**2013 Boy Band Bonanza**
August 2, 2013 - August 4, 2013
Chicago, IL - Clarkston, MI - Indianapolis, IN
If there was a prize for the weekend that could have been the death of me in 2013, the winner would be my Boy Band Bonanza Weekend. During this particular weekend I traveled to three cities in three different states to see four different boy bands (five if you count Boyz II Men as a boy band). Sounds like a complete blast right? Oh, IT WAS! It was so much fun that I only got a total of six hours of sleep in the whole 72 hour period. I guess travelling about 1,000 miles in that one weekend was probably not the best idea on that little sleep....but at least I wasn't driving for some of it. So let's get started on one of my best weekends in 2013.
Friday, August 2, 2013 - Backstreet Boys - In A World Like This tour - Chicago, IL
Late in the evening before the Backstreet Boys were supposed to be in Chicago, I discovered that they would be making a performance with a local TV station early in the morning. It was already pretty late and by the time I found out, I would have only gotten about two or three hours of sleep. So, I did what any rational person would do, I just decided to stay awake. I won't go into many specifics because I will be writing a blog post on this specific day. I was front row for the event and stood my ground as the rain came pouring down and soaked those that had disregarded the announcement to go to our cars when the storm came through. There was no way I was giving up my spot. It served as a first for me - the first time I stood in the rain waiting for the Backstreet Boys.
The Boys sang a few songs and I was able to snatch a photo with AJ (which also just so happened to be caught on TV by a high school classmate of mine).
Brian and I had one of our moments where he noticed me and did one of his signals to let me know that he had seen me. Kevin saw my Kentucky shirt and gave me a "Go Big Blue." After the event, it was time to head to the venue for sound check.
I had a little time to kill so I went for a walk along the lake front (Lake Michigan) and then found a nice shady spot to rest for awhile. Remember, I had yet to be sleep since about 8am the previous morning. The Chicago show was the first stop of this leg of the tour and there were SO many people for VIP, plus they were running behind (imagine that!).
We got a few songs for sound check, as well as a few songs that they would be doing during the actual show. Brian once again saw me and signaled to me. He surely knows how to make me happy. By the time we got done with sound check, they had already started letting people into the venue but holding them behind a barrier.
The show was beyond amazing! There was of course the small incident where the venue cut the show off right at 11 (more on that in a later post), even though they still had five songs that they had to sing. The guys were livid. I must have caught Brian's eye when the guys were trying to get the venue to let them continue and we mouthed an entire conversation with one another with him on stage and me in the audience. It seemed like it went on forever but I'm sure it was only a minute or so.
After the show, I had decided to attend the after party. It was really the first after party I attended that was set up in the format of having the party on the venue site. Nobody really knew what to expect since this was the first like this. Kevin and Howie made their way into the audience while Nick did some deejaying and I was able to get a nice conversation in with Kevin. He told me he had spotted me in my Kentucky shirt during the show and had just been about to say something when they had cut off the Boys mics when trying to shut them down. We also discussed Kentucky football and how we felt about what kind of 2013 season we were going to have with it being Coach Stoops' first year.
I had decided to go with the package that got me a photo but I have NO idea who the other girls were in my photo.
The after party did not end until 1am and I did not get home until much after that. I think that by the time I finally went to bed, I had been up for 44 straight hours. I was looking forward to some sleep but knew I wasn't going to get much because I had to drive to Detroit the next day for a Big Time Rush concert.
Saturday, August 3, 2013 - Big Time Rush - Summer Break Tour - Clarkston, MI
After a short five hours of sleep, I woke up the next morning ready for the next part of my Boy Band Bonanza Weekend. Before leaving, I had gotten a phone call from a local newspaper to discuss the events of the previous evening at the Backstreet Boys concert and their early shut down. I thought that was kind of cool and you can read the article HERE.
Three and half hours on the road later, I met with the group I would attend the Big Time Rush show with. I had actually seen a few of the girls the previous month when I met with them while on my Baseball Bonanza adventures. However, this was the first time I was attending a show with some of the others.
I really liked the venue this show was held at and it was SO loud that night. While we were way off to the side, we were only about three rows back. I got a few more videos than I had at the Mohegan Sun show but the sound on some is not high quality because we were so close to the speakers. The show was just as good as the last time I had seen them...and did I mention how incredibly LOUD it was?
