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Concert Review: Orlando, FL, USA (Dec 31, '98) by

Date: Sep 30, 2000
Submitted By:

Once upon a time, long, long ago, (actually October 1998,) a young girl of 19 years named Jacquie (JQ) was surfing the web from the comforts of her college dorm room. I stopped by one of my regular haunts, Backstreet.net , to check out the latest news on da Boys, when I saw that they would be performing in Orlando on New Years' Eve. Now, living in Ohio, this wouldn't mean so much to me, but earlier that week, my parents confirmed our family vacation to Orlando for winter break. Since it was four in the morning, this Ohio girl had to wait to call for tickets. Two or three days passed before I could get back online again, (classes, work, meetings, crummy AOL connections,) but when I logged back onto Backstreet.net, I saw the notice for the Tampa concert as well. Knowing that my 17-year-old cousin lived in St. Petes, just outside of Tampa, I called the Tampa Ticketmaster and got two seats. Section 204, Row D. Now I called the Orlando Ticketmaster and I could have gotten tickets to that show the next day, but I had no idea if my cousin even liked da Boys, so I didn't get them.

The months passed, and when my cousin, Theresa, found out, she was SO excited b/c she was a HUGE BSB fan, but wasn't able to get tickets to the show. This was going to be my first ever BSB concert. I was so happy b/c we could have this be a bonding experience and see da Boys! Christmas day arrived, and I left for my first ever trip to Florida with my parents and my three teenage brothers. That night, Theresa and I began to talk about the concert and she gave me the best news….

We had access to one backstage pass! Turns out Katharine, Theresa's friend, got two tickets and two passes for her 18th birthday, but since Theresa was coming with me, Katharine asked another friend to go, but that friend couldn't make it, so she gave Theresa The Pass. Even though it would mean three people and two passes, Theresa took it b/c we figured that we had three options: 1) Try to get all three people backstage (i.e., begging, pleading, etc.) 2) Trade the pass between Theresa and myself (i.e., one goes in then brings the pass back out for the other one.) or 3) Let Theresa go in with Katharine and take heaps of pictures and get signatures for me.

We were so excited! The next day, the whole group went shopping, and I was looking for a killer swimsuit for the beach so I could get an envious tan to make all my Stuck-in-Ohio friends insanely jealous. Theresa and I talked about the concert 24/7 and who our faves were. I was kinda partial to Kevin, and my cousin Theresa was crushin on his cousin, Brian. Hmmm… Then I left for Orlando with my family to do all the touristy stuff like Magic Kingdom and Epcot and such. After spending a few days in Orlando, Wednesday, December 30, 1998 came all too soon.

I got into Tampa around three in the afternoon the day of the concert. With only a short trip to the drugstore for film, earplugs (which we never used), posterboard, and Tic-Tacs, Theresa and I hurried back to her place to change. We met up with Katharine and her friend Jessica at the Ice Palace around 6pm, where Katharine was trying to get the passes from the will-call booth. After calling her mom to come and exert some adultness, the four of us met up with someone from 93.3 (a Tampa radio station) who introduced us to James "Hurricane" from Jive Records who was in charge of the meet-n-greet. Turns out that what we thought we backstage passes were actually for the meet-n-greet, but we weren't complaining. James said that he could only let two girls in, but when Katharine's mom told him that there were four of us, he explained that he could only let a certain number of people in, but if some people didn't show up in time, then he could let us in. Since Katharine and Theresa were definitely going in, Jessica and I gave them our programs and our cameras. A few minutes later, Katharine's mom checked with James again, and he said that "it was looking good." I was off in my own little world when Jessica grabbed my arm. "We're in!" Following my friends through the turnstile, the four of us huddled with the other people waiting to meet da Boys. When some other not-so-lucky fans asked why who we were (b/c we were the oldest ones going back) they were told that we were the "radio winners." With a quick makeup/hair/clothing check, we headed for the elevator.

We rode up a floor or two and were led down this long hallway. We passed dressing rooms and when we peeked down one hall, we could see right onstage to where da Boys were in the middle of their sound check! Finally, we stopped with the other people in this huge area right behind stage. We knew that we were actually backstage when we saw the basketball hoop that we know da Boys have set up.

Earlier when we were at the will-call line, we saw this slender blonde girl who was wearing a backstage pass around her neck and she was talking to some people. When we were waiting backstage for da Boys to come, we saw the same blonde girl backstage. She was talking to some of the younger fans, and then she brought out one of Nick's pugs, Houston, for them to see. So we figured that she was Nick's girlfriend (and from some of the reports that I have read on other pages, it was his girl.) We also saw Amanda Latona (AJ's girl,) but she was just walking through. She looked incredibly pretty. I heard that all da Boys' girlfriends were there except for Brian's but those were the only two that we saw and recognized.

So Katharine, Jessica, Theresa, and I were all standing around talking to each other when I saw these three fine guys. I knew that I was there to see da Boys, but these three were pretty cute, so I pointed them out to my friends. None of us knew who they were, and we thought that they might be backup dancers or friends or something.

Then we were led over to stand in this group so some guy could talk to us. He said that there was this girl who was very sick (cancer, I think,) and was going to interview Kevin before the meet-n-greet, so we were instructed not to scream when he came out. All-in-all, I was proud of the entire group b/c none of us went crazy when any of the BSB came out. At least not on the outside… I know I was screaming on the inside. LOL After the interview was done, we were led to stand in this U-shaped area and wait for da Boys to come around and meet us. Da Boys came out gradually and while we were waiting, we could see them playing basketball behind the curtain.

Howie was the first one to come around to our side to sign our programs. He looked very tired and withdrawn, but was very nice and friendly. He was wearing a blue shirt and black jeans, and his hair was slicked back in a ponytail.

Brian was the second one to come over, and he is just the sweetest! He said that it was one of his dreams to play in the Orlando Arena, and we posed for a group picture with him. When he was signing my program, I mentioned that it was my first trip to Florida, and he asked me where I was from. When I said "Ohio", he said, "that's cool! I'm from Kentucky." Then I just looked at him, thinking, "duh, I already knew that", but I recovered when he asked me what part of Ohio I was from. I told him that I am from near Columbus, but I go to college in Springfield at Wittenberg University. Then he told me that he had a chance to go to Cincinnati Bible College, but then he got this chance to be in a band and "make some music." So I smiled and joked, "Oh, that's okay. You can always do it later. You're still young." And he laughed at my corny attempt at a joke! Then AJ reminded him that they had a concert, and that he should keep moving along. Brian was wearing a blue Nike t-shirt and a NY Yankees baseball cap on backwards.

AJ came around next and when we asked him how he was, he admitted that he was fighting a cold, and that he got in trouble during the sound check b/c he was screaming too much. Don't worry, he sounded fine in concert. He also said that he was glad to be back in Florida. His hair was under a backward baseball cap and it was dark with red tips and he was wearing a long-sleeved white shirt and wide-leg baggy pants. Yes, he was wearing shades.

