On Monday I told you all about my INCREDIBLE trip to see the Backstreet Boys in Chicago with my mom.
While the whole trip was amazing there were a few little glitches along the way.
The first being our flight.
At 4:00am on Friday morning (three hours before our plane was scheduled to take off) my mom received a phone call notifying her that our flight had been cancelled but not to worry because we were booked on a different flight with a layover in Detroit (barf) that would have us to Chicago by 2pm. As this was totally and completely NOT happening my mom spent the next hour on the phone talking to two different agents getting us booked on another flight - which she did, a 7am into Midway instead of O'Hare.
So I get to the airport at 6am as instructed since security at MSP rarely takes more than 30 minutes to find that, of course, last Friday was an exception. Two of the security check points were closed and they only had one security dude checking IDs at each one. Thank you Mr. President for cutting down on TSA staff (mom - that's for you). After an hour of complaining in line we FINALLY get through security with approximately 2 minutes to get to the gate. Gate C11, which those of you from Minnie know, is like at the end of the airport. We're walking as fast as we can when we hear an announcement come over the loud speaker calling our names as the doors to our plane will "be closing shortly and not-reopening." Direct quote. So I full on sprint, which if you know anything about me means I'm huffing and puffing and not moving all that fast. I make it to gate C11 to see the words "Omaha, Nebraska" on the screen. The jerks straight up switched our gate which had we had ANY spare time we could have confirmed before making the trek halfway to Omaha also known as gate C11. Thankfully, the new gate was C12 which was just around the corner. I'm running down the hall waving my arms and yelling "I'm Kristin Fawver! I'm Kristin Fawver! Paula is right behind me!" The stand-by sharks were circling the counter and were noticeably upset when our sweaty asses flew through the gate door. But, we made it.
landed in Chicago!
If you read Monday's post you know what happened after that...shopping, photos, RPM, champagne, BACKSTREET BOYS.
But, there were more details I left out of Monday's post. I told you that Baylee Littrell (Brian's son)opened sang two songs for the boys but I did not mention that DJ Pauly D and Jesse McCartney were also opening acts.
I never watched Jersey Shore but because I don't live under a rock I know who Pauly D is...I've seen photos, I've seen videos, I've read headlines.
Fast forward to 11:00pm. The boys have been on stage for probably an hour and a half. They've performed almost all of their biggest hits, about 3 or 4 new songs and did an awesome acapella set. They are about to set up the next song they're going to perform and the screens behind them turn off. They play the whole "come on, come on we're still performing" and everyone in the crowd is going nuts because we all think it's an act. Turns out...not an act. The city of Chicago has an 11pm noise curfew and ten minutes after 11 they turned off the screens and the boys' microphones. Brian ran backstage to bargain for more time, Nick was so angry he forcefully threw his suit coat on the stage (which was hilarious, he's my favorite) and the others got the crowd to chant "one more song, one more song". The mics were turned on just long enough for the boys to apologize, explain the situation and reveal that the Chicago Police were in fact shutting down the concert. They also tried to squeeze in a song completely unplanned and acapella but the cops didn't fall for it and the show was OVER. Over before they got to play their new single, "In a World Like This", "I Want it That Way" OR "Everybody." Needless to say the crowd went bananas. I was fearful there would be riot.
It was definitely not an ideal way for the show to end and everyone was definitely bummed, BUT the boys put on a fantastic show and were clearly upset and were very apologetic for what happened. At the show they promised Chicago they would come back and give them a full show and a few hours later posted this video on Facebook and Instagram:
At 4:00am on Friday morning (three hours before our plane was scheduled to take off) my mom received a phone call notifying her that our flight had been cancelled but not to worry because we were booked on a different flight with a layover in Detroit (barf) that would have us to Chicago by 2pm. As this was totally and completely NOT happening my mom spent the next hour on the phone talking to two different agents getting us booked on another flight - which she did, a 7am into Midway instead of O'Hare.
