Lost Without You - Hanson in Chicago

Day Two of the Anthem Tour was more about hanging out around the city than sitting in line, which was kind of a relief. Unless you do the Pass the Line deal at the House of Blues, there's not much point to standing around. At least in our opinion. We usually just get there right before the show starts and stand in the back unless one of their 1-mile barefoot charity walks is scheduled, which was the case on Sunday.

We left home with plenty of time to spare and surprisingly did not hit any traffic. Since the Chicago marathon was going on the same day, we wanted to be prepared for extra travel time. With about an hour to kill before the walk, we found a sunny place to sit and warm up. It was pretty chilly in the shade.

As usual, the Chicago walk was fairly crowded, so we didn't try too hard to get by the guys this time. And again, Taylor was absent.

Zac, the hat...why?

On the walk back to HOB, I was next to Isaac for a minute, but it was too much work to hold that position. Plus, I couldn't think of anything to talk to him about that day.

After the walk, we decided to venture back out and made our way over to Millennium Park and the Bean.

I took the opportunity to get an outfit picture this time. I had gotten the idea that for this show, I would recreate an outfit I wore to the Bay Beach amusement park Hanson show in Green Bay on June 19, 2000. My outfit of pleather pants and a sort-of v-neck shirt has been an inside joke with us since, so I thought it would be fun to pay homage to that. Plus, I wanted an excuse to buy faux leather pants again.

2013 Outfit - T-shirt: Land's End; Pants: Rock & Republic (Kohl's); Blazer and Sunglasses: Target; Necklaces: Forever 21 probably; Shoes: TOMS; Bag: Christian Siriano for Payless

Clearly, I needed a lesson on venue-appropriate clothing choices back then. Pleather pants at an amusement park??

I have to say, I definitely enjoyed sightseeing over standing in line all day. We grabbed an oddly delicious and satisfying hot dog in Millennium Park and each got a mocha from Caribou Coffee for the walk back. We also ducked into the Disney store for a few minutes, and I bought Bridget a Little Mermaid doll. I couldn't go in there and not buy her something.

Before going into the venue, we toasted to T's 60th Hanson show (K and I are now at 49, and E is right behind us at 48) and our collective 16-year fandom.

As annoying as HOB can sometimes be, Hanson loves it there, and the shows reflect that. In my opinion, the set list was even better than Milwaukee's; we were dancing around and having fun the whole time; and I got to hear one of my new favorites, "Lost Without You," and an older favorite, "Lost Without Each Other." Yeah, Hanson tends to write songs with basically the same titles a lot. It's a thing.

I didn't take any pictures since we were near the back, but I did get one video of Isaac's solo, "For Your Love" again.

Really, the only disappointment of the night was not being able to try the MMMHops beer. Apparently, they had sold out of it well before we leisurely sauntered in. It's a pale ale, so I probably wouldn't have liked it anyway, but someday I'll still have to try it. My friends went to the second HOB show the next night, so they did have a taste.

You can see all my pictures from the weekend in my Facebook album or read about my Milwaukee concert experience.

Let's Get Fired Up - Hanson in Milwaukee

Where to begin? I guess 6:30 AM on Saturday morning is a good place to start. That's when I pulled into downtown Milwaukee and swung around the Pabst Theater to scope out the situation. I'm not sure why I was surprised, but there were already quite a few people lined up for the Hanson show that night. I drove around for a bit and found a place to park. When I got in line at almost 6:45, I was number 24. That's how crazy we Hanson fans are, folks. Many of the people ahead of me had camped out, but I think the group right in front of me had only been there for maybe an hour when I arrived.

From the Pabst's Facebook page. This was taken around 8 in the morning. You can see my empty red chair in the middle and my friend E to the left of it. I must've been off getting coffee at that point.

As you can imagine, the rest of the day was a lot of sitting around, waiting for something exciting to happen. Here are the highlights with an approximate timeline.

10:30 - Our friend K arrived and joined us in line. I had given the three groups behind me a heads up that a couple of friends would be meeting me later, and they were fine with it.

