My2k Tour August 5, 2016

Friday August 5, the My2k tour rolled in to the Foxwoods Casino.  Christine and I decided to go all in on this tour and bought the Ultimate VIP package which included front row and a M&G with the artists on the tour.  As if that was not enough, we also opted to add-on the O-Town VIP M&G as well.

The My2k VIP session was first – which included a group photo with all of the bands on the tour (ultimate VIPs got individual photos and everyone else was groups of 2 or more) and then an acoustic session with 98 Degrees and a Q&A session that was pretty funny – my camera started freaking out at this point so I was trying to take as many pics with my phone as with my camera – scrapbooking girl problems.  After the Q&A the ultimates were taken on a backstage tour where we rode the elevator with 98 Degrees keyboard player, took a trip into the dressing room where we found Trevor ironing, saw Jacob walk by and I also saw Justin from 98 Degrees pop his head out of their dressing room for a second.  Their cases of clothes for the show were also there.  After our tour we were given the information on where to go if we wanted to stand on stage for part of the show and then we were met by OTown’s tour manager to take us to the OTown VIP area.  It was at this point that Christine was asked if she wanted to be on stage with 98 Degrees.  We had a bit of “unfinished business” on this tour and our mission was to get her on stage w/ them so to say we were excited was an understatement. (And of course my camera was being an idiot but was hoping it would come through to record video of her – spoiler – it didn’t)

O-Town did pictures with us first and then did an acoustic set.  We got signed posters which Dan personalized for us and then we got selfies with the guys as well! I found their VIP to be totally worth the $150 whereas the $500 for the My2K Ultimate… our answer was “yes and no” to was it worth it. I mean – without it Christine wouldn’t be going on stage but we didn’t get all that much more for paying 2x or 5x what everyone else did.

We got back to our seats just before the show was set to start and found out that they were going to let the first 3 rows up to the front, but we’d have to sit down again after each set.  First up was Dream and we got our front row spot claimed.  During Dream’s set, Melissa fell down right in front of us. But she popped right back up and kept going like nothing happened! After the song she said she know we all saw it and she hoped she would go viral like Bieber tomorrow!

Next up was OTown and the mob of people rushing to the front row got worse, but Christine grabbed me in and we claimed our front row spots.  During one of the songs – I’m not sure which one but I think it may have been Lines & Circles, I went to take a picture of Erik and he bent down in front of me and sang right to me and then pet my face lmao  My one goal was to get one of the guys to take my phone for These Are The Days, but none of them did. (Neither did Dream when they were grabbing phones. Fail.)  O-Town’s set was short since they weren’t headlining which is why they did the add-on acoustic set for VIP.

Ryan Cabrera was up next and we decided to sit during his set since we had been up and on the go for several hours at this point.  The mob going to the front row scared me so Christine talked to security to make sure I’d get the front row spot I had paid for and not get trampled in the process of trying to get up there.  After Ryan, security ended up letting me go up to my spot early before anyone else could – but once the TV switched music videos there was a mad rush and the barricade started to tip over! Fortunately it couldn’t really go anywhere with the stage being there but it was scary for a few minutes!

Then it was time for 98 Degrees! They had a really solid set and even included a medley of some of the other hits from the late 90s/early 00s including LFO, BSB, NSYNC (we lost our shit) and Britney Spears.  We knew that after the Prince medley, if we wanted to stand on stage we had to leave our spot but I wasn’t too interested in standing on the side of the stage and needed to keep my front row spot to record Christine! During the medley O-Town and Dream came back out to sing as well which was cool.  Then it seemed like forever until it was time for I Do!!!

Then Christine appeared on the stage and the girl next to me who took her spot was flipping out that she was just right next to me! She had on a veil and went from each member of 98 Degrees until she reached the bottom with Drew and he slow danced with her. Despite the fact that I was recording, I had to scream.

