A Night at The Grove

After 3 days of Jonas Brothers and Demi Lovato we had to switch it up for our weekend concert and see The Soundtrack of Your Summer Tour starring The Maine, Metro Station, Good Charlotte, and Boys like Girls.

To be honnest with you, Lauren and I only went to see Metro Station who we fell in love with as a band awhile ago but had yet to see them live. Dispite they worn't headlining we bought the tickets, Friday came, we headed up to The Grove got lost and missed their set.

The most unfortunate aspect of it, came from the fact that when we did get to The Grove, Metro Station had just begun their set, but we couldn't find any parking since The Grove has parking with Angels Stadium that was hosting a game against the Red Sox and therefore didn't get to see them live because we were stuck outside with no where to park.

So just a little advice, if you ever see a concert at The Grove of Anaheim, make sure to arrive very early if it's also an Angels home game, and don't follow where the usher's tell you to park, there's parking right when you enter that didn't fill up.

Having unfortunatly missed both of The Maine and Metro Station, we were able to work our way to the front for Good Charlotte's set.

Good Charlotte's performance was memorable to say the least. While they haven't been on the scene much lately outside of being in association with Nicole Richie and Paris Hilton, they played both favorites and new songs alike.

The best thing to watch in their performance was the high likeness that Joel Madden was intoxicated. Often slurring words, if having not forgotton the words, and rambling on randomly with no point, the crowd with alcohol in hand was laughing right on with him.

Joel actually came on the stage with a cigarette in hand and during his rambling on's inbetween songs with often pick up a clear cup of beer and start drinking.

However despite his interesting behavior the set list was almost flawless. Singing My Bloody Valentine, Girls and Boys, Dance Floor Anthem, The Anthem, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, The River and a few others, for those who arn't fans like myself, we were all able to sing along due to the heavy airplay those songs in particular recieved.

Paris Hilton was also present during their set on a side note. In the first two pictures above you can find Miss Hilton on the right side of the stage wearing a black hat and black tank top to match. While Paris didn't take to the stage, while Joel was talking every chance he could get, the audience's attention would draw to her, watching her take pictures of herself, blow kisses to the crowd, and video tape Good Charlotte on stage as well as the audience. Paris made for a great side show.

After Good Charlotte's set, Lauren and I walked outside for their had been talk that Metro Station would hang out with the fans after the show, and the fact that Lauren and I were unfamiliar with all of Boys Like Girl's songs.

With no luck, we made our way to The Terra Rosa Room, a beautiful lounge full of chandeliers, velvet furniture, and t.v.'s to watch the show more comfortably. After some expensive snacks and drinks we made it inside the main room one more time to watch the final song of Boys like Girls.

Of course the final song was The Great Escape which was played frequently on MTV, and we realized we knew one of their songs but since we didn't have lauren's nice camera in hand, only took one photo of their performance.

Their energy is great, and the audience loved them, but the vocals could use a little more practice before they sound great live like they do on the radio.

It came off like Panic! At the Disco's performance at the MTV Video awards two years ago if any comparison should be given.

Since we were in the back of the stage room, we were in the loby quickly, and were able to see John from The Maine. We soon realized that there were many young girls who wanted autographs and so as soon as we took a picture with him we were ready to make our way outside.

John mentioned he was going to be back by the tour busses where they would be hanging out all night, so Lauren and I walked to the back of the Grove by the loading docks and the busses and were able to meet the rest of The Maine, as well as the lead singer from Boys Like Girls.

Flash and dark light didn't help the situation much to the fact that Lauren's camera started to die on us, but we were able to say hello's and take a few pictures, including these amazing shots.

I'm pretty sure poor John had no idea we were taking pictures like this behind him but let's us have a quick laugh.

