Two Concerts, Two Nights, and One Very Busy Anand

Last week, Anand attended two concerts back-to-back—and, of course, he had a story to tell about each one. I decided to wait a week before sharing this because sometimes you need a little time to sit back and appreciate the adventure.

As always, this is Anand’s story, Anand’s words—but from his favorite point of view: pretending to be Mom. 😄

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"Next Stop: Big Night Live. Metal band Butcher Babies performing live in Boston at North Station. The venue, Big Night Live, not North Station." — some commuter rail, subway, ferry, or bus announcer

And just like that, it's another concert outing for Anand. One concert a week? Sure. Two concerts in a row? That would be a bit too much! Well, I mean, from any parent's POV. From Anand's POV? It probably depends on the band that's performing. This 9th Stop in Anand's "Open World Expansion Tour" happens a few hours after our family concert outing in Mansfield at the Xfinity Center. Anand's first back-to-back concert outing! Or maybe his only back-to-back concert outing? As I said in my past blogs, when it comes to Anand, this man has been adventurous, whether it's conventions, community activities with his skill trainer, or in this case, another concert outing. As with the South Arcade concert last year, the Summer School Tour, and the BABYMETAL concerts this year, Anand attended another concert to see another metal band. This time, Butcher Babies at the Big Night Live venue in Boston near North Station. But this concert outing might be—how Anand would explain it—unlike anything he's ever attended.

Anand purchased a VIP ticket on August 1st, which included a pre-party containing a meet-and-greet with the band, a photo opportunity with them, a signed Butcher Babies poster, and a friendly cornhole competition followed by prize giveaways…something that Anand was less interested in. The VIP spots were limited, which was probably why Anand wanted to get the ticket in advance. He never tells me anything about this, because Mom would ask too many questions (and probably say no).

As with the Summer School Tour, Anand brought his see-through totem bag, packing his charging cables for his phone, Apple watch, and backup battery. I think reminding him earlier for a totem bag for the Summer School Tour worked. Telling him to walk from South Station to North Station? Not so much, since he planned to take an early train to Boston. Who knows what Anand would do in Boston for 7 hours? Especially after coming home very late.

Unlike Anand's past concert adventures, this concert happened on a Friday. Taking the train to Boston and back home was no problem at all! After getting some sleep, Anand boarded the Franklin train, got off at Back Bay, then took the Orange Line to North Station. Usually, he'd get off at South Station, then take the subway to wherever he'd go, but the inbound Franklin train stops at Back Bay on weekdays before arriving at South Station. I suggested the Orange Line goes to North Station, but Anand always tells me to let him do it his own way to shut me up. After all, he tells me countless times he can navigate the train system by himself…or get annoyed and yell, "Stop telling me how to explore Boston!" Now it made sense to me why Anand would not walk from South Station to North Station. Thankfully, we always talk about backup plans if a concert runs late.

After Anand arrived at North Station, he hung around that area, listened to music, grabbed a bite to eat, and charged his Apple watch and phone. The concert was at 6pm, but Anand's VIP ticket includes getting to the venue an hour early before the show started…until he got an email regarding the pre-party being cancelled. That didn't change his mind to go home, though. Few minutes after he settled in, aside from the anxiety he had of where to go, Anand was able to have a great night, which was enough to lower his anxiety…as well as getting a picture with the lead singer of Butcher Babies, and a free poster from a QR code he scanned. Maybe it was better than not getting a signed poster, but that's just Anand. Especially since he will not tell me everything.

When the concert ended, Anand FaceTimed me and Mr. Husband, saying he had such a great night, despite a "rollercoaster of a night." He went back to North Station, boarded the Orange Line to Downtown Crossing, the Red Line to South Station, then safely boarded the Franklin train home. Picking him up from the station on a late Friday night was no problem, unlike his past concert outings. While Dad and I were in Cape Cod, Anand was lucky to have his brother pick him up at Franklin.

I have to say, the massive development and growth coming from this man is a major change this year! Taking the train was my idea, but attending conventions and concert outings? All of it came from Anand himself! Even my family friends couldn't believe it! As expected, more posters on his walls…and more stories from Anand…pretending to be his mom. Seriously, Anand, when are you gonna take a break from concert outings?

Mom's introduction to Baby Metal - First of its kind - Concert outings

 Every now and then, Anand becomes the guest writer on my blog, and I always enjoy letting him tell his stories in his own way.

This time, he is sharing another stop in his ever-growing adventure list—and this one involves BABYMETAL, Halestorm, and Violent Vira at the Xfinity Center. So, I’ll step aside and let Anand tell you about it!