By this time, Kevin had made his way around the semi-circle to where we were waiting. When he was talking to this man, he admitted that he was very stressed, but he was glad to be back in Florida. For once in my life, I was shy and barely spoke a word to him. Honestly, I drew a blank! So when I quietly asked for a picture, he gave me a big smile and pulled me over to him. Since Katharine had my camera, I smiled at her, but Theresa whipped out her camera, so he didn't know which camera to look at, so he made them take an extra picture each just to make sure that they turned out. The only thing that I can remember was that he felt so soft! He was wearing this V-necked gray fleece shirt over a darker t-shirt and it was incredibly soft. He was also wearing a purple baseball cap.

It took forever for Nick to come out, so as we were waiting, I saw those same three fine-looking guys from earlier, and when they were walking past the group, this really cute one stuck his tongue out at the group. I saw it and burst out laughing. When we made eye contact, he smiled and raised his eyebrows and nodded in that guy way of saying "wazzup?" without talking. Then he was pulled away by the other two guys he was with. We still had no idea who they were.

Nick finally came out to the meet-n-greet area, and he started on the other side, so we had some time to check him out. He was wearing a dark Adidas cap, and a long-sleeved white shirt with a thick gold chain. There was something on it, but I don't remember what. He also had on dark blue jeans that were cuffed. The one thing that the four of us noticed was that he had a tissue that he kept using to blot his upper lip with. To be honest, our first thought was that he had popped a zit or something, but when he came over to our side, we asked him if he was okay. He said that he was okay, but not to tell anyone or anything but that when he was playing bball earlier, he cut his lip and he thought that his tooth went all the way through his upper lip. Not to worry, he didn't sound any different during the concert, so I think that he is fine.

One of the things that I noticed, especially as I was talking to Brian, was that they all seemed so small. I mean, all the magazines and such say that B-Rok is 5' 8" tall, but without shoes, I am 5' 7" on a good day, and the boots that I was wearing that night only give me two inches, so that would have made me 5 ' 9". That's only one inch taller than Brian, but I noticed that it was a lot more than that. Maybe they have a different standard of measuring da Boys. LOL

Okay, so the meet-n-greet is over and Brian waves as we are led around the other side of the arena and let in to go to our seats. Theresa and I were on the right side of the stage, almost all the way back, and Katharine and Jessica were on the left side of the stage right next to it.

So Theresa and I are talking about stuff, when the opening act came out. Now they said that it was LFO (Lyte Funkie Ones) and at first there were just these three musicians up there playing, so we just kind of sat there, but when LFO came out I started jumping up and down and screaming! There were all these little kids and their parents sitting in our section, and I am the only one acting crazy. I kept hitting Theresa to get her attention. It was those three fine guys from backstage!!!!! So Theresa and I started dancing to the music and when they introduced themselves, I noticed that the one who I had that "incident" with backstage was named Brad, and later during their set, he was the one removing his shirt. I loved the music! It had a wicked dance beat and a funky melody. The only songs that I remember them playing were "Let Me Clear My Throat", "(Sex U Up) The Way You Like It" (their first single), and their latest single, "If I Can't Have You." When they announced that last song, Rich (the blonde) dedicated it to all the beautiful ladies in Tampa, and Brad said, "yeah, like the one who laughed at me backstage." THAT WAS ME! I was shocked, but I kept dancing along. BTW the other member is named Brizz.

Okay, it seemed like forever, but the BSB concert finally began. They started out with "That's The Way I Like It" and they were all on platforms (left to right: Brian, Kevin, Nick, AJ, Howie) and Nick and AJ switched places so the one who was singing lead was on the center platform. Next came an a cappella version of "Just To Be Close To You."

Following a dance mix that included "Mo' Money, Mo' Problems", Big Punisher, and an 80's track, they sang "Hey Mr. DJ" and half-way through, we noticed that Howie disappeared.

Howie came out from the top of the platforms dressed in black pants, with BSB boxers showing over the edge and a black shirt unbuttoned. And he threw the roses. The only other time that I have heard "My Heart Stays With You" was on the Night Out video, and all I can say is that the video doesn't do the song or Howie justice. Howie did an amazing job with it and I still find myself singing it under my breath.

AJ was next up and he was wearing an outfit similar to the one he wore in the "I'll Never Break Your Heart" video. One of my favorite parts of the whole concert was his introduction. "I'd like to dedicate this song to all the… beautiful… lovely… sexy ladies in the house…. If you all don't mind."

Kevin looked so stylish in his suit that he wore for his solo, "Nobody but You." His voice has really matured since he first recorded this song on the first non-US album. All I have to say is that I don't know why the record producers didn't let Kevin's voice show through more on the recorded songs, because hearing the full range of his voice really added to the songs in such a positive way. I have always been a sucker for a bass voice.

Brian appeared in a long-sleeved shirt and a vest for "That's What She Said." His introduction: "Do you mind if I sing to y'all?" Theresa's response: "Hell, no! Go ahead!" Thank heavens for Australian relatives, b/c I really like that song and Theresa never heard it before, so she was amazed when I knew all the words.

Nick rounded out the solos with his famous "Heaven In Your Eyes." I call it that instead of "I Need You Tonight" b/c the ending wasn't the newer version. That Boy has the most amazing set of vocal cords. He could hold a note out for such a long time, and the seasoned performer in him really played to the crowd. I was disappointed when he didn't sing the entire song, but I knew that he did that for other shows.

The rest of the group came out for "Let's Have A Party". And they went through the predicted instrumental routine of the band messing up then da Boys taking over. AJ was hilarious! No matter what tempo the band started "Quit Playing Games" with, he adjusted his dancing to fit. AJ was on the bass guitar, Nick on the trap set, Kevin manned the keyboards, Howie on guitar, and Brian on alternate percussion. Of course, they played the instruments and sang for awhile, then let the band take over again and finished off the song.

For "All I Have To Give", da Boys didn't disappoint the crowd and brought out the fedoras for a modified version of their routine from the MTV VMA's, and Howie did drop his hat part-way through.

"Darlin'" and "Anywhere For You" followed before da Boys left the stage for a costume change. Obie had a great saxophone solo during the band interlude. I screamed for him and my cousin just looked at me like I was crazy! LOL

Stools were brought out and when da Boys made their way back onstage, Kevin dedicated "I'll Never Break Your Heart" to all the lovebirds. "As Long As You Love Me" included the chair routine. It seemed like the show was over b/c of the time that elapsed before the guys came out in various racing suits of blue, red, and white for "Get Down" and "We've Got It Goin' On". In the band bridge after that song, we noticed that a bunch of people were getting up and leaving! We couldn't believe it! We probably would have left too, but I knew that they ended with "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" and that was the one song that they still had to perform.

The video screens started playing an extended version of the video with the only music coming from the band. These gates opened from under the platforms and these cloaked figures wheeled out five coffins and fireworks were shot off as the coffins were turned around and da Boys came out. From our seats, Theresa and I could see heaps of people doing The Dance with da Boys during the song.

After it was over, they thanked us for coming and said goodbye. Before they left the stage, they started goofing off and when they finally left the stage, Nick threw Howie (or Brian) over his shoulder and carried him offstage. AJ was the last one onstage at the end and he left through the gate under the platforms.

