| On Sunday Debi and Micki met me and Diana at the Hard Rock Hotel. I got in contact with Aaron�s tour manager, Mark, who volunteered meet & greet passes for later in the day right before the concert. He also told me that he was no longer singing back up for Aaron, which he wasn�t too happy about. When we met up with him an hour or so later, Mark said that they had a whole new band (except for Stan) who would be singing back up and had 6 brand new dancers. (even though Natasha told me last month that she was going to be touring with Aaron this summer, I guess plans changed) Mark told us that the Jukebox Tour was great and that Aaron was really having fun, which of course is always good to hear. After a lot of commotion at the m&g line, we were escorted up to the balcony of The Joint to wait for Aaron and watch a little of Jump 5�s sound check. A few minutes later I heard a squeaky �Hello� come from directly behind me and I knew immediately that it was Aaron. Apparently he was giving Diana her own personal welcome. ;) Aaron stood at one side of the balcony for the most laid-back m&g I�ve ever seen. There was no table, no line, no �pictures of but not pictures with� warning � just Aaron and a group of fans. Everyone was REALLY orderly, taking turns getting autographs and pictures WITH Aaron before being escorted back downstairs. We tried to hang in the back of the group to maybe get a little more personal time, but we realized that EVERYONE was getting personal time so we didn�t have to worry about it. We snapped away as various people posed with Aaron and then got in the self-formed line to wait our turn. After the m&g we headed downstairs to the entrance line. Once inside The Joint we decided to avoid the section in front of the stage and settled at the railing of the first raised level, which was about 20 feet from the stage. No heads in the way, a perfect view. While we were waiting for the main event, we took turns checking out the merchandise stand. For anyone who�s wondering, they are selling several t-shirts (some from last summer, some new), a spaghetti strap tank top, a bandana, teddy bears, posters, pictures, lanyards, hats, key chains, pins, and several items that light up. (no tour books) The t-shirts are $30 each and I think everything else was less expensive than that. Greg Raposo tried to win over some fans by gyrating and taking off his shirt, and Jump 4 (one was sick) lip-synched through a semi-entertaining set before Aaron hit the stage around 8:15. The hour and a half concert that followed was pure fun. Aaron started in perfect Vegas form with a tribute to Elvis, complete with a white fringed jumpsuit and a dance move that I can only describe as a pulsing chest/arm thing that I�ve been imitating for the past 24 hours. After a few songs Aaron left the stage and the dancers did a somewhat long swing dancing routine. Aaron returned wearing a white shirt with a black suit and tie for his Beatles segment, which included two girl dancers repeatedly smacking him in the head during I Want To Hold Your Hand. Next Aaron stripped off the shirt, jacket, and tie on stage (the only stripping of the evening) to reveal an orange Hawaiian shirt for the Beach Boys portion of the show. California Girls was particularly special for the four of us. :) Continuing to move through the decades, the next segment of the show was dedicated to disco. Aaron wore a butterfly collar striped shirt with bright orange/red pants as he performed covers of LOTS of 70s songs including Stayin Alive, I Just Want To Be Your Everything (from the Disco Ball special), and Outstanding (from the PPV). The choreography for this part of the show was FABULOUS, complete with every classic 70s move right down to the John Travolta point. Next came my favorite part of the concert: Rocker Aaron. Jeans, Bon Jovi t-shirt with �Kickin Ass� written on the back, red Converse shoes, black fingerless gloves � it was like Aaron was channeling his older brother and doing it VERY well. His blonde/pink/black streaked hair fit in perfectly as he was head banging, jumping off the drum stand, and singing with the attitude of every 80s hair band. Aaron transformed into a rock star before our eyes. His renditions of Here I Go Again and The Search Is Over were dead on perfect and gave me chills. Rocker Aaron transformed into Michael Jackson as he tossed his fingerless gloves to the audience in favor of a single silver one. This section was definitely the choreography highlight of the evening for me. Aaron and his dancers recreated the Beat It video with perfection, from Aaron angrily trying to break up a dancer fight to every dance move lifted from MJ himself. It was AWESOME. One of Aaron�s male dancers performed a fabulous solo routine to Billie Jean as Aaron left the stage to get ready for the next portion of the show: a tribute to Stevie Wonder. This was supposed to be the last segment, but after Aaron and his dancers took their bows and the stage went dark, Aaron�s voice came through the speakers saying he had left something out: his own songs! So back they came for the encore, Aaron dressed in a surprisingly attractive black sequined jumpsuit, red hat, red choker, and red and black belts. He performed an extended medley of I Want Candy, That�s How I Beat Shaq, and Aaron�s Party. Then came the ballad Do You Remember, which he nailed to almost-cd perfection. The final song was Baby It�s You, which just happens to be my favorite Aaron song so the concert ended on a VERY high note for me. But it STILL wasn�t over because after the dancers exited and the band stopped playing, Aaron reappeared at the drum stand for a little surprise � he wanted to play the drums for us! He played an impressive 1-2 minute drum solo that would have made Nick jealous before he exited the stage for the final time around 9:45. As you might expect, Aaron�s younger fans seemed a little confused about the songs he was singing, but a lot of them were getting into it just because they�re fun songs whether you know the words or not. And of course quite a few of the parents seemed to really be into the music too. I can�t even explain how much fun it was, words don�t do it justice. It was one of the most entertaining concerts I have ever been to, although Aaron�s concerts are ALWAYS very entertaining. I wish that all of Aaron�s fans could see the Jukebox Tour to witness what a great performer he is no matter what he�s singing. If you�re going to see Aaron live, trust me, you WILL have fun. |
| Las Vegas July 27, 2003 |
 |
| We made Diana go first because she had never met him before. Unfortunately Aaron got distracted by someone in the crowd while Diana was trying to talk to him, but he started paying attention when she asked him when his next cd would be released. He said it was probably going to come out in February, but she didn�t even hear his answer because now SHE was distracted just being in Aaron�s presence. |
 |
| Next was Micki, who wanted Aaron to sign a magazine picture of him biting Nick�s arm from the Z100 concert last summer. When Aaron saw it, he pulled it aside to show someone, and then he said, �If that was real, there would have been blood.� Micki also got him to sign a t-shirt for her niece. (no �one item only� limits!) |
 |
| I went next and had a close up shot of Aaron that I took at the m&g at Great America in October to be autographed. According to Diana, he said �ooooh� when he saw it. Aaron told me that his hair was different now and took off his hat to reveal PINK hair. Not totally pink, but chunks of pink (and chunks of black as we found out during the concert). I asked him why in the world he dyed his hair pink and he didn�t really answer. Then I asked, �Were you just in a pink mood?� and he laughed and said, �It�s temporary, don�t worry.� |
 |
| Debi was the last of our group to get Aaron time. She told him that we�d be seeing him again in Paso Robles, and he said, �Oh you�re gonna be there Thursday?� I�m impressed that he knows his tour schedule so well! Debi also said that we had followed him to Valdosta and that we missed him, and Aaron replied, �Awww really? I missed you guys too.� It was probably the best m&g I�ve ever been to because it was so disorganized. There were no rules and yet everyone behaved respectfully. Everyone got personal Aaron time and pictures with him, and the four of us each took individual pictures. |
| More pictures from Las Vegas Jukebox Tour Paso Robles July 31, 2003 *coming soon* Back to Reviews/Encounters Home |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |