Birthdays and Boybands
Birthdays and Boybands
Concert Dates: June 21-22, 2025
Locations: Cohassett and Greenwich
I was ecstatic that my 37th Birthday fell on the same weekend as the Pop2000 tour stops in Cohasset, MA and Greenwich, RI. I couldn’t think of a better way to spend my birthday than with my favorite boybanders!
My last Pop2000 show was in Cape Cod last year.
VIP with BBMAK
The biggest highlight of the birthday weekend was spending time with BBMAK. I am very thankful that BBMAK made my birthday extra special. The other artists did offer VIPS but I chose BBMAK because I love hanging out with them. I also don’t see them as often. BBMAK is also more affordable than other VIPs. Their VIPs are more than just meet and greet. You spend quality time with them. They are really great guys.
On Saturday, I did their Unpredictable, Unplugged, & Up-Close VIP Experience. Fans meet with BBMAK prior to the concert. They do an acoustic set and answer any questions from fans. BBMAK actually surprised me by singing Happy Birthday to me in their dressing room! With Ste playing the guitar! The gesture was incredibly sweet. I was in total shock and incredibly touched!
On top of that, I also chose “Still On Your Side” Serenade where BBMAK sang a song to me after the show. BBMAK altered the words to “Back Here” and added my name to the lyrics. It was so beautiful in an acoustic style. They also ended up singing “Happy Birthday” to me again and “Come On Eileen” when I entered their dressing room. It made me so happy!. As a kid, I used to hate “Come On Eileen” because I was always teased by bullies with that song. Now as an adult, BBMAK has my permission to sing that song.
On Sunday at Greenwich, Rhode Island, I decided to gift myself a birthday present with the Team Bullet Train VIP. The Bullet Train VIP is where you get to spend almost half the day with BBMAK. My day began with watching BBMAK’s soundcheck. An exclusive perk! I got to watch the band work closely with the soundstage team. The band wanted to make sure their mics are working properly and they could hear each other through the ear pieces. It was cool to see how the whole show gets put together. I can tell BBMAK worked tirelessly to perfect the show. At the same time, I can tell Christian, Mark and Ste share a strong working relationship. They were laughing and joking with each other in between songs. Christian kept looking at me when they were rehearsing “More Than Words”. Though I was told not to distract them! His blue eyes and smile are irresistible.
After they finished the sound check, I got to chat with each guy individually. Ste was especially talkative to me. I could tell he wanted to make sure that I had the best VIP experience. Later, we joined other fans at the main VIP. BBMAK treated fans with an exclusive acoustic performance of “Collide”. They also answered questions from the fans. Then we took pictures and they gave away autographed photos. After the main VIP fans left, I stayed back and enjoyed some drinks with Mark, Ste and Christian. We talked more about the music industry and the boys’ experience. I was also pleasantly surprised about how the guys also wanted to get to know me as a person. After the show, I met up with BBMAK again for a post-show drinks celebration and hang out commemorating the success of the concerts.
Concert Highlights
Here are my favorite highlighted moments from the two days of Pop2000 concert.
Up-tempo Songs
BBMAK opening their setlist with “Get You Through The Night” instead of “Out Of My Heart”. Mark, Ste, and Christian definitely got the crowd energized with their high uptempo song. The song also strongly highlighted Ste’s vocals.
O-Town singing “All For Love” harking back to the band’s beginnings on “Making The Band”. The crowd was absolutely going wild and singing and dancing along. O-Town just fed off the crowd’s enthusiasm.
O-Town’s performance of “Off” because they just nailed the choreography routine. The performance also strongly highlights Erik’s husky voice.
O-Town bringing Brad onstage and singing “Every Other Time”. The friendship and brotherhood between O-Town and Brad is highly displayed onstage. They just have fun performing together.
Boyband Ballads
Ryan Cabrera singing his number one TRL song, “True”. The song definitely brings a lot of heart and soul. This song is special to Ryan because it was his first number TRL video. Even though the girl he wrote the song about turned him down! The crowd sings along as Ryan plays the song.
BBMAK performing “I Can Tell”. It’s one of my favorite BBMAK songs. The words are incredibly moving. I love the melody especially when Mark plays his shaker. I actually had them sing the song to me during Spotlight Serenade last year. Christian and Mark’s voices are quite prominent in the song. They clearly wore their hearts on their sleeves, singing that song.
BBMAK’s acoustic performance of “More Than Words”. This performance was consistent with their Fairfield performance, if not definitely better. I was still in awe at Mark’s vocal abilities to effortlessly reach the high notes at the very end of the song.
O-Town performing “Sky Dive” off their “Lines and Circles” album. Aside from “All Or Nothing”, it is O-Town’s most passionate and emotional song. This original song marks O-Town’s risky return to music back in 2014. The song also allows Dan and Jacob’s voices to stand out.
O-Town brought Brad Fischetti of LFO out and performing“Girl On TV” and honoring Brad’s late bandmates, Rich Cronin and Devin Lima. Always a special moment. You could feel Rich and Devin’s spirits in the room.
Chris and O-Town Delivering NSYNC Nostalgia
Chris Kirkpatrick singing “Thinking of You (I Drive Myself Crazy)” live for the first time in over 20 years. I was absolutely ecstatic! It is my favorite NSYNC song. Chris’s voice just sounds amazing.
Chris and O-Town performing NSYNC’s “Space Cowboy”. The beginning choreography was on point and very in sync! The crowd was screaming and fangirling! They even got Brad to come out and rap Lisa “Left Eye” Lopez’s lyrics.
“It’s Gonna Be Me” and “Pop” performances delivered even more nostalgia and excellent dance routines. I’m amazed at the momentum O-Town and Chris still contained. Chris’s voice definitely fits nicely as a substitute to Justin and JC’s original vocals. Chris was fierce as he performed on stage and totally lit up the room.
Finale
O-Town performing “All Or Nothing” and inviting the rest of the Pop2K tour mates to come out. It’s always a special moment when BBMAK, Chris Kirkpatrick and Brad Fischetti join O-Town onstage and sing O-Town’s biggest song. I also loved when Ryan came out with them on Rhode Island. He rarely joins in. True Boyband Brotherhood. Let’s also claim Ryan as a honorary boybander!
Post-Show Meet Up with Chris Kirkpatrick
I got to meet Chris after the Cohasset show on my Birthday. He definitely has gained more confidence as a host and performer during the pop2000 show. I have a feeling since Justin went on tour last year, Chris felt like he should step up his game knowing fans will be going to both Justin Timberlake and Pop2000 shows. I told him how happy I was when he sang “(Thinking of You”, I Drive Myself Crazy)”. He gave me a hug. I can also say he still has that dry sense of humor.
Final Reflections
I truly enjoyed spending my birthday at the Pop2000 tour. The Boybanders, especially BBMAK made my day extra special. There’s a reason why I always come back to the Pop2000 tour. BBMAK, Ryan Cabrera, O-Town, Brad Fischetti and Chris Kirkpatrick consistently deliver incredible performances and bring fans back to the late 90s/early 2000s era of MTV/TRL/Pop Music. Also, the guys are awesome people on a personal level. I look forward to more Pop2000 tours, O-Town concerts and BBMAK concerts!