The lights came up and we headed outside to meet our friends. At the souvenir stand, I bought this book, "Backstreet Boys Limited Edition Welcome to the Making of Backstreet's Back." It was written by Denise McLean, AJ's mom, and is a collection of behind-the-scenes pictures from the making of the video and contains a message from each of da Boys. We spent the entire car ride home checking out the pictures. While we were waiting for our ride to come, the four of us got our group picture taken. The restaurant across the street was trying to get people to come inside. After a few minutes, they announced that the Backstreet Boys were inside, and there was this crowd of girls that ran over to the restaurant. Then they came back over the loudspeaker and said that "Kevin and Nick were… hiding… in the restaurant." The four of us laughed at their pathetic try to get customers.

Overall, this was a perfect night! Not only was I in Florida for the first time, but I was able to go to my first Backstreet Boys concert in the state where they were founded. Plus, I got to go backstage and meet them! My cousin was even luckier: this was her first concert… EVER! I met two really awesome girls who I will always remember when I think of this concert, and we have plans to one day go to another BSB concert together.

Concert Review: Orlando, FL, USA (December 31, '98) by Lindsey Johnson

Date: Sep 30, 2000
Submitted By:

Well, I arrived at the Orlando Arena at 4:20pm and the concert started at 8:00pm. I ran up to the area where The Backstreet Boys were going to be coming and within 5 min the police cars appeared and then a limo. I screamed like crazy and the limo driver opened the back door to the limo and Howie appeared from the limo in a blue jersey. He was very cute and he got his stuff and turned around and waved to the crowd of 30 girls and blew us a kiss.

Then, the 2nd limo arrived and it pulled up pretty close to me and the door opened and it was Brian! He was absolutely cute! He went to the trunk of the limo and got out his book bag and then turned and waved to all of us and then he followed Howie in to the arena. Then, the 3rd limo arrived and the back door opened by itself. The limo driver didn't open it for him. And it was A.J.! Who is my fave and I absolutely am in love with him!! I went crazy!! He got out very quickly and smiled. I went mad!!

Then, we waited for a while and I never saw Nick or Kevin arrive. So for the rest of the time I just hung out in the car and at a hotel across from the arena. Then, finally 7:00pm arrived, when we could enter the arena, but we had to stand out there until 7:30pm..We were all going crazy and the people who worked there were very rude to us! Finally we went inside and I bought a Backstreet Boys glow stick and a Backstreet Boys shirt. I walked in and found my seat. The concert began about 30min late because they had let us in late. I bought cotton candy while I was waiting.

Then LFO came out, Personally I didn't like them at all. Anyway, then one of the announcer people came out and we taped parts of the crowd that will be shown on Pay Per View with the concert. We got to chant out each of their names. Then finally after about 2hrs of sitting in the arena, BSB appeared. I knew they were stretching the time, so we could make it to New Years' Eve. They came out singing "That's the Way I Like It"...Everyone went crazy! I was screaming as hard as I could. Then, they sang acapella and my fav part was when they each did a solo.

Howie came out first singing and he was wonderful! He is such a great performer! He had a bunch of white roses that he threw into the crowd. Then, A.J. came out...I was screaming so hard, I was the loudest there. I had a light up rose that I was swaying int the air. A.J. sang "Lay Down Beside Me" he lifted his shirt up and my God I almost passed out. Then, he humped the floor! I went crazy and I got an awesome pic! Then, Kevin came out singing 'Nobody But You" he was so adorable doing his little dances.

Then, It was Brian's turn. He came out with his guitar and sang "That''s What She Said". Nick was the last to come out and he sang "I Need You Tonight" and he was fantastic! Then, they did "Let's Have a Party" which I loved!! Then, they came out to sing "Quit Playing Games With My Heart" and the band kept messing up the song(on purpose) the guys kicked them out and took their places...They were so cute! Then, they sang "All I Have to Give" and did their hat routine. They did a great job! Then they sang a few more of their very popular songs!

To make a long show short...They came out at the end singing "Backstreet's Back" they showed parts of the video and the crowd went wild! They appeared in coffins and popped out! It was the greatest!!!!!!! Then, we all thought it was over, but Howie came out and said "Did you think we forgot it was New Years?"

They were so cute and wished us all a Happy New Year. Then, they sang Prince's song"Party Like It's 1999" and balloons and confetti fell everywhere. It was awesome!!!!! And we counted down to the New Year by dropping an orange that was hanging from the arena because of Florida! Finally the concert came to an end! I grabbed my stuff and ran out to the area where the boys would be leaving! Within 5min..

I saw Nick in the cornor..I was the only one to see him out of the other 50 girls...So I screamed Nick and he turned around and waved. Then, walked toward us waving and smiling and being adorable! Then, he left. Then, all of us girls waited out there for another hour in the freezing cold [note from Caitlin... If you want freezing try a winter in Ottawa.. it was -24 here on New Years Eve!] and the other guys we never saw leave, but I stayed there till 1:30am, just in case. It was the best experience of my life!!

Concert Review: Orlando, FL, USA (December 31, '98) by Katherine

Date: Sep 30, 2000
Submitted By: Katherine (mysmgpage@angelfire.com) for sending this in.

We arrived at the Orlando Arena at around 6:30pm and we had to stand outside for about an hour! We found our THIRD ROW SEATS and just sat there. I was freaking cause I knew that Brian would be right in front of me! My seat was the last one in the row (my friend Nicky was next to me) and we were next to the VIP entrance.

We look by the VIP section and see Kevin's brothers and his mom. We scream for Tim and he looks at us and we wave and he waves back. I screamed Mrs. Richardson's name and she turns around and waves and has a big smile on her face! Kev's bros didn't actually talk to us, but I did snap pics of them!

So, the next person we meet and take pictures with is the BSB Band! We met Tommy, Tim, Obie, and Freddie!! They are so sweet, especially Tommy amd Tim! After that, Lou Pearlman walks right next to me and I rush over to him and Nicky and I take our picture with him. I told him,"God bless you for helping create the BSB!" He smiles and gives Nicky an autograph.

Well, the opening act comes out....Lyte Funkie Ones. They were so good! During their songs, I look to my left and see, who else but AMANDA LATONA!!! She was with another member of Innosense and I walked up to them and we took our picture with them. Amanda is so sweet and she is beautiful! Then Mrs. Dorough walks by and I reach for her and she grabs my hand and I told her I love her and she says,"Hello sweetheart! I love you,too!" She's short, barely 5 feet! Brian's mom was next to her, but I couldn't reach her.

After L.F.O is done, there's an intermission. Nicky goes to use the ladies' room amd I look up to see this blonde model walk by. It was Brian's woman......LEIGHANN WALLACE! I stopped her and asked if I could take a picture with her and she happily obliged. She was wearing the tightest pair of capri pants and a tight black tank top! She's so pretty! Before she left to go to the VIP section, she told my group that we looked beautiful and to have fun! I was in awe of her and said,"Bye Leighann!" She turned around and waved to me. I felt so stupid,but hey...she's my idol cuz she's dating B-Rok!

Then Nicky comes back to her seat and I see a girl in a pretty velvet blue party dress. It was Howie's sister, PollyAnna! We yell her name and wave. She comes walking towards us and gives each of us the warmest hugs and a kiss on the cheek! We talked with her and for the last half of the concert she stood next to me....yeah! Then we see the BSB make-up stylist, Angie and we yell her name! She walks over to us ans she is so cool. She had the most awesome outfit and I remember thinking she smelled nice. I told her thanks for keeping Brian looking so fine. She goes,'Well I try!' She was awesome!

