Backstreet Boys Concert!

First, some back story....

I remember being 9 years old and waiting anxiously for the Backstreet Boys' newest album 'Millennium' to come out. I counted down the days and saved up my money... and when it finally came, I walked my little self down to Tom Tom Music and bought it. Then I ran home and popped it in my little boom box and jammed out to it for probably the next 3 months nonstop. I also remember developing my first celebrity crush on Kevin, and watching their concerts on TV and fantasizing about being able to go to one someday...

Flash-forward to present day, and I still love them just as much as I did then. The difference now is that I have the most amazing hubby in the world who totally understands my silly childhood fantasies, and insisted that I make my dream come true.

So, we went. On September 7, 2013. To the best concert ever.

Oh yeah, and we brought Max's sister Brittney with us. =)

Unfortunately, my camera sucks. So those are the only pictures that we got of the concert. Lucky for me, though, some other people who were at the same concert and had better photos were kind enough to share them with the rest of us via the event page on Facebook. So now I have awesome pictures of it!!

 This one kinda has bad lighting, but it's of Brian Littrell and his son Baylee. Baylee is 10 years old and sang a couple of songs for us to start things off. He has such a great voice! I was amazed at how he handled being up on stage in front of thousands of screaming fans.

This one is of DJ Pauly D, who I honestly hadn't really heard of before we went to the concert, but Brittney was a fan. I guess he was or is on Jersey Shore, which I admit is a show that I have heard of but know nothing about. But he was great! He turned the place into a full-blown rave for about an hour. It was so fun dancing and singing along to the songs he played from his turntables.

 This is JESSE MCCARTNEY. Another singer that I swooned over as a preteen (originally from Dream Street - whoa! That's a blast from the past), and he also happened to be there to open for the Backstreet Boys. He sang mostly his newer stuff which I knew some of, but then at the end he sang Beautiful Soul which was AMAZING! A dream come true seriously.

And now for the main event....

The Backstreet Boys!! They were so amazing - I spent the whole time they were on stage on my feet jumping around, dancing, screaming, and singing along. I'm sure the people behind me were thoroughly annoyed with me, but Brittney and I were having a great time. I even caught Max singing along during some parts! =)

 AJ, Brian, and Howie!

 All 5 of the boys, lead by Nick in the front.

Another shot of all 5 boys =)

So, some highlights of the evening included:

1. Kevin's wardrobe malfunction - his pants ripped during the first song and AJ said that was probably the biggest blunder they've had throughout their entire tour so far.

2. Nick - he was dancing around like a fool for the ENTIRE show, I can't even adequately describe to you how much energy he seemed to have - it was nuts! So fun to watch!

3. My favorite part... ACOUSTIC HOUR.

They all sat down and played their own instruments and sang without any added music playing in the background - but before that they sang part of one of their songs COMPLETELY a cappella. It was another dream come true for me. So amazing.

4. They showed a trailer for 'Backstreet Boys - The Movie', which I have been super excited for! It's a documentary about them getting back together, going on tour, and returning to their hometowns to get back in touch with their roots. It looks soooo good! I can't wait for it to come out.

5. And finally, the double encore. After the concert ended we still hadn't had enough. They came back out and performed another song - Everybody! Complete with their famous dance to go along with it, which I have to say I did a pretty good job doing right along with them ;). Then they left again and we cheered and screamed.... and they came back again and performed one of my favorites - Larger Than Life. WHOO! It was sooooo good!!

And one more of Kevin.... for funsies. ;)

It seriously was such a dream come true, I can't even tell you how happy I am that I got to see them perform live. It was so, SO worth the wait. And seriously, if you haven't heard any of their new songs, you need to. Specifically "Show 'Em What You're Made Of" for all my fellow parents out there, they wrote this song for their kids - the 'Backstreet Babies', and it brings tears to my eyes every time. Also be sure to listen to "Permanent Stain". Another one of my many favorites from their newest album.

We didn't have time to eat before the concert like we had originally planned, and we were WAY too busy jamming out and screaming like schoolgirls to eat the concession food they had at the concert, so we were STARVING by the time we got out of there. It was about 1AM by the time we finally got to a Subway and ate. But for some reason, it just made the whole experience even better. I mean, who has Subway breakfast sandwiches at 1AM?? I guess we do. ;)

And we finally got home at around 4AM but didn't end up getting to bed until about 5:30AM. Ouch! It was a super long day but it was an amazing one that I will never, ever forget.

By the way - a super big shout-out to Sara, Max's sister, who watched the kids for us while we were gone. Not only did she watch our kids, but she also helped them both get their rooms clean. We were way too tired to notice it when we got home, but it was quite a pleasant surprise when we woke up the next morning! So THANK YOU SARA!

Guess that's it for now. We've got Eva's birthday and Halloween coming up next month so that should be fun, but in the meantime it's back to the ol' grind! Thanks for stopping by!

The Smiths