backstreet's back, alright

i was well out of high school when the new kids on the block were super popular.  this meant that although i enjoyed their songs on the radio, i was, like, so way above being a fan.  me, a teenybopper?  uh, no.

but about a decade later, when the whole boyband genre started making a comeback, i was pretty smitten with the backstreet boys.  i loved 'em all, and i was always drawn to the pretty ones - BSB's brian, n*sync's justin, 98 degrees' nick.  i thought BSB's nick was cute too, but way too young.  like, he was all of 15 when he was singing "am i sexual?" in "everybody."  heh.  obvs, i like 'em young, but not that young.  i ain't no pedophile, people.

so when the new kids and the backstreet boys announced a joint reunion tour, i was STOKED.  dubbed the "NKOTBSB," i was all aflutter as i watched them perform together, and then i hopped onto twitter.  a few of my friends were quick to respond, and so we made a date - for six months later. 

we were so excited when the concert date finally arrived.  we planned carpools and made a pre-show dinner reservation at the farm of beverly hills at l.a. live, and i even had a celebratory drink: a watermelon margarita.

while the others at the table chose salads as their entrees, i went big.

although kelley didn't let me go down alone, adding a side of the truffled mac & cheese to her order.

as we headed to the entrance of staples center, i saw this sign for the concert after-party.  tempting:

there were lots of girls in homemade tees, but this one took the prize:

the stream of fans heading to staples was mostly female, although i did spot a few dudes in the crowd. 

super duper excited fangirls:

nanette, kelley, yours truly, trish, plus lilcee, and winnie, who managed to snag last-minute tickets via the suite owned by winnie's employer:

waiting to get in, i eyed the merchandise and knew i had to get a commemorative tee.

there were two opening acts - a girl whose name i already forgot, and jordin sparks.  i couldn't get any decent shots of either of them, but here's a view from our seats.  doesn't look fab in the shot, but they were actually pretty good seats.

finally, it was time.

aaaaahhhhh!  the noise from the sold-out crowd was literally deafening, but we were screaming right along with them.

although you can't see him, there was a guy in the row behind us - dead asleep.  what a wank.  wasting a seat and all.

i made up for his lack of enthusiasm, though.

these are the best of the blurry shots, from my phone and my old point-and-shoot:

this was seriously the most fun concert i've ever been to - even beating glee live (my previous all-time favorite) and every single jonas brothers show.  we were dancing and singing and screaming and cheering, and had such a good time.  even the appearance of the NKOTB in CELTICS jerseys didn't kill the mood, although i was aghast - "they're wearing those in OUR house??"  thank goodness for the BSB, who responded by popping out in laker gear.

although he'd left the BSB a few years ago (which i didn't know, to be honest, until this comeback tour), kevin richardson made a surprise appearance.  the entire arena lost its damn mind when he showed up during "i want it that way."

i made trish take this while i crouched below her with my hands in the air.

i wasn't the only one.

we were so sad to see the show end.  we were sweaty and sore and tired, but exhilarated and pumped up from the awesomeness that was the NKOTBSB.  kelley and trish and i happily stood in line for tees, joined up with the rest of the girls, and headed to the parking lot.

btw, i totally considered buying tickets to the show in anaheim tomorrow night, but ultimately decided that i didn't want to chance tainting the fabulous experience we'd already had.  i do kind of regret not going to the afterparty, but that's okay.

boybands.  they rock.