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"Next Stop: Xfinity Center in Mansfield, MA. Many popular artists perform here as part of their music tours. The bands performing tonight at the Xfinity Center are Babymetal, Halestorm, and Violent Vira." — some commuter rail, subway, ferry, or bus announcer

"We like it loud, Massachusetts!" — Lzzy Hale, lead singer of Halestorm.

The one line I got as a text message as I sat with Mr. Husband at the Xfinity Center. From Anand. That being said, I don't know what it is with him these days. Everything Anand brings up in the family group chat pops up randomly, but as all parents know, we don't know everything about our kids. Any sort of events coming from them can pop up randomly, and we never know how serious our kids are until they put it on the family calendar.

Early July, Anand got a notification on YouTube, alerting him about a Japanese metal band named BABYMETAL performing in Massachusetts. Would Anand tell me about this band? No, he wouldn't! But was he serious about a concert in Massachusetts? Yes, he was!

Unlike his first concert outing in Cambridge last year and the Summer School Tour concert on July 7th, 2026, this concert outing was done differently. This took place at the Xfinity Center in Mansfield. Not too far from us. It's like one of those places you hear about, but you never actually visit. Well, I mean, in Anand's point of view. A lot of his high school friends are familiar with the Xfinity Center, since they'd hear about many musical artists performing there. Secondly, Anand was interested in going, but Mr. Husband and I were also interested. This took Anand by surprise. He never asked me why I wanted to come with him. Probably because he thinks I don't like metal music. As mentioned in my past blogs, Anand and I don't always see each other eye-to-eye, but that's normal to him. Not to me, though.

As for the three bands performing at the Xfinity Center, I knew nothing about them, not even Mr. Husband! Only Anand knows about BABYMETAL and a little bit of Halestorm, but he never tells me anything about the music he listens to. He just wanted to go to this concert! As with his solo concert experiences, Anand knew what to expect: loudness, crowds cheering, everything he says is "totally normal" at concerts. None of that was too important to Anand, though. Getting pictures of the band, so he could make a poster was important to him. Just like his convention and past concert adventures. And it's all thanks to Anand's skill trainer for introducing him to Canva, the website where he designs his posters.

A day after Anand turned 26, he and Dad purchased three tickets for us three. Most seats were already booked and very pricey, but that was not the main focus for Anand. Just getting seats for me, Dad, and himself. Likely the only time where Anand was flexible. Only during his solo concert outings would Anand go near the front of the bands performing. Thankfully, there was no argument about me coming with Anand. But why would he bother asking why I was interested in going with him? I mean, I wouldn't attend a concert to see a band I've never heard of before. Neither would Anand. It's probably why concert outings may have been very rare in our family from his point of view. As mentioned in my other story where Anand saw South Arcade in Cambridge back in October 2025.

Funny as it sounds, Anand thinks I only listen to Hindi music my whole life, but I also listen to American music he's familiar with, such Jon Bon Jovi, Justin Timberlake, and other musical artists Dad has listened to. I asked Anand to send me a list of BABYMETAL songs so I could understand some of the mixed variety of music he listens to. After listening to a few of them, I told Anand I enjoyed some of the songs, including one that featured an Indian Folk metal band named "Bloodywood." That's when Anand told me that BABYMETAL is widely known for doing many "collabs" (as many music enthusiasts calls it) with other bands. Even a YouTube short that Anand sent me and Dad was another example.

After Anand's dentist appointment, the concert was all that Anand could think about…at least before Anand learned about the schedule. With the concert possibly ending past midnight, Anand told me and Dad that he can't do it. Thankfully, we're flexible. Anand would have enough sleep when we got home and before his next concert outing and I assured him once in a lifetime would we come home late.

We were seated in Section 304, Row U, and Seats 1, 2, and 3, then moved to Section 204, meaning Anand could get a bit closer to see the bands. Thursday was packed, to say the least. Anand knew the traffic going into the Xfinity Center would be crazy, so we left three hours before the concert started. We were also unsure of what to expect since this was our first visit to the Xfinity Center, but thankfully, there were food venues and concession stands. Around 7:20pm, the concert started and Anand was ready to take pictures of the band. Of course, there were times where Anand got annoyed with me, and a little bit with Dad, but other than that, once the show started, Anand started to feel less anxious about getting back home.

When the concert venue ended at 10:50pm, Anand was overjoyed. It made me so happy to see him having a great night at a concert, especially since we went as a family of three. Little did I know, concert outings and conventions will start to be more common in our family. Well, I mean, Anand going to these concerts and conventions by himself. At least I got to witness Anand's excitement in person, since I went with him and Dad. Family concert outings are to be far more rare for us, so I was happy to have this once-in-a-lifetime outing. At least there was no disagreement or arguments at the end of the concert. Little did we know, there was going to be more events after this 8th Stop in Anand's Open World Expansion Tour: Another concert outing in Boston…within a few hours.