t usually mix for me, but since it was my birthday I decided to take the day off and go! I also decided to splurge on the $100 t-shirt + selfie option which I hadn’t done at the shows I went to previously. (Though I was a bit too busy with BBMak and Chris Kirkpatrick VIP at those!)

Ryan Cabrera once again opened, and I guess after my critique of his banter, he changed it up a little bit. His birthday was the night before and when he said he was party’d out someone else shouted it was their birthday so I got an indirect Birthday shout out since he said he’d be celebrating their birthday tonight!

Then it was time for BBMak – They once again did the same set as they had been doing.  I never did end up seeing the video Mark took of Back Here to see if I went 3 for 3 for being in them or not!  I hope that after this tour they’ll be doing some more stuff in the US in the future! Fingers crossed!

Then it was time for O-Town/LFO/Chris Kirkpatrick.  For the most part, it was the same setlist but where they had added Sky Dive in MA they ended up doing Giants, which was fun because it came on during my drive and I was thinking about how much I had liked it!  They mixed up their banter a bit in the shows too which is always fun, especially their back and forth with Chris Kirkpatrick!  Chris also said they were filming something for Netflix – the cameras were around and on stage during the *NSYNC stuff so I am curious to see what that ends up being and if I end up being visible in it or not!

After the show I waited for the selfie line, which I had not done in quite some time.  Their ring lights were dead so we were told to have our flash on, but even on auto mine didn’t go off and the pics still came out great!  Erik came out first and told me that he hadn’t seen me in a while! I assured him that I was at the Friday and Saturday shows as well but with the selfies costing more I couldn’t do it as often as I would have liked.  Jacob was next and noticed that my Birthday sash had the Hanson symbol on it and said that he really liked them. I explained I had made it for my birthday last year when I saw Hanson but this year I was recycling it and sharing my birthday with them.  Dan was up next and gave me a big hug and then told me to get 2 redbulls and some coffee for the drive home (which was showing as being nearly 3 hours when I was expecting it to be more like 2!)  Trevor also gave me a big hug and was glad I shared my birthday with them and also noted he hadn’t seen me – so I explained to him too I’ve been around!  He also told me to drive safe home.

When I got in the car, the GPS kept wanting to push me to the Ferry (which I don’t even think is RUNNING at midnight!) but after fighting it a bit I ended up finding a route that was under 2 hours! And I made it home before 2am! Wooo.  I took a half day the next day so I could sleep in a bit after all of the birthday excitement!   This Pop 2000 Tour has been SO fun I am sad I won’t be seeing any more shows but I am hopeful at least O-Town will be back in the fall – and maybe I can squeeze in a trip to the Big E.

Pop 2000 Tour – Webster MA

Katie July 17, 2023 0 Comments

Remember how earlier this month I said I should skip the outdoor summer shows? Well, this one was already in the works before I said that, but it didn’t make me change my mind.  The weather kept fluctuating between being really hot or thunderstorming, fortunately any storms held off, but the heat did not.  Needing to have just a small clear bag, I ended up leaving my camera home and taking my fan instead which turned out to be the right choice. (And I tend to use my phone more with O-Town because it can handle their running all around better than my camera can because I always forget to look into the settings before the show)

We left very early since it was “day game after a night game” and got to Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagaugchaubunagungamaugg (not kidding) and the venue just as gates were opening.  We found a spot in the shade and made a deal that we’d skip the opener Dean Ford and Ryan Cabrera since our seats were in direct sunlight and only head inside for BBMak and O-Town.  Where we were seated we could still see the stage anyway (though Ryan had a speaker head for his set) so it wasn’t like we were completely missing out.

When Chris talked about Ryan, he mentioned most of the same things I had been saying when we were in the shade.  And then he started talking about things my friend had brought up at VIP the night before! Did we write his hosting script? Sure seemed like it!

When we got to our seats I immediately started feeling really claustrophobic and was glad that I opted to bring the fan. Once I put it on and drank some water I was feeling a lot better.  BBMak took the stage and did the same set as they had done the night before (although seemed to have some tech issues with their track on their first song), but Christian was blocked Friday night and Mark and Ste Saturday so it kind of evened itself out.  There also was an older couple in front of us that kept kissing and it was so obnoxious and out of place and at one point it seemed like Christian was just staring at them.  Their set was: Out Of My Heart, Still on Your Side, Next Time, I Can Tell, More Than Words, Unpredictable, Ghost of You and Me, Back Here.

