And Now, For Something Completely Unexpected
I bought a ticket to the DC (techically, Bristow, VA) Depeche Mode concert next week, but had no one to go with. My sister had also brought tickets to see her favorite band a few weeks ago and had no one to go with. So, we killed two birds with one stone. She's going with me to see Depeche next week, and two weeks ago, I went with her to.... well, you will see.
That's right, I went to see the Backstreet Boys. I have been heckling my sister for liking them since she was in middle school, so imagine my face when she was like, "and you can go with me to the Backstreet Boys concert!" Whaaaaaat!? 20-something me would be laughing older-than-20-something me right out of the building!
It wasn't so bad though. They're a bit older (some of them are even older than me!), but they've still got it... whatever "it" is. They sang, they danced, they talked to the fans, they sand and danced some more, they changed clothes... a lot. And the audience ate it up and screamed for more. It wasn't the music that had my ears ringing after the show, it was all of the high-pitched screaming. Young girls, old ladies, all of them... screeeeeaaaaammmmm!
As an added bonus, the night before the show, ny sister posted a picture of herself wearing a BSB shirt on twitter trying to win better seats. And won. So, when showtime came, she sat in the fan pit with her friend (who is, mind you, not even a fan!) and I got pushed back to the not-in-the-pit seats. Of course. The real winner was Ma, who was drafted into going to the show the second night, and then lucked up (LOL) and got to go to the first one too.
The opening acts were one of the Boys' kids (we missed that) DJ Pauly D (also missed. I was only slightly sad) and some kid whose name I can't remember. Jesse McCarney? Is that a name? McCarthy? I am too lazy to google. Some kid who looked on the big screen like a young Leonardo DiCaprio and sang and danced like a younger Justin Timberlake.
Things I Learned At The Show:
It’s a lot harder following a group of people running all over the place on a stage than it is to follow one. So much movement!
I am sure video screens are good if you are sitting so far away you can’t tell who’s even on the stage, but I’d rather watch a tiny real life person prance around than a big one on a screen.
Most people do not go to concerts to hear the new songs. You sing an old hit, the crowd’s like “Yes!” You sing something from the new CD, a lot of folks are like ::crickets::. All I’m saying is, if you’re at the In A World Like This Tour, try to learn some songs from the In A World Like This album. My sister gave me a playlist made up of the setlist, so that I would not be standing there like “What is this? When are they gonna sing ‘Dirty Pop’?” (Yes, I know that's NSYNC.) If I can learn them in two weeks, the actual fans have no excuse. (Some of the newer stuff is not so bad, but the old corny songs I used to heckle remain corny and worthy of mockery.)
No matter how old you are, or how good of a time she is having, your mother standing next to you dancing and singing along to a boy band will never not be mortifying. Turns out my mom really, really, realllllly likes “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)”.
The crowd loves Nick Carter. And by “loves”, I really mean “loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooves”. Oh, the high pitched squeals! I mean every time he did anything. (You know how in the south people always say “It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity”? Well at the concert, “It’s wasn’t the music, it was the screaming”. So very much screaming.) Nick sings “AHHHHH!!!!”. Nick dances “AHHHHHHH!!” Nick breathes “AHHHHHHH!!” He earned it though. My sister loves AJ (and his ridiculous beard), but Nick Carter is clearly the superior Backstreet Boy.
All in all, it was not bad. I didn’t expect to have a terrible time (some of their songs are pretty good. Don’t tell my sister!), but I actually had fun. Yeah, I did a good bit of heckling, but mostly of the crowd. (Why all of the screaming?) I even shouted out (not sang, mind you) some of the lyrics. You know, just to show that I knew them. Even the new ones. They put on a pretty good show. There was a good mix of new songs and old ones, the video projections were very cool, they had a lot of energy and spent a lot of time interacting with the crowd. They seemed to be having fun. The crowd was definitely having fun. Not bad.
That's right, I went to see the Backstreet Boys. I have been heckling my sister for liking them since she was in middle school, so imagine my face when she was like, "and you can go with me to the Backstreet Boys concert!" Whaaaaaat!? 20-something me would be laughing older-than-20-something me right out of the building!
It wasn't so bad though. They're a bit older (some of them are even older than me!), but they've still got it... whatever "it" is. They sang, they danced, they talked to the fans, they sand and danced some more, they changed clothes... a lot. And the audience ate it up and screamed for more. It wasn't the music that had my ears ringing after the show, it was all of the high-pitched screaming. Young girls, old ladies, all of them... screeeeeaaaaammmmm!
As an added bonus, the night before the show, ny sister posted a picture of herself wearing a BSB shirt on twitter trying to win better seats. And won. So, when showtime came, she sat in the fan pit with her friend (who is, mind you, not even a fan!) and I got pushed back to the not-in-the-pit seats. Of course. The real winner was Ma, who was drafted into going to the show the second night, and then lucked up (LOL) and got to go to the first one too.
The opening acts were one of the Boys' kids (we missed that) DJ Pauly D (also missed. I was only slightly sad) and some kid whose name I can't remember. Jesse McCarney? Is that a name? McCarthy? I am too lazy to google. Some kid who looked on the big screen like a young Leonardo DiCaprio and sang and danced like a younger Justin Timberlake.
Things I Learned At The Show:
It’s a lot harder following a group of people running all over the place on a stage than it is to follow one. So much movement!
I am sure video screens are good if you are sitting so far away you can’t tell who’s even on the stage, but I’d rather watch a tiny real life person prance around than a big one on a screen.
Most people do not go to concerts to hear the new songs. You sing an old hit, the crowd’s like “Yes!” You sing something from the new CD, a lot of folks are like ::crickets::. All I’m saying is, if you’re at the In A World Like This Tour, try to learn some songs from the In A World Like This album. My sister gave me a playlist made up of the setlist, so that I would not be standing there like “What is this? When are they gonna sing ‘Dirty Pop’?” (Yes, I know that's NSYNC.) If I can learn them in two weeks, the actual fans have no excuse. (Some of the newer stuff is not so bad, but the old corny songs I used to heckle remain corny and worthy of mockery.)
No matter how old you are, or how good of a time she is having, your mother standing next to you dancing and singing along to a boy band will never not be mortifying. Turns out my mom really, really, realllllly likes “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)”.
The crowd loves Nick Carter. And by “loves”, I really mean “loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooves”. Oh, the high pitched squeals! I mean every time he did anything. (You know how in the south people always say “It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity”? Well at the concert, “It’s wasn’t the music, it was the screaming”. So very much screaming.) Nick sings “AHHHHH!!!!”. Nick dances “AHHHHHHH!!” Nick breathes “AHHHHHHH!!” He earned it though. My sister loves AJ (and his ridiculous beard), but Nick Carter is clearly the superior Backstreet Boy.
All in all, it was not bad. I didn’t expect to have a terrible time (some of their songs are pretty good. Don’t tell my sister!), but I actually had fun. Yeah, I did a good bit of heckling, but mostly of the crowd. (Why all of the screaming?) I even shouted out (not sang, mind you) some of the lyrics. You know, just to show that I knew them. Even the new ones. They put on a pretty good show. There was a good mix of new songs and old ones, the video projections were very cool, they had a lot of energy and spent a lot of time interacting with the crowd. They seemed to be having fun. The crowd was definitely having fun. Not bad.