what do you mean, INTERMISSION??

before the jonas brothers announced their tour to support their new album - titled "the album", wow - they did random pop-up shows that they'd announce somewhat last minute and then it would be a mad scramble for fans to score a presale code.  although my ticketmaster luck has apparently run out because i've been waitlisted for a code for the last several concerts we've been interested in.  ugh.

you know where this is going, of course.  they announced a show at the theater at the ace hotel in downtown l.a., which is a pretty small venue.  aaaaand i was, once again, waitlisted.  double ugh.

but the hub, as he always does, came through for us and snagged a couple of tickets on stubhub.  i guess we're part of the problem, since we all complain about the scalpers getting access to tickets first and then reselling them for profit - but when you want to go to a show and that's the only way to get tickets...well, you do what you gotta do.  not to mention, it's almost easier to just sit back and wait to see what gets listed because buying tickets even with a presale code is like entering the freaking hunger games.  and i know it's a total first-world problem, but that shit is stressful.  and so i kind of look at buying from stubhub as letting someone else deal with the stress and then just paying a finder's fee for tickets.  you like how i rationalize, huh?

i found the perfect shirt in my stash while i was getting ready that day, one i'd forgotten i had that i'd bought back when the band got back together:

we left the house early, allowing ourselves plenty of time to get to the hotel, find parking and hopefully grab something for a pre-show dinner.  luckily, there was a lot just a few steps away from the entrance with plenty of spaces available and we still had lots of time to eat.  yay!

we managed to grab a table at loam, the restaurant just inside the hotel and shared some burrata and had a couple of cocktails.

the old lady opted for the dinner special - which apparently tasted about as good as it looked. bummer.

and i went with a caesar salad - mostly because nothing else on the menu sounded good.

by the time we paid the bill and headed outside, the line to get into the theater went down the street and around the corner.  eek.

it didn't really take that long to get in, although once we set foot inside we had to elbow through the crowds that were lined up for merchandise.  some of it was displayed on mannequins on the upper levels, so we decided to go up there and find our seats.

i wonder who got to sit here.  kind of a weird spot, i guess, with a limited view of the stage, but at least it wasn't crammed next to or behind other people?

as luck would have it, there was a table set up with a few of the shirts available for sale on our way to our section.  and so instead of waiting in the long lines downstairs (where there was, admittedly, a much bigger selection of stuff) we grabbed a couple of shirts and then plunked our asses down to peoplewatch and wait for the show to start.

there was a DJ onstage having a great time, playing a great mix of dance music and dancing along as the growing crowd cheered intermittently.

we'd never been to this venue before, and it was really cool and super ornate.

the guys finally took the stage around 9:30, which was significantly past the 8:00 time on the tickets.  the old lady had to be at work early the next morning, so she was...not thrilled.

it didn't help that we were, of course, stuck behind two very tall people who swayed back and forth the entire time and blocked our view for a good chunk of the show.  hey, i don't begrudge people who are having a great time and dancing during a concert - of course not.  we're all there for a good time.  but dang...short people problems are just really sucky.

at least the guys were giving it their all, as they always do.  and it was pretty cool to get to hear songs off of the brand new album that hadn't yet been released at that point.

although we were startled, to say the least, when joe announced that they were going to do about four songs before taking a half-hour break and then coming back "to play a shitload of hits, we promise!" the old lady was...even less pleased.  eek.  they'd already started super late and now there was an intermission? like...wtf, guys?

they took every minute of that half hour doing god knows what, and then there was a bit of a commotion as priyanka chopra jonas made an appearance and took a seat several rows below us.  she had the perfect seat, right in the middle at the very front of the balcony.  i mean, i suppose she's earned it.  heh.  and she was happy and cheerful and friendly, smiling and waving at everyone before taking her seat.

the guys came back out and played a great mix of songs from their previous albums as well as their solo projects and also with joe's DNCE bandmates.  it was fun and entertaining and brought back some great memories of our years of attending back-to-back concerts for several summers back in the day.

they were onstage for about an hour after that intermission, and then without fanfare or pyrotechnics (obviously, heh) it was all over and they were waving goodbye as they left the stage for the last time.

we made our way down the stairs and towards the exit, and a quick glance at the concession stands told me that we'd have been annoyed had we stood in the long line only to find that the shirts we wanted were available with a much shorter wait.

their one stop in l.a. on their new tour is at dodger stadium on a date that the old lady can't go, which is a bummer.  they'll be playing a longer set with music from all of their albums, which sounds like a blast, but i can't imagine going to a jonas brothers concert without the old lady even though i think i may be a bigger fan now than she is.  

it's not till september, though.  we'll just have to see what happens.  muahahahahahahahahaha.