Country music Jesus.

There is one concert that will forever stand out for me. I had only dreamed of such a moment, and then it surpassed my wildest expectations. Eric Church's Blood, Sweat & Blood Tour was country music at its finest.

Sister and I drove seven hours and across the border to Everett, WA. It started with a trip to Eric Church's Drink in Your Hand VIP. It was unlike any other VIP event I had previously taken part in.

We got to the venue early, picked up our passes and our seventh row floor tickets. We had a catered dinner with tasty home-made French onion dip, salsa and guacamole, meatballs and BBQ sauce and mac 'n cheese balls.

After dinner, sister and I left the lounge and went into the venue. We waited in line for forty-five minutes for merchandise, and then it was time to head back into the lounge. We didn't have to wait long for Eric Church to arrive. The next half hour was the best of my life. Nothing can compare to hearing Two Pink Lines sung to a room of no more than fifty people.

There were two opening acts for the Blood, Sweat & Tears Tour. Kip Moore and Justin Moore opened for Eric Church, but we unfortunately missed Kip Moore's performance due to the VIP event. We made it to our seats just in time for Justin Moore.

It was our fourth time seeing Justin. It might seem excessive, but he never disappoints.

It was finally time for the big moment. On a Tuesday night, a sold-out arena erupted as Eric Church sauntered onto the stage and opened with the more than suitable song, Country Music Jesus. If you've read my previous post about Blake Shelton's life changing concert, then you know that the song responsible for my love of country music is Austin. The second song I remember falling in love with is Eric Church's Guys Like Me.

 

He sang his classics - Hell on the Heart, How 'Bout You, Sinners Like Me, Smoke A Little Smoke - mixed with his new stuff - Over When It's Over, Homeboy, Creepin', Drink In My Hand. Two of the most memorable moments for me came during:

1) These Boots - I have never seen thousands of people take off their boots in unison and hold them in the air for the duration of a song. It was quite the sight!

2) Springsteen - It's the song, it's the piano, it's his voice... It's all amazing.

If you're a country music fan then you're a fan of Eric Church, and if you haven't seen the man in concert then you haven't fully lived life. This will forever be one of - if not the - best concert I have ever been to.

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Big Time Adventure Pt. 4 - Big Time Summer Tour (Puyallup, WA)

For this concert we ended up in the seventh row. It doesn't sound as good as the night before when were in the fourth row, but once we found our seats we realized there wasn't much of a difference. It was the set-up of the venue - the chairs must have been much closer together, and the stage was much higher off the ground - so the seventh row felt just as close as the fourth row, if not closer. 

In typical BTST fashion, Cody Simpson opened. He was the only opening act. This was my third time seeing Cody, and by the third time you cannot help but dance and sing along. 

Thanks to a couple of cancelled concerts (one of which we had tickets to in Ontario, CA), the concert in Puyallup was the last of Big Time Rush's North American tour. It was bittersweet. It was a spectacle filled with high energy and pranks - crew in VIP exclusive band Ts, and very unfortunate looking Worldwide Girls.

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Big Time Adventure Pt. 3 - BTST M&G Puyallup, WA

I am a concert addict, so I've had time to perfect my post-concert ritual. After an exhausting evening of belting out songs and dancing along, I like to head back to the hotel. I like to snuggle up in bed and flip through my photos and videos from the evening before letting the ringing in my ears rock me to sleep.

Not this time. Since we were doing back-to-back concerts, we wanted to get to the next city as quickly as possible. After the concert in Vancouver wrapped up, the girls and I piled into the car and popped in our Big Time Summer Tour CD. 

On the list of things I've done to see my favorite boy bands, starting a short road trip at 11 o'clock at night is one of the more reasonable things!

While I drove, Ash and I sang and chatted while Cortney slept. The drive wasn't as bad as I had feared. As exhausted as I was, the trip went by quickly. We checked into the hotel shortly after 2 o'clock in the morning. Sleep followed shortly after.

The boys were playing at the Puyallup Fair on Sept 17, 2012. We woke up after what felt like driving all night, and headed down for breakfast. At breakfast, we met a pair of best friends and their moms. They were also going to the concert that night, and had a couple of questions about the M&G. Their excitement was so contagious! We discussed who was a fan of which boy - everyone has a favorite. After breakfast, we headed back to the room to get ready and head to the fair. After wandering around the fairgrouds, it was time for our second M&G in two days. 