Then it was time for O-Town!  For the most part, their set was the same as Friday night, but after the LFO shoes came on stage, instead of inviting Brad out, they did Sky Dive?  Seems like it was a last minute addition.  The guys seemed to be really hot on stage – Trevor’s shirt was completely soaked and when I finally stood up for the *NSYNC portion I was surprised with the amount of sweat drips that were all over the stage.  At one point Trevor did a jump that ended up breaking his necklace.  I saw him grab the necklace off himself and stick it in his pocket, and it seemed like later he was able to pick up whatever charm he had on it and stuck that in his pocket as well.  Jacob’s neck seemed so red, I am not sure how they made it through that whole set without incident!

After the show it was pretty hectic with all the VIP options being after the show since it started so early.  Security did a good job separating everyone out and we made it to our separate room for Chris VIP which was fortunately air conditioned!  Chris talked about Masked Singer again, Celebrity Big Brother, and other random things.  It seemed like he didn’t want to stop talking and he had to be pushed to move on to photos and autographs.  It’s so nice that he cares to actually spend time with fans and chat than just rushing us through everything to get it over with!

I have one show left on Wednesday and I am not sure yet what type of VIP or photo ops I’ll be doing… but I guess we’ll see!

Pop 2000 Tour – Ridgefield CT

Katie July 16, 2023 0 Comments

Friday I made my way back to the Ridgefield Playhouse, this time for the Pop 2000 tour.  Since the show was so close to my birthday I went all out and ended up doing both BBMak and Chris Kirkpatrick VIP since one was preshow and one was postshow.

I got there at 5:45 for my BBMak VIP and promptly at 5:45 someone from the venue came out and said they were ready for us, which was weird because when is anything ever on time? (And O-Town VIP set to begin at 4:15 had just gone in at 5:30)  Turns out they weren’t actually ready for us so we just hung out for a bit (and I was able to hear some of O-Town’s acoustic set and BBMak’s soundcheck while waiting) and then went into the room.  The night before, Ste and Mark had not been at the show as they had visa issues – but they came in to the room and told us that they almost didn’t make it to our show either as they had some delays from Manchester to Dublin and had to run through the airport to catch the flight in Dublin to the US.  The poor guys must have been exhausted, but you couldn’t tell.  They sang “Back Here” for us, did a little Q&A and then did photos and autographs.  I had never met them before and they were sweeter than I could have even imagined.

My friends were doing merch for BBMak and Chris, so I sat with them for a bit, answered a couple of questions and then when the theater doors opened I went into get settled and realized my 3 shows at the playhouse this week I had been in the same seat. B 107.

Ryan Cabrera came out first, and I feel like he does the same set every time and I am just kind of over him. Sorry. (Not sorry?)  I’d be pretty pumped if he added MMMBop back in to his medley again though…

BBMak was up next and I was sooooo excited for their set and they did not disappoint. I was also surprised how many lyrics I still knew (aka pretty much all of them) when I couldn’t even tell you the last time I had listened to their CD.  Back Here was on our tour playlist for Hanson last year but other than that… their set included: Still On Your Side, Next Time, Unpredictable, Ghost of You and Me, More Than Words, Out of My Heart.

Then it was time for O-Town! They did a few of their own songs, then did a few LFO songs with Brad to Honor Rich and Devin, then a couple more songs (which included These Are the Days which had everyone bum rush the stage to get their camera taken and security made no effort to send them back after) and then they went into *NSYNC songs and Chris came out and joined them.  They had expanded on the number of *NSYNC songs that they had done, which was perfectly fine by me! They ended their set with All Or Nothing and the guy in front of me – who was facing me and not the stage? ended up giving me a fist bump when I was done singing lol

After it was PURE CHAOS with all the options going on post show. I ended up just hiding in a corner until it was time to go in for Chris’ VIP.  They did his photo ops first and then it was time for the VIP Q&A, it was a small group and there weren’t too many questions and then we did photos and autographs. Chris was fantastic, as always.

When we left there was a shaved ice truck outside but it was also raining and we had an early day for our afternoon show the next day so we passed on that.

