Blues Traveler - June 7, 2014 (sorta...) and Avril Lavigne and the Backstreet Boys - June 18, 2014

So I know the title of this one is confusing...and I'll explain.

We headed to the Taste of Syracuse (a local outdoor festival featuring local restaurants) to see Blues Traveler...because who wouldn't like food, drinks, and a FREE Blues Traveler concert?  So after parking, walking forever, attempting to meet up with the entire group of friends we were meeting, and being starving cause we hadn't waited in any of the long lines for food yet, we couldn't even really get in the vicinity of the stage.  We stayed to hear one song - which one?  I can't even remember - and then walked away to find food and never turned back.  I did see them on stage for about half a second and we heard that one song...so I'm still counting it, but it doesn't really make for a great concert experience story.  So instead, we're going to skip ahead to a couple of weeks and talk about a piece of 2000's-tastic awesome-ness that seriously made my June.

Now...I loved Avril Lavigne back in the day.  Don't get me wrong.  I bought her album, Let Go, and rocked out to it in my car on my way to high school.  Heck, I'd even been through Napanee with my family on vacation and I'm pretty sure I'd seen her at the small local store there.  Things really were *complicated* when you're a high school girl, and I wanted so badly to shove it in the face of the skanky girl who wanted the sk8tr boi.  But I never, in a million years, figured I'd be 29 years old singing along at the top of my lungs to Avril.  But here I am getting ahead of myself.  The show started even before she took the stage...

...a few minutes before start time, Brian Littrell came out on stage with his son (speaking of feeling old....) and asked the group if we'd mind a little mini-concert before the show started.  He was adorable...and quite good!! Check it out!

After he sang a couple of songs he headed back off stage, and then we were just waiting for the show to start.

First off, Avril is tiny.  I mean TINY.  She looked like I could put her in my pocket...but energetic and sounded great.  She sang all the songs you'd want to hear if you were there to see Avril Lavigne.  She worked the crowd well and really brought in the nostalgia.  I had much more fun than I expected as I really wasn't one to "care" so much about seeing her...after all, I was actually there for the Backstreet Boys.

A little Complicated for you:

After Avril's set, it was time for what we were all there for...Backstreet Boys!!  Now, this isn't my first rodeo, but we brought a friend who'd been wanting to get to a show for quite some time.  She'd given up the opportunity a couple of times, but finally decided that this was it.  

Let me tell you - if you're looking to be entertained, this show definitely does it.  There is never a down moment, which, incidentally, is also really impressive.  They dance, they sing, they wear coordinated outfits. 

And even when they slowed things down, it was fantastic.  (I apologize - I didn't realize the camera didn't auto-focus on this one...)

I love seeing them playing instruments and changing the perception of what they do.  So many laugh about my love of boy bands...but really, they are seriously fantastic musicians.  Period. 

Our friend looked at me after the show and said "I'm so glad I finally came to a show with you guys....that was amazing!"  And that, ladies and gentlemen, is exactly what I wanted to hear!  Such a fantastic night!!

Next up:  Home Free at UGa!!! 

Concert #1 of 2014.....Hanson!! (December 31, 2013-January 1, 2014)

Yes.  You read that correctly.  And my inner 13 year old is screaming and hopping up and down that this is how I spent my New Year's Eve, 2013.

Now, you're right - New Year's Eve is 2013...and I said that it was the first concert of 2014.  For that, you have to blame the band, and my friend, Kate.  Kate pointed out to me that because they accidentally played through midnight, it has to count as both the final concert I attended in 2013 (number 15...), and also the first concert of 2014...so there you have it.

When I heard that Hanson was going to be playing a concert in my town, on New Year's Eve no less, I couldn't believe my ears.  I was immediately excited....but then I realized that I had to find friends who would be willing to go with me.

After convincing my husband to come along, as well as finding that 2 other friends who, I was shocked to find out, really wanted to go, a plan was set.  We were going to spend a lovely New Year's Eve night, reliving our teen years, and just having a great time.

But of course, there has to be a problem.   That problem, in this case, came in the form of geography.  I live in Syracuse, NY - and this was to be an outdoor concert.  In past years we've had all various forms of weather on New Year's Eve.  This year, was sure to be one for the books, however.  The weather forecast was somewhere around the 15 degree mark...with a windchill of about 5.  Yes, 5.  But we were going to brave the cold anyway...we're Syracusans afterall - a little cold can't hurt us.

We packed up the hand warmers...and foot warmers...and coats, and scarves, and long underwear and prepared for a cold, but fun, night.

After a great set by local openers, Rock Bottom Allstars, Hanson took the stage around 10:30pm despite the cold.  Isaac was going through nearly 3 guitar tunings a song because of the temperatures which were causing the instrument to have difficulty remaining tuned.  The crew, however, made the transitions seamless for him and the crowd was treated to uninterrupted music.  Taylor was a master at keeping the crowd going - which was also keeping us warmer - with lots of fast paced songs.  Zac, because of the physicality required by drumming, actually took off his coat and was down to long underwear and a long sleeve tee.  Taylor joked that we all got to see Zac in his underwear as he pointed out the long underwear.

The show was fantastic.  In fingerless gloves, coats, and scarves, the boys were all still able to put on a very entertaining show,  When Taylor asked us all to jump along to a song toward the end, however, I didn't trust the feeling in my feet enough to actually jump.  It was definitely going to take a while to warm up after the show.  At about quarter til midnight, they finished up, and then returned for an encore of a couple of songs.  They, and we, were so into it that we missed midnight.  At about 12:01 the local DJ's who were emcee-ing the concert came out to do a "countdown" which arbitrarily started at 15....but in the end it was an amazing night with my husband and my good friends.  Oh, and Hanson.  Hanson was there too - and they were AWESOME!

Didn't hurt that we were super close too:

Next for 2014:  Switchfoot and Blue October in a couple of weeks :)