O-TOWN! O-YEAH!

YOU.GUYS.

It all started back in 1999 when ABC aired Making The Band. Because what 13 year old girl doesn't love a boy band, especially when you can watch them every week!

I loved O-Town immediately! I'm talking full on 13 year old fan girl love. I programmed the VCR to record MTB every week so I could watch it over and over (as well as any other performance and appearances). I bought the CD as soon as I could find a copy (small town life can be hard, y'all!). The majority of my allowance and pay checks (once I had a job) went to purchasing every Tiger Bear, Just Jared, Pop Star, and J-14 that had them in it (which was all of them at that time).  A corner of my ceiling was covered in posters. I still have a YM magazine in it's original plastic package because they were on the cover - of course I bought a second copy that could be opened, read, and promptly hung in my locker. Who doesn't buy two copies so you can enjoy one and keep the other forever?  Tiffany (who shared in this obsession) and I would watch their concert VHS on repeat until we could mimic every more you saw on screen.

Now that I'm an adult, my fanship isn't so weird and intense. It just involves purchasing albums when they are released, and following the band on facebook and instagram. Nothing creepy to see here.

ANYWAY. After having a few borderline panic attacks I secured my concert and VIP ticket to see O-town so I can finally fulfill some teenage dreams.





When Jacob comes on stage for sound check I almost die from joy. I was doing my best to control my over enthused smile and crazy eyes and fighting the urge to cry (because that happens when I hit optimal happiness). Then I looked to my right, and there's Trevor and Erik. And yes, I literally couldn't even!

They goof off, sound check, do a few songs to warm up, and I'm in heaven. Literally the best moments of my life are happening right now.

BUT it gets better.

Next up is the meet and great. I'm second in line. I'm starting to sweat and am feeling shaky. I rehears saying my name so that I'll hopefully at least get that out.

It's my turn. Dan greets me with open arms. Oh.My.Gawd. I just hugged a member of O-town. Be cool, Jessica. Be cool. Then Jacob opens his arms. I fight the urge to squeal. By the time Eric hugs me I'm able to tell him it's nice to meet him, and the same with Trevor. They are so nice, generous with the complements, and handsome.  Pictures are taken and I'm just hopping my face doesn't look as crazy as I'm feeling.

Erik personally hands out the VIP t-shirts and signed pictures. He tells me my last name is cool because it's like Lord of the Rings. How is this real life?

We sit with Trevor and chat while he watches the game. I don't say much because I'm totally freaking out on the inside. I'm hanging out with Trevor. Who does that? I did sneak a pic to show Tiffany just how close I was.

A couple of hours, 3 opening acts, and it's finally show time. They do a good mix of the old a new stuff. I swear they even brought back some of the original moves. They sound amazing!

Jacob does the microphone toss in All or Nothing and I scream like I'm 15 all over again! (Totally can't wait to send Tiff the video of that)



The guys signed T-shirts after the performance, so of course I have to buy one!

I meet them again and manage to get out more words. I make sure to thank each of them for coming to Houston. I really am truly thankful because this was one of the best nights ever. Like ever ever! I even tell Jacob about how much I loved the microphone flip and how I always attempt it when given the chance (but usually drop it). He laughs and says he's almost dropped it a few times too. OMG, did we just become best friends?!?

When I get back to my car I scream because I have too many feels! Then I send Tiff all 137 photos from the night.

I made sure to feel and memorize each moment of this night. I just wish I could capture it so I could live in it anytime I wanted because the memories already aren't doing it justice!

It's Britney Bitch

I saw Britney twice during her Circus tour, and once on the Femme Fatale tour. But those didn't compare to Britney in Vegas!

Obviously it's an over the top show. But I was most impressed with her dancing. Def not as good as the early years, which is understandable, but the best that post-break down Britney has done!

I sang, I danced, I may have cried. It was incredible.

OneRepublic

I feel in love with Native at first preview, so when tickets went on sale for their Houston stop I had to go!

I turned it into a date night and went to Blue Fish (I think) since it is right outside the venue. By the end of the meal I remembered why I had only been there once...and added a few reasons as to why I won't be hurrying back. 