The M&G in Puyallup was much larger than the one in Vancouver. We started the process of lining up and waiting. While waiting we met two new friends! A second Ashley, a bride-to-be, and her maid-of-honor, Andrea. We were all front row for the soundcheck. Seated directly behind us - and covered in home-made buttons - were the young girls and their moms from the hotel. Being a Kendall girl, Ashley commented on the adorable Kendall button. Next thing we knew, the girls were giving us their buttons. We insisted that they keep their buttons, but they weren't taking no for an answer. Unfortunately Cort didn't get a button because they didn't have an extra Logan button. It was too cute! Don't fear, Cortney did end up with a button. The next morning, one of the girls brought a handful of extra buttons to our hotel room to give to Ashley.

Once the button exchanging fun was over, it wasn't long before the boys came out. Carlos, Logan, James and Kendall - in that order, needless to say - answered questions in between singing Windows Down and If I Ruled the World. There were a couple of highlights for this soundcheck. The first was a young girl who asked Carlos how his dog, Sydney, was. Carlos' face lit up. It was such a sweet moment! Carlos replied that Sydney was good, and on her way back to California on the bus. He asked James how Fox was, who was backstage in his kennel. Kendall mentioned that the only way James can leave Fox alone is if James leaves Fox with peanut butter. The boys also discussed Logan's pet dragon, Bernard, who was on vacation. (Those boys make me laugh!) 

The second moment came from a little girl who stepped out into the walkway. Kendall spotted her, and couldn't ignore her. She asked if she could sing happy birthday. Carlos asked, "You want to sing happy birthday to us?" And she replied with, "No! To Logan!" Carlos jumped down from the stage and held the microphone out so that she could sing. She also had a card for Logan, who jumped down next to Carlos. Logan took the card, and picked up the little girl. He gave her a big hug, and I believe he gave her a kiss. It was the sweetest, most adorable moment! 

During a moment of pure silliness, Carlos started singing the Bananas in Pyjamas theme song. Bananas in pyjamas are coming down the stairs, bananas in pyjamas are coming down in pair. Ashley and Cort started singing along, which Carlos noticed. They were the only ones who knew what he was talking about, and he thanked them for helping him out. At some point, and I can't remember why, James said "And no, I won't take my shirt off." Kendall chimed in, "But you can Google it! There's probably tons of shirtless photos of all of us." Silly boy, of course there is. 

After the silliness was over, it was time for photos. Prior to both M&Gs, I had been toying with the idea of asking the boys to pose a specific way or simply be silly. I've seen some really great (and really hilarious) photos. The boys seem to do anything they are asked to do, but I chickened out. It always feels so rushed! Next time. Next tour I'll gather up the courage and ask! For now, I'm just happy being next to the boys.

Big Time Adventure Pt. 2 - Big Time Summer Tour (Vancouver, BC)

I took a moment to collect myself after the soundcheck and M&G, and then it was time to take our seats. We were in the fourth row towards the middle. The seats were incredible! I wasn't familiar with the first two opening acts. First up was Victoria Duffield. She was a great dancer, and wasn't a terrible singer. Next was Tyler Medeiros. He was completely cute, and made the girls swoon. When he pulled out some classic New Kids on the Block, I knew I liked the kid.

The third and final opening act was Cody Simpson. I had seem him a month early when he opened for Big Time Rush in Bristow, VA. He's still too young for me, but a song or two of his had become stuck in my head. Forgive me for what I'm about to say, but Cortney and I got a good laugh from this.. Cody fell off of his chair during one of his dance numbers! I know he was probably horrified, but I couldn't help but giggle when the poor boy landed on his bum. He recovered nicely, but still - poor Cody!

One of my favorite elements of the Big Time Summer Tour is the countdown clock. It starts at twenty minutes, and you know when it ticks down to zero that those four boys will be on that stage. A second favorite element of mine is the opening video. Thanks to a technical glitch we could hear the opening video, but we could not see it on the screens. And then.. Elevate a little hiiiiiiiiiigher! 

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