While the other girls were staying there that evening and driving to the Big Time Rush show in Chicago the next day, I had to head back home right after the show, as I was going to be leaving the next morning to head to Indianapolis for The Package Tour.
I had a tough time on the way home and had to stop often. After all, I had only gotten five hours of sleep after having been up for 44 straight hours. Luckily, I wasn't going to be the one driving to Indianapolis the next morning.
Sunday, August 4, 2013 - New Kids on the Block, 98 Degrees, Boyz II Men - The Package Tour - Indianapolis, IN
Instead of sleeping when I arrived home from Michigan, I decided to post photos and videos instead. An hour before I needed to start getting ready was when I finally decided to rest my eyes for a bit. This means I had only gotten 6 total hours of sleep between my three days of boy band adventures. You could just tell by listening to me that I was not at 100%, as my voice kept going in and out. That's what happens after two nights of screaming at concerts and little sleep. And I was about to head to my third.
I was actually going to get to meet Danny Wood from the New Kids on the Block because of some fundraising I had done for his charity organization, Remember Betty. I was taking a Facebook friend of mine that I had never actually met in person (she was a fellow New Kids fan also living in Northwest Indiana and had donated to my fundraising). She was a huge Danny Wood fan and I couldn't think of anyone better to take than her. She was also going with several of her friends so I met a lot of cool girls for the first time that day.
While my meeting with Danny was very quick, it was pretty awesome. He is a very nice guy. However, the best part of it was seeing my guest's response to meeting him. As her tears of joy fell after he was long out of site, I could not help but be reminded of the reaction I had the first time I had met Brian Littrell. I knew exactly how she felt at that moment and I felt a great sense of pride knowing I could give her that moment.
Once again, I was able to witness a fabulous show. They were doing it slight different then when the New Kids and Backstreet had toured together (first was Boyz II Men, then 98 Degrees, and the New Kids as the main act, whereas during NKOTBSB both acts had been the feature). This also happened to actually be the last stop of The Package Tour so we got a few extra songs that normally were not a part of the show. Much like with last shows that the Backstreet Boys hold, there were some shenanigans when both 98 degrees and Boyz II Men attacked the New Kids with water guns. It was the perfect ended to an awesome weekend.
That night when I got back home (with no sleep in the car on the two and a half hour ride back), I recorded the following video just to show what my experience this week had done to me:
You would think that I would have slept all of the next day away, especially since I didn't have to work. That was NOT the case. I was pretty dumbfounded when just four short hours after my head hitting the pillow, I was awake. It actually took several days for me to regain full use of my voice. I even had a job interview while my voice was not at 100% but I got the job so it must not have been too much of a hindrance.
This weekend will also be such a memorable one for me. I traveled about 1,000 miles to three different concerts in three different states to see four different boy bands with three different groups of wonderful ladies. The pure exhaustion I felt after those three days was well worth it!
I think this also gave me a tiny glimpse into what Mega Tour might be like. It was the first time I had done three concert nights in a row and it was not easy. Would I be able to handle a whole tour on the road? The fact that I went back home after each show, rather than just going city to city, made it a little more difficult I think. However, I see that Mega Tour will be extremely difficult to do if I ever got the chance.
Backstreet Boys - WGN Back to School Fair Photos
Backstreet Boys - In A World Like This - Chicago - Sound check and After Party Photos
Backstreet Boys - In A World Like This - Chicago - Concert Photos
Big Time Rush - Summer Break Tour - Detroit - Concert Photos
The Package Tour - Indianapolis - Concert Photos
View all of my videos from this weekend by visiting my YouTube Channel.
**Title Credits - "Back To Your Heart" - Backstreet Boys - Millennium**
Rain, Rain, Go Away!
The Boys sang a few songs and I was able to snatch a photo with AJ (which also just so happened to be caught on TV by a high school classmate of mine).
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| Photo with AJ that makes the morning news |
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| Chicago and Lake Michigan |
I had a little time to kill so I went for a walk along the lake front (Lake Michigan) and then found a nice shady spot to rest for awhile. Remember, I had yet to be sleep since about 8am the previous morning. The Chicago show was the first stop of this leg of the tour and there were SO many people for VIP, plus they were running behind (imagine that!).
