last minute duran-ing

i think i've mentioned before that i was a huge duran duran fan back in the day, although i didn't get to see them live for the first time until fairly recently.  they still put out new music pretty regularly, and like most artists that typically means a new tour.  i got to see them a second time a few years ago out in palm springs too, and simon & co. still look and sounded as amazing as ever.

they announced another tour earlier this year, with a three-night stop at the hollywood bowl scheduled for early september.  cousin seven had sent out save-the-dates for their destination wedding in portugal, scheduled during the same week.  and since we were really hoping that we'd be able to make the trip out, i didn't bother to try and snag tickets for any of the shows.

as it turned out, we weren't able to swing the trip after all, which was a huge bummer.  we really wanted to be there for seven and her new mr., but because of a handful of reasons it was not to be.  i've seen a few pictures from the big event, and it was beautiful and i definitely suffered from a huge case of FOMO while it was all happening.

anyway, i'd been seeing a pretty good number of people posting from the first night of the duran duran concert...mostly because it happened to go on at the very same time as one of those super rare southern california rainstorms.  durannies are pretty die-hard fans though, and water falling from the sky failed to dampen their spirits and enthusiasm.  it looked like a really good show, and that FOMO started kicking in. i think i must have been looking at posts right before i fell asleep, because i woke up the next morning and the first thing i did was check online to see if there were seats still available for that night's performance (of course, there were).

the hub is not a fan, and i'd just dragged him to see the chicks a few weeks prior.  and i knew i had several friends who would likely be interested in coming, as long as they didn't already have plans.  i sent out a few texts, and about an hour later i was good to go - with lilcee and dailygluttony.  woohoo!

the easiest way to do the bowl is to take one of their park and ride shuttles, and since we were going last minute presale tickets were no longer available.  and so we just planned to get there super early with cash in hand and buy food at the bowl instead of coordinating a picnic like we usually do.

while there was a pretty long line already when we arrived - a full half hour before the first bus was scheduled to depart - it was still a pretty easy process to secure our seats.  we did get stuck sitting on a school bus vs. a larger, more comfy charter bus, but we were just happy to be on our way.  sweet view, right?  heh.

we were among the first few buses to arrive, but it was already pretty crowded at the entrance.  

after picking up some burgers and fries from one of the concession stands, we made our way to our seats.  because of the last-minute-ness of this outing, we'd had to take what we could get and that meant spots in the bench seats instead of the more spacious boxes we've become accustomed to.  beggars can't be choosers, and all that.  still, we had a pretty good view from where we were.

i'm also pretty amused that i've now worn the same t-shirt to all three duran duran concerts i've attended.

our opening act for the evening was kelis - you know, of "milkshake" fame.  she was entertaining, and i guess the connection is that she did a song with the band on one of their albums.

after the band made their grand entrance and got through a couple of songs, this flashed on the monitors:

they looked and sounded as amazing as ever, performing a nice mix of old and new music.

nile rodgers came out for one song.

we got a really fun fireworks show for the finale.

and that was that.

we made our way back down to the buses as quickly as we could, and i was back home before midnight.  such a great time, and i was really glad we'd gone - especially since it was my friends' first time seeing duran duran live.  nothing like a little spontaneity to shake up the weekend, amirite??

OMG, we're back again

waaaaay back in 2019, lilcee, trish and i had giggled our way through a ticketmaster purchase of a box at the hollywood bowl for the backstreet boys.  the concert wasn't till october 2020, but we were pretty excited.

and then, of course, covid happened.  and the concert got postponed till june 2021.  and then again...this time, to june of 2022. and unfortunately with this new date, trish was out due to a preplanned trip.  we were so bummed, and even more so because we still had a fourth ticket that we'd anticipated roping another friend into.  eek.

as the new date got closer, one of my friends from high school happened to text in a group chat about the concert - and she was pretty stoked to learn that i had a ticket that had her name all over it.  we may not have found a fourth, but it was okay.  we knew we were going to have a blast regardless.

we met up at the park & ride station in pasadena and rode the shuttle to the hollywood bowl together, and it was bustling with activity when we arrived.