Another tidbit is that we saw a pretty blonde girl hanging around the backstage area. The girl in front of us asks the security guard if she's Nick's girl. He says,"No...she's Kevin's girlfriend!" I saw Train's woman! These guys have good taste, I must say. So, now its time for the concert to begin!

I'm not going to go into too much detail, but I will share my highlights with you! First off, during "Darlin'", Brian and Nick are standing in front of me and I think now's the time to throw my basketball Slammer at him. I pick it up and I grab his attention. He motions for me to throw it and I do.....except it drops! He looks down at it for awhile and looks straight at me! I mouth,"Sorry" and he gives me the most beautiful smile. The security guard picks it up and lays it by his feet. He looks at it again and back at me and say,"Thanks!" Nicky and the girls in the row behind me are freaking cause for one moment in my life, my idol Brian actually had a moment with me!! You should've seen me freaking out majorly!

Another highlight was during Howie's solo. He came in front of us again and I knew I had to catch a rose. Guess what? Me and Nicky each caught one!! The girls wanted to touch the (plastic) rose cause before Howie throws them, he rubs it + down his chest and my rose has his sweat!!!!! During the show, AJ stuck his tongue out at me cause he read our "K(entucky's) F(inest) C(ousins) are FINGER LICKING GOOD!" sign! Howie read our sign, too and nodded his head cause I was looking straight at him. Kevin never looked at me..that I know of, but man, I got some great pictures of him, Brian,...heck...all of them!

My other highlight was after the final song ....Everybody...they came back out and celebrated New Years with us! We had our own Big Orange come down from the ceiling and balloons everywhere. Then we all sang the Prince song, "Party Likes Its 1999." During that song, Nick jumps off the stage onto a platform where one of the Pay Per View cameras is on.....by the way, he is now 3 feet from me! I run over there, Pollyanna is laughing at us, and Nick was 2 inches away from my hand! He is sooooo hot! I remember thinking that he had pimples on his face....like 6 of them!

Ha ha ha...I'm weird I guess. I'm screaming his name cause I want to touch him and he looks at me for a second and jumps back on the stage! During the song, ALAYLM, I waved to Brian and he waved to me! Man....he is HOT!!!! I got pictures of AJ during his solo...and they are HOT! I got him getting down on the stage, you know, his famous move during "Lay Down Beside Me." When Brian sang "Thats What She Said" the whole Arena sang along. Brian had this big smile and I'm just admiring his beauty!

Those were the best moments of my life! I can't believe all this happened to me! I hope all you fans get a chance like I did!!!

Concert Review: Tampa, FL, USA (December 30, '98) by Lindsey Johnson

Date: Sep 30, 2000
Submitted By:

Well, I arrived at the Tampa Ice House at 4:30pm and the concert started at 8:00pm. I saw a group of girls waiting at an area in the back of the arena, so of course I went over there with them. And then in 5 minutes a police car came zooming down and then an Explorer behind it with A.J. driving it!!! I went crazy!! I was screaming and A.J. waved and smiled at us! Then, Brian and Howie were in a bus looking thing right behind him and Brian poped his head out the window! I waved to him! Then, Howie, Brian, and A.J. came out and waved and smiled to all of us! I was going crazy! I couldn't believe A.J. drove right by me! We were all going crazy and then I just walked around until 7:00pm when they finally let us in.

We went inside and I bought a Backstreet Boys Tour Book. I walked in and found my seat on the floor. The concert began and LFO came out, Personally I didn't like them at all. They were okay, but nothing compared to BSB. Then finally after the 30 minute intermission BSB appeared. They came out singing "That's the Way I Like It"...Everyone went crazy! I was screaming as hard as I could.

Then, they sang acapella and my fave part was when they each did a solo. Howie came out first singing and he was wonderful! He is such a great performer! He had a bunch of white roses that he threw into the crowd. Then, A.J. came out...I was screaming so hard, I was the loudest there. I had a light up rose that I was swaying in the air. A.J. sang "Lay Down Beside Me" he lifted his shirt up and my Gosh, I almost passed out. Then, he humped the floor! I went crazy and I got an awesome pic! Then, Kevin came out singing 'Nobody But You" he was so adorable doing his little dances.

Then, It was Brian's turn. He came out with his guitar and sang "That''s What She Said". Nick was the last to come out and he sang "I Need You Tonight" and he was fantastic! Then, they did "Let's Have a Party" which I loved!! Then, they came out to sing "Quit Playing Games With My Heart" and the band kept messing up the song(on purpose) the guys kicked them out and took their places...They were so cute! Then, they sang "All I Have to Give" and did their hat routine. They did a great job!

Then they sang a few more of their very popular songs! To make a long show short...They came out at the end singing "Backstreet's Back" they showed parts of the video and the crowd went wild! They appeared in coffins and popped out! It was the greatest!!!!!!! My lungs hurt because I was screaming so loud! Then, I ran out to the area where they would be leaving and then the cop car exited followed by A.J. in his car and the rest of the guys. I went mad and ran down the road after them until they turned the corner to the highway and were out of sight. But I still got in the car and tried to follow them. It was the best!

Concert Review: Tampa, FL, USA (December 30, '98) by Kim

Date: Sep 30, 2000
Submitted By: Kim (kimpanicek@hotmail.com) for sending this in.

Source:

I went to the December 30 concert in Tampa a few days ago and it was a great concert. I will spare all of the details of getting the tickets and arriving at the ice palace but my two friends and I ended up with fourth row tickets on the floor. But we were front row because we were allowed to walk up there.

It was basically the same concert as there summer tour except they did not wear the same outfits. At the beginning they were in fox biking shirts and then later in suits. They did the dance from the billboard music awards and I actually got to touch Nick while he was singing to me down on the floor. Howie seemed a bit out of it like he was sick or something, Brian and Nick were both being very goofy and hyped up while Kevin and AJ were there normal selves.

I met AJ's girlfriend. She is very funky and fun she was standing in front of the barrier right in front of us. She sang along and danced the whole time. They ended the concert with everybody and the coffins of course.

After the concert we rushed to the back of the ice palace where each of them drove out with there own cars, Kevin a Toyota Four Runner, AJ an Expedition, Nick a Durango (with a g/f), and Howie and Brian in a van. Denis was driving in a Mercedes.

They all looked really good and it was the best concert that i have been to. (I had second row at sea world this summer on July 11.)

Concert Review: Minneapolis, MN, USA (November 18, '98) by Araysa Ashmore

Date: Sep 30, 2000
Submitted By:

They had a black curtian in front of the stage and when it was time for the Boys to start they dropped the curtain and there they were. They were standing on risers behind the band. Then they came down onto the stage and did a dance squence to a whole bunch of songs. Since the sound sucks in the Target Center and there were many girls screaming I only could distingush two songs one was "Humpin Around" by Bobbie Brown and the other one was "Too Close" by Next. After the dance sequence they went off the stage for a dress change. They came out one by one wearing all red suit-like outfits and introduced themselves. What Howie said was so sweet. Because of his sister passing away they had to cancel the last show in Minneapolis so Howie told us that he was the one that said that they have to come back and do a show for us.