We got a few songs for sound check, as well as a few songs that they would be doing during the actual show. Brian once again saw me and signaled to me. He surely knows how to make me happy. By the time we got done with sound check, they had already started letting people into the venue but holding them behind a barrier.
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| Me, Samantha, Susan, and Amanda |
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| Me and Kevin at the Chicago After Party |
I had decided to go with the package that got me a photo but I have NO idea who the other girls were in my photo.
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| Official Chicago After Party Photo |
The after party did not end until 1am and I did not get home until much after that. I think that by the time I finally went to bed, I had been up for 44 straight hours. I was looking forward to some sleep but knew I wasn't going to get much because I had to drive to Detroit the next day for a Big Time Rush concert.
Saturday, August 3, 2013 - Big Time Rush - Summer Break Tour - Clarkston, MI
After a short five hours of sleep, I woke up the next morning ready for the next part of my Boy Band Bonanza Weekend. Before leaving, I had gotten a phone call from a local newspaper to discuss the events of the previous evening at the Backstreet Boys concert and their early shut down. I thought that was kind of cool and you can read the article HERE.
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| Me, Ash, Cort, Tiela, and Kat |
I really liked the venue this show was held at and it was SO loud that night. While we were way off to the side, we were only about three rows back. I got a few more videos than I had at the Mohegan Sun show but the sound on some is not high quality because we were so close to the speakers. The show was just as good as the last time I had seen them...and did I mention how incredibly LOUD it was?
While the other girls were staying there that evening and driving to the Big Time Rush show in Chicago the next day, I had to head back home right after the show, as I was going to be leaving the next morning to head to Indianapolis for The Package Tour.
I had a tough time on the way home and had to stop often. After all, I had only gotten five hours of sleep after having been up for 44 straight hours. Luckily, I wasn't going to be the one driving to Indianapolis the next morning.
Sunday, August 4, 2013 - New Kids on the Block, 98 Degrees, Boyz II Men - The Package Tour - Indianapolis, IN
Instead of sleeping when I arrived home from Michigan, I decided to post photos and videos instead. An hour before I needed to start getting ready was when I finally decided to rest my eyes for a bit. This means I had only gotten 6 total hours of sleep between my three days of boy band adventures. You could just tell by listening to me that I was not at 100%, as my voice kept going in and out. That's what happens after two nights of screaming at concerts and little sleep. And I was about to head to my third.
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| Me and Danny Wood during my meet and greet |
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| Diane and me |
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| Abbie and me |
That night when I got back home (with no sleep in the car on the two and a half hour ride back), I recorded the following video just to show what my experience this week had done to me:
You would think that I would have slept all of the next day away, especially since I didn't have to work. That was NOT the case. I was pretty dumbfounded when just four short hours after my head hitting the pillow, I was awake. It actually took several days for me to regain full use of my voice. I even had a job interview while my voice was not at 100% but I got the job so it must not have been too much of a hindrance.
This weekend will also be such a memorable one for me. I traveled about 1,000 miles to three different concerts in three different states to see four different boy bands with three different groups of wonderful ladies. The pure exhaustion I felt after those three days was well worth it!
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| Michigan City -> Chicago -> Michigan City -> Detroit -> Michigan City -> Indianapolis -> Michigan City approx. 1,000 miles |
I think this also gave me a tiny glimpse into what Mega Tour might be like. It was the first time I had done three concert nights in a row and it was not easy. Would I be able to handle a whole tour on the road? The fact that I went back home after each show, rather than just going city to city, made it a little more difficult I think. However, I see that Mega Tour will be extremely difficult to do if I ever got the chance.
Backstreet Boys - WGN Back to School Fair Photos
Backstreet Boys - In A World Like This - Chicago - Sound check and After Party Photos
Backstreet Boys - In A World Like This - Chicago - Concert Photos
Big Time Rush - Summer Break Tour - Detroit - Concert Photos
The Package Tour - Indianapolis - Concert Photos
View all of my videos from this weekend by visiting my YouTube Channel.
**Title Credits - "Back To Your Heart" - Backstreet Boys - Millennium**
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