our box was off to one side, but we still had a pretty nice view.

their opening act was an australian singer named delta goodrem.  i had heard of her, not because of her music but because she dated nick jonas for a few months back in the day when the old lady was still in love with him.  heh.

we waited till her set was done before heading back out to check out the merchandise tents.  as we stood in line, i was super amused at this fan's t-shirt:

once we got back to our box clad in our new BSB gear, we took advantage of the remaining daylight with another selfie.

my friend mrs. big and i had opted for matching (ultra ridiculous) reversible hoodies.  here she models the flip side of it to show you how awesome it is.  heh.

the concert was entertaining, and the BSB fanbase is still large and in charge.  they performed a nice mix of old and new music, and we had a lot of fun.

and because this was basically their hometown show, the guys brought their kids out for a song.  it was very cute.

the time flew by, as it always does during a fun concert, and in no time they were arm-in-arm for their final bow.

well...of course, there was an encore.

and a fireworks finale.

and then it was time for the mad dash back to the shuttle station to make sure we caught the bus back to the park & ride.  the buses only run for an hour after the show ends, so it's not a time to linger in the seats and bask in the afterglow of the show.

yet another great evening at the bowl in the books.  i wonder what will bring us back...i guess we'll just have to wait and see (nothing is planned as of yet!).

keeping that jobros love alive

 the jonas brothers love lives on.

when they announced their "remember this" tour, the old lady and i made sure to block off the l.a. date on our calendars because - well, let's face it.  we're never gonna outgrow jonas brothers concerts.  now, her undying love for nick jonas has waned quite a bit over the last couple of years.  but that doesn't mean that that undying love has come to an end for their music.  i don't think that's ever gonna stop, and if i'm being perfectly honest that goes for both of us.  their songs are always so catchy and fun to sing along to, and they're tied in with a lot of fun memories from the old lady's formative years.

we were excited to return to the hollywood bowl for the show, nearly two years to the day after our last jonas brothers concert.  we hit up the park & ride shuttle in pasadena again because it's just easy.

and we were extra amused when we caught our first glimpse of our ride - a school bus.  it was like going on a field trip.

it made for a slightly bouncy, bumpy ride - but hey, still better than driving ourselves and dealing with finding parking.  and before we knew it, we were there.

of course, we stopped for merch.  remember?  always merch!

somehow our tickets included some sort of VIP merchandise, which i hadn't even realized until i went back to figure out where our seats were.  and after asking around, we found the tent where we were supposed to check in and pick up our extras.  we received lanyards and this little pouch that contained a reusable face mask, a pop socket and some stickers.  bonus!

because we're now spoiled forever, we had box seats which are always nice because they offer a great view and folding chairs with a table instead of those uncomfortable wooden benches.

the other perk of box seats is that you have a dedicated server who will bring you all the food and drinks your little heart desires.  while we'd packed our own meals (and i'm sorry to say, i don't remember what we ate at all), we did have that server bring cocktails and a bag of rob's popcorn - the official jonas brothers snack.  while we weren't super impressed at first bite, we both found ourselves reaching into the bag again and again.  it had a curiously sweet-salty combo that was actually really addictive. 

they had not one, but two opening acts.  first up, jordan mcgraw.

and after he was done, kelsea ballerini.  she's super cute and wore lots of fun sparkly outfits.

and finally, the guys took the stage to lots of cheering and screaming.  their fans may have aged a bit from the teenybopper years, but all of those sets of lungs only got stronger over the years.

they performed a really fun mix of their old and new songs, plus some of nick's solo tunes and some from joe's band DNCE, during which he brought out their guitarist jinjoo lee.

someone rolled out a bar cart, and the guys poured themselves some shots of - what else? - villa one, nick's own tequila.  they toasted the audience and downed those shots to celebrate the final show of the tour.

a few more songs and then that was that.  they took their final bow and ran off the stage while waving to the audience with fireworks exploding above our heads.

the next morning, the old lady came over so we could head out to run some errands and we were super amused (but not surprised) to find that we were both wearing our new shirts.

jobros for lyfe, man.