Backstreet Boys - Souncheck 8/31/05
PADDLES...Set to 300... CLEAR!!!!!
We have a heartbeat...
Let's
just begin by saying that, short of actually getting _physical_ contact, I had
the best Backstreet day EVER Thursday, so sit back if you want, grab a drink and
read away. Ramble warnings apply...
When last we left our heroines they had been blacked out of their BSB concert
and the entire ampitheater was told to go to Marysville the next night, that
their tix would be honored there...but we already had tickets for Marysville -
3rd row to be exact - and I wasn't going to get caught up in a bunch of teenie
madness the next day if I could help it. There are times I feel my age
(most of the time, I don't, so I don't argue it so much).
Erin and I
decided the ticket announcement was a receipe for disaster so we left home at
10am the next morning for the 7:30pm concert, which sounds bad but we covered a
LOT of ground. After making a few stops for Starbucks, poster board, and
dog toys for AJs new puppy, we were on the road.
We got to the
ampitheater around 1 and our soundcheck passes said to check in at 4 - but the
staff at the theater didn't know what to do with us so we drove around, saw a
tour bus going in, talked to a parking attendant that Erin dubbed 'dippity doo
boy', settled into the car and played 'Go Fish' to pass the time. (Besides
often guessing which card the other one had just pulled, we managed to TIE at
'Go Fish' - how weird is that?!) Not long after, we
were kicked out because the parking wasn't 'open' yet, so we parked on the
side of the road until 3:30 when they said we could park in the parking lot
(again). We made signs for show, did our makeup, did our hair and changed
our clothes - all in Erins civic. ;-)
3:30 comes around, we get parked
and get our soundcheck wristbands. As a BSB Fan club member I entered a
contest during the summer to win soundcheck passes and managed to win!
Only 10 fan club members per show won and they could each bring a guest.
Erin was VERY happy about the guest part. :-) Its 4:30 (and just shy
of 100degrees) when they let us all in - stinky and hot, but we are
determined and get front row. Nick is to the left and looking TASTY in
basketball shorts, an orange shirt, a Boston RedSox hat and playing the electric
guitar.
<<THUD>>
Erin holds up a sign for AJ - "AJ...Can I have a SQUEEZE B 4 my wedding" and he says "Yes you can" with a smile! She's now a puddle and AJs looking tasty too - right down to his Bill the Cat tshirt. (Three cheers for Bloom County!). I'm sure the rest of the soundcheck was a blur to her because AJ planted himself on a stool right in front of her.
They sang Wierd World first. Nick was on the guitar, Brian goofed around and before long his 2yo Baylee toddled out to the stage and started dancing around. FREAKING ADORABLE!!! Brian even has a miniature mic stand with microphone for him and Baylee was singing along!
Kevin is on the piano and I don't have a good shot of him and Howie is standing RIGHT in front of me. Now, I'm not one much for Howie, but he was REALLY sweet! Talking to the fans and passing along stuff to the other guys. Someone threw up a shirt for him and he put it on! Someone else had given him a button the day before and he was wearing it and the girl was there - she was SO thrilled and told him so. He as VERY gracious.
After Weird World <Nick-THUD> they took questions from the group.
The first question was classic for Backstreet Fans..."You said yesterday that
you wouldn't sing If you Want It To Be Good Girl because you didn't
remember the lyrics - so we printed them for you. Can you sing it
now?"
The boys have said they HATE that song, that the label made them
record it, but its one of my oldie favorites and apparently I'm not alone.
Brian went over, got the lyrics and then bantered with Nick about it and
finally Nick did his opening lines of it and Brian filled in his and Kevins- it
was great!
Next Question was what do they do to pass the time on their buses.
AJ: "If you're Mr. Dorough here <points to Howie>, you
don't, you stay behind and go clubbing and leave the next day. I read or
watch movies.
Kevin: I don't remember what he said but it
had to do with just spending time with his wife
Brian gave
us an account of his morning - got up, Leighanne made breakfast, they watched a
little Dora the Explorer, he had a meeting, then he rocked Baylee for nap.