11:30 - Some drama broke out about line jumpers behind us. The cops got involved. No seriously.

12:00 - A truck pulled up, and the crew started to unload equipment. I recognized a guy from high school and tried to chat him up in hopes of getting some VIP access. I didn't really know how to make that happen, so I basically engaged in a few minutes of small talk and then walked away.

12:30 - Hanson's tour bus arrived, and we welcomed the excitement. I saw Isaac come off the bus and was dumbstruck by how good he looked in his leather jacket, scarf, sunglasses, and hat. I'm used to seeing him in a suit, but I prefer his laid-back look. Although I had jumped on the Zac fan train for a few years there, that moment brought me back to my Isaac fan roots.

1:30 - K's friend R arrived, and we educated him on all the craziness he witnessed while we waited for the 1-mile barefoot charity walk to begin at 3.

3:00 - The walk commenced, but Taylor was nowhere to be seen. We hung out by Zac for the first half mile and Isaac on the way back.

Zac making sure we all get across the street safely

Mid-walk speech

I paparazzied my friends by Zac, got a few pics with them by Isaac, and then got to have a couple conversations with him myself, which went something like this:

Me: Isaac, your foot, what happened? (He had a bandage wrapped around his foot.)
I: Oh, it's nothing.
Me: Oh OK, nevermind then. (I almost said something about it being a sore subject, but it sounded too punny in my head. At least, I hope that stayed in my head. I can't remember for sure.)
I: It's on the top. It's not walk related.
Me: That's good to hear.
I: It's more...ignoring something for too long.
Me: Ah, gotcha.

We then stopped and waited for the light to turn green, and a girl took a picture with him. When we started walking again, there was no one else walking by Isaac up in front, so I felt like I had to say something else to him. I'm kicking myself because I had my camera out, on video mode, and pointing at myself and Isaac during this next conversation. The only problem was, apparently I did not push the button to start recording. Arg!! Luckily, my friend K got a couple pictures and a video!

(Also, my outfit was inadvertently but conveniently very similar to the Inspiration Monday photo for this week, so I also wanted to link up with them. I wish I had gotten a full shot of the outfit I was wearing that day, but I never think of it at the time. Too much other stuff going on.)

This conversation isn't accurate at all. I think Isaac was rambling more than what I actually remembered to write down afterwards. But here's the gist, which I updated on 10/16 when I saw the video clip K got of the conversation:

Me: I'm really excited for MMMHops tomorrow. (They were debuting their beer, MMMHops, at the two House of Blues Chicago shows.)
I: Yeah, we were hoping people would be. I hope we have enough.
Me: I was wondering about that. Should I only have one? Is there enough to go around?
I: Haha, you should have as many as you want.
Me: OK done!
I: You should have as many as you want. Um, heh.
Me: so it's just going to be at the bar?
I: It's gonna be at the bar, yeah so, there should be plenty left to go around, but it's our first time, so we'll see how quickly it goes. (Foreshadowing...)

After the walk, I stood right by the guys on the steps for their post-walk speech.

4:30 - We listened to the sound check going on inside from our spot in line, and I headed inside the adjoining hotel to charge my phone for awhile.

5:30 - Our friend T showed up with her friend D. They went across the street to kill time at the Newsroom Pub.

6:15 - R and I got bored and joined them for shots.

6:45 - Doors opened!

Although the Pabst is a seated venue, they used the area in front of the seats for a pit, which is where we ended up. The four of us got spots about three people back from the stage on Taylor's side. Everyone in front of us had either gotten there way earlier than we did or had a meet & greet, so I was pretty satisfied with our spot. Plus, I'm a head taller than everyone else anyway (sorry, people behind me).

It felt like forever before the opener, David Ryan Harris, went on at 8. He was pretty decent, but most of his songs were pretty chill, and I wasn't feeling very amped up at that point. His set finished at 8:45, and we waited impatiently until nearly 9:30 before Hanson came on. That's when I decided I would never stand on Taylor's side again. He kept having to tell the fans in the front to move back and be nice to each other because one little person fan in the front row kept getting slammed into.

Besides that, the show was great. I loved hearing the new songs live and thoroughly enjoyed the covers they did of "Happy Together" and "Ain't Too Proud to Beg." I was also glad that they decided to bring back the portion of the show where each guy performed one of their solo songs. Many of us Isaac fans felt shafted on the last album with no Isaac leads, so hearing him sing the new song "For Your Love" was a treat.

11:30 - After the show, we filed out to the bus to wait for the guys to come out. Zac came out almost right away and signed autographs from the bus window since there were so many people.

1:00 - Isaac came out and signed a bunch of autographs for people. K got a picture with him, and then E pulled me into her picture with him, which I am very grateful for. I was a couple fans back, and I don't think I would've gotten a picture otherwise.

Yup, all three of us basically have crazy eyes in this picture, hehe.

2:00 - Taylor came out for the handful of fans that were left, and E got a picture with him. Very soon after that, the bus left, as did we.

You can see the rest of my pictures from the weekend in my Facebook album (hopefully that link works).

Needless to say, I was pretty tired Sunday morning when Bridget woke me up at 7, but I was ready for another day of Hanson excitement down in Chicago.

Four Stylish Concert Outfit Ideas

Every once in awhile, most likely when Hanson's on tour like right now, I'll see in my blog stats that some people found this site by searching "what to wear to a Hanson concert." The post they likely see is this somewhat tongue-in-cheek one I did a couple years ago. This time (around), I wanted to give some serious suggestions for Hanson concert attire (or any concert, really) for those of you looking for advice. I'm going to my 48th and 49th Hanson shows in a few weeks, and I still have no idea what I'm going to wear, so maybe this will give me some ideas, too.

Everything I've shown here is under $50 except for the TOMS wedges.

1. I bought some faux leather leggings yesterday, so I'm all about those right now, but coated denim is also a great option. Less flashy but still cool. Pair these pants with a slouchy T-shirt or tank top, a knit jacket for easier range of motion in the arms, and jewelry. Credit where its due, this look was inspired by Kendi.

2. This outfit is more appropriate for a seated show or one where you plan to hang out in the back by the bar. Or maybe be outside the venue for most of the night (it happens). With the long sleeves and over-the-knee boots, you would surely overheat amid the crowd.

The first two looks are definitely my style, but the blazer in outfit #1 maaayyy be a little much for a Hanson concert. Let's try a couple things outside of my comfort zone.

3. I'm not a huge camo-print fan myself, but I can't deny that it is trendy right now. You could substitute any printed or colored denim here. And this top, which says "Rock n roll stole my soul" is a subtle nod to the lyrics in Hanson's song "Been There Before" or any of the other songs where they mention rock n roll and soul.

4. Sneaker wedges. They were huge last year, so let's lug those puppies out again to give you some height so that you can see the stage from the middle of the crowd in shoes you don't mind getting a little knocked around. It was hard for me to find a pair of these I didn't hate. Thank goodness for fashion bloggers giving me inspiration because this is exactly what I was envisioning. I also like the sneaker wedges with a short, full skirt, but I'd recommend wearing shorts underneath at a concert just to be safe. Unless safety is not what you're going for; in the case, by all means take your chances.

In a World Like This: St. Louis

I posted about my outfit ideas for these shows before, but I had to switch it up earlier in the week because Backstreet Boys sent out an email requesting that all the Platinum VIPs wear white to go on stage. Nothing I already owned looked good enough, so I ended up picking up this dress from Kohl's for $20 after discounts. Right when I got it home, I took in the sides so that it would fit better on top; it wasn't perfect and it required shapewear, but it was definitely an improvement from anything I had in my closet. The lower scoop-neck back was probably my favorite part of it.

I had to safety pin my bra straps to the dress so that they wouldn't show.
This was pre-airbrush tan.

Standing in line, waiting to go to the soundcheck

On our drive down from Bloomington to St. Louis, we still had not received any details via email about the timeline for the day. We knew somewhat what to expect from reading about people's experiences in Chicago the night before, but things didn't go as planned for them in Chicago, so it was hard to know exactly what was going to happen. I think it was only a couple hours before they wanted people there that the emails finally went out.

