Big Time Rush, Cody Simpson, and Rachel Crow Concert. Birmingham, AL. 7/11/12

I remember the first time I ever heard the theme song for the TV show Big Time Rush. The thoughts going through my head were “That is the catchiest thing I have heard in a long time” and I immediately went to buy the song and from that moment I always told myself “If Big Time Rush ever comes to Alabama, I will do everything in my power to make sure I am there.” In April, I went to a concert at the same venue that the BTR show was held for a different concert. I looked at their sign of upcoming concerts and I saw Big Time Rush. I literally started crying and I had to beg my mom to take me. She said she was not taking me. So I became desperate. I called all of my friends and a few family members. It turned out that some people did not want to go or they had other things already planned. My best friend Abigail finally agreed to go with me. I was so excited that I started crying again. I bought my tickets and began to wait patiently. When the day finally came, I found it hard to contain my excitement. I had to drive over two hours to get to the show. Not to mention the rain was terrible. When we got to the venue, we waited at the gate for about two hours waiting for the doors to open. When they finally opened, I went to the merch table and then I went to my seat. It rained almost the entire time. Sometimes the rain was heavier than others. But that definitely made the show all the more memorable. The first act of the day was Rachel Crow. I had no idea who she was other than from a newer episode of Big Time Rush. I heard someone in line say that she was on X-Factor too. I did not know any of her original songs but she did cover Forget You by Cee Lo Green and Valerie by Amy Winehouse. I thought that was pretty cool. After her was Cody Simpson. I did not know anything about him either other than he was from Australia and that girls pine over him. I did not know any of his songs either but he did cover Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen. Every time I hear that song, I have to do the Harvard Baseball Team dance from Youtube. If you do not know what I am talking about, look it up. It is hilarious. After Cody, it was finally time for Big Time Rush. They had a countdown on the big screen that started at 15 minutes. When it got down the one minute, it really set in that I was about to see a band that I have wanted to see for the last several years and I got even more excited. When they guys graced the stage with their gorgeous selves, they started playing Elevate which I thought was funny, because they elevated out of the ground. Can we say awesome? Next song was Time Of Our Life. There was a big streamer machine. It almost reached my seat. Their harmonies and their choreography during this song were really good as well. After that the band introduced Alabama to their tour and they introduced themselves to the crowd. And they thanked us for making Birmingham their city tonight, which led to them playing City Is Ours *cue Kinsey’s freakout”. This song has so much energy and it is such a great live song. The crowd also freaked out when it was time to sing “all the girls scream THERE THEY ARE.” That cracked me up. They followed that moment of excitement with No Idea. That is a good mellow song to just stare at each individual band member and admire their beauty. Then it was time for an outfit change and they were back out on stage and they busted out the song Love Me Love Me. That song got the crowd more hyper. That song is such a good dance song. After that, they asked if we were enjoying the rain as much as they were? I do not enjoy rain, but rain definitely makes for a more memorable experience and a really great concert story, if I do say so myself. Then one of the guys said this was a full on Alabama wet and wild and they talked about how good it was to be back in Alabama. It made me wonder about the last time they were in Alabama. Then Kendall started singing Sweet Home Alabama and claimed that he just had to do it. That is just fine with me. I swear every time a band comes to Alabama they have to sing it and it just so awesome. Then they went into If I Ruled The World. Gosh, I love that song. That song is a crowd mover, for sure. Then they played Halfway There. That song is a good jumping song. After that song, the guys discussed how the rain is really coming down and this is the first show they have ever done in rain like this. And apparently we make it rain. Then they asked if we liked the opening acts. They were pretty good. Then they started talking about Twitter. I am glad that they read all of our tweets. Because they are about to get a tweet from me about this blog. They wrote the song Invisible about a girl that thought she was invisible to the guys because she thought they would not see her tweets. I remember the first time I heard that song. It made me cry because it is such a beautiful song and it is so hopeful and I just love their harmonies. Then they started to play Boyfriend. They asked how many girls were looking for boyfriends. Apparently, they are looking for girlfriends. (Kendall, I am available. I want to be your girlfriend!). In the middle of the song, they started singing Justin Bieber’s Boyfriend. I swear I was about to pee on myself from laughing so hard. I loved that so much. They told us they were having a great time and asked if they should come back. Uh, heck yes! And then they took a picture with a crowd. Too bad there were not many house lights. And yes, there were a lot of sexy ponchos out there. And yes, we are gorgeous thank you. After telling us we were gorgeous, they told us that the next song was about inner and outer beauty. They played Cover Girl. I swear if a boy sang me that song, I would swoon. Then they started inviting people on stage to sit with them during Worldwide. If I had gotten up there, oh my gosh. But alas, I did not and I was left with the feeling of jealousy. And James, I had the coolest poncho, thank you very much. The names of the girls on stage were Gracie, Savannah, Kimberly, and Natalie. And then Kendall sang a little song. I swear if one of those boys held my hand and sang me that song… well, so much for wishful thinking, right? Then Logan was late getting back out to the stage because he always has to look spiffy. There was a conversation about stick shifts. No, guys, I do not drive a stick shift. Then they started talking about The Beatles. They asked our favorite Beatles song. I yelled I Me Mine as loud as I could but I swear, it was sad that hardly anyone in that crowd knew the Beatles. But I still got to hear I Wanna Hold Your Hand and Help!. BTR has the best cover of I Wanna Hold Your Hand ever. When Help came on, I looked around me and no one knew it. What has this world come to? After Beatlemania, they played Show Me. It was another mellow song. Then they brought it back with Music Sounds Better With You. I adore that song. When that song was over, the Woo Hoos started. Every one in that crowd knew what that meant. But before we could hear it, we had to hear the guys talk about the logistics behind a woo hoo. Kendall makes up a scenario about seeing a hundred dollar bill in the street and saying woo hoo. Then Kendall and Carlos went to one side and James and Logan came to my side and we had to see whose side was the loudest. It was definitely our side. And then, it was time for *drum roll please* Windows Down. The best song of the night if I do say so myself. Even though that song has not been out as long as the others I think that is one of my favorite BTR songs. It even shares a strong resemblance to Song 2 by Blur. After all the woo hoo action, it was time for Til I Forget About You. That is a very jumpy song and I love it. It is one of those songs that you have to sing at the top of your lungs. It is not really an option. After that, the guys walked off the stage. Most people mistake encores for the end of the show. One important rule of concerts is that you never leave the show until the house lights and/or music come on. The last song of the night was Big Time Rush; the reason I fell in love with this band in the first place, the reason I was at the show tonight. It all came down to that one song. And I could not think of a better way to close the show. Kendall, James, Logan, and Carlos are some very talented guys and they all have beautiful voices. I really hope they decide to come back to Alabama soon. And hopefully when I tweet them the link to this blog, they will read it. Because after all “It’s the only life you got so you gotta live it big time!”.