Overall, it was a fun night. Slighly bummed that we missed Metro Station ( who never came out to greet fans afterwards) but the time spent behind the Grove getting to meet The Maine and Boys like Girls was a lot of fun and definatly made for a worth while evening. The Soundtrack of Your Summer Tour continues on in the States for another month or two, so check out if the tour is coming to an arena near you, it's a memorable experience.

Goodnight and Goodbye

On Monday July 14th the Jonas Brother's performed the the last of their three day weekend performance in Southern California, finishing filming for their 3D movie out January 2009.


The crowd was louder than either of the previous two shows, and the screaming fans made the temperature in the Honda Center anything but comfortable, but the excitement and energy was so great that nothing including the temperature or the late start get in the way of the evening.





Demi Lovato opened the show (unlike the night before) and performed a wonderful set. I was able to sit down for more of her performance for this show than the two previous and she has an amazing list of songs to work with. From the total of 5 that I was there for, there wasn't a single song that I wouldn't buy on ITunes that she sang.





At 15 years old, Demi has a true tallent and gift for performing and working the stage, and her strengths exceed far past her years. Although she went out of tune every now and then, Miss Lovato gave 100% into providing a memorable evening and I was very pleased with her set.






My favorite song of hers is probably Forget, a song about a relationship that ended in which one half is confused at why the other can act like they had "forgotton" the love that the two half's shared. Every show the emotion that she shows through the song becomes less but the song itself speaks with enough emotion on its own and is a helpful song for anyone going through a breakup. Her set provided such an array of choices of emotions there was a song for anyone and everyone present.






Within a few minutes of Demi's opening act ending, The Jonas Brother's took the stage to an unheard of sea of screams.

The second night at the Honda Center was far different from opening night with less makeup breaks, less entertainment from their hosts (videos from the hosts working the crowd on Jonas Sunday Post), less time on stage, more energy, but as well, more mess-ups.

On more than a few occassions, Nick and Joe forgot words to their lyrics and would just pause and smile. The audience hardly took notice or cared but after a few times it comes off as unprofessional and that they were ok just getting through the performance rather than providing a wonderful night to the best of their ability. I was singing along, and simply happy to see them, but I definatly took notice. It was interesting because I have never seen them forget their lyrics before, but there's always a first time for everything.

The show went on for just over an hour with no fans jumping on stage, no technical difficulties like the night before, and Big Rob didn't even fall on stage! Fans that had attended the previous two shows like ourselves noticed that the lyrics were starting to stick, and many fans were able to sing along to Lovebug, Pushing Me Away, A Little Bit Longer, as well as to their other new songs.

The Jonas Brother's had special guest Taylor Swift peform with them to Should've Said No around half way into their set. It was done well although many of the moves mimiced almost perfectly those that Demi Lovato just performed with the Jonas minutes before, and lacked the distinction to set herself apart and to show individuality.

Then, right after she performed Should've Said No with the Jonas Brothers, she came right back to sing the same song all over again, with the same moves and still lacking a unique sence to draw the crowds into rooting for her.

I understand that for filming a movie you have to have both performances as close to identical as possible for editing reasons, but as much as I wanted to cheer for her and sing along, her performance lacked energy and many crowd go-ers, including myself with my group sat down the second time waiting for the Jonas to take the stage solo again.

On a positive note, Kevin Jonas stepped up and performed amazing during the show. While he is always full of energy and engaging with the crowd, on Monday night he outshined himself, running around constantly, doing flips and turns and playing his guitar down the catwalk every chance he was given. I can't think of a single time outside of Nick's solo for A Little Bit Longer that Kevin wasn't jumping off of something or running around. At one point at the end of the concert he actually got so close to the edge of the stage that he started to fall, turning it into a leap into the audience where he played in the crowd.

Overall, as a concert, Monday night was the most realistic, exposing their flaws and having story time with Nick talking about meeting a girl with diabeites just earlier that day and owning the stage. It was wonderfully done in the general broad scope and hopefully I get the chance to see them again either finishing the Burning Up Tour or on the start of another. Seeing the Jonas Brothers perform is worth every penny no matter what number of times it has been seeing them live. It hasn't become old yet.