We arrived at the venue early and stood in line for about an hour and half-ish before they started checking us in right on time at 3:30ish. The Jesse McCartney VIPs went in first, and then we got our turn. Since it was pretty hot out and we finished lining up in record time, they let us sit in the amphitheater while we waited for the soundcheck to begin. At about 5, the guys made their way on stage after Howie's adorable son came out and waved hi to us.

Brian was a complete goofball the entire time, and Nick seemed very focused. That surprised me at his solo concert, too. How incredibly different his real self and his stage persona seem to be. I like them both, but it is interesting. He's definitely a professional and extremely talented—that's for sure. Howie, on the other hand, was signing a stack of 8x10 photos while he was singing. It didn't bother me that much, but I was amused by his multitasking. The guys sang four or five songs and then took a few questions from the crowd.

Then, it was time for our pictures.

They led us out of the amphitheater and over to a nearby fenced-in tent area, starting with the Silver VIPs, then Gold, then Platinum. The Bronze level only included the soundcheck, so they left. The Silver level included a group picture with Backstreet Boys, so those were done almost instantly. T and E were in the Gold group, which got individual pictures with BSB, and I was anxiously staring at my phone in line, waiting for updates from them. The word was that it went super fast and that security was not allowing hugs.

When it was time for the Platinums to go, the 30 of us filed into the fenced-in area, and there were the guys standing together at the other end of the tent. I was near the end of the line, so I had plenty of time to see what everyone before me was doing. I did hear Kevin tell one of the girls, "It's an honor to be on your breast," referring to her Backstreet Boys tattoo. They also seemed to take time to read the homemade shirts a few of the fans were wearing. A couple girls got side hugs from Kevin; but otherwise, it was some quick conversations, hand shaking, and picture taking. Maybe half a minute of interaction per fan.

I walked up to Brian, who was standing closest to us, shook his hand, and told him my name. Next up was Howie, then Kevin, then Nick, and AJ last. I introduced myself to basically all of them (and I think maybe Howie introduced himself to me??), and I know AJ said, "Rebekah, nice to meet you." I can't remember what anyone else said. I squeezed in between Kevin and Nick for the picture and said, "I have to stand here because I'm real tall," which is a take on a quote from their All Access documentary video thing they put out years ago. Of course, no one got it, but after I thanked them, one of them said, "Have fun, sweetheart." I wish I knew who it was because he would be my favorite Backstreet Boy now. It was either Kevin, Nick or AJ. I think it was Nick, but I can't be sure. It really was a blur, but I really appreciated how each guy made eye contact and really made each fan feel special for those few seconds. From there, I headed into the adjoining tent to wait for further instructions. With shaking hands, I texted my friends about my quick but magical experience.

You can click the image if you'd like to see it bigger. 

Justin came in to lead us to the "green room," which was another tent on the other side of the venue. There, we picked up our posters and took advantage of the cash bar, which we were free to use until BSB went on stage. He also gave us some of the details about us going on stage—where and when we needed to meet for that. I stuck around long enough to buy a drink and grab my poster, and then I left to find the girls.

We grabbed dinner in the concession area and headed in after Jesse McCartney's set was over. This time, our seats were about 10 rows from the stage, but way on the right side. They were still decent seats, but it was hard to get good pictures.

When "Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely" began, it was time for me to get ready to go on stage. I geeked out with my friends, reapplied my lipstick, and headed to our meeting spot on the other side of the stage. After the next song, which was "Breathe," Justin and Q came out to line us up and prep us. They told us that cameras were not allowed and that we needed to stay seated on stage until they came and got us. If we tried to get to the guys, we would be removed. Then, they divided us in half, and I realized I was going to be in the last/third row on my side. Not ideal, but still exciting. It was still on stage, so I wasn't going to complain!

