Jingle Ball rocks
By Erin Mellini
December 23, 2005
Daily record

Annual concert is the place to see plenty of stars

The holidays are a time for tradition. For Colleen Patterson of Randolph, tradition is going with a friend to Jingle Ball at Madison Square Garden in New York every year. The concert is radio station Z100's holiday gift to music lovers around the tri-state area.

Patterson, 20, has attended Jingle Ball from the time she was a student at Randolph High School. Now a junior at Cabrini College in Radnor, Pa., the elementary education major went along with a friend -- me -- to this year's event and it was the best Christmas present either of us could have received.

"My friends and I try to catch as many concerts a year as we can, because we all enjoy the same kinds of music," Patterson said. "Recently, we saw Green Day at Giants Stadium. In January, we're going to see Yellowcard in Philly. But Jingle Ball is the ultimate event, because so many top artists are there all for one show."

Jingle Ball 2005, held Dec. 16, was a knockout. Performers included Kanye West, Shakira, Sean Paul, Frankie J, Ludacris, Fall Out Boy, The Click Five and Chris Brown. The popular boy band of the late '90s, Backstreet Boys, also was there, a special treat for their fans since the group had disbanded temporarily after seven years of non-stop touring and recording.

Now back together, the group recorded that night's performance of its new song, "Weird World." The song is available for download at Z100.com. All the proceeds from each download will benefit the American Red Cross to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

While it was fun to hear the Backstreet Boys perform some new recordings, it's always a treat to hear them go back to old standards with a song like "I Want It That Way" from their 1999 "Millennium" album. Judging by the crowd's enthusiastic response, we weren't the only ones who felt that way.

This year, though, Z100 didn't save the best for last. My friend and I thought that the performances up until the last two were exciting and really got the audience pumped, but Shakira and Chris Brown, while good performers in their own right, were kind of a let-down after such a hyped show.

If we had to pick that night's top closing acts, we would have picked Ludacris, Kanye West or the Backstreet Boys. Their sets that night would have left you wanting more. Shakira and Chris Brown were disappointing in that regard.

Even a newer band like The Click Five, which is just catching on with its hit song "Just the Girl," got better crowd participation and reaction than a veteran like Shakira.

Chris Brown, who at this point in his career has only one hit song, "Run It," was like bringing a rookie in to pitch the final inning of the World Series with the game on the line. You know he's going to blow it.

For the fourth consecutive year, proceeds from Jingle Ball benefit Musicians on Call, a nonprofit organization that brings live and recorded music to the bedsides of people in healthcare facilities.

A new gimmick that seems to be popping up in concerts everywhere is the text messages or photos that can be sent from your cell phone to a given number and are then seen by the whole crowd on video screens on stage. At Jingle Ball, Cingular was the sponsor.

My friend and I had a good time sending messages like: "Randolph, N.J., is in the house" and "Ha, ha! We've been here five times!" in response to another person's text saying, "I've been here two years in a row!"

Despite a few disappointments, Jingle Ball 2005 was one of the best concerts around. If you're on a tight concert budget, it's a good way to see some of today's top recording stars all on one stage.