I survived Justin Bieber at the State Fair
They should make T-shirts with that logo on it. I'd wear one, and I'll bet half the parents who were at the Maryland State Fairgrounds last night for Bieber-mania would, too.
Bieber fever is real, folks. My ears still hurt from all the screaming. And I woke up with his hit "Baby" stuck in my head.
I had two stories in today's paper, a scene piece about people at the fair, and a Bieber concert review. And here's a photo gallery from the show, courtesy of Sun photog Gene Sweeney Jr.
For some reason, Bieber kept dashing off back stage between songs and then reappearing a minute or two later. Meanwhile, an a capella group would sing some pop hits, or the video screens would display a montage of Bieber photos and video. Then he would pop back out -- sometimes in a new outfit, sometimes not -- and play another song. It felt like Bieber was a guest at his own show. Bieber sang most of his songs, and lip-synched one or two ...
Of course, none of this mattered to the throng of 12,500 shrieking teenagers and their parents. They were pumped just to be in the same zip code as the pop phenom.
This wasn't my best review (due to print deadlines, I only had 30 minutes to write it), but at least it's finished. If you were at the fair yesterday, I was the dude sitting on the grass to the side, hunched over a laptop, furiously typing. I would have written more on my phone, but it got cold around 9:30 p.m., and it was hard for me to hit the little buttons with frigid fingers.
OK, back to holiday chilling. Happy Labor Day, everybody!
Erik Maza is a features reporter at the Baltimore Sun. He writes for several sections of the Sun paper and contributes weekly columns on music and nightlife. He also writes and edits the Midnight Sun blog. He often covers entertainment, business, and the business of entertainment. Occasionally, he writes about Four Loko, The Block, the liquor board, and those who practice "
Comments
"For some reason, Bieber kept dashing off back stage between songs and then reappearing a minute or two later."
--Yeah... let me be the first to say that crack is a nasty drug.
Way to take one for the team, Sessa! Bieber has some talent and I have nothing against the kid, but that concert sounds like my idea of living hell.
Posted by: Ryan Graham | September 6, 2010 2:10 PM
wow u survived!
Posted by: NJA5Y101 | September 6, 2010 2:24 PM
Good job, Sam! I am sure you were under a tight deadline. I thought you and Erica Green did a fine reporting job. I am happy you survived. As much as I'd like to tease the little followers, I remember losing my shiz over Donny Osmond, Shaun Cassidy and Leif Garret when I was a pre-teen.
Posted by: Kat Hudson | September 6, 2010 2:27 PM
Encouraging ticket holders to arrive at the fair early to gain entrance to a $50 per ticket sold out show in a field, attempting to enter at your assigned time and waiting in an hour plus line, herding 12,000 plus people through two entrances, NO security in the field which had a mosh pit feel, fathers with kids on their shoulders obstructing the view of others, crying little ones because they couldn't even see the screen much less Justin Bieber......I could go on...it was poorly organized and unsafe...disgusting!
Posted by: Pam Ayd | September 7, 2010 11:45 AM
If we stop talking about him, he'll just...go...away...
Posted by: Rick | September 7, 2010 12:30 PM
A "mosh pit feel" at a teenybopper concert?
Was it the 12-year-olds or was it their parents who were violently stomping around in circles, deliberately but gleefully smashing into each other? Was it the stage-diving or the crowd surfing that needed security to intervene?
Maybe this Bieber guy rocks a little more than we thought!
Posted by: Pokey | September 7, 2010 12:41 PM
Hey justin i would love to meet you and sing a song for you love ya!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: Tykera | September 8, 2010 7:15 PM
Man, he's got to rid of that headset. It looks like here's got a cork in his mouth.
Posted by: Stebbin | September 11, 2010 8:15 PM