Sara Brailles opened up the show. Her set was good, she sounded great, and she was pretty funny. I really like her songs but they are pretty calming....so I may have taken a nap. Mind you, it had also been a long rough week at work. 

I was so excited when One Republic took the stage. They started the first song behind a white curtain with a lot of lights and shadows singing "Light It Up." It was full of energy and def woke me up!

They sang just about every single, past hits, and even did a really cool cover of "Gold Digger."

My personal faves were:

• Counting Starts
• If I Lose Myself
• What You Wanted
• Feel Again
• I Lived
• Can't Stop

I had accompanying videos, but Blogger isn't cooperating.

If you don't have the record, then go out and buy it ASAP. AND see them in concert if given the chance.

Mumford

Finally! The reschedule Mumford concert was here!

I've been waiting for this forever! And the weather was exceptionally awesome.
That's a lie. It was so humid that my blanket felt wet. Disgusting.

Holly ended up coming with us because B had an extra ticket. I even got to hang out with Jess like old times since she had bought a ticket with me months ago. Ah, the good ole days.

I got a little car sick on the drive to the woodlands and was ready to dive roll out of the car into traffic, but managed to hold on and not throw up. Wins for everyone.

Holls and I got in line before the gates opened and managed to get great seats on the lawn for the group.

Pre Mumford naps.

The opening acts were alright...even though I can't recall their name. And after hours (months, weeks, days) of waiting, Mumford finally took the stage! They sounded amazing!

My only disappointment is that they didn't play Babel.
I only expected it since it's the name of the album, tour, and a single.

And then they announced their break two weeks later. So this was kind of a surprise breakup tour.

Gavin DeGraw, The Script, Train

I love Gavin and have been dying to see him since I couldn't make his last tour stop in Houston two years ago.

The concert was in The Woodlands on a friday...so by the time I battled traffic and the parking sitch I missed Gavin. I was heartbroken! I got to hear him sing a few songs on the walk from the lost to the pavillion, but as soon as I got seated he gave the whole "Thanks for having me Houston" and I gave my Oedipus "Whyyyyyyyyyy" face.

I do like The Script and Train....but I don't think I own any of their whole albums.

I was plesantly surprised when I knew all but a few songs from both. They both put on a good show, great sound, and was a wonderful way to spend my Friday night.

My only complaint is that I don't love all of Train's new stuff, but had to sit through every last song before they rewarded me with Drop Of Jupiter during the encore.

It was well worth the wait!

And then I got a little lost on the way back to my car. This would be the only time that I get scared about going to concerts alone.

Maroon 5

My first concert of 2013, and it was a good one...except for the opening acts. Owl City and Neon Trees? I don't hate, but I could have done without.

B and I had bought out tickets months ago, and as the concert got closer she lost interest and sold hers on craigslist. Should we be concerned that I didn't mind going alone? Antisocial behavior much?

Aside from looking awkward for being alone (yes, someone actually asked me if I was there by myself), it wasn't all bad. I think I just found my permanent concert partner: me! This could be great since we like all of the same music.

What is there to say about Maroon 5?

Source

I figure that about covers it.

He was wearing a smidge more clothes during the concert.

I loved the simplicity of the stage, and the use of the screens and lights.

And they sounded soo good live! There is nothing more disappointing than the entertainer sounding different, in a bad way, than their CD.

MRAZ Is A Four Letter Word

I really like Jason Mraz. Ever since 'The Remedy' and 'Did you get my message.'

Last year I went to my first Jason Mraz concert in DC. Oh, none of that sounds familiar? Yeah, it's because that weekend has been dubed a DC Disaster. It was so bad that I couldn't even be bothered to share the few good moments. I'm talking so bad that when I woke up Sunday morning I kept forcing sleep in hopes that I would magicaly wake up in Houston. No dice. Lesson learned: always travel with your HP wand in case you need to do some magic.

But I did get to see this guy!

For that concert Colbie Callait opened. I love Colbie. I def own all of her albums, and I love them. She was more amazing in person than I ever could have imagined. Such a simple show, but still so powerful! That's about all I clearly remember from that night.

