Fifth Harmony - 08.02.16

September 4, 2016

Show/Venue: The 727 Tour at the Ford Amphitheatre at Coney Island

Date: Tuesday, August 2nd, 2016 @ 7pm

Starring: Fifth Harmony, Jojo

Website: http://www.fifthharmony.com

Ever since I watched Camilla, Normani, Lauren, Ally Brooke and Dinah Jane come together as Fifth Harmony on the US Version of The X-Factor, I was hooked. As my roommate at the time can attest to, I listened to Reflection all the time, with several songs on repeat. Through the hooks of “Worth It” and “BO$$” and the samples from some of my favorite 90’s artists, I couldn’t get enough of this girl group. When 7/27 got delayed, I was a bit disappointed, but “Work From Home” was that ear worm, always stuck in my head when heading into work (Rihanna, who?)!

I decided it was worth the one hour and some change trek to Coney Island to see the girls perform, plus Jojo was the opening act! The newly refurbished Ford Amphitheatre is right on the Coney Island Boardwalk and next to the ocean. I was worried about getting sunburnt in the heat, but luckily the venue is covered and the breeze from the ocean keeps everything nice and cool.

My usual concert routine involves scoping out food options, merchandise and then finding my seat. Since I went to this show alone, I figured I could take my time getting settled. I thought there was only one merchandise stand near the entrance, but someone on the staff pulled those of us in the back of the line to another booth on the other side. The bonus? A shorter line and some of the Fifth Harmony parents were out on that side, taking photos with fans (a.k.a. Harmonizers).

Jojo opened the show, and most of this crowd was too young to remember her teenage hit, “Leave (Get Out)” but I remember it fondly. She came out in a sheer black maxi dress with a blue & green sequined varsity jacket, that I immediately coveted, and helped wind the crowd up. Followed by “Too Little, Too Late” and a few other of her older hits, she then went into some new songs, as she was finally released from her old contract and can finally put out new music! She ended her set with “Fuck Apologies,” her new single, and it’s damn catchy.

Finally, the girls came out in black bodysuits and knee-high black boots to “That’s My Girl,” and the crowd went wild. I immediately wanted to be friends with the teenage boy a few rows infront of me who was dancing and singing along to every lyric. (I love that this song was later used in a USA Gymnastics video during the Olympics, showing the girls training at camp.) Followed by “Miss Movin’ On” and “Sledgehammer,” I was impressed with how fast the words came back to me, as I was singing along, but had not listened to either of these albums in some time. The girls did a great job of dancing and really belting live during “Reflection,” although it always feels awkward to me when Lauren is dressed up too sexy. I just remember her being a bit nerdy on The X-Factor, but she manages to pull it off.

In the next set, “This Is How We Roll,” “Scared of Happy,” “Write On Me” and “I Lied,” the girls took the opportunity to focus less on dancing and more on vocals. For one of my favorites from 7/27, “Write On Me,” they sat down on the bleachers and sang. I love the lyrics in this song and all the clever ways various versions of writing are alluded to in it. There were a couple times when Camilla seemed to be disconnected from the rest of the group, physically and mentally. She recovered later, but I bet this is what sparks rumors that she’s leaving the group.

For the next costume and set change, the girls put on bright red bodysuits and brought out red metal chairs to match. I didn’t know “Big Bad Wolf,” but lots of the other fans did! That led right into “BO$$” and got the crowd moving before “Not That Kinda Girl” and “All In My Head (Flex)”. I put up a short video of the chorus dance sequence from “Not That Kinda Girl” and it quickly had over 3,000 views on Instagram. I tried to capture a moment where they did almost a tribute to New Kids on the Block with their pendulum dance from “The Right Stuff.”

The show ended on a high note with “Worth It” and “Work From Home.” They brought out all the stops and any nervousness from Camilla was completely gone by the encores. Assuming that they don’t break up, I would easily go to another Fifth Harmony show! Even going by myself, I had a great time! Everyone’s dancing was on point and I was really impressed with their live performance. This just proves that we need more girl groups around again!