So I get to the airport at 6am as instructed since security at MSP rarely takes more than 30 minutes to find that, of course, last Friday was an exception. Two of the security check points were closed and they only had one security dude checking IDs at each one. Thank you Mr. President for cutting down on TSA staff (mom - that's for you). After an hour of complaining in line we FINALLY get through security with approximately 2 minutes to get to the gate. Gate C11, which those of you from Minnie know, is like at the end of the airport. We're walking as fast as we can when we hear an announcement come over the loud speaker calling our names as the doors to our plane will "be closing shortly and not-reopening." Direct quote. So I full on sprint, which if you know anything about me means I'm huffing and puffing and not moving all that fast. I make it to gate C11 to see the words "Omaha, Nebraska" on the screen. The jerks straight up switched our gate which had we had ANY spare time we could have confirmed before making the trek halfway to Omaha also known as gate C11. Thankfully, the new gate was C12 which was just around the corner. I'm running down the hall waving my arms and yelling "I'm Kristin Fawver! I'm Kristin Fawver! Paula is right behind me!" The stand-by sharks were circling the counter and were noticeably upset when our sweaty asses flew through the gate door. But, we made it.
If you read Monday's post you know what happened after that...shopping, photos, RPM, champagne, BACKSTREET BOYS.
But, there were more details I left out of Monday's post. I told you that Baylee Littrell (Brian's son)
I never watched Jersey Shore but because I don't live under a rock I know who Pauly D is...I've seen photos, I've seen videos, I've read headlines.
what a gem.
I had absolutely NO desire whatsoever to ever see him "DJ" aka stand on stage and spin records over a previously mixed montage of songs while randomly shouting "DJ PAULY D" and "EVERYBODY FIST PUMP". My mom and I purposely showed up late for the 7pm concert in hopes of missing some of this "act". The whole show started late so we had the pleasure of watching all 45 minutes of DJ Pauly D and I have to admit, it wasn't terrible. But I was there for the Backstreet Boys I would have sat through Lindsay Lohan performing an acapella version of her "single" Rumors...remember this trainwreck?
Literally nothing could have killed my mood and truthfully, Pauly D got the crowd going and played some pretty good music.Fast forward to 11:00pm. The boys have been on stage for probably an hour and a half. They've performed almost all of their biggest hits, about 3 or 4 new songs and did an awesome acapella set. They are about to set up the next song they're going to perform and the screens behind them turn off. They play the whole "come on, come on we're still performing" and everyone in the crowd is going nuts because we all think it's an act. Turns out...not an act. The city of Chicago has an 11pm noise curfew and ten minutes after 11 they turned off the screens and the boys' microphones. Brian ran backstage to bargain for more time, Nick was so angry he forcefully threw his suit coat on the stage (which was hilarious, he's my favorite) and the others got the crowd to chant "one more song, one more song". The mics were turned on just long enough for the boys to apologize, explain the situation and reveal that the Chicago Police were in fact shutting down the concert. They also tried to squeeze in a song completely unplanned and acapella but the cops didn't fall for it and the show was OVER. Over before they got to play their new single, "In a World Like This", "I Want it That Way" OR "Everybody." Needless to say the crowd went bananas. I was fearful there would be riot.
It was definitely not an ideal way for the show to end and everyone was definitely bummed, BUT the boys put on a fantastic show and were clearly upset and were very apologetic for what happened. At the show they promised Chicago they would come back and give them a full show and a few hours later posted this video on Facebook and Instagram:
Everyone at the concert knew that it wasn't the Backstreet Boys' fault and that it was out of their control. A lot of girls were blaming the Chicago Police, who were only doing their job and enforcing the rules. Some smart people realized the only person to blame was the production manager who was undoubtedly aware of the time restriction and somehow allowed the show to start nearly an hour late. BUT, I would say the blame was almost unanimously put on DJ Pauly D. Walking out of the pavillion we must have heard at least 100 drunken Backstreet Boys fans bitching about how long Pauly D played and if he would have cut down his time we could have seen all of BSB.
IT. WAS. HILARIOUS.
The rest of the night my mom and I were blaming every little thing on DJ Pauly D.
Our feet were sore from walking - Pauly D's fault.
Our cancelled flight earlier that morning - Pauly D's fault.
The creepy TV in our hotel room that was playing a static station when we walked in for the first time and then turned to it again on it's own late that night - Pauly D's fault.
Anyways, we are hoping and praying that the boys do another show in Chicago and honor the tickets of all who were there {they did that 14 years ago when they had to cancel a show in Minneapolis because Howie's sister passed away} because you KNOW we will be there!
Let's just hope DJ Pauly D is not.
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