On Friday, June 29, I was surfing around on the net for radio station websites using Radio-Locator.com. I cam across Mix 99.3 FM out of Redding. There, on the website it said something like "Mix 99.3 is pleased to welcom ASHLEY PARKER ANGEL and the boys of O-TOWN back to Redding on July 8, 2001 at the Shasta District Fairgrounds." Well, upon reading this, I felt so stupid. I mean, my pen pal in Toronto, Dixie, is a major O-TOWN/ASHLEY ANGEL fan. She was just telling me that she had gotten great seats to see them on the 19th (great compared to every other show she'd been to). Now the reason I felt stupid was because I had forgotten that ASHLEY ANGEL was from Redding! Now there's no reason in the world that I should forget this. My pen pal must ask me every time I talk to her "Have you been to Redding yet?" (I only live an hour and fifteen minutes away.) And on top of that, I am connected by three degrees to ASHLEY. (I worked with someone who took piano lessons from ASHLEY's mom!) So there's no way in hell that I should forget this, right? WRONG!

So I realize my error and look up prices for tickets. $22! No freaking way! Then, on the drive home from my mom's, I hear that my local top 40 station, Colors 92.7 had O-TOWN tickets and also one of the DJs was doing a remote broadcast on Saturday. So, Saturday morning comes and I go hop in my car and find the remote. When I fidn the DJ, Eric B., I tell him my situation and he says to me, "You know you can buy tickets." I then look away and say in a discouraged voice, "Yeah, but they're $22." He then looks at me and says, "Do you want tickets?" I tell him yes and he has me put my name and phone number down on the back of a piece of paper.

Monday morning I go and pick up the tickets at the station (after I find out that freaking WIMBELDON is on at 10, instead of another hour of the TODAY SHOW with the BACKSTREET BOYS). Only, when I get there, the receptionist can't find my name anywhere. So she goes and gets Eric. He looks at me and says, "Oh yeah, she definitely won tickets."

Then on Wednesday, I learn that my dad's friend Lori is going to be up at the concert as well. The only problem is that she didn't have tickets. She was going to be hanging backstage with the roadies. (Oh, to have connections.) So she was after me to get her tickets for her eleven year old daughter. Her daughter wants to see the show. So I started calling radio stations, trying to find out where I could buy tickets. The only place was the fairgrounds.

Friday night rolls around. My father, brother and myself head over to the Brickworks, a local dance club. While we're there, the DJ says something "Shasta District Fairgrounds" and "come to the DJ booth to get tickets." So I went up and talked to the DJ. He did say O-TOWN and he gave me two tickets! I scored 4 tickets to see O-TOWN for FREE!

Lori and her daughter arrived at my house Saturday night around 10:30pm. The next morning, we left around 12 noon, right after Jen arrived. So you all know, I wore white, white jeans, and my white BRIAN LITTRELL HHC tee shirt (I know, sacrillige!!!!) We got up there early and cruised the fairgrounds to find the best spot to stand in line, which was Gate 4. We then headed off to Mickey Dees for lunch and then it was up to Redding (8 miles north of Anderson) to go to Target so Jen could buy the CD. See Lori knows a local security guard. He did security for Gary Allen, and a couple other acts around here. Well, he was doing security for O-TOWN!!!! He said he could get us autographs. We were like, "sure, go for it". So Jen wanted the album signed. Me, I don't do signed album covers, unless they're records (BSB would you sign my RECORD pls?) because I feel weird about that. Anywho, so we get our stuff and then head back to the Shasta District Fairgrounds. We decide to go to gate 4 and that's where we're gonna meet up after the show because my dad and Lori were gonna go up the dam and such. So they drop us off, after we put together our packet of "please sign" stuff. Lori calls Curtis (the security guy) and he says they had to run up to radio shack because of missing wires or something and he'd meet up with Lori at gate 4 around 5ish.

So Lori's daughter and I go stand in line. While we're standing there, four girls come tearing around the courner at break-neck speed screaming "They're coming!!! They're coming!!!" So we look, and sure enough, there are the buses. So I get pics of it! (When I get them developed or sent over I'll post them)...Lori's daughter, A had a digital camera, so we were snapping pics on that as well. Well, that was about 4ish or so. The gates were supposed to open at 5, but they didn't because they were having sound probs and the boys needed to sound check. Well, it was hot out there in line. I was drinking water, slowly, but I was. We all were. Then someone nearly fainted because of heat. I think we had 3 ppl go down. Anywho, they finally let us in at 5:30. We find a bathroom and I get a towel wet so that I can stay cool. We then go stake out our seats. Once we have them on the grass (all open seating mind you) Jen and I go to check out their merchandise:

Posters: $10
Pictures: $5
Glow Sticks: $5 (they were $8 at BACKSTREET)
Tee-Shirts: $30!!! (I bought my tee at BSB for $20!)