I'm Burning Up For You Baby!

On Sunday July 13th the Jonas Brothers began a two night concert series at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California to film a self titled 3D movie that is set to hit theatres in January 2009. Complete with pyro, fireworks, elevations, and special guests, their performance at the Honda Center was full of energy and entertainment ready to provide an amazing and unforgettable evening.

I had seen the boys perform the night before at the Verizon Wireless Amp. but because the shows at the Honda Center were for their 3D Movie, it was quite different from the rest of their shows that I have attended in part of their Burning Up Tour 2008.

Typically, Demi Lovato opens the show performs for about a half an hour and then the Jonas perform an hour and a half set starting with That's Just the Way We Roll and Ending with SOS. However, for the Saturday show Demi didn't begin the performance, which threw many fans for a loop who were still out in the loby making a Jonas Brothers music video or taking pictures with the boys on a green screen for Burger King's Apple Fries. The show which was to begin at 6pm began around 7:30pm and was more of a musical film set than that of a concert.

The boys began with That's Just The Way We Roll and continued for two more songs before they ran off the stage for hair and makeup. Everytime the audience was jumping around and singing along it seemed like they would run off again. It was very much single performances filmed in sections. So for a good 5 minutes in between every few songs, the audience got this:

Although the breaks did get in the way of a concert without inturuptions, it was easily overlooked by their energy and crowd involvement that other concerts of their's never had, in that magnitude.

So much crowd involvement, some even ran on stage for hugs, making Big Rob fall before catching up to them.

There were four breaks and three costume changes but the concert went on beautifully with few noticing Joe's wardrobe malfunction (his vest got stuck on the camera when he threw it off leading to girls in the audience tugging on the expensive camera trying to take the vest for themselves), Big Rob falling twice! (once to get the 3 adoring fans off stage as well as during his solo in Burning Up) or Joe getting a ball kicked into his face by Nick (on accident: balls seen in picture above).

The boys peformed for a good hour, and paid tribute to the huge success that is Camp Rock by performing Music's in my soul, and Joe's solo Where You Are. After Where You Are Demi came out on stage for This is Me and followed up with three more songs before the Jonas Brothers began again.

Although I'm not a fan (yet) I must say Demi has powerful stage presence. Her energy and movements are very much like Miley Cyrus (In the best terms possible) and knows how to work the crowd. Her stage identity is very self-assured and demands attention which everyone at Honda Center was willing to give up to her. I'm more aquainted with her music now, and her debut album is going to be amazing by how it sounds now. She may not be Miley, but she will sure be a force to be reckoned with in the near future.

The boys put on an amazing show, but after the concert ended the lights stayed off for a "15" minute intermission (that ended up being a 45 minute intermission) before reshooting three songs that were messed up the first time around.

My friends and I got lucky and were able to trade in our seats here:

and get to move into our own private villa box in the lower levels. My friend Lauren has family friends that run the security at the Honda Center and he tried to get us backstage passes but they were very strict so we got our own box group seating instead which was amazing! It was complete with a bathroom, mirror, bar, drinks, food, living room-type lounge with a t.v. to watch what the camera crew was filming and a balcany with seats and air conditioning to have an upclose view of the concert with no one to block your view. We found out the box was ours for the whole night, but we were late getting back to them which is why we didnt have it at first.

However, the concert continued at past 10pm with the intro all over leading into That's just the Way We Roll.

It lasted about 15 minutes and was a fun bonus to the concert ticket for seeing a few favorite songs played twice.

Overall the concert was done very well considering that they were filming a movie at the same time. Although it did come off at times as they were trying to get the perfect scene for the movie than to engage and care about the audience, I understand that if I was given a big budget film with so much riding on it like they do, I would do the same undoubtably. It was a great day two and probably the best concert I had seen them perform to that date.

Burning Up Weekend

July 12th, 2008 started the 3 day weekend of the Jonas Brothers performing in Irvine/Anaheim California in part of filming for their 3D movie that will hit theatres in January 2009.

This 10,000+arena was sold out and held many screaming fans both girls and boys for a sensational live performance. I attended Wango Tango just over a month ago at this same arena where the Jonas Brothers performed as well, and even though Wango Tango was a music festival, this concert still pulled out all the stops so that there was plenty to do.

Right before entering, the Jonas Brothers tour bus was outside, most probably the second bus they have where they recorded their Burning Up CD allowing for fans to sign if they could find room.

After entering there was a complete festival scene complete with a Verizon booth where you could record a music video along side the Jonas Brothers, a KIIS Fm booth where they were blasting music and giving out prizes and little boothes selling everything from "stunna" shades to lemonade and most importantly Jonas Merch. My group and I actually passed Adrianne from the Cheetah girls along with Kim Kardasians twin little sisters in the line when we first entered as well as in the merch line. If you look hard enough you can find them on the far right side of this picture:

We were already late for night one, not even entering until 7:20 when it was supposed to have started at 7 but they had a late start as well and we didn't miss anything so we hung out at the Verizon Lounge.

Once the music started we ran to our seats which were pretty high up, Terrace 12 HHH, although the view wasn't close up, given the arena and it's size we were content.

Demi Lovato opened and performed very well. Her first album hasn't come out yet, but with the recent success of Camp Rock she had a strong fan base willing to scream and clap along. I did know the song Forget that she sang because it seems to be a favorite for Nick and Miley fan videos on youtube but all of her songs seem very promising and I can't wait to hear more from her.

After her performance their was a 30 minute change time to get the Jonas set all complete and we used that time well taking pictures which seemed smart at the time but ultimatly hurt us later when we had low battery for the Jonas Brothers set.

Pictures ran the screens of texts that were sent in, including this one above.

Lauren sent in a text but it never made it onto the screen. When not showing texts videos of the Jonas Brothers would show up for their Breakfast Breaks and AllStar. I had not taken notice how many commercials and companies they were involved with, including a childrens fund/charity and it was awesome to take note of how hard working these young boys are.

The show quickly got under way and sang three songs straight before taking a break.

Singing favorites such as That's just the way we roll, Goodnight and Goodbye, Hello Beautiful, and new hits like Burning Up, featuring Big Rob (who fell on stage leading to Nick cracking up and not being able to sing a few lines), two hours and two outfit changes later the boys left the stage to a burning up JB sign. They came back in outfit number three for an encore or just long pause break of When you Look me in the Eyes and S.O.S. before leaving the stage just before 11pm.

While I wish they sang more songs that we've all grown to love like Games, Hollywood, and Just Friends, half of the concert set list was new songs that will be coming out on their August Album. It was awesome getting to hear a preview of what is to come, and Lauren was expecially happy when lyrics in a song include Joe saying "I want to kiss you!". Lovebug and Pushing me away were great songs and hopefully I can record those tonight at the Honda Center.

In review, The Jonas Brother's 2008 Burning Up Tour is Amazing. Jam Packed with old and new songs, incredible staging complete with pyro and fireworks, it is almost like the Onyx Hotel Tour of Britney Spears a few years back except more family friendly.

For those who loved Camp Rock many of the songs from the movie appear as well along side the favorites and the whole concert provides no time to soak it all in until after it's over. The energy stays high throughout the whole set with them running up and down stairs every which way and getting into drum battles, it's a wonderful ticket for a great night.

Last night was their mother's birthday and for the next two days they will stay in this area performing at the Honda Center in Anaheim about 5 minutes from Disneyland and across the street from the Angels baseball arena. With so much that went on for night one, I can't wait to see them perform again tonight and hopefully not lose my voice this time.