At the end of the next song, the stage went dark, and we filed in guided by flashlights. When all 30 of us were seated on risers, the guys came out and sat in front of us at their instruments for an acoustic set. They turned around and smiled or waved, but that was about all the interaction they had with us. I spotted T and E in the crowd and sang along and smiled in hopes that they could see me, too. At one point, the girl next to me leaned over and said how excited she was or something, and I told her I could pop up a tent on the stage and just live there. It was great even if I was just watching the guys' backs. After three songs ("10,000 Promises," "Madeleine," and "Quit Playing Games"), we had to go. A couple lucky girls in front got a hug from Brian, and then the guys walked off the opposite side of the stage we did.

I gave Justin a well deserved high five, high fived a couple other fans on the way back, and rejoined the girls. I was happy we got to experience the rest of the show since Chicago had been cut short.

After the show, we went straight back to the car since I had to bus it back home, and the girls were headed to Indianapolis for the final Package Tour show, which ended up rounding out a weekend they would never forget! T was picked to go on stage during the 98 degrees set! The guys sang to her, and she even got a long hug from Drew, her favorite!

Finally, I feel as if I should recant ever saying that people should not wear the T-shirt of a band they're going to see or a homemade shirt to a concert. I've been thinking about it for awhile, but I hereby take it all back. Some fans may give you the sideeye, but it can help you get noticed by the band. Plus, I think opening bands kind of dig it because then they know you're there for them. T's 98 degrees shirt in Indy may have played a part in getting her on stage, and the Backstreet Boys did acknowledge the homemade shirts the VIPs had worn for them. So yeah, I'm going to be less judgy about that in the future.

Also, Lou Pearlman.

If you missed my post about the Chicago concert the night before, you can see that one here.

In a World Like This: Chicago

Well, my summer concert fun has come to an end with two Backstreet Boys shows this past weekend. In a way, I'm relieved because it's exhausting and expensive; but on the other hand, I'm sad that I don't have any concerts coming up until the end of October. This was turning into a pretty huge post, so I broke it into two—night one in Chicago and night two in St. Louis.

Before I get into the recap, I should tell you the story of the airbrush tan that I got Thursday right after work. My reasoning for the tan, which I think I have to rationalize because I'm a pale person, was that part of my Platinum VIP package I purchased for the St. Louis show (on Saturday) included going up on stage with the Backstreet Boys. With the stage lights and all that attention, I wanted to look my best. If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram, you may have seen me freaking out about the results of my airbrush tanning session. Let's just say I should've gone with the lighter color instead of the darker one. People kept telling me it wasn't as bad as I thought it was, but it sure was a shock to see myself go from pale to that dark. My friend said that she's seen better results with the automatic spray tan booths rather than when someone uses the airbrush gun or whatever; IF I ever felt the need to get a quick tan in the future, I'd try that route instead. Thankfully, it looked more natural to me on Saturday than it did on Friday.

Anyway, Friday afternoon, my friends T and E picked me up from work, and we slowly made our way through rush hour traffic in both Milwaukee and Chicago. It ended up taking us an extra hour to get to our destination, but luckily, we had left early and had time to spare. Plus, we didn't know it at the time, but everything at the venue was running super behind apparently due to getting the stage set up.

We parked, finished getting ready in the car, and then took a convenient and free trolley from the parking structure to the amphitheater.

Since we didn't have much interest in seeing Pauly D, who was the first opening act, we checked in to get our passes for the after party and then got some drinks and food to kill time. And we had a lot of time to kill. I don't think Jesse McCartney went on until 9. When he did, we made the trek up to our bleacher seats, which would best be described as treacherous. Whenever people would start to dance around, the bleachers would sway back and forth, to the point that T and I were holding onto whatever we could in fear that the whole thing would collapse. It didn't help that she had just had a dream about bleachers falling down at a concert. We ended up living, of course, and thoroughly enjoyed the show even from as far back as we were. That is until they had to shut the whole thing down early.

