On Saturday, August 12th, 2023, I finally fulfilled my teenage dreams by attending a Jonas Brothers concert.
I remember finding out about the concert in the spring and lamenting over how expensive the good seats at Yankee Stadium would cost. I found out a coworker’s daughters and neice got nosebleed seats, so I considered going for a cheaper ticket.
A few weeks later, Nadia, a friend from college, mentioned she’d be sitting in the 400s. I started seriously considering buying a seat near hers so that we could arrive and leave the stadium together.
The day before my birthday, my mom asked me what I wanted as a gift. I immediately told her I wanted Jonas Brothers concert tickets.
I was ecstatic.
I’ve been a Jonas Brothers fan since 2007. I guess that makes me one of the OGs. I’d waited over 15 years for this, and it was finally happening.
In the weeks before the concert, another coworker was telling me about his daughters’ experience at the Taylor Swift Eras Tour. They went to the show at MetLife Stadium, and even though he arrived at 10pm to pick them up, they couldn’t find him until midnight.
I was super worried this would be the case at Yankees Stadium. I was in a worse predicament having to rely on public transportation to get back home, so I was happy Nadia agreed to wait for me after the concert.
The day of the show I went to a coworker’s wedding ceremony beforehand in the Bronx, so I was already nearby. After I changed out of my wedding guest clothes and into my concert ensemble (cheetah pants from this inspo pic of Nick), my fiance and I went to dinner at one of the restaurants that would be catering our reception next year.
It started pouring on the way into the restaurant. I was glad to have my umbrella. Dinner at Patricia’s on East Tremont was super filling (they even gave us free pizza!) so I wasn’t worried about having to buy expensive Yankee Stadium food later.
We then drove around a bit before heading to Yankee Stadium only to find out that the surrounding streets were blocked off to cars. I walked about five blocks to get in line and accidentally left my umbrella in my fiance’s car 😭
I told him not to worry about trying to drive back a few blocks to meet me for the umbrella, which I regretted later.
Gates 6 and 8 at Yankee Stadium were absolute chaos when I arrived. A guard started screaming to people not to try getting in line there. He did his best to shuffle the new arrivals to gates 2 and 4.
I called Nadia to let her know I was heading toward the other gates. It was perfect timing as she was right across the street walking in from the Metro North path with a friend.
The lines were filled with fellow fangirls wearing concert tees and red dresses (“Burnin’ Up”). There were some dads and boyfriends/husbands in attendance as well.
As soon as we got inside, we were handed concert bracelets with strobe lights. Nadia made a beeline for the merch table to see if she could get one of the sweaters she saw advertised at the Manhattan pop up earlier in the day. One of Nadia’s other friends asked me who my favorite Jonas Brother is and when I told her she handed me a photocard of Nick Jonas.
A few moments later, a woman came stomping through the mezzanine in sunglasses and heels with a crowd of body guards and fans following her with cell phone cameras.
I began slapping Nadia’s arm. “OMIGOSH THAT’S PRIYANKA!” I screamed. We were all speechless. I wish I’d gotten it on video.
We finally got through the merch line to see everything close up about 25 minutes later. I ended up buying The Program for $25. I think it was the cheapest thing at the table and is a cool memento for my bookshelf. Nadia ended up buying almost all the concert tees and a tote bag.
By now, Lawrence, the opening act, was almost over. I’d never heard of them before receiving the text message from the Jonas Brothers that morning about the opening performance. We found a bathroom closer to our seats with a shorter line and then went our separate ways to find our sections.
At around 8:20pm, the show began with an instrumental version of “Wings,” one of my faves on The Album.
Everyone’s concert bracelets began lighting up the night at Yankee Stadium. It was glorious.
I had so much fun screaming the lyrics and dancing to songs from their self-titled album. 13-year-old Dana was really the one having a blast during the first half of the show. My favorite performances were “Games” and of course, “When You Look Me in the Eyes.”
During intermission, I got a margarita in a cute Yankees branded shaker witha baseball cap. It was way overpriced but at least it’s something fun I can display in my glass cabinet.
It was then that it began to pour rain. The awning above the 400s sections were absolutely useless. I was drenched for the rest of the show.
The second half featured a few songs that I wasn’t as familiar with since I started getting picky about which tracks I liked from each album after Lines, Vines and Trying Times.
I was so happy that Nick and Joe decided to perform some of their solo music that night. I danced so hard to “Jealous” and “Cake by the Ocean”!
At one point in the concert, the Jonas Brothers mentioned that some of the people in the audience weren’t even born when their self-titled album was released. Nadia told me later that some teenagers behind them startes squealing at that very moment. She found out they were actually 16.
“A cane materialized when they told us that,” Nadia’s friend joked. Being an OG fan comes at a cost, man.
Overall, I had an amazing time. Loved that they brought out Big Rob for “Burnin’ Up” and their saxophonist Gabi Rose is phenomenal. I was almost hoping Miley Cyrus would show up for “Before the Storm” at one point but that didn’t happen.
Getting back home wasn’t so bad either. I met Nadia and her friend at the bottom of a staircase and we walked to the Metro North together. A group of guys in the park were playing Jonas Brothers music as thousands of fans trekked toward the station after 11pm. It was awesome.
Until we got up the stairs at 153rd-Yankee Stadium.
Station guards checked tickets before we went down to the platforms. I lost Nadia and her friend on the way down the stairs, but Nadia is super tall so I found her easily. Love having tall friends!
The platform was super crowded to the point that we were fully prepared to not fit on the 12:04am train to Westchester. I truly feel bad for anyone who had to transfer to an Amtrak train after getting off the Metro North at that hour. I was already falling asleep.
We managed to get on the train, thankfully. I somehow found a seat next to a manspreader who barely moved his bag to make enough room for me. Even the conductor complained when two girls tried to sit down in seats where two bookbags were because apparently they were his. “There’s no where else for me to put them,” he claimed.
TF?! There were like 300 people in that one car, miss me with that ish!
Anyway, Nadia’s friend dropped me off at my house to avoid anymore soaking from the rain on her way back to New Jersey.
I was in bed by 2am I think. Totally worth it. Would do again.
The Whisper Box 
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