Okay, after ten entries (ten?! Just what all am I writing anyway?) of
pre-concert nonsense, I've finally reached the
meaty part of my story - the NSync concert.
Since that blonde lady would be pulled onstage, she and her group got
to sit in the empty VIP section. Apparently the
actual VIPs stayed somewhere dry. This meant that now there would only
be one girl - I'll just call her Sally Jo, as good
a name as any - standing between us and the runway, giving us a much
closer view.
By now, the rain returned to its drenching onslaught. Sally Jo and I
just looked at each other and shook our heads with
mock exasperation, grinning as rivulets of water ran down our faces.
By now, I was so wet that it didn't make any sense
(I figured) to put my poncho back on, so it remained crumpled at my
feet until Sally Jo's mother, who stayed in her seat
to my left, asked to use it to protect her camera.
So there we stood in the pouring rain, listening to Beatle and Rolling
Stone songs playing over the loudspeakers. Then
"Start Me Up" came on, and I wondered if that meant that the concert
would be starting. Sure enough, as soon as the
song ended, the Countdown Clock flashed on the screen again, and everyone
watched as a minute ticked away. I
started counting out loud at ten seconds, but the rest of crowd was
slower, not catching on until it reached six
seconds. Well, that just took the fun right out of it for those lost
four seconds!
So when the clock hit 00:00:00, it was time for NSync!
Well okay, not quite yet, but close enough to count. The screens came
on to show male hands typing (at a typewriter
nonetheless!) the definition of first "pop", then "odessey", and finally
"popodessey". I don't remember what the
definitions were, but if you're really curious, I suggest you look
them up in a dictionary.
Then Joey creeps onscreen, with his hair greased and parted down the
middle and wearing big, black-rimmed glasses,
a too small button-down shirt, and brown slacks, in front of a chalkboard.
I may have gotten a few details wrong there,
but the effect is still the same: he's a meek, geeky teacher. He says
something in a squeaky, geeky voice, but due to the
screams in the audience, those words are forever lost. The screams,
however, could not drown out the three, huge
letters he writes on the board: POP. I think he talks some more, and
then lights start flashing and the music for the
song "Pop" starts playing.
The next part is the greatest part so far. Five figures dressed in monk
robes march out quietly, each taking a place at
the front of the stage. With their heads bowed and hands clasped in
front of them, they just stand there, still. I don't
know what it is, but I absolutely love silluettes and still figures,
especially if they're solemn or serious. You know the
Charlie's Angels logo? Probably not the best example, I know, but I
love it nevertheless. And that doesn't even hold a
candle to the wicked site of the five monks standing completely still.
And then- the robes collapse into in empty pile on the stage, as if
there were nothing inside but air. The spotlights
suddenly illuminate the platform right behind us, and everyone swivels
around and starts screaming as NSync
emmerges from an opening pyramid. They too are standing completely
still, but this time it's really them. As soon as
they're completely exposed (from the pyramid, folks, they still have
their clothes on), "Pop" starts playing again - or is
turned up louder, or something like that - and the five fellas begin
dancing. The only thing seperating us from them as
they run down the stairs from the platform is the almost empty VIP
section. I have a clear shot of them, and they of
me...except they never once made eye contact. Harrumph!
Actually, I was too excited about being THAT close to them that I didn't
care. I clapped and cheered the guys on like it
was a sporting event. It was amazingly cool how close they were. I
could see the rain dripping from their hair.
It was still pouring by the way.
The five guys ran to the stage and performed another song, "Tearing
Up My Heart," I think. It's sad that I don't
remember. Then they went to the right side of the stage and four of
them rose into the air on little, round platforms.
Lance, however, remained on the ground as he talked to the audience.
As much as I love him, I still don't remember
what was said. I'm sure the rain was mentioned though. "Gosh, it's
wet," or the like. But after he finished introducing
the song, he too began to rise into the air on a pizza-sized platform.
(I was getting dizzy just watching them! Yikes, I
hate heights. And with the rain and wind...scary!) Right there, on
those death traps, they sang "God Must Have Spent
(A Little More Time on You)". Pretty song, fellas.
And then they went backstage, and Chris' voice came on the speaker system.
"Sorry, guys, but we're going to take a
little break while the storms pass through. We're surrounded completely
by metal, and we don't want to get struck by
lightning...or you either. So get some shelter. But we're not going
to go anywhere, and so as long as you stay here,
we'll put on our show! So don't leave!"
And thus we were stuck once more in the rain. By now, the sun was long
gone and the breeze had picked up.
Meaning: it was bloody freezing! I stood there shivering, my legs shaking
as I hunched over to brace myself, cold and
wet. Now I really wished I had brought my jacket.
p.s. Okay, I really don't know why I switched from past tense to present
tense to past again in this entry, but I'm too
lazy to fix it. Sorry for any irritation this may have caused
grammar enthusiasts.