Chicago has a curfew, which we knew about from past House of Blues shows, and they (I don't know who "they" are exactly) literally turned off BSB's microphones so that they could not continue the show. The guys were on stage trying to negotiate and pump the crowd up, but nothing could be done. Eventually, they bowed and walked off stage. Justin, the guy who runs the meet and greets, was saying the next day that the guys were pretty upset about the whole thing. The three of us, however, weren't terribly broken up about it since we had the after party to look forward to and the St. Louis show the next day. By the way, while Ground Control, the company in charge of the fan club and VIP packages, kind of sucks sometimes for being so last minute and disorganized, Justin and Eddie, whom I presume are Ground Control employees (but maybe they work for BSB), are awesome. Those two were the ones getting us organized and making sure we weren't freaking out too much. So high five to them for keeping all of us crazy fans in line while being very friendly and patient.

Our view from the treacherous bleachers—pretty skyline though

Zoomed in—I believe this was during "Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely"

Vying for more time on stage

On our way to the after party tent, we acquired some free beer (free beer!), which up until that point was probably the highlight of the night. I had another highlight when I realized that there was a red carpet at the entrance of the VIP tent. Woohoo! My first red carpet! Nevermind that it was just my friends and me taking pictures of each other—it was still exciting.

Most of these pictures are mine, but a couple of them are from T's Facebook, like her red carpet pic.

We didn't really know what to expect since there was supposed to be a meet and greet included with the after party (with the more expensive package that we didn't purchase), but that meet and greet didn't end up happening until the very end. Before the party really began, we waited outside the tent and watched Howie, Kevin, and Nick walk from the buses to the tent and take the stage.

Nick spent pretty much the whole time DJing while Howie and Kevin mingled, which basically entailed them working their way through mobs of people and taking pictures. It took awhile and some effort, but we all three got pictures with Kevin! I have to post T's and E's, too, because they're too cute not to. Kevin told T that she has the softest skin ever.

I'll try to remember how our conversation went:

Me: I've been waiting to dance with you!
(We start kind of dancing and face the camera. T or E takes the picture and shows it to us.)
Kev: It looks like I'm doing the face from that one movie. (He sucks in his cheeks and reenacts the face.)
Me: (poking him in the chest) Blue steel!
Kev: Yeah, that's it.
Me: Do you need another drink or anything?
Kev: (looking at his half-full cup) No, I'm good.

And then I probably thanked him for the picture, and that was about it. We tried to get to Howie, but they announced it was time for the meet and greet and had all of us non-meet and greeters leave before we had a chance to reach him. We lingered a little bit afterwards and were about to leave before we saw AJ milling around by the buses. I called out to him, and he made his way over to us. E got a hug, and I got a picture right as his security guard was saying "no pictures." Whoops? I mentioned something about the show being cut short, and AJ said, "That was not our plan" or something like that. Knowing how upset they were later, I kind of regret bringing it up. Must've been a sore subject.

By that point, Nick, Howie, and Kevin had apparently finished their meet and greet because they were heading back to the buses. We hurried over and T got a picture with Nick before we left. After that, we walked back to the car and drove a little ways down the road before stopping for the night in Bloomington, where there was a baseball tournament going on and we had to check three different hotels before we found a room. Less than five short hours of sleep later, we were back up and getting ready for our VIP day in St. Louis!

Concert Attire Guest Post at Animated Cardigan

What does one wear to an outdoor music festival? Well, my friend Erin and I compiled all our outfits from Summerfest (she went a lot more than I did) into a guest post over at Animated Cardigan, and I included some of our Dos and Don'ts. Check it out!

What I wore - after the Fun concert and before the Package Tour concert

The Package Tour Adventures

Another two concerts down. This weekend, my friends E and T and I attended the Package Tour shows in Chicago and Minneapolis. I must say, I love when Chicago shows are not downtown. As much as I do love the downtown area of Chicago, I do not love dealing with rush hour traffic. Driving to the Allstate Arena seemed like it took no time at all, and we arrived much earlier than expected.

Although our wedge sandals are cute, T and I were both in pain by the end (or beginning) of the show.

Tickets for this show must've sold out relatively quickly because we were not able to get seats together, which made for a less enjoyable concert experience. Still, we each had pretty good spots, and it's hard not to have fun while watching this show.

