Hales: The Music Junkie: 2005

Shows in 2005

January 27, 2005: Hilary Duff
Verizon Wireless Arena, Manchester, NH
Joanne got me and Jaye tickets to this show for Christmas! We got to each bring a friend, so we brought Cassandra and Chloe. We had a lot of fun. Hilary Duff doesn't have the great voice (and still even lip-syncs) but is a good performer.

February 20, 2005: Ryan Cabrera
Avalon, Boston, MA
This was my first small club show. They were very strict on the rules of not bringing cameras, so I don't have any pictures from this show. :-(
Me, Allison, and Katie went to the show together, and Adam and Corie Mae were there too. I loved being in a smaller place for a show. Ryan Cabrera is AMAZING live. I could just watch him play guitar forever. He is so funny too-- I loved listening to all his crazy stories.

March 24, 2005: Backstreet Boys
Avalon, Boston, MA
For a long time, I called this the "best night of my life"-- and it was really that amazing.
The Backstreet Boys were BACK! It had been so long, and after AJ's stint in rehab, I really thought they were done. When they announced that they were playing at Avalon of all places, I was soooooo pumped. Since it was general admission, me, Allison, Joanie and Sarah got there early, around 3pm to wait in line. It was COLD.
A van drove in to the gated part next to Avalon, and AJ got out of it! He stood outside and smoked, and the entire line went nuts and everyone rushed towards the gate. We did too, but then realized this was the opportunity to cut like 100 people in line. We ended up next to a girl named Chelsea and her brother, and chatted the whole time. She was awesome!
We finally got inside and got our spots-- we were like 10 rows away from the stage in a sea of people. They didn't have an opening act, but there was an awesome DJ and we got to dance for like an hour-- we were only 18 so this was our first taste of "clubbing" and we loved it!
Being that close to the boys was amazing-- I remember making eye contact with each of the boys, and I did the "I love you" sign to AJ and he did it back! I also knew some of their new songs that hadn't been released yet and was singing along with them-- when I knew all the words to "Poster Girl" Howie gave me a really confused look- haha! One of the best moments of the show was when they sang "Shout"-- such a good song, and this was the only tour that they did it at. And "Everybody" is always sooo much fun live.
I was in AWE at the end of the show-- totally content, happy, and in love with BSB! We waited by their tour bus and each boy came out one by one. Joanie was obsessed with Howie, so when he came out and winked at her (I got a pic of it) she lunged forward and me and Allison had to hold her back! Then Kevin came out last, and we all crowded around him. Joanie touched his shoulder and this little security guard (like 5 feet tall max) grabbed her arm, swung her around and she seemed to fly through the air-- luckily I caught her! It's still something we laugh about to this day. Then the bus started to drive away and we were in front of it in the road-- Brian was sitting in the front and waved to us, and we almost got run over! Those buses don't stop even when you are in front of them.

August 14,2005: Backstreet Boys
Tweeter Center, Mansfield, MA

So Allison, Joanie and I braved the rain to go down to the Tweeter Center to see our boys again! It was POURING rain on the way there, we actually had to pull over for a while and wait for it to let up (see Joanie and Allison's reactions?).

Our seats were further away than we would have liked, but the show was amazing of course. They had to stop it right in the middle for like 20 minutes because of a "severe thunderstorm warning" and they told everyone from the lawn to come underneath the covered section. It was chaos! Luckily the show continued. At one point Brian talked about AJ and how it was in Boston that he realized that he needed to get help and fight his addictions, and it was very emotional! AJ teared up a bit too.

After the show we waited by the gate for the tour bus to come out for over an hour in the severe thunderstorm! We were SOAKED. And we found out the bus had already left! The police were threatening to arrest us for trespassing too-- haha.

November 5, 2005: Hanson

Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom, Hampton, NH
A bunch of us went to this show-- me, Allison, Jenna, Anna, Tyler, Jess, Danny, and Jade! The most significant part of this show was actually the opening act-- a Boston band called "Averi." This is the first time I saw Chad Perrone perform! Me and Allison really loved their music.

Hanson is one of the most amazing bands to see live. They are true musicians-- their music is moving, real, emotional, deep, meaningful-- and it really comes through in their live performance. Anna and I had a moment during "Crazy Beautiful"-- so awesome!

November 14, 2005: Ryan Cabrera

Axis, Boston, MA

Me, Allison, Chris, Tyler and Josh went to this show. Obviously RyCab is amazing since we went to see him again! While we were waiting in line at the show, two girls from the Veronica's Street Team came up to us and gave us a bunch of promo stuff and buttons and lip gloss. They were the opening act, and were just starting out in the U.S. We made a point to really listen to this band we had never heard of, and we loved them!

December 13, 2005: Kiss 108 Jingle Ball '05

Tsongas Arena, Lowell, MA

I have made it a tradition to attend the Jingle Ball every year. I love that it is in Lowell, and it's always a good show and puts me in the Christmas Spirit. The performers this year were: Gavin DeGraw, Fall Out Boy, Bronson Arroyo, Rihanna, Howie Day, Marcos Hernandez, Pussycat Dolls, Frankie J, Kanye West, and the Click Five. Just me and Allison went-- we had awesome floor seats, something like 18th row.