Musical Numbers:

1. That’s My Girl

2. Miss Movin’ On

3. Sledgehammer

4. Reflection

5. This Is How We Roll

6. Scared of Happy

7. Write on Me

8. I Lied

9. No Way

10. We Know

11. Dope

12. Squeeze

13. Big Bad Wolf

14. BO$$

15. Not That Kinda Girl

16. All In My Head (Flex)

17. Brave, Honest, Beautiful (Acoustic Version)

18. Gonna Get Better

19. Voicemail

20. Worth It

21. Work From Home

"Taylor Swift: The 1989 World Tour" - 07.11.15

August 14, 2015

Show/Venue: The 1989 World Tour at MetLife Stadium

Date: Saturday, July 11th, 2015

Starring: Taylor Swift, Vance Joy, HAIM, Shawn Mendes

Website: http://www.taylorswift.com

I’d always been a casual Taylor Swift fan, but as her music grew progressively more pop and less country, more of my pop culture fandom developed. So, I shelled out a lot of money to get tickets to her 1989 World Tour and went along with my friend, Emily (one of the biggest Swifties that I know). We made a nice day out of it and grabbed a ZipCar, had lunch at Chili’s, stopped by Target and picked up my friends, Jonelle & Erin for the drive to New Jersey. (Yes, it’s a bit ironic as the New York State Welcome Ambassador, Tay-Tay did not have a tour date in NYC.)

Having only been to the old IZOD Center in East Rutherford for Watch the Throne with Jay Z and Kanye, years ago, I was not ready for the sheer size of the MetLife Stadium. We setup camp with a few of Jonelle’s friends in the parking lot for a little T. Swift tailgating before the show. (Just like the college days, we threw around a football and grilled some hot dogs & burgers.)

Then, Em and I went in to catch the opening acts, of which I really only knew HAIM’s music. Shawn Mendes wasn’t bad and his music was pretty catchy. The Haim sisters put on a great show, with several of their hits from their last album and their new track with Calvin Harris (Taylor’s boyfriend). I knew I must be getting old based on the crowd’s reaction to Vance Joy and I didn’t even recognize his big “hit.” Oops.

Finally, the lights went down & the plastic bracelets we were given upon entering the stadium started to light up; changing colors when you moved & a bit synchronized to the beats of the music. Taylor entered in an amazing, sparkly green sequined jacket, sporting her now almost-signature crop top and flippy skirt to “Welcome to New York.” Of course the crowd went wild, because even though we were in New Jersey, so many of the audience members made the trek from NYC.

As a dance fan, I quickly scanned her dancers to see if I recognized any of them from So You Think You Can Dance, Dancing with the Stars or America’s Best Dance Crew, but didn’t. I was surprised that she only had male dancers on this tour, since it seems like most pop stars tend to have a variety for the various songs and performances. However, I really liked that she had b-boys on this tour that were able to throw some amazing tricks throughout the concert.

“New Romantics” was up next, and even though it was a bonus track on her album, the crowd really loved it. It had also been consistently praised by the music media as a great track, so that’s probably why she added it to the show. “Blank Space” brought out sassy Taylor with a killer black sequined jacket, as she flipped her hair and stayed everyone’s best friend by talking about her past relationships and being a women scorned. The audio team did a great job of delaying Taylor saying “Jersey” over the breakdown in the song (“Boys only want love, if it’s torture…Jersey! Don’t say I didn’t warn you…Jersey!); which was really cool and probably a chance for her to catch her breath.

A little remix of “I Knew You Were Trouble” was next; which kept the song a bit fresh, but made me long for the original version just a bit. Something about that dub-step beat might have mixed better with the 1989 tracks, instead of the rock version. “I Wish You Would” was up next and wasn’t one of my favorite songs until I heard her perform it live. The driving beat and drums made me really appreciate it and it somehow, creeped onto my current playlist. I guess I could say that I went through a similar experience with the next few tracks; on my playlists for July and August.

The crowd had already been buzzing about who Taylor’s special guest was going to be for the second night (the previous show, she had brought out The Weeknd) and some people were speculating that it might be The Boss himself, Bruce Springsteen. Taylor teased the crowd a little bit with “This is a person who is from Jersey. This is a person who I met when he was 15-years-old and guys, he’s definitely not 15 anymore!” I quickly figured it out and pretty much lost my shit. (In the video I have of this intro, you can hear me yell “OH MY GOD!!!”) “Give it up for Nick Jonas!” Then Nick came out and sang “Jealous” with Taylor, sporting his freshly shaved head for the second season of Kingdom, and they sounded great together! (Now, let’s be honest, I would have died more if Joe had come out, but he was probably in the crowd watching Taylor with Gigi Hadid and doesn’t have current material out to support.) They strutted down the runway, as the crowd went wild and I really enjoyed how Taylor’s voice sounded on this track with Nick. Right after Nick was done, I immediately texted all my best friends with “I HAVE NEVER SCREAMED SO LOUD IN MY LIFE!!!” Which might have been an overstatement, but it sure felt like it! This definitely beats when Joe came out to sing a Camp Rock 2 song with Demi Lovato at her show!