O-Town at the Odeum

Katie February 5, 2023 0 Comments

Up until 3pm the day of this show,  I wasn’t sure if I was going to go. Usually for shows that aren’t in CT I employ the “front row or bust” system – but these tickets went on sale when I was at a doctors appointment so I ended up snagging 3rd row instead.  Figuring the show was in early February and it would snow,  I never was certain if I’d make it there or not.  It ended up not snowing but it was ridiculously cold.  I ended up putting my ticket on stub hub a couple of days before and after no bites grabbed my ‘heavy coat’ and make the trek to Rhode Island.

I was actually surprised by how many people were walking around town and how few parking spots there were.  At 7pm I made my way across the street to enter, only to be face to face with a curb cut out that was pitched FAR too steep.  After struggling to climb this mini mountain, I made it inside.  Merch was upstairs and while I think they had an elevator, I never did venture up there as I opted to not stay after for selfies due to the hour and a half ride home.

At 8pm Carly Underwood took the stage and then brought Tyler Levs out to join her on guitar.  People of the blog – our contender for worst opening act of 2023 is here! (It doesn’t even matter that I haven’t even seen any other openers so far this year)  The majority of the crowd was chatting through her set and it was just… bad. I’ll leave it at that.

Just before 9, O-Town took the stage. Last time I saw them was a Pop2k tour with Chris Kirkpatrick – this was just a regular O-Show with no Ryan Cabrera (yay) and no *NSYNCers (Boo). They changed up the setlist a lot and it was a ton of fun!  I had planned out a couple of potential sit down songs but didn’t end up sitting at all. (Some of that may had to do with the fact that there was a bumrush to the stage at one point that didn’t let up so while I was supposed to be 3rd row I was more like 7th and wouldn’t have been able to see a thing from sitting)  It was a good mix of new and old but I really need to listen to more of the new!  I tried to keep track of the setlist as best as I could but I think I missed a bit… but the don’t let me down / treat you better / get ur freak on / cry me a river medley was incredible. Each of them was doing their own song all at once and it should have been absolute chaos but somehow it was amazing instead.

I also loved how when they were mentioning bands from the 00s Trevor threw out a soulDecision mention and Erik said that New England has always been a bit more boyband crazy than the rest of the country.  Now if they could schedule some more concerts in the summer here… this is not the first time the show was in jeopardy due to poor weather conditions!

O-Town Long Island

Katie December 16, 2018 0 Comments

O-Town recently had a show on Long Island that happened to be on Trevor’s birthday.  I decided I would make the trek to go since it was a special day and also because it was at Mulcahy’s which is home to the boyband tribute group Larger than Life and I had wanted to check them out.  Ryan Cabrera was also on the bill and Lance Bass would be hosting.  Since I couldn’t get an answer on if Lance’s M&G would interfere with O-Towns I only did VIP for O-Town. (Turns out, I could have easily done both, but was happy to save some cash)  Traffic was horrible and I ended up getting there about a half an hour late only to be told that I had missed nothing and that VIP had been delayed.  Part of VIP was a soundcheck – which couldn’t be done because the venue’s sound guy was MIA.  We ended up doing photos first and then hanging around until we could see some of the soundcheck.  Unfortunately the venue said I could ge a seat but didn’t inform me it would be in the way, way back of the venue (when my fellow VIPers were able to snag front row) but fortunately O-Town’s team is awesome and worked with security to get me a good spot. (And then had the nerve to tell me not to try to jump on stage.  Um, dude, did you see the trouble I had just getting onto this high chair you gave me to sit in? You have *nothing* to worry about)

Larger Than Life was on first and while the crowd seemed to be into them – I’ll stick to the real deal. Thanks.  (They kind of blew it when they totally butchered MMMBop.)

Ryan Cabrera was up next and I am pretty sure I have been hearing him tell the same stories for the last I don’t even know how many years.  Security ended up giving me his setlist which he kind of drew out all of the songs so that was a pretty cool thing to have.

Finally it was time for O-Town – they ended up playing until almost midnight (or maybe later? That’s the problem with taking so long to write these reviews lately!) and put on a great show, as always, and we even got to sing happy birthday to Trevor.  Just like in NY – Lance joined them for Bye Bye Bye and the crowd went wild.

I ended up skipping the selfie line so I could get a head start on the trip back home. I was exhausted so as much as it stunk not getting to see the guys again, I made the right choice.