So when Jason announced this Love is a Four Letter Word tour I had my fingers crossed that Colbie would be on board again. Nope, it was Christina Perry instead. She's good, I have the album (even though I haven't listened to the whole thing yet), but I really wanted more CoCo in my life!

B and I made the road trip out to the Woodland Pavillions and had a disaster of a time getting through the merchandise line (ended up not getting anything) and deciding on which food vendor we wanted. I think we were both a little sleep deprived.

We squeezed into a nice spot at the front of the general admission hill. We missed Christina's first few songs, but got to see her perform about 5. She sounded really good! The young girl sitting infront of us (Did I just become old?) was marking a dance to one of the songs. It was so funny! It seemed like it was a ballet dance. I wish she would have stood up and done the whole thing! That would have been good.

After her set she had a meet and greet with about 50 people. We weren't in that group, but the girl sitting infront of us was. When she came back with her signed album, she told her mom about how Christina remembered her. It was the sweetest thing ever!

Finally it was Jason time!

He sounds so good live. He's quite odd, but I love it! He told us a few stories between songs, and I wish I would have written them down sooner because I am drawing a blank. Did anyone catch his episode of Storytellers on Vh1? I watched it 3 times. so good!

Anyway, he played a lot of the new songs, and some of his previous singles. My fave song is '1000 Things.' I wasn't surprised that it didn't make the set list, but I was still a little bumbed.

This was such a feel good - chill out concert. I will def see Jason again!

Coldplay

Coldplay was in Houston for two nights. I had put off buying tickets because I really like them I'm just not obsessed.

Luckily they still had tickets for the Tuesday night show, so B and I got those about a month ahead of time.

After work we headed to Blue Fish for some happy hour sushi and to pass time before the show. We hadn't been there before, but it was recommended by some coworkers. Some coworkers whose opinions I no longer value. I'm not going to say it was bad (the worst I had was take out in NY where they had tons of lettuce in my shrimp tempura roll. Who does that?), but it's not worth going back.

The crab in the California roll tasted kinda like tuna salad. I like tuna salad, but not in my roll. The shrimp tempura was ok. I prefer mine with the rice on the outside, but it's not a big deal. It just wasn't bomb.com like RA. And I tried the vegetable tempura. Turns out I just don't like it - that's more of a personal problem. The pot stickers? I almost spit it out, but then remembered I'm 25. B really enjoyed my expression with that one. The only redeeming quality? The chocolate spring roll that B & I shared. It reminded me of the chocolate empanada (I think that's what it's called?) from Ruby Tequilas. They had three mini rolls and a scoop of ice cream. Have you ever tried eating ice cream with chop sticks? You should because 1. you'll eat less, and 2. you'll get a good laugh.

We got to the concert just in time to see Robyn open the show. I've heard 'Dancing on my Own' before, but that was it. Overall, her performance and songs didn't win me over. I feel like she stepped out of the 90s, and her music didn't seem to go with Coldplay at all. Once that assault on my ears finally ended, it was time for the big show!

Everyone was given a bracelet when they entered the Toyota Center, and they lit up throughout the show. It was so cool to see all of the lights!

Coldplay sounded so good live. I knew they would, and I'm glad they didn't disappoint.

Chris messed up 3 times. All were mistakes that I didn't even notice until he would stop and say something along the lines of "Oh I really fucked that one up. Let's do that again. Please don't post this on youtube because we don't want to ruin our reputation of professionalism." It was pretty funny.

They played almost all of my fave songs. I thought they were going to skip 'Clocks' (which would have been blasphemy), but they worked it into their encore...twice! I always liked this song, but now when I hear it I think of Andrew. He would always play it on his percussion stuff (bells?) and on the piano. Which was weird because Coldplay wasn't typically the kind of music he would listen to.

Oh, and there was tons of confetti right from the beginning. And balloons. It was such a great party!

YOLO - Drizzy Drake

Drake came to Austin back in February. I so so irritated with him that he would come all the way to Texas, but not make a Houston stop. Especially when he claims Houston is like his second home. What the effff?