After all the Nick Jonas excitement, Taylor took it down a notch and got onto the light up runway, which then lifted and rotated over the floor audience while she sang “Clean” and “Love Story.” She was belted onto the platform, as it did rotate fairly quickly, and treated the crowd with one of Em’s favorites, “Mine” and another oldie, “Love Story.” (I kind of loved when she talked about how she wrote the song as a teenager and made it so Romeo & Juliet didn’t die, but got married. Pretty innocent and cute, which made for a great pop-country song.) Taylor really knows how to tell a great story and fill the space in between all the songs, costume changes, set changes; what a great distraction.

For the second night in Jersey, with “Style,” Taylor brought out some of her model friends; Karlie Kloss, Lily Aldredge, Behati Prinsloo, Gigi and a nice surprise, Uzo Aduba from Orange is the New Black, and as I know her, from Broadway’s revival of Godspell. They strutted down the runway before video footage of some of her friends talked about Taylor, interspersed with footage of her & her cats.

Speaking of cats, Taylor then came out in a black catsuit to rock out to a remixed version of “Bad Blood.” There was a group of girls in-front of us that had made their own band-aids with “band-aids don’t fix bullet holes” written on them, which I was a little bit jealous that I hadn’t thought of first; and they were really living for this song. The rock theme continued with an updated version of “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” as Taylor brought out an electric guitar and more hair flips.

Then going back to some slower songs, the crew brought out a really fancy piano, which Taylor described as “an alien,” and she played “Wildest Dreams” in a nude, sparkly bodysuit. This was another track that wasn’t my favorite at first, but quickly grew on me and is a great way to feel calm on a crowded L train subway ride to and from work. “Out of the Woods” featured some great video of trees and some elements from the “Style” video that seemed better suited here.

After a brief costume change, into a sparkly, fringed emerald crop top and pants, Taylor was back to close the show with “Shake It Off” and for everyone to dance their assess off! There was definitely a state of Taylor euphoria as we made our way back to the car, but everyone was in great spirits as various Taylor hits were being blasted from all the surrounding cars. Overall, it was a great show and I had a great time and I hardly even thought about all the money I shelled out for the tickets.

Musical Numbers:

1. Welcome to NewYork

2. New Romantics

3. Blank Space

4. I Knew You Were Trouble

5. I Wish You Would

6. How You Get the Girl

7. I Know Places

8. All You Had to Do Was Stay

9. Jealous with Nick Jonas

10. You Belong with Me

11. Clean

12. Love Story

13. Style

14. This Love

15. Bad Blood

16. We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together

17. Enchanted/Wildest Dreams

18. Out of the Woods

19. Shake It Off

"Britney Spears: Piece of Me" - 01.30.15

March 7, 2015

Show/Venue: Piece of Me at the Axis Theatre, Planet Hollywood

Date: Friday, January 31st, 2015

Starring: Britney Spears

Website: http://www.caesars.com/planet-hollywood/shows/britney-spears-las-vegas.html

After much begging to my NYC friends to come with me, I finally convinced some of my college buddies to fly to Las Vegas and meet me to see Ms. Britney Spears in the first year of her Las Vegas residency at Planet Hollywood. Naturally, I chose to go in January, so I could escape the cold of NYC and sweat it out in the desert for a bit.

I arrived at my hotel the afternoon of the show and met up with my friends, who were coming in from San Francisco. We dropped our things at our hotel room and immediately went in search of drinks and slot machines.

Then we picked up all our Britney merchandise before the show (plus, the items are cheaper in the hotel shop than in the show venue). I got a program, magnet and a tank top that says “It’s Vegas, Bitch” next to a profile photo of Britney. I was busy working on my Social Media (Twitter, Instagram) and even got a response from Hannah Spears, Britney’s dog. I was encouraged to take some photos and videos of the show to share with the world and to help build buzz about the show.

After getting ready in our hotel room at MGM, we made the trek over to Planet Hollywood. Other fans had already arrived early and the line ran around the bar just outside of the Axis Theatre. One we were through the security and ticketing lines, we saw several of Britney’s iconic costumes on display in large Plexiglas cases; the Ringmaster from “Circus,” the stewardess from “Toxic,” her black fringed number from “Work Bitch,” the red, leather jumpsuit from “Oops!...I Did It Again,” and my favorite, her childhood outfit from her audition on Star Search.

We got some drinks and found our seats. A large video screen was acting as a countdown clock until the show was going to start. I was just as excited to see Brandon Bryant, who I watched excel on So You Think You Can Dance and Sohey Sugihara, who I loved as part of the Fanny Pak Crew on America’s Best Dance Crew, clearly Britney got some great talent to support her in all of the shows.