After the show, I hung around to meet O-Town again – mainly because I spent $40 on a poster before I realized that I got the same one in VIP.  More selfies and love from the guys and then we went to eat. We saw Ashley from Dream playing Craps on the way there and afterwards I found Dan and chatted w/ him for a bit. It seemed like they were all getting ready to leave but I was so exhausted I didn’t try to find anyone else, I just went off to my hotel.

I wish that I could have gone to more shows on this tour because it was such a great tour and a lot of great acts but unfortunately it didn’t work out. At least I went big with the show that I did end up going to 🙂

O‐Town Setlist Grand Theater at Foxwoods, Mashantucket, CT, USA 2016, My2k Tour

Parachute at The Warehouse July 28

Back in July, Parachute brought the second leg of their Wide Awake tour to The Warehouse in Fairfield, CT.  I was glad that CT got a show on BOTH legs of the tour – that is really rare!  My friend Natalie had won M&G passes from Tunespeak and was nice enough to invite me along, so before the show I got to see a brief set (performance of “Ghost”), meet the guys and get a pic as well as be featured in one of their snapchat videos “visoring”.  It was a lot of fun, and then we snagged some seats up on the mezz area at The Warehouse. Previously I had only been on the floor so it was nice to get a new perspective!

The show was a lot of fun and they even did several songs in a row without a break – Will just kept yelling “NEXT SONG!” and the rolled right through them all.  Will also told a story about how they used to play a teen center in CT a lot back in the day and one time Paul Simon’s son was in the band that was opening for them and he so badly wanted to meet Paul that he offered to carry the kid’s guitar to the car when he got picked up (he was sure to ask to see if the kid could drive or not before hand lol) and then when he went to the driver to say hey – it was his grandfather not father.

They did Forever and Always as a trio at one mic and after it was over Will said – no more crying! And before they started their encore song they said they never knew if people were going to cheer for them to come back out and if they didn’t, they just go change into sweatpants and have a great night.

These guys put on a great show and they said they will have to come back to CT more often so I hope that they do!

Hanson Alive @ Five

Several months ago I had a dream.  I was backstage at a Hanson show with some of my friends and we were setting up hot plates full of food for Hanson and the crew to eat.  It was almost my birthday. We were in Stamford, CT.  I woke up thinking to myself – does Stamford even have a concert venue?  Then I realized that Stamford always has their summer Thursday evening concert series “Alive @ Five”, I saw that an announcement was set for mid-May, but promptly forgot about it, knowing I’d be too concerned with getting ready to head to Tulsa for MOE to worry about the lineup.  Then the lineup was announced – and Hanson was set to be the second weeks entertainment! And just 5 days before my birthday.  (Now if I can dream the winning lottery numbers so I’ll never miss another Hanson show again, that would be great)

We got to see some of the soundcheck, where they of course made up a fake song, went through the same song a few times, threw in a little Ghostbusters at the end of a song… there were some issues with the set up so I think that allowed for them to be on stage a bit longer, which was awesome for us but not so much for them since they were having so many different issues.

Being as it was a Connecticut show and the first time they’ve been back in 5 years, I *needed* front row.  We ended up getting there pretty early to stake our claim on a spot up front.  It was looking like we’d be home free, in the first or second row… when mother nature had other plans.  We were told that a storm was coming and if we wanted to, we could hide out in any of the local restaurants.  Of course, if we left our spot, we’d never be able to get it back so we threw on ponchos and raincoats and stood in the rain for about 15 mins waiting for the storm to pass.  It was windy, the tents that had been set up for the festival were flying all over the place and there were a few flashes of lightning (which we had said we’d leave if we saw, but we still stayed put)

After the rain passed, DJs and entertainment from Kunjan Collective got us hyped up for the opener – Alec Chambers.  There is something about openers for Hanson that I always end up not liking them and thinking their sets are too long no matter how good they are, because I just can’t wait to see Hanson.  This was no different.  I’m sure Alec is wonderful outside of Hanson concerts and since he’s local perhaps I should give him another chance some other time.  But I just wanted Hanson on stage!