AJ was the only one that bore his complete chest and what a chest it is!!! Anyway off the subject. They than sang "If I Ever Fall In Love" a capella. It sounded so good. I wish I had a video tape of it to show people that think they don't have any talent how much talent they really do have. After that they sang "Hey Mr. DJ" and "Let's Have A Party." And let me tell you Nick sure knows how to stir up the crowd. All he had to do was look down and smile into the camera that was putting them on the jumbo screen and the crowd just went wild. I even found myself screaming along with the thousands of tweleve year olds that were there. Then they staged an arguement with the band because the band was playing the beginning to "Quit Playing Game With My Heart" too fast. Then the Boys said that they would play the song themselves and they played the instruments for the songs.

Nick can really play the drums!! I was very impressed. They did really good. After that they sang "All I Have To Give" and they did the hat routine which I totally love. That is like my new favorite song of there's. Then they got out stools and sang "I'll Never Break Your Heart." They then went off stage for another costume change. They came out wearing Backstreet Boys basketball jerseys. Each one had there last name on the back and a particular number like really jerseys They then sang "Get Down" and "We've Got It Goin' On." Then another costume change, they took of the jersey so they were in t-shirs and black pants. They then sang "Anywhere For You," which they dedicated to the crowd because of them coming back for the concert. Then they sang "As Long As You Love Me" which included the chair routine. Then as they left for one last costume change the video for "Everybody" came up on the jumbo screens. It was kinda a quick version of the video. Then the second the video was done the Boys started singing "Everybody(Backstreet's Back).

They all had thier ruffled shirts on like they had on in the video. My friend Jen and I did the dance right along with them since I know it by heart. Well, that's it that was the last song and then it was over. They sang for an hour and a half, I was a little disappointed that it wasn't longer. The thing that I wished they would've done the most was have each of them come out and do a solo. They cut that whole part out of the show. Oh well, I'll just have to go to another one. Well, I have to tell you that this concert was probably one of the best concerts I have ever seen. I wish I would've been closer but oh well, next time I'm gonna get front row.

Concert Review: Minneapolis, MN, USA (November 19, '98) by Becky Wittig

Date: Sep 30, 2000
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This concert completely ROCKED!!!!!

I don't have anything to say about INOJ because I missed her act. My roommate and I had a three hour drive from La Crosse, WI.

Anyway after waiting for about a half hour the Backstreet Boys took the stage. They started out by singing the beginning of "We've Got It Going On". Then they did a dance mix of a bunch of different songs but the only one I recognized was "Too Close" by Next. My favorite part of the dance mix was when Brian got beat up the rest of the guys it was so cute. After that they went into "That's The Way I Like It" and "Hey Mr. DJ".

Next the BsB went and changed into their red satin outfits and each one of them came out and talked to the audience. Howie D's was the sweetest when he apologized for having to cancel the concert back in September and thanked everyone for their prayers and support. After that the BsB continued the concert with "Anywhere For You" which Kevin dedicated it to the audience. Next they sang "All I Have To Give" and "Let's Have A Party". All the boys then played the song "Quit Playing Games With My Heart". AJ was on bass, Brian was on auxiliary percussion, Howie played guitar, Kevin was on the keyboard, and Nick was on drums. Then they closed out the set by singing "I'll Never Break Your Heart".

When they came back out for the second set they sang "Get Down", "We've Got It Going On" and "As Long As You Love Me". While the boys changed into their final outfits for the night, clips from the "Everybody" video were played on two big T.V. screens. Then the BsB came back out and closed out the show by singing "Everybody".

Through out the whole show the BsB kept the girls screaming with their goofing around and their awesome dance moves. This concert was well worth the wait.

Concert Review: Minneapolis, MN, USA (November 18, '98) from the Minneapolis Star Tribune

Date: Sep 30, 2000
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Backstreet Boys belatedly deliver teen dreams

Jon Bream / Star Tribune

The Backstreet Boys FINALLY performed in the Twin Cities, but it was like dejà vu all over again Wednesday at Target Center.

The Backstreet Boys (BSB), of Orlando, Fla., a vocal quintet whose self-titled debut is the biggest-selling album of 1998 not featuring Celine Dion, canceled right before they were scheduled to go onstage in September at KDWB's Last Chance Summer Dance in Shakopee. Then, for the first of two makeup shows at Target Center, concertgoers were inexplicably forced to stand in the arena's corridors at the 7 p.m. showtime because BSB was still rehearsing onstage.

"My nerves were on edge," said Danielle Epps, 13, Minneapolis. "We were expecting someone to say they canceled."

There was some lingering resentment from September. "I couldn't tell you how upset I was," said Dianne Matthews, 31, of St. Paul, who chaperoned eight girls, including her daughter Amanda, 11. "One of our girls passed out [because of the heat]. And then her mom got a speeding ticket coming to get her."

Well, all is forgiven. Even if BSB kept people waiting in the hallway and kept them waiting during an overlong intermission. Even if the band didn't take the stage until 8:45 on a school night.

"We didn't think it would be that entertaining," said Danielle. "This was AMAZING."

Tara Soltow, 13, of St. Louis Park, said she felt that the 85-minute BSB show made up for the cancellation. "They went above and beyond expectations," said her mother, Cindy Soltow, a second-grade teacher. "I'm the envy of all the kids. I'll tell them about it tomorrow."

Timberwolves coach Flip Saunders came with his 12-year-old son, a BSB fan, and because the Wolves used BSB's "We've Got It Goin' On" as a theme song last season. Indeed, some boys dig BSB, even though most of the 13,000 concertgoers were preteen and teen girls. "They were better than some of the other stuff I saw at Lollapalooza and all that," said Dustin Barsanian, 19, of Edina, who attended with his girlfriend.

Truth be told, Backstreet Boys sounded a little out of shape. The too-loud, bass-heavy sound mix challenged listeners' ears. The singers were painfully off-key on the hit "As Long as You Love Me." But their ensemble choreography was consistently impressive, and their singing was wonderful on the heartfelt ballad "Anywhere for You," the doo-wop "I'll Never Break Your Heart" and the energetic "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)." These five guys are clearly more talented than the Spice Girls but not nearly as accomplished as those early '90s idols, New Kids on the Block.

Said a smiling Mother Matthews at show's end: "The best part is seeing your kid having a good time."

-- Staff writer Amy Forliti contributed to this story.

York, PA, USA (September 15, 1998) by Kelley Reeder

Date: Sep 30, 2000
Submitted By:

I was at the September 15, 1998 BSB concert at York, PA. I wanted to write this review because our concert seemed to be so different from the others that I read about on Backstreet.Net. It was the last concert of the U.S. tour before they went to South America. Howie wasn't there because his sister had died. (we didn't know this until the next day. BSB only said that there were family troubles.) I was really upset because even though Howie is definately not my fav, I wanted to see all the guyz.

I wanted to see Aaron Carter perform so much because I think he is so adorable and he is just a little Nick, but they didn't have an opening act. The concert was supposed to start at 8 P.M. and right at that time two people in these long black robes came out w/ this African American man. One was really tall and the other was really short. They wouldn't talk and then they ripped off their robes and it was A.J. and Nick!!! The concert didn't start until around 8:45 P.M. or so and we were all getting pretty restless. They didn't sing "That's The Way I Like It" to start out, they came out and danced to a medley of popular songs.