Not sure if this setlist was right as I went off memory instead of keeping track…

O-Town @ Stage One

Katie April 8, 2018 0 Comments

O-Town at the Wolf Den March 2

Katie March 4, 2018 0 Comments

March 2nd O-Town made their return to the Wolf Den at Mohegan Sun for I believe the 4th year in a row. (I made it to 3/4)  I ended up getting to the line at about 4pm and it was not too bad. I am sure the crazy weather made many stay home who otherwise would have been coming out.  Trevor was going through the line when I got there giving hugs and saying hi before soundcheck started. He commented on my shirt (Slytherin) and asked what it was – then said he wasn’t a Harry Potter guy but maybe he should be a Harry Potter guy because he really liked the shirt LOL

They let us inside at 6:30 to give us time to have a few drinks before the show kicked off at 8pm.  They played about an hour set and premiered 2 new songs that should be coming out on their new EP sometime soon! The setlist seemed to focus on more of the new tracks (Lines and Circles and beyond) than the older nostalgia tracks, which was a bit of a disappointment. Not that the old stuff isn’t great as well – I guess I am just less familiar with it.

After the show everyone who bought a T-Shirt (for $60!) was able to get a wristband to get selfies with the guy after the show.  I always groan at the ever increasing price of the shirts but happily hand over my money and love getting to say a quick hello with the guys.  I just wish the Wolf Den shows had VIP available too because there’s nothing I love more than throwing $250 at boybands. 😉   I told Jake I would see them on Sunday and he started telling me to make sure I was careful driving home! <3 And as usual, our selfie came out the best of the 4.  Always a fun time seeing them and I’m pretty pumped that I get to see them TWICE in one weekend this “tour”!

Some highlights from the show…

New song – Whatchu Wanna Do

New Song So Good Night(?)

The dance to Sensitive was INSANE

We Fit Together is always a highlight

O-Town on a BOAT

Katie July 31, 2017 0 Comments

Last week we made the trek to NYC and Pier 83 to board a circle line cruise around the Hudson with a trip that included a concert from both Ryan Cabrera and O-Town.  At first O-Town was saying there would be no VIP for this show, but in May we were pleasantly surprised to see it offered as an option and although the VIP cost was increased to $250 we opted to splurge as it was our only O-Show of the tour.

We arrived early to make sure we wouldn’t miss the boat, only to not board until nearly an hour after we were supposed to board for VIP.  Once we got on board, we grabbed a chair for me (as the rocking boat and my lack of balance were not working well together at all) and waited… and waited… and waited… for the tech crew to get the sound system set up.  We all waited around wondering why we couldn’t kick off the photos with the band first since every minute more it took the crew to figure out the sound was one minute less we’d have to spend with the band.  For whatever reason this was not an option, and finally about 15 minutes before General Admission boarding was about to begin the guys took the stage – decked out in throwback outfits to recreate the We Fit Together music video. (Probably why they couldn’t do photos before sound check) We also go to hear them soundcheck Giants before they decided we would do photos on the level of the boat we were already on (since GA was no doubt waiting downstairs to come up for spots for the show) with the backdrop the NYC sky line.  We were told no group photos but we could still get 2 photos with the band – a normal pose and a fun pose. I had no idea what to do so I told the guys to do whatever while I just stuck out my tongue lol (And I did have to tell Erik that he had to take his Yankees hat off for my photo, which he agreed to). If you want to have an unforgettable boat ride – check out Intrepid Powerboats.

We were told if we wanted more time with the guys – we had the option to buy a t-shirt to get in the selfie line and VIP would get to cut everyone else waiting. Then we found out the t-shirts were $60 which is INSANE.  We decided that we weren’t going to do this and were really disappointed that a discount was not offered to those of us who paid so much for VIP and ended up getting so little.

Shortly after GA joined us, MMMBop started playing and then was cut off so we could “listen” to a message from the captain – that we could barely hear at all and it was time to set sail!   Despite being up near the front, I couldn’t really see Ryan due to his placement on stage and spent most of his set taking in my surroundings as we went under 3 bridges and went by the Statue of Liberty, One World Trade, etc.  I was glad that I ended up doing this because once O-Town took the stage I kind of forgot where we were due to paying too much attention to the guys being on stage. (Plus we were going backwards which meant they knew what was coming up but we had no clue unless we turned around)  Due to shifting in the crowd I couldn’t see for most of O-Town’s set either – and just a PSA if someone is sitting by you it’s probably a good idea to a) Not sneak into VIP you didn’t pay for and block them B) hold your phone up eye level so they can’t see a damn thing beyond your screen.  Holding the phone chest level would have gotten the same videos AND I would have been able to see.  I did manage to lift my phone over my head every now and then to snap photos of the guys though.