A Day To Remember, Rise Against, and Title Fight 4/26/12 Birmingham, Alabama

Last April, when I saw A Day To Remember, I never expected that almost one year later, I would be seeing them again. The day I found out they were coming to Alabama, I was so ecstatic. It was already an important day because my favorite football team, The Alabama Crimson Tide, was in the National Championship (Roll Tide). Rise Against and Title Fight were also with them. I was super stoked for Rise Against, too, because I they were on my bucket-list of bands to see. So when the day finally came to go to the show, I could not focus. I had to take a practice AP English exam and getting through that was already difficult not including the fact that I was going to see one of my favorite bands a few hours later. Upon my arrival to the venue, I met up with a few of my friends and we waited patiently for the gates to open. When they opened, we all ran for it. We were almost in the front, which was good enough for us. The first band that came on was Title Fight. I had heard of them because of an iTunes single of the week. Their opening song, “Shed”, was extremely energetic and LOUD. During the opening line, the first things I see are this guy flying through the air and all of these random crowd surfers flocking towards the stage. Honestly, that is one of my most memorable concert moments because it was unexpected and just flat out awesome. They also played
GMT (Greenwich Mean Time)
Loud And Clear
Neck Deep
Dreamcatchers
Symmetry
Youreyeah
Flood of ’72
Introvert
Coxton Yard
Memorial Field
27
No One Stays At The Top Forever
Stab
I will be seeing them again in Warped Tour in Atlanta and I am stoked. After Title Fight, it was time for A Day To Remember. It was really hard to contain my excitement. When Jeremy McKinnon ran out on stage, he yelled “ALABAMA” really loud. It gave me chill bumps. They opened with The Downfall Of Us All. I love how ADTR always involves the crowd. It makes their shows that much more exciting and memorable. Afterwards, they played
A Shot In The Dark
I’m Made Of Wax, Larry. What Are You Made Of?
My Life For Hire
All Signs Point To Lauderdale
2nd Sucks
You Be Tails I’ll Be Sonic
It’s Complicated
Homesick
Better Off This Way
Have Faith In Me
All I Want
The Plot To Bomb The Panhandle.
During Lauderdale, ADTR started throwing toilet paper into the audience. During 2nd Sucks, they told the crowd to start moshing and throwing people around, much to the security’s dismay. During It’s Complicated, they fired off a T-shirt gun. And During Homesick, Jeremy got into a huge ball and started rolling in the crowd. At the end of their set, I caught two guitar picks and one of the security guards handed me the set list. Needless to say, I was so ecstatic that I almost cried. After ADTR, it was time for Rise Against. To be honest, I really did not know a lot of new R.A. songs, but I managed. They played
Survivor
Ready To Fall
Collapse (Post – Amerika)
The Good Left Undone
Broken English
Help Is On The Way
Disparity by Design
Drones
Re-Education (Through Labor)
Blood To Bleed
Satellite
Paper Wings
Prayer of the Refugee
Audience of One
Swing Life Away
Make It Stop (September’s Children)
Give it All, Midnight Hands
The Strength to Go On
Savior.
Audience of One and Swing Life Away were performed acoustically. Swing Life Away was so beautiful that it made me cry. On the other side of the venue, there was a carnival of sorts going on. One of the security guards told me that ADTR was hanging out there, so I left right before Savior came on and went to investigate. When I got there, I saw Kevin and Josh. I was filled with the utmost joy. I got a picture with Kevin and we talked for a bit before he had to go back to the bus. That definitely made my night ten times better than it already was. I could even still hear Rise Against from where I was. Afterwards, I went home and I was thankful that I did not have school the next day. I am so thankful for weather days. :)