¬ san francisco, ca - 8.11.98

August 11th FINALLY came! I had been waiting for this day 'til April 4th! The day I'd finally get to see the BSB, live in concert! Plus I'd get to MEET them! WOW!! I was going to meet HOWARD DWAINE DOROUGH!! And of course Nick, AJ, Brian and Kevin...but Howie!! WOW!!!

I got up, dressed, ate beakfrast (I even remember what I had!), yada yada yada, etc etc etc, and we were off to San Fransisco!!

We left at about 9:30am, even thought the concert started at 8:00pm and it only took about an hour or so to get to San Fransisco from where we lived. My Dad had a few things to do in San Fransisco first. When we got done doing what we came so early for, we still had 7 hours until the show started! Yowch. So, we drove around a bit, got lost, got found, went to get lunch (and I actually ate! lol ^_-), and went off to Concord Pavilion. When we got there, we still had about 5 more hours. But, to go backstage, we needed to meet these two ladies (Leaona and Kelly, I belive their names were) at 5:30, so really we only had about an hour and a half. We sat down on the grass while we were waiting, and out of no where come these three girls behind us, shouting about how cool Nick and AJ were. All they said was stuff like "Like, oh mah God, DUDE! Nick and AJ are, like, SO, like, totally cool, DUDE! HEY DUDE, have you, like, seen AJ's new hairdue, DUDE!? Yo DUDE, I'm laying an egg, DUDE!" Yeah. I know...we looked behind us, and these girls are really small EIGHT year olds, I swear...DUDE! They were so abnoxious...and I thought my little brother was annoying! Then we moved some where else...

Then, after about three hours of waiting...grrr...we finally meet up with this "Leaona" person and the other people going backstage. But you know what? Both "Kelly", AND THE BOYZ are late!! Then, after another hour of waiting in the hot sun, Kelly shows up, but we end up waiting ANOTHER hour or so because the Boyz are late. Then rumors start that we aren't going backstage after all, and then we are going back stage again, and it's all so CONFUSING!! Then, we finally get moving, but wait ANOTHER half-hour in this room on the side of the stage, and I swear it was at least 110 degrees in there, and they say the Boyz are "getting dressed". Whatever... but hey, at least I got Obie to notice me!! You know...Obie. The guy who plays the sax, and is probably often mistaken for AJ cuz of his hair? He's kin'a cute...in that AJ-ish sorta way. I didn't get his autograph, but oh well. I also saw AJ's mom, Denise. Then, after our long wait, the Boyz come out. But it turns out to be this stupid, "Hi! Sorry we're late, hope you have a good time. Bye!". No shaking hands, no autograph, no pictures, no NOTHING! Hey, I guess it's better then nothing. And beisdes...boy, did they look FINE, up-close and personal! lol. I also saw Howie with his herbal tea with lemon and honey which he has to have befor every show. It helps keeps his vocals in check. HOW CUTE!!! Ya know, I can even remember what order they came out in. It was Howie, Nick, Brian, Kevin, AJ. I think Nick and Brian were playing telephone, or something. They kept whispering to each other...my friend says they were probably whispering about me, and how to hook me up with Howie. Yeah right, I WISH! So, let's move on...

When we got out and into our seats, BSB were just beginning to start, because we had missed all the opening bands while waiting for the Boyz backstage. Boy, I sure regret missing Jimmy Ray...NOT!!! It's not like I was heartbroken when I missed SOAP, either. And I have Aaron Carter's CD, and don't really like him that much anyway, so it wasn't really much of a loss. So anyway. While my Dad went to get some drinks (and I didn't touch mine all night ^_-), they came on the stage. They started off with That's The Way I Like It. Then, they did this song by another group. It sounded kind of Boyz || Men-ish, yet If I Don't Have You-ish at the same time. I dunno who it was. But I KNOW it wasn't End Of The Road. So, in this "mystery song with no name", there were no Nick solos. So at the the end, when the Boyz are starting to walk off stage, Nick's all, "Hey guys! I want some of that!" So they start the song again and Nick gets his solo. So anyway, then they did Hey Mr DJ (MY FAV SONG!! ^_^), which btw sounds SO great live! Then Quit Playing Games, which was really cute. AJ thanked us, the fans, for making it a top 10 song. Then, the band starts up, and it is ALL wrong! Howie's, like, "Hey guys! What are you doing!? That's not Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)! OK, let's try it again." And they do the whole lights thing again and stuff. And it's still wrong. At this point Howie and Nick seem pretty p/o. Nick's all, "You guys!". And so the drummer goes, "Hey, if you don't like the way we play it," and throws the drumsticks to Nick. "Do it yourself." And of course, they do. Then, their solos. Howie's first (My Heart Stays With You [something like that]), then AJ (I think it was Lay Down Beside Me), Kevin (Nobody But You), then Brian (which was, of course, That's What She Said), and then, it was Nicky (Hevean In Your Eyes, maybe? I dunno). At the end, he said, "That's enough with the slow stuff, don't you think?", and they started singing Let's Have a Party. Then came, if I'm not mistaken, All I Have To Give (I screamed SO loud on Howie's part...), and then Darlin'. Durring that song, they "split the audience in half", where Howie and Nick stood on one side of the stage, Kevin and Brian on the other, with AJ in the middle. AJ explained that Howie and Nick's side was gonna sing "So darlin'...", and the side I was on (Kevin and Brian) sang "tell me what to do to make things right". That was fun. Then, after a small break while the guys changed or something, they came out and did I'll Never Break Your Heart (no three lucky girls, though). They did the same "split the audience in half" thing. Howie and Nick got "I'll give you all of me", and we (Bri and Kev) got "honey, that's no lie". Then Anywhere For You. And then As Long As You Love Me, chair dance as good as ever! At the end of the song, the guys were backstage changing, yet AGAIN, and the music changed, and the Boyz came out and did We've Got It Goin' On. Then they did the same thing with the music, and did Get Down (You're The One For Me). Then, for the grand finale...they showed about a minute of the Everybody (Backstreet's Back) video while the Boyz changed for, like, the fifth time in 30 minutes. And so, these people brought out these five cofins. They turn them around, and there are our YOU KNOW WHOs! They start singing Everybody (Backstreet's Back), and the whole audience was singing along, especially on Nick's part; "Am I sexual?". All, and I mean ALL the girls (including me ^_-) yelled at the top of their lungs "YEAH!!!"! It was all SO cool. But, after that, I'm afraid the concert was over =(. Hey, it was fun while it lasted! And if they ever come back, my Dad says he'll take me ^_^! I was a bit surprised they sang EVERY song on the American album except for Set Adrift On Memory Bliss and If You Want It To Be Good Girl (Get Yourself A Bad Boy)...! If you can go to a concert, I STRONGLY recomend it! Hannah