The show opened with lots of pyro and Britney descended from the rafters in a big globe-shaped cage. After all that Britney’s been through over the past few years, she looked in good shape and ready to perform. Her dancers lead her down the staircase, as they break out of some of the choreography from the video to “Work Bitch.”

Britney then rolled right into “Womanizer” and interacted with her dancers throughout the number. Her production team then turns on her mic, so she can talk to the crowd, before clearly going back to singing with backing tracks for the rest of the show. For “3,” the dancers bring out various metal pyramids on casters, so they can dance in them and roll Britney around the stage. The dancers jump and flip from one pyramid to another and then bring out a bar, so Britney can do some more of the choreography from the “3” video.

Then came Britney’s first of many costume changes and the “slow” song portion of the evening. In previous shows, Britney has always sang the slower songs live, but didn’t take that chance her. At the beginning of “Everytime,” she comes down from the rafters, attached to white angel wings, as fake snow comes out into the crowd. Britney follows this up with a slightly changed, “…Baby, One More Time,” as she changes into an all-black number and the set becomes dark, with the dancers clearly influenced by the movement in a traditional Paso Doble.

During her next costume change, the dancers roll out wooden panels with sections that have been broken in. I knew this could only mean that one of my favorite songs, “Me Against The Music,” was up next. I was hoping Britney would wear her fedora and tie ensemble from the video, but she came out in a black baseball cap and bodysuit. She & her dancers hit some of the familiar moves from this video, before Britney walks upstage to the fans in the pit and starts “Gimme More.”

The next section of the show was probably my least favorite part as Britney performs “Break The Ice,” “Piece Of Me” and “Scream & Shout.” I’m not really a fan of her song with Will.I.Am and the other songs were a bit of a throwaway. Next up was “Boys,” which is one of my favorite songs from the Britney album, and this further proved that Pharrell’s beats stand the test of time. However, at this show, they changed up the arrangement and doused everyone in black-light responsible clothing, which took away from the greatness of the original song.

A few lesser known hits followed with “Perfume” and “Get Naked (I Got A Plan)”, before it was finally time for “I’m A Slave 4 U!” The arrangement was changed slightly and the set shifted to bondage influenced décor. I was anxiously waiting for the dance breakdown to see Britney hit the infamous Brian Friedman/Wade Robson choreography, but she only seemed to be half into it, at least the dancers were full out!

Sadly, we weren’t at a show where Britney pulled a celebrity on stage during “Freakshow” to be chained up and walked on a leash. (I saw on Instagram that the following night, Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s husband, Justin Mikita, was pulled up on stage.) After that came, “Do Somethin’,” which I was never really into when it first came out, and I can't remember much about this performance.

The next act featured “Circus” as the dancers changed into circus-themed costumes and Britney appeared amid a ring of fire. Some of the familiar moves that I remembered from her Circus Tour in Chicago, all came back as the ring of fire rotated around Britney on her own platform.

Then came “I Wanna Go,” where Britney & her female dancers performed in front of mirrors. However, any time I hear this song, I can’t help but think of the Bravo TV ad for “Summer by Bravo” that aired a few years ago. (I think Andy Cohen would be proud of this pop culture Pavlov’s Dog moment.)

Britney then closes up with show with a string of her greatest hits, “Lucky,” “Toxic,” “Stronger” and “(You Drive Me) Crazy.” The best part of this set is when the giant tree comes onto the stage during “Toxic”, and which if you watched her MTV special, you know all the tricks that had to happen so the tree could fit onto the stage and so Britney could fly off the branches and not get hit, as the tree rotates.

Britney executed the jump, but just in case they production team didn’t want you to watch her being unhooked from her harness, a few of her dancers are busy doing back handsprings all the way across the stage, as she gets setup. I particularly enjoyed the costumes for this portion of the show. The dancers were wearing various pieces of graphically printed neon; tiny tanks/shirts and pants for the boys and several variations of bodysuits for the girls.

The closing number was “Till The World Ends,” where most of the crowd was up on their feet and dancing. It was a great way to end the show with tons of neon lights and burst of confetti.

Overall, I had a great time at the show and Britney kept everything moving. The show was just over an hour and a half, so there was still plenty of time to head out onto The Strip to eat, drink and gamble. I just wish that Britney had hit the dance moves a little harder. I felt like she was going through the motions, but not quite there; a solid 80%. I would recommend going, because the show is great, but you should almost go for the dancers’ performances, as they are full out the whole show!

Musical Numbers:

1. Work Bitch

2. Womanizer

3. 3

4. Everytime

5. …Baby, One More Time

6. Oops!...I Did It Again

7. Me Against The Music

8. Gimme More

9. Break The Ice

10. Piece Of Me

11. Scream & Shout