They didn't sing "Just To Be Close To You" or "Let's Have A Party" either, like they did at the other concerts. Some girl threw her bra up onto the stage and Brian picked it up and looked at it like "What is this?" Then Kevin came over and put it on and started dancing around with it! It was so funny! They did the "Quit Playing Games" thing where they played. The first time they played the heavy metal version first and A.J. acted like he was gonna jump into the audience. He said "I was gonna mosh, but never mind!" We all started screaming!

Then they played the country version and A.J. started doing a hoe down dance! Nick (my fav) went over to the camera, put his head in his hands and lipped "I'm sorry!" It was so cute! They didn't sing their solo songs either! When they did "Everybody" they didn't come out in coffins either. I don't know why they didn't do things the same, but it was still an awesome concert and one of the best nights! My friends were looking for us b/c they knew people there and we could have been in the first row!

The security guards told my friends that the guyz were backstage saying they wanted more money for the show. They had scheduled it when they weren't as popular in the States and they wanted more money. I don't know if this is true, though, so don't take my word for it. Next year we are going to get backstage passes and meet them hopefully! I can't wait until the next concert!

Allegan, MI, USA (September 14, '98) by Megan Valade

Date: Sep 30, 2000
Submitted By:

This was going to be the 4th concert that my friend Marisa and I (megan) went to. We were so excited. We got tickets really late so we were sure that we didn't have very good seats. That didn't matter to us though because we were going to be seeing our favorite group perform, again=) We left from home, chicago, on the 13th so that we could get to our hotel, unpack and then go to the fairgrounds where they would be performing the next day. We wanted to check it out to see if we could see where we would be sitting and where we needed to park and all of that stuff. That day at the fair John Michael Montgomery was performing so we listened for awhile and then got in the car to leave when we saw his bus go by so we followed it, we ended up meeting him and decided that if we did the same thing the next night we may have a chance to meet the backstreet boys. Our minds were made up, that is what we would do.

We went to bed that night late and when we woke up the weather was crappy and I didn't feel well and we really didn't want to go to the concert, since we saw how bad our seats were going to be. But how could we drive for 3 hours and not see the boys. So we went. As we suspected our seats were terrible. We were so far on the side that all we could see was mostly the speakers. At least we had the big screens to watch. Then we find out that Howie was not even there because of his sister's death. We were a little disappointed. The order of songs was completely different than the other 3 concerts that we went to, and they didn't sing anywhere near as many. They didn't even do their solo songs. After the boys sang As Long As You Love Me they said their goodbyes. That was our cue to leave. As we left they boys came out for an encore and Marisa and I drove to the back of the stage so that we could follow the boys buses as they left. We waited for about 5 minutes when all of the sudden a cop drove by followed by 5 minivans another cop and another car. So we jumped in line. We acted as if we were with them and drove past all of the other cars waiting to get out. We also ran all the stop signs and lights along the way. As we kept on driving the cops left and 3 of the 5 vans split off. We decided to stay with the last 2. Not knowing who was inside we continued to follow. As we got on the highway we drove up next to the vans. The first had dark tinted windows so we could not see who was inside but the next one had the boys Band members inside. So we were waving at them and they waved back. We followed them to their hotel where there were 2 Big buses out front. We got out and were talking to the band members for about half an hour, taking pictures with them and pretty much just hanging out. They told us that they were waiting for the boys before they left.

After hanging out with the band for about 30 minutes or so 3 more minivans pull up. The first one opens and some woman got out. Then the other two opened, and I said to Marisa "they aren't here" I wasn't really looking I guess because Marisa goes then why is Kevin coming this way. I was in Shock. Kevin Richardson was standing right in front of us talking to some one. They were all still in their concert clothes and all sweaty. I called Kev's name and he came over to us and took pics with us then did a few more and went in. Next Brian came out and headed straight for the door not stopping for anyone. So I ran up to him and asked him for a quick picture, before he could answer me I had my arm around him and I snapped the picture myself. Then AJ and Nick went in and promised to come out after they showered. We once again were waiting for the backstreet boys. It still had not sunk in with me that I had my arm around Kevin and Brian and them around me. Then Kevin was on his way back out. He stopped to sign autographs and take pictures with the 20 or so fans that had gathered. I went over to him and got an autograph and then he gave me a hug, because I asked for it, but it was a hug none-the-less. Then AJ came out. We went over and got pictures with him and I got his autograph and hugged him as well. Next was Nick. Everyone flocked to him while Brian was on his way out of the other door. Marisa loves him and yanked me over. As he came out someone asked for a picture with him. And he said if I do it for you I have to do it for everyone, but he posed and then got on the bus. Then Nick got on the bus. They all looked really tired and I was grateful that they even signed a few autographs and took some pictures.

We got back in the car and drove to the stoplight when rolling up next to us comes their tour bus. We waved like crazy and then went on our way. We probably screamed the whole way back to our hotel. After 4 concerts we finally met the BACKSTREET BOYS. It was one of the most memorable nights of my life. They are all such nice guys for taking the time to sign and take pics with most of their fans, especially knowing how tired they must be. And that was my wonderful Night.

Raleigh, NC, USA (September 6, '98) by Nichole

Date: Sep 30, 2000
Submitted By:

It all began in late July. I was sitting around the house not doing much of anything, when my mom came home from work. She wanted to tell me something and I figured it was not good but I listened to her anyways. She started telling me how she had just found out that where she works she can get free concert tickets for Walnut Creek Amphitheater. I didn't really care though because she had never let me go to a concert before and I didn't think that this was going to change her mind. She then told me that she had gotten the list of people who were comming to 'The Creek" and she let me look. I looked and I saw the Backstreet Boys. I flipped out and I begged her to try and get tickets and she said that she would try.

After that I asked her weekly until she finally told me about two weeks before the show that she had gotten the tickets. I was sooooo excited! Up until the day of the show, I was a maniac. I din't know what to wear or bring or anything. i ended up going with one of my close friends named Sarah. We got up that morning (It was a Sunday) and we were practically screaming! We both decided to wear jeans, and new shirts we had just bought on our most recent malling expidition. We also had our coats tied around our waste's so we could hide stuff in the pockets with out the security people noticing. (I;m talking about camera's here, not guns) When we got to the theater we were in awe. It was the first time that either if us had ever been there so we didn't really know what to expect. It was not quite as big as we thought.

We were very worried because we had lawn seats and we didn't know how big the stadium seats were. We thought that we were barley going to be able to see the stage. It ended up that even from the top of the hill at the back of the lawn seats we could still see the stage. We sat about halfway up the hill. We had barely been there 5 minutes when we decided we wanted to go and get souvineers. We each ended up getting one of those keychain things that you wear around your neck (You know, alot of people have the ADIDAS and Tommy Hilfiger ones) with a backstage pass looking thing on the end ( I only wish that it was a real backstage pass!) We also got glow sticks. Right at 7:30 some announcer guy came on the loud speaker and told everyone to find their seats because Aaron Carter was comming out onto the stage soon.