Boyz II Men

98°

NKOTB

And then Vanilla Ice randomly showed up! He mostly promoted his show on HGTV and of course sang his one hit.

After the show, it was POURING and storming, and I was wandering around in it for way too long, trying to find the car. The parking lot had to be the least efficient setup ever, and I probably nearly hit 100 fans with the car before I collected my friends. I should've timed how long it took to drive from one side of the venue to the other in that madness. At least a half hour - probably closer to 45 minutes. And I'm not exaggerating.

Eventually, we made our way to the fence dividing where the buses were parked from the rest of the lot, and we parked with the handful of other cars that were waiting it out. A couple of the Boyz II Men guys came out, but we didn't get pictures with either them. After a few of the buses left, we were able to get a better view of what was going on, which was Drew and Nick from 98° playing bags (or cornhole for Ohioans) together. When they finished their game, they actually walked over to meet the fans along with Jeff, who strolled up a few minutes later. For some reason, I never recognize Jeff until he's right in front of me. Everyone was swarming Nick and Drew, so I got a pic with Jeff first after he walked right up to my friend T like he knew her and gave her a hug. It was an awesome and adorable moment. She had met him in Milwaukee, so either he did recognize her, or he was happy to see fans, who knows. 

Yeah, they're pretty short guys.

The Nick picture took some more effort. Nick's security guard, whom you can see over my shoulder, announced that they were only going to hang out for another 3 minutes. With less than a minute to spare, I touched Nick on the arm and got to tell him I was a big Sing-Off fan and that I had seen Pentatonix (winners of the last season) in concert earlier that year. He seemed pretty excited about that and said that they're amazing. I agreed, thanked him for the picture, and told him I couldn't wait for the next season. And that was about it. Nick took a couple more pictures with people and then was whisked away.

Since we were going to the next stop on the tour, our plan was to follow the buses up to Minneapolis. Finally at around 2 AM, they pulled out, and we tailed the bus we knew at least one of the Lachey brothers was on. T drove first and switched off with E as the sun was rising, and I struggled to stay awake the whole time. But let's face it, I did doze off for a bunch of minute-long naps along the way.

It was a little after 9 AM when we entered Minneapolis. We followed the bus to their hotel and waited around a little to see if anyone would come out. Someone probably did, but we missed it, because then the bus drove to the venue.

From there, we made the 20-minute drive to my husband's college friend's house to crash for a couple hours. Thank goodness for free room and board and an accommodating host. By 3 PM, we were showered, dressed, fed, and back at it in downtown Minneapolis. I'm always surprised by how little sleep someone can survive on. With only about 3 hours of sleep each, my friends seemed like they had a full night's rest; and on less than that, I was completely functional if not a little cranky.

We didn't have any band member sightings during the day, so we just killed time until the show started.

Woohoo, we got to sit together this time!

The show was so much more fun sitting by the girls than sitting alone. I really wished that I could join them at the Indianapolis show in 2 weeks, but that's not going to happen for me. After the show, we knew a little more what to expect as far as the timeline went, and we knew exactly which buses belonged to the guys we cared about most - 98°. Jeff came out to take a few pictures at one point, but otherwise, he was mostly hanging out with his family on his bus. Nick and Justin walked by us later in the night, but when I asked for pictures, Nick's security guard shot us down.

Most of the fans were stationed on another side of the venue, staking out the New Kids buses. We did migrate over there when T saw Donnie out, and she got a pic with him! Here's a tip - have your camera ready when a guy comes out. Donnie was trying to get through the line as quickly as possible, and he moved on almost immediately if someone's camera wasn't ready. A few minutes later, we headed back to the 98° buses only to find that T's wedge sandals that we had left there were stolen (she had changed into flip flops). Not only that, but all except for Jeff's bus had left. So that was two bummers in one. Shortly after that, the rest of the buses left, as did we.

Although it was an exhausting weekend, and I am undoubtedly getting too old for this stuff, I can't wait to do it again. And in 2 weeks, I get a more subdued version when we go see Backstreet Boys!! After that, I'll be done with tour life for awhile.