So I buy Jen and I a glow stick. I make a comment to the vendor that I got ripped off, I paid 8 at BSB. Well, the chick beside me had the nerve to say, "Well, BACKSTREET's a bigger group." And I'm standing there staring at her, daring myself to say, "Well, tee shirts were only 20 at BSB, so there!" But I kept my mouth shut.

So we're sitting there listening to BRIAN McKNIGHT's "Anytime" album on the speakers (hey, their sound people have taste!), when this local crew guy gets up and says that everyone has to sit down. I SWEAR HE SOUNDED LIKE JOEY MCINTYRE!!!!!!!! So for an hour, we moved back. We had finally moved back 10 feet (me and the surrounding partents and teens) when a security guard came around and told us we needed to move more. Well, this mom sitting next to A said that we had moved back and that people were moving up into the space instead of allowing the people up front to sit down! So this got relayed up to the front and they made an announcement that no more new people up front! They also said that if everyone wasn't safe, the boys wouldn't come on! So by 7 everyone was sitting down. Then around 7:30, my cell phone rings (more like vibrates). So I'm thinking it's my dad, Lori, or Curtis (the only people who knew it was on). Guess who it was? MCI!!!!! They were telling me I had a balance on my account!!! They always find the most annoying times to call!!!!

There were three girls behind us: Ana, 16, Sarah, 13, and Michelle, 17. Ana had been the same BSB concert in Sac-town that I had. They kept asking me for the time. They couldn't believe that Jen and I were 22 and 21 (respectively). So we all talked for a while. Jen and I jotted some notes to ourselves. Then around 8ish (the boys were supposed to come on at 8), Tommy Smith comes out and is double (triple? quadruple?) checking his boards. I yell at him because it's Tommy. I actually yell: "Tommy, where's Guido?" He didn't hear me! But people were looking at me like "stupid girl!"

O-TOWN finally comes on around 8:30. Show was okay. I don't wanna spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen them yet. It seemed like everyone in Redding loves ASHLEY PARKER ANGEL. ASH did play the piano on "Baby I Would" and he and JACOB played guitar on "Love Should be a Crime". ASH also played guitar for his solo, which was Goo Goo Dolls "Name". They ended with "All or Nothing" which sounded hella good. Oh yeah, JACOB was just getting back from a back injury (pulled a disc I think). We were his first show back. Oh yeah, ASH had his cousin TARA on stage for "The Painter" and "Shy Girl". Oh the stories she will tell! *lol* Have to say though, the concert reminded me a lot of the "HOMECOMING: LIVE IN ORLANDO" video (being that's the first thing I have of BSB on tape, outside of the "BOYS WILL BE BOYS" performance from "THE VIDEO"). O-TOWN seemed to be concentrating a lot on the choreography (you could see it in their faces). They sounded good, but they need to work on their stage stuff. They didn't really interact with the audience like BSB does and did.

So the show was over and we managed to sneak Lori in to help us to go get our stuff back. We go find Curtis on the stage and he says he has our stuff for us. So we wait...He brings it back to us and A and I split! We almost ran all the way to the car!! We got to the car and had my dad turn on the inside light. I'm then passing out the autographed stuff!!!! Yes the O-TOWN boys did sign EVERYTHING in the package!!!!!! So I have O-TOWN's autographs as well as ASHLEY PARKER ANGEL's!!!!!!!! And they used MY pen, which I did get back!!!! WHOOOOO...O-TOWN germs!!!!!!!!!!

All in all, I made out like a bandit!!!! Autographs, 4 tickets, all for FREE!!!!!

Anywho, my love still stays with BSB. I felt OLD at O-TOWN. I mean, at BSB in SD, when the crowd started chanting "Backstreet Boys! Backstreet Boys!" they sounded around 17 or so. When this crowd started chanting "O-Town! O-Town!" they sounded about 14. I was bonding with the parents!!! Oh yeah, I did meet a woman who is supposed to email me digital pictures of the show as well.

Speaking of digital pics, during "Baby I Would" I had the camera and I was trying to get a nice group shot of the guys. This uniformed officer came over and tapped me on the shoulder. He wanted to know if I had a video camera or it was just stills. I told him it was just stills. (We have no clue how to do video!) Well, I then turn around and there's a woman standing almost driectly behind me with a camcorder!!!! I tell A and she's all "Where is he? Where is he?"

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