We went back to where we were sitting and waited. Within minutes We here "HHEEEEEYYYYY RAAAAAAALIEGHHHHHHH!!!" In the most adorable voice that you have ever heard. It was Aarons!! He came out and sang 4 songs because the other 2 opening acts were not there. He brought some girl up on stage and sang to her (Actually, I think that it was Angel). The other song that I remember is "Shake It" That song is soooo cute! Every time he said 'Shake It!' everyone in the crowd went 'Go Aaron! Go Aaron' It was so cute. Then he started to talk about how this was the last show and he wanted to tell us how great we had been. Then he left and about a half anhour later the Backstreet Boys came out!!! It was so amazing! They sang a couple songs (I don't remember exactly which ones. I was in awe that less tan 100 yards away from me was the Backstreet Boys) I do remember that they left to go and change and when they came back they sang some songs individually. Brian sang some really pretty slow song and played the guitar with it. I would have to say that he is definently the most talented one or at least has the bes solo voice. Then the boys were thanking us, and then they started to diss their band!

It was kinda funny because all of them put down their instrauments and left the stage and the Boys were like 'What should we do now?!' and one of them said "I guess that we are going to have to do this one by ourselves!' So the all went to their specific instrauments (All that I remember is that Nick played the drums and AJ played the bass guitar). They did a great job! I never knew that they could play instrauments as well as they can sing, but you can bet that they can! Then they sang a few more songs, OK actually it was a bunch, and then they left the stage to go and change again. All of the mothers with little kids were trying to 'beat the crowd' by leaving now and it was really making me mad! It ended up being for the better though because We got to move up. They came back and sang "Everybody" It was sooooo good!! That was the last song that they sang though. I was upset that that was it, but I almsot didn't care because just one song would have been enough for me! Oh, and some of the things that they did while they were singing but I don't remember exactly where that I'll tell you know is um..... Oh, AJ did some funky dance move during 'Get Down' that alot of mom's got mad about but I certainly liked it! They all like lifted up/took off their shirts during everybody, and during a slow song that I can't remember exactly Howie passed out roses. I was so jealous, i wanted one so bad but I was way to far away.

OH and one last thing, they sang "I'll Never Break Your Heart" acapella and it was soooo much better than any other version that I have ever heard before. Well I think that that is about it

Allentown, PA, USA, (September 5, '98) by Kevin's Ladi

Date: Sep 30, 2000
Submitted By:

By Kevins' Ladi

Hey guys..last nights show was even better than the 29th(by the way my other sn is Poohgrl). It all started out when me my sister and her friend drove to Allentown without any tickets, hoping to get some..Well after hours on end of hoping to get them I lost hope..so we hung out where they were going to come in.. not too many girls were there so it was cool. A bus pulled in and we think my sweetie Kevin was on the bus. (atleast that is what some girl said).

Then a few minutes later I went around to where there was a space where you could see the stage from outside and I watched the band do soundcheck. In the meantime my sister was standing at the gate where you could see the guys getting their food. But she saw no one at this point. Then another bus pulled up and was just parked inside the backstage area and this guy walked up to my sister and said "look there is one of them" and she said "where?" and they guy pointed to the bus and AJ was standing right there.

Just when that happened me and my sisters friend had managed to sweet talk someone into selling us their tickets ( we paid a little too much but it was worth it ). We had 19th row in section A. So we got inside to where the show was and all these girls started to scream up top (they were able to see over the fences and watch the boys). So my sister and her friend went to look to see what was happening and she saw Nick and Brian playing football (she was able to see through the gate doors).

Then it was time for "Meet and Greet", so now the girls were screaming louder because they were able to see all 5 guys. My sister made friends with this security guy who let her get a few peeks at the guys. My sister called out AJ's name and her waved to her. Then my sisters friend called out Kevin's name and he waved to her (yes I am jealous). So I went over to see what was happening and I looked over and saw Nick signing some autographs. This security guy asked my sister who her fave is and she told him Brian, and he said OK you can take a pic of him. So they guy opened the door for my sis to take a pic and Brian turned around and she snapped one of him.. Then it was time for the concert.

Wow it was an incredible show!

The crowd was lively, and the guys were eating it up. They were all so crazy. AJ was all humping the floor. Nick was pulling out his underwear when he said "Am I sexual?" if he would have pulled anymore out it would have been and Xrated show. They sang happy birthday to their guitar player and body guard. Kevin looked great, he shaved his goatee and mustache off. Since I am tall, I was waving to Kevin during a song and he pointed over to me, so that was pretty cool.

After the show my sister got to see Kevin get onto the bus, and Aaron was sitting on one of the buses honking the horn like crazy. All in all it was a great night and well worth the drive and $$.

Columbia, MD, USA, (September 4, '98) by Tanea Tylette Reed

Date: Sep 30, 2000
Submitted By:

Written by Tanea Tylette Reed

BSB at the Merriweather Post Pavilion

Ok since I'm from Virginia and I didn't know where I was going in the first place, I left extra early. So I left at around 8:30am and arrived at the Pavilion at around 11am. I was getting all these butterflies in my stomach. Well I thought since maybe it was the day of the concert they might have some extra pavilion seats left otherwise, I would be sittin' on the lawn along with 10,000 other folks. So they don't have anymore pavilion seats left so there's no use in me leaving, because I can't check into my hotel until 3pm anyways, so I just stayed along with a couple other people at the gate. It was about 5 of us standin' at the gate from 12pm until 3pm waitin' for an autograph.

Needless, to say that didn't happen, which I'm still kinda ticked off at, but anyways. We were still there waitin', and the people that worked there were being so mean to us, and we weren't even doing anything. Then around 4:30p, this tall guy comes and asks if 10 girls would help pass out theses little free photo pamphlets. So I said, yeah because it sure beats sittin' by the gate for 2 more hours.

So we got to go into the VIP entrance and get into the pavilion early. While we were waitin' we met this guy that works for the BackStreet Boys and we talked to him for a little while and he was really nice! Then we handed out the things for what seemed to be forever, we almost missed Aaron Carter. So after that, we finally found some pretty good lawn seats, and saw Aaron Carter perform. He is such a lil' cutie. He was the only opening act, which was fine with me since I was ready to see the boys perform anyway.

Then about 20 minutes later. The lights went out, and the Dj starts playin' "Mo Money, Mo Problems" and "Hypnotize" by Notorious B.I.G. so I was groovin' to the beat. Then he stops, and the band starts playin', the lights come on and the guys pop up on stage from these trap doors and start singin' "That's the Way I Like It"! Then they did this song called "If I Ever Fall In Love Again" acapella by Shai. It was so good! It was so phat. After that they start dancin to this mix of "All About the Benjamins", "Don't Wanna Be a Player", "Money, Power, Respect", "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See", and "Too Close". I should mention that these are among my favorite songs so I was going crazy on the lawn. I would've jumped on stage and started dancin' with them if it hadn't been for the 95 bodyguards, police, and security.