AJ said they didn't ask WHAT he HAD done and Brian said that was everyday
- every day with Dora. hahahahahaha
Nicks was the best of
all - He said he didn't do much, but liked looking out the windows and then he
said he had been reading more and said right now he was reading The DiVinci
Code. Erin leaned over and said to me "Nick reads?" heehee.
Another
question for Nick was if he was going to do more videos for 'Nicks Corner' on
'Weird World' (their fan club site) and he got really perked up then. He
said he had two more to do, that he was just waiting for good content. But
you could tell he just loved talking about the videos and that he enjoyed doing
them.
They sang again - Incomplete (sigh) and I spent most of
the song watching Nick either singing or watching Brian and Baylee. Nick seemed
really amused by Baylees antics and we caught him watching the little baby
backstreet on more than one occassion, causing my heart to skip multiple beats.
Erin had her sights on AJ of course.
They took another question about rescheduling Concord - Kevin took that one. Said they all felt really bad, that they had heard a car hit a transformer and that they had a full schedule coming up. That they would like to reschedule but right now they couldn't make any promises.
The last song they did was Just Want You To Know which Nick really rocks out on (LOVE IT!) and then they pose as a group and sign stuff for the fans. AJ told Erin he was trying to figure out how to get down to her (!), she offered to come up but security put the kabosh on that, but she gave him the toys for new dog. He loved them, told her that the squeeky toy (a 'Big Dog' chewing on 'BITE ME') looked like him when he was fighting for a toy. She asked his name and the Bernese Mtn Dogs name is Bernie...oooooh the originality. :-)
Kevin comes over and I tell him he was wonderful in 'Chicago' and he puts his hand over his heart and says 'Thank you'. I tell Howie they sounded fantastic on megaphones and he laughed. I asked Brian if there were plans for another acoustical tour and he just raised his eyebrows. Hopefully I put a bug in their ear about that. ;-)
So...heres where it really kicks ass (yes, it gets better)
I have my BSB denim jacket with me. I know it's 100 degrees, but I love that jacket. It's fiber optic and flashes, in sequence, BACK...STREET...BOYS... through the embroidery on the back. Its been a BSB and Aaron Carter concert staple for years now, it HAD to come regardless of temperature. I yell for Howie (he's closest) and hold up my jacket.
Me: Howie! I've had this jacket forever - can you all sign it for me?
Howie: Sure!
He motions to throw it to him which I do and then writes in the air so I toss him a sharpie that I had brought.
AAAAACCCCCCCCCCKKKKKK!!!!
So, I watch as Howie signs
it (!) and hands it to AJ who signs it (!). AJ tries to hand it back to
Howie and he tells me no - to pass it down. AJ holds it for Kevin while he
signs it (!) and then passes it to Nick <F**K!!!> Nick signs, hands
it to Brian and he signs. When it makes it to the end they can't figure
out where to goes back to (now they're at the other side of the stage) and Howie
talks to security, points to me and they bring it back!
I.
Am. So. Dead.
Between our pictures and our friends pictures,
I managed to get a picture with EACH of the guys holding or signing the
jacket!! There is even a fan video of it getting signed and passed! You
can see the video here (7.7mb
.wmv).
Another funny moment...the girl who had given Howie the button
asked him for a picture and he was laughing because he misunderstood her
Girl: "Noooooo, your BUTTON! You're wearing the button I gave you yesterday"
Howie: "Oh! I couldn't figure out why you would want a picture of my butt!"
(more smiling and laughing)
Girl: "thank you for keeping it"
Howie: "Oh...always" :-)
Howie wins the sweetness award. There is a reason why the boys call him 'Sweet D'
The boys left and Leighanne came out (Brians wife) and I told her that Baylee was adorable and she said "Could you believe him? What am I going to do when the tour is over?" She is, btw, entirely too beautiful. Kevins wife, Kristen, came out too - also far too
beautiful, but both are exceptionally nice and very sweet to the fans.
Needless to say, soundcheck FAR exceeded any expectation we had. Erin never did get her hug from AJ but she was thrilled with the interaction and I was floating from seeing Nick (who is really quite uncomfortable in front of people if he's not performing) and having
everyone sign my jacket.
Next up - Concert happenings and further adventures of the jacket...
Last installment -> Backstreet Boys in
Marysville