After Alec’s set there was some more hype from JHype and Theo from Kunjan Collective and then finally, just after 7, it was time for Hanson!  I wasn’t sure what kind of set we were going to get, as their most recent shows were done for the US Navy overseas and I hadn’t seen any of the setlists.  We figured a fair mix of the singles since it was more of a casual crowd but I have to say I was really, really pleased with the setlist! Taylor had mentioned they’d save Runaway Run for the show and I think if they came out and only sang that I’d have been happy! They opened and closed with a cover, but the rest of the set was all originals. Taylor did trick me a bit when I was writing out the setlist – I often will hear a couple opening notes and be able to tweet out or write down what the song will be before they even started singing it.  Before one song Taylor talked about how they had an album called Anthem… and everything was leading into them performing “Get the Girl Back” but then Taylor said… “And the girl is named PENNY!” and they ended up doing Penny and Me.  Get the Girl Back didn’t come for a few songs later.  I think he was more confused than trying to trick me though 😉 The show was over by about 9:30 and we opted to head right home instead of try and get pics with the guys, because it looked like a bit of a crowd had formed by where they would be coming out.

I wish that show meant I’d be seeing them more, but while I am trying to figure out a trip to Disney World to see them this fall, I will have to wait until next year for their big world tour to see them do a full set again.  It seems so far away!

Future Now Tour – Mohegan Sun 7/6/16

Wednesday night the Honda Civic Tour / Future Now Tour made a stop at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville (or, based on the hashtags they were encouraging us to use on the screens, Hartford.)  Before the show, Nick Jonas had a soundcheck Party for those who pre-ordered his album through his website.  Of course, this was Part I of Christine and Katie do stupid things (for that day – I’ve lost count of how many we’re at now) and arrived at the venue at 2:15, as we were told… and spent the rest of the day waiting in line.

Mike Posner was the opening act, who I was not at all looking forward to seeing. His set appeared to be relatively short – until he sat at the end of the stage for a bit and then started… a poem of sorts that started with “I am Jesus Christ” (read a sort of transcript here: https://www.evernote.com/shard/s535/sh/c36328dd-3b41-491f-afd7-b5f3f7f83b43/1768dc183d95be0bef93d382187fc59d)  To me, it didn’t seem like the right place or the right time and if we didn’t love distractions he wouldn’t have a career and a million dollars to spend on girls and shoes (distractions!) It just totally rubbed me the wrong way and I was left so dumbfounded over it, I kind of couldn’t get into Nick’s set for a bit because I was still just like… wtf?  Seriously regretted our earlier plans to miss his set after that!!

Nick started off the show, then Demi and they did some songs together as well.  At one point Nick was giving Demi a compliment, I think he said that she had been singing her ass off, but Demi couldn’t hear him so he had to repeat it.  The stage set up was really cool too, the backdrop of the stage was basically a giant screen – filled with all sorts of imagery throughout the sets and of course – BACON.

Overall it was a really fun tour and I am glad that we had such great seats to check it out!

Jason Mraz and his Guitar 6/21/16

Tuesday night Jason Mraz came to The Warehouse in Fairfield, CT as part of “An Evening with Jason Mraz and his guitar” tour where he tried out some new music and some old for music charities.  This was only Jason’s 4th show in Connecticut and The Warehouse is a very small venue that ended up having a wait list of 1300 people who wanted tickets!

The show was a lot of funny, Jason is great at telling stories and some of his songs were nothing short of hilarious. He talked about how when he used to play coffee shops he would add in scats of  “love love love” at the end of his songs or in the middle to try and make them longer and he started putting love in more of his songs and then he’d get requests for the “song with love it in” and all his songs have love in them!

Since he is recently married he sang a song that was a tip for everyone – called Chocolate.  I think this was my favorite song of the night. Definitely a great tip within that song (and I think it was also the song that included “I love you like Kanye loves Kanye” and you can’t love anything much more than that)

It was really cool for me to go from seeing him 2nd row at the amphitheater here to front row at such a tiny theater!

Jason Mraz Setlist The Warehouse, Fairfield, CT, USA 2016, An Evening with Jason Mraz and his Guitar

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