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Indianapolis Star Review: 3/10/00, Indianapolis, IN
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Date: Mar 12, 2000
Fans from many facets By David Lindquist, The Indianapolis Star INDIANAPOLIS (March 11, 2000) -- It was a chilly and drab Friday in Indianapolis, but Backstreet Boys sightings -- or even the rumors of such -- were brilliant rays of hope for fans scattered throughout Downtown. The Orlando-based vocal group, sellers worldwide of nearly 30 million copies of album Millennium, arrived in the city to play sold-out concert dates Friday night and tonight at Conseco Fieldhouse. A.J. McLean, the soulful bad boy. Nick Carter, the rambunctious blond goof. Brian Littrell, the talented good guy. Kevin Richardson, the brooding elder. And Howie Dorough, the "other one." Each has placed a lock on the hearts of millions of female fans. For many of the faithful, it's not enough to pick up a CD, buy a $42.50 concert ticket or even "live and breathe the Backstreet Boys," as mothers often put it. If the Boys are in your town, you've got a chance to track them in the wild. Here are some notes from Friday's hunt: 2 p.m. -- The trail is fairly cold at Circle Centre mall, sometimes a favorite haunt of traveling musicians. Members of a sixth-grade basketball team from Dayton, Ohio, thought they stumbled across McLean standing outside of the Express store a few minutes ago. A case of mistaken identity was confirmed, though, when the pretender removed his hat. 2:45 p.m. -- Melissa Johnson and Angie Nash, both 25, are accomplished road warriors of Backstreet mania. The Phoenix residents stand outside a noted Downtown hotel, basking in the recent arrival of McLean and Dorough by bus. At the moment, only the onyx-colored vehicle and a bodyguard named Marcus remain street-side. The story from Johnson and Nash seems plausible, as they've attended seven Backstreet concerts. They say they've previously touched McLean's tattoos and grabbed Dorough's arm. They even have a scrapbook photo of Marcus celebrating a recent birthday onstage in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Marcus gets a kick out of the photo, but Johnson and Nash don't press the bodyguard for details of the Backstreet itinerary. 3:10 p.m. -- A tall girl walks into the hotel, unattended and carrying a bag of food from Steak n' Shake. This seemingly benign entrance causes a stir among four Evansville women who wait outside hopefully for another Backstreet bus. Lisa Harris, 20, says the food courier was Amanda "Willa" Ford, the on-again, off-again girlfriend of Carter. Ford is scheduled to sing Friday night as a supporting act on the Backstreet bill. But, more important, that paper bag might have held French fries to be eaten by Nick himself. 4 p.m. -- A few blocks north of Conseco Fieldhouse, "independent ticket brokers" are offering balcony seats for $75 apiece. Floor-level seats for Saturday's show are going for $250 a pop, but there's a common lament among sellers that little seating below the balcony remains available. 4:35 p.m. -- About 100 parents and daughters are corralled behind metal fences outside the northeast entrance to Conseco Fieldhouse. There's no chance that any of the six buses parked in a nearby alley holds "talent," but this seems like the smart place to wait for the arrival of A.J., Nick, Brian, Kevin and Howie. Indianapolis residents Jessica Guldner and Sasha McAtee -- both 13 and on a Backstreet holiday from school -- have stood watch here since 1 p.m. The teen-agers, sporting matching customized "A.J." hats, are convinced that McLean waved to them from a passing bus earlier in the afternoon. Nearby, Michelle DuBois from Atlanta is celebrating her 16th birthday by attending her 16th Backstreet Boys concert. In Tampa, she caught roses thrown by Dorough. Four buses arrive at the arena during the next 30 minutes, but pulled shades and tinted windows make it impossible to see who is riding in which vehicle. 5:45 p.m. -- Davenport, Iowa, resident Tricia Snell hands a scrapbook of fan messages to Ryan Conley, who's walking down a ramp to the bowels of Conseco Fieldhouse. Snell, 23, asks Conley, a member of the concert's production crew, to please put the book in the hands of a Backstreet Boy. She's joyous moments later, when Conley returns the book -- freshly autographed by Richardson. 6 p.m. -- The large lobby of Conseco Fieldhouse is filled with eager fans. They hold posters, tickets and the guarantee that in a few short hours they will be in the same room as the Backstreet Boys.
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