Grace really wanted to see Jesse McCartney in concert. He was having a great year. "Leavin'" was number one on the radio. Departure is an great album!
The concert was at the Orpheum. It's cool because this is where they hold auditions for American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance. I really liked this venue. It was small and quaint. There wasn't a metal detector check, so we were free to roam with our cameras. We had orchestra seats, row H! Alissa and Kelley went too =]
Jordin Sparks performed first. "Tatoo" and "One Step at a Time" were one of the first songs she sang. Those were the only ones knew, so I wasn't sure what to look forward to. I felt like I was watching an episode of American Idol, without the judges' critiques. She didn't do much. It's her and her style. She did make an effort to smile and wave to her fans. The girls in front of me were estatic when she flashed them a heart.
During intermission, we met up with the girls upstairs in the mezzanine/balcony. They spotted Travis Garland in the audience. They had gotten pictures, and a bunch of girls lined up to get their own pictures. Most of them didn't know who he was, but they still wanted pictures.
Jesse's set was so good! He wore a "Sexy Back" type suit, and his backgroud singers also served as background dancers. It was almost like a boyband. He was so cute! He sang most of the songs on Departure. He also sang his hits, "Beautiful Girl" and "She's Not You." Sadly, he didn't sing "Right Where You Want Me." During "Oxygen," a new song, he chose a girl to come up on stage with him. He serenaded and seduced her. We were all like WHOA. We were also jealous.
After, we went to the back to try to meet him. There were about 20 other people waiting too. Travis was there again, and he stopped for second round pictures with us. We can't say the same goodness of Jordin or Jesse. We waited for a long time. When Jesse came out, he dashed straight to his car without even waving at us. It was kind of lame.
I still enjoyed the concert. I just won't wait for him ever again.
When Grace and I got to the Staples Center, there were a lot of people checking in. All volunteers got t-shirts. We were assigned to a table and chose our station for the assembly line. We were stuffing school supplies such as paper, binders, notebooks, calculators, pens, and highlighters into bags that will be distributed to 5,000 teens in need.
Once we started, we were all fired up! Twenty minutes went by very quickly, and we had put together so many bags by then.
It was mostly kids working and they were all huge balls of energy. We met a lot of cool people and got to hang with a few familiar faces.
Varsity Fanclub
Honestly, the work we did was not hard at all. It was super easy to put supplies into a bag. But all the work we did is going to make a difference to over 5,000 teens who wouldn't be able to get those supplies themselves.
If you saw the Teen Choice Awards, DoSomething.org was everywhere. You can find out more on their website.
We encourage everyone to go out there and DO SOMETHING.
We finally got to meet Laura from theV Factory So Cal Street Team, along with her sister. We also met Kelley, Lisa, and Alissa. Their posters were quite BEAUTIFUL. They worked really hard!!
I arrived at Hollywood/Highland a little after 3. My friends were there since 12 and got to see VFC and the Clique Girls soundcheck.
The concert started and the Clique Girls were so good! They have powerful voices for 11-year-olds! One of them looks like Selena Gomez with blonde hair. Their harmonies are awesome.
Varsity Fanclub came out and performed after. They were quite awesome. They danced in the HOT and BRIGHT sun, while they sang their hearts out. At one point, the batteries in David's mic died. Drew slickly traded with him. At least we were sure, now, that they were singing live!
They were almost finished performing "Lost and Found" when SUDDENLY, the SOUND CUTS OUT. No mics, no background music. They were very professional, and finished the song. We couldn't hear, but we could see them dance.
While they equipment was being fixed, VFC stalled with a little Q&A. After a few more songs, they finally performed "Future Love."
They were going to have a meet and greet after the concert, but they had to change first. As we were waiting, I noticed the Teen Choice Awards Pre-Party red carpet had begun, and I see this guy. Mind you, the pre party was at Level 3, we were on level one. So, I'm looking up and I can only see his back, but I start FREAKING OUT. I pull Grace, and we RUN up the stairs. It was JC CHASEZ from NSYNC! Oh my gosh!!!! 10 years. It's been 10 years-- one-zero--but I still love him! We made it up there and were able to say hi. It was INCREDIBLE.
10-year dream coming true
We decided to forget about the VFC meet and greet and stayed at the red carpet. It was cool until they kicked out everyone but media. Varsity Fanclub went on the red carpet too! They liked hat. We got cool videos from Danny Noriega from American Idol
and Megan Jette Martin from Camp Rock! She kindly did the "Whatever, major loser" thing and the "Too Cool" shoulder move for us!
Jordin Francis and Roshan Fegan were there too! We got a picture with Jordin and kept calling out "Ro! from the Ro and Co show!"
Lauren and Lo from the Hills walked right past us!
After all of the craziness, we ate at uWink. It is such a cool restaurant, very high tech. You order on the touch-screen computer and you can play games while you eat! It's also easy to pay individually.
Grace and I took pictures with VFC's colorful mic stands before we parted ways. I saw Cole and Dylan Sprouse as I exited the parking structure.