All was forgiven in March when he announced his full tour that included Houston! I was so psyched and emailed B, Jess, and Steven automatically. B couldn't make it, but J+S were down!

In preparation for the concert I turned all baking times into Drake & Bake. And he finalllllllly released the video to "Take Care," and it's amazing!

Finally concert day was here! It had been so long since our last sister wives date, so I was extra excited. Any by so long, I really mean we had just gone to Olive Garden (gotta keep it real) after our Monday workout.

After work I headed over to The Grove to meet S+J for dinner. Jess' time frame was a bit off, so I was probably there 45min to an hour before they showed up. I really didn't mind the waiting because I had a terrible day so it was nice to just sit there in silence (although I'm sure having them there would have cheered me up even faster). My only complaint is that I was there over 25 min without anyone trying to take my order. I might want to get an appetizer or something! So I finally grabbed the water guy and he tracked me down a waiter. I went ahead and ordered all of our meals and they showed up about 5 min after S+J arrived. Great timing!

Drake had at least 100 people open for him (I was waiting in line to get my concert tee for most of them), but I managed to catch J Cole. I only knew one song, not that impressed...Drake please!

After the longest wait of my life Drake hit the stage! He sounded so good! And I must say we were shocked when he lifted his shirt and was actually pretty cut. I always thought Drake would be pretty soft, so that was a surprise. Actually it was just weird and thought provoking. We probably talked about it for 5min after the concert trying to figure out why his abs were so trim, but his arms didn't look like he lifted more than a mic. Hmmm...

Anyway. The concert was pretty good! The lights were a nice touch and he had good crowd interaction. He played all of my fave songs (except for "Practice") and even some old mix-tape stuff that I had never heard.

But the best part? Watching Steven in full on rapper mode. I'm pretty sure that he knew the words to every song. I didn't even know all of the words to every song when I saw B.Spears, and you know how much I love her!

It was so entertaining to watch. I tried to record it, but he didn't fit in the frame since he was right next to me. I really hope that S changes his career aspirations because I'd love to be in the crew. If anyone can deflate someones ego, it's def me, and he'll probably need that once he gets super successful. S - get to workin on your flows!

I think Jess had a great time...Instagraming pictures of the concert.

Another cool part? The 20 min long shout out portion. He would focus on one area and start calling out people he could see and sometimes he'd say funny stuff. One of my faves was "I love you too. Know that shit."

I would def see Drake again, but I will not be joining S in the front row. I love drake, but only $50 worth.

Florence + The Machine

This whole week has been a little stressful, but I've managed. And then today happened.  Between stress and hormones the perfect storm was brewing. ick. Most of the time if my feelings get hurt or if someone is irritating me I can just brush it off and not give attitude in return. Not today. Today was one of those "Do you know what I hate today...other than everything?" days. Well, not until after lunch. I may have also had a mini cry sesh. That was awkward.

Daniel sent me this which made me laugh.

I was already pretty stoked about F+TM, but even more so since I had rage flowing through my veins. Jess picked me up from work and we shared a nice dinner at Ziggy's. I had never been, but it was pretty legit. We shared the spinach artichoke dip and the spa salad - because I know you were dying to know. I filled her in on my day and what had me raging. I love when I tell someone something and they give me shock face at all the right moments. Jes did this to perfection today. I'm so glad we were on the same page. It made me feel more sane.

We headed to the concert, got some souveniers, and unwanted attitude from the girls by us in line. She's pretty lucky I didn't throw some bows attitude her way. And then it was time for Flo...after whoever that was that opened.

She came on and it was like the heavens parted and rained down peace, fluff, candy, and pure joy. She was everything I had wanted/expected and more. She sounds even better live than she does on the CD. So in love right now.

I basically feel in love with Flo the first time I heard Cosmic Love. It was used in The Vampire Diaries campaign back in 2010. That is one of my all time favorites! We got to the end of the concert and she didn't play it. I was really dissapointed..but it was part of her two song encore! My night was complete.

Her singing voice is so strong and powerful, it was weird to hear her speaking voice the way it was so soft and delicate.

Great concert. I will def go see her again!