Then they went off stage for a costume change then each one came out for their little solo. They are very talented. Then They played "Quit Playin' Games With My Heart". Kevin played keyboards, Brian on bongos, Howie D. and A.J. on guitars, and lil' Nicky Carter on drums. They can really play too. They sang a couple more songs. Had costume changes. Sang a couple more songs. Then the finale came. They played the video "Everybody" on the large screens, then this grim reaper thing came out and five other grim reapers came out with red eyes rolling five coffins on stage. When they turned the coffins around the boys came out singin'. And that was it! They concert was really great though, even though I didn't get to meet them like I was hoping, but there's always a next time... :)

Columbia, MD, USA (September 4, '98) by Backstreet Girlie

Date: Sep 30, 2000
Submitted By:

This is kinda long. This is more of a fan "experience" than a review, but you can see for yourself! It was cool!

Ok, so it was Friday afternoon, my friend and I got in her car, drove home from school, and headed to the concert at about 4pm. We arrived at Merriweather Post Pavilion at about 4:30-4:45pm. The gates were set to open at 6:30pm. We parked and decided to check everything out. We walked down to the gate and there was already a good 250 people waiting there. They probably came early so they could get a good place in line, so they could have good seats on the lawn. We didn't have to worry about that, we had seated tickets under the pavilion, but we really didn't know how close we would be, we were just hoping they would be OK seats. After the long, long wait in line, and we finally got in, we decided to check out the merchandise and take our time since we had seated tickets. Everyone else was rushing to get some good lawn seats. We walked down towards the pavilion, we showed the ladies our tickets and started to walk down the aisles....

Nothing could prepare us for this.... When we got down to the bottom, we were like, where the heck are our seats???? There is no way we are this close!?!? But it was true!!!! We were like, FRONT ROW!!! They were OK seats alright, they were some of the best!!!! We were off to the left a little but it was ok, we were the first thing the Backstreet Boys would see when they looked at the crowd!! People would KILL for these seats! We started to freak out! People were staring at us and the security guards were laughing at us! haha

After we calmed down, time went sooooo slow. People were starting to fill in the seats and it was getting closer and closer to show time. At around 7:45, a guy came out and was like "how's everybody doing?!?!". The crowed was so loud! Then he said a few other things and then he was like "so lets give it up for AARON CATER!!!" The crowd screamed and clapped and the lights went out....

All of the sudden music blasted and lights flashed and Aaron ran out on stage with his 2 rapper back-up guys! We were so close!!!! I could see everything!! Every facial feature, every smile, every movement!! He was cutest 10 year old ever! We stood up and were dancing and singing (we knew the words, we are big Aaron fans). We also remembered a poster we had made that said "We love you Aaron!" So we held that up and he pointed at it and was smiling! He was making eye contact with me a few times! It was cool! And like, since no one else really knew that much about him or even know who he was, he really noticed us because we did know who he was!! (hes not on the radio here in the USA) I got some WONDERFUL pictures of him!! He sang my favorite of his songs and all these people were starring at us cuz we were so enthusiastic (hehe). The last song he sang (shake it) had a little dance to go with it but already knew the dance!! His 2 backup guys were starring at us cuz we were already doing it before they showed the audience what the dance was! It was already sooo great!!

When Aaron was over the suspense was even greater! He was over at about 8:15 and we had no idea when BSB were going to be on. The 30 mins went by really, really slow, but finally, the announcer guy came back out! This was it!!! He said a few things and finally, he said "Let give it up for the Backstreet Boys!!!" And the lights went black....

It was so loud! The music started and we were so close we could see the stage even though it was dark. Then, all of the sudden, they all jumped up out of the floor and fireworks went off!!! AJ came out of the center and started singing...WE WERE SOOO CLOSE! WE COULD SEE EVERYTHING! They looked soooo good person!! They would come over to our side of the stage and we were so close, we could reach out and touch them if we wanted!! I would wave and point at them and they would wave and point back!! And I made eye contact with each one of them many times through the concert!! I GOT THE BEST PICTURES!!!! Then it came time for their solos. So Howie came out and started to walk along the edge of the stage and give out the dozen roses he is carrying, while he was singing. Well, when he came to us, I held out my hands and looked him right in the eyes. He looked me in the eyes back, pointed at me, and smiled (while he was singing) and TOSSED ME A ROSE! I took the rose and shoved it halfway down my pants! My friend was like, hey! No Fair! And the girl sitting next to us was like, OH MY GOD YOU GOT A ROSE!! It was the best!! After he was done, the others, one by one did their solos. When Brian did 'Thats What She Said', i felt like i was the only one singing! But i think he noticed that i knew it, so that was cool. Somewhere in there, I kinda stopped dancing and i was in a daze for a minute for some reason, and I guess I got a look that was not as excited as i was before, cuz just then, Brian came over and saw me. He was singing his part at the time, and he looked me right in the eyes while he was singing. He was staring in my eyes for what seemed like forever!! It felt like he was singing to me cuz he was looking at me for sooo long!! I got the BIGGEST smile and he smiled right back looking right into my eyes!! My heart jumped into my throat!

As the concert went on, they would do all these funny things during the concert and act silly, they were great!! And I could see everything, I mean, EVERYTHING!! We were almost on stage we were so close!! So they did a few more songs and then, during this one song, they all were sticking their hands in the crowd. I reached up and grabbed Kevin's hand and he looked me right in the eyes *sigh*. Then I was like, screw that, I want NICK!! So I scooted over to where Nick was and he was sitting on the edge of the stage. He was singing his part and looking all adorable. I was less than 2 feet away from him! Then, all of the sudden, he jumped down on the ground and the only thing between me and him was the barricade!!! He was still singing and I reached my hand out, hoping he would grab it, but instead, he looked me straight in the eyes...twice! But then so many people started to come over, he jumped back on stage and I went back over to Kevin and he grabbed my hand AGAIN and looked me in the eyes AGAIN! I really wanted to touch Brian, but he was on the other side of the stage (damn!). After that, they sang more songs and we were having a blast!!! They would still come over and make eye contact with us and wave and stuff, soooo coool! Then they sang their so called "last song" and left the stage. We knew they would come back out, and sure enough, they did!! They sang 2 songs (i think) and then, last but not least Backstreets Back! After that they bowed and AJ put his hand in the crowd and I grabbed his hand!! It was great!! Then, they did one last wave and they went backstage. What an awesome show!!!!

After that, we walked out and i felt like everyone was going to jump me cuz i had a rose! It was scary! And that was it! We were too tired to try and follow the bus or try and meet them, we were happy with what we got!

Columbia, MD, USA (September 4, '98 ) by DEE4087@aol.com

Date: Sep 30, 2000
Submitted By:

Hi!! I went to the BSB's concert at the MerriWeather Post Pavillion in Columbia Maryland on September 4th 1998. It was the best! I remember everything that the one girl wrote about it, but i wanted to add something very special to her review!! After many of the fans left, me and my friends heard A LOT of screaming coming from inside the gates, so we decided to go back in the Pavillion.

We saw a huge crowd of people. When we got through the crowd, we could see that we were standing behind the BSB...of course far away from them, but they were in a great veiw, were everyone could see them. They were waving goodbye to us, and they got into this (surprisingly) small Suburban which was a turquoise green, and it had flashing lights like a police car would...it was the most exciting thing ever!! Me and my friend Ashley went to chase them down the road but they sped away. Oh well, but i just wanted to share that story. :)

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