Even after all the time wasted getting the sound to work – it was not that great during the show but the guys powered through and did a great performance in spite of it all.  They also did a covers medley that was simply amazing and had such a variety of songs included, it blew my mind.

After the show Christine and I looked at each other as if to say “Are we really spending $60 on a shirt and selfies?” and well… we did.

While we were with the guys, someone ended up jumping overboard off the ship and things went a little crazy – luckily the guys grabbed me to make sure I didn’t get knocked over as crew members ran around like maniacs not caring who they pushed out of their way.  Turns out a guy that walked into us as we were trying to make our departure from the deck of the ship we were on was the one to jump overboard – which is illegal so security had to keep him contained until we docked so he could be arrested.  This led to us being delayed getting off the boat. Way to go, doofus.

I wish I could have seen the guys more on this tour – so many shows were nearby but with stupid work deadlines looming, it was the time to attempt to be an adult and not run off to fangirl every evening.  And yes, I probably would have bought VIP to another show, despite the fail that this one turned out to be.

After the Lights
Right Kind Of Wrong
Girl
We Fit Together
Lines and Circles
Empty Spaces
Chasing After You
Shady Business
Medley
Liquid Dreams
Sky Dive
Giants
Playing with Fire
Cut the Cord

All or Nothing

O-Town at the Wolf’s Den

Katie February 15, 2017 0 Comments

Friday night O-Town made their return to the Wolf’s Den at Mohegan Sun. This was their 3rd time performing there, but my 2nd time seeing them since I had to miss one since I was in Jamaica with Hanson last year when they came through!  WFAN’s Mike Francesca was in the Den before the show and I was hoping to catch a glimpse of a Mets player, but spotted a Yankees pitcher instead.  At 7pm we were let in for the show and they had removed all the chairs from the floor and were allowing you to choose if you preferred to stand on the floor or sit around the upper edge of the venue.  I was the first to choose a seat and got one right in the corner by the stage.  The show started at 8pm and featured 2 new songs off the upcoming release that the guys funded by fans on kickstarter – reaching their goal in 7 hours and doubling it (or more?) once the campaign was over!

They started their set with their first single, Liquid Dreams and ended the set bookended with their biggest single – All or Nothing.  Mixed in were songs from all 4 of the albums (including the upcoming one) and a few covers as well.  During the cover medley, Trevor and Dan went out into the crowd – with Dan walking right past where I was sitting on top of the booths that were below me.  I hear Trevor gave someone a lap dance but I was too busy watching Dan to see what was happening on the other side of the venue!  They let us pick if we wanted to hear “Baby I Would” or “Suddenly” and the cheers led to them doing Suddenly.  Typically I do not miss Ashley Parker Angel at all at these shows, but for some reason on that song it was noticeable he was missing (It may have been my first time hearing it since he had left so it wasn’t the album version I am used to? Or I’m losing my mind. Both equally possible.)

The first of the new songs was called “Shady Business” and it is “autobiographical”  The second was called “After The Light” (or lights?) and I think they said it was going to be their first single and due out March 14th.

After the show, if you purchased a merch item you could get it signed and get selfies with the guys.  We made sure we were at the front of the line because snow was on its way and we needed to get home ASAP!  (Fan Girl Problems – we had figured they wouldn’t be staying after since they didn’t the time before and were all set to go right after.  Once we found out that they were staying after we bought merch without even giving it a second though – THEN remembered – oh hey, it’s going to snow. crap.)  I mentioned to Dan that we were hoping to get out before the snow and Jacob mentioned that he heard it was starting at 9 and they both wanted us to be careful getting home. (We made it home without incident.)  Erik didn’t talk to me much but decided that my selfie camera was dirty because the picture was coming out blurry so he wiped it off and tried again (and the results weren’t much better.)  Jacob gave me a big hug and thanked me for coming.  Trevor was last and asked my name and said it was nice to meet me. I teased and said “Oh, you’ve met me before!” and he looked up and said “Yes, you’re right. I have! Here I am just standing here with my head down…” and thanked me for coming. I thanked him for coming back and he asked if I has been at all 3 shows. I told him 2/3 because I was in Jamaica with Hanson the last time and he said that was a valid excuse to miss!

I got some video of the new songs, if you want to check out a sneak peak!