I work a variety of jobs, one of which is a pretty special one where I get to work with some pretty cool people and do some pretty cool things. This week, I was fortunate enough to take one of those special people to the Justin Bieber concert in Des Moines. I'm not a typical concert-goer so it was an interesting experience. The only two other concerts that I have attended have been Garth Brooks concerts in both Denver and Des Moines. That being said, JB and GB put on incredibly different shows.

One of the things that I noticed at each concert was the crowd. You instantly felt an entirely different atmosphere. At Garth, there was a wide age span among concert goers, from people in their mid-twenties to sixties or even older. Everyone was nice and cordial with each other for the most part and just glad to be there. It was a large crowd but really, it felt like a very welcoming atmosphere. When it came to the Justin Bieber concert, it was filled with pre-teens and 20-somethings who were obsessed. The number of shirts that said "Bieber is Bae" that I saw on young children really kind of threw me for a loop. I saw young girls with their hair done so intricately that it reminded me of a prom hair style along with full makeup complete with fake eyelashes. I'm 22 years old and was not half way as dressed up as these children and can't pinpoint a point in my life in which I felt the necessity to do my makeup so intricately.

There has been a lot of rumbling about the fact that Justin Bieber lip-synced during the concert and I'm torn on my opinions here. There was so much intricate choreography that it was hard to criticize the use of a backtrack because I don't know about you, but there is no way that I would be able to do all of the dancing and still have a breath to sing with. That isn't to say that I'm not criticizing him for this. I still think that people who come out for these concerts expect the artist to perform their music and don't focus so much on the choreography. When I went to the Garth Brooks concert it wasn't so much choreography- there were no backup dancers. It was solely about the music which I really appreciated.

The energy of the concerts was vastly different. Justin didn't act like he wanted to be at the concert. He was devoid of energy and just seemed to be "there" in physical form rather than actually being present. He didn't have much audience interaction and didn't seem like he was really thankful for the thousands of fans who turned out for the concert. This is what bothered me the most about the entire concert. It was a great show, don't get me wrong, but he didn't take much time to thank his fans. I feel like regardless of your level of stardom you should still be humble enough to thank your fans for their support. I just didn't feel like Justin was thrilled to be there performing. It was a very long performance devoid of energy from the artist. The crowd was crazy excited to be there, so it would have been nice for him to show some of that same excitement. What really stands out to me about at Garth Brooks concert is that he is constantly amazed at how many people turn out to see him. He is always thanking people for coming and just acts like he genuinely wants you to be there and just wants to have a good time. It's a totally different experience.

I can't say that I wish I hadn't gone -- that's not the case at all. But I do think that JB could have done much better than he actually did at the concert. So many people are focusing on the lip syncing but I think that the focus should be on his lack of energy and emotion. That's what stands out to me.