Before the Show

After 2 1/2 years, I finally saw my idols, Boyz II Men, in concert again on May 26th, 1998 at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, California. This concert was one of the postponed concerts because of Wanya getting polyp, and it was the first concert back for the Boyz since Wanya got sick.

The day started out great. I went to school for four hours, bragged about seeing Boyz II Men, and everyone was wishing me luck on meeting them. My dad kept it in contact with Russell at the Boyz II Men V.I.P. Club to see if I was going to meet the guyz. Well, my dad called him right before we left for Mountain View at about 3:10, and asked what was going on and found out we had to meet him at the show, and I was going to meet Boyz II Men! I was in shock, I really didn't say much.

Before the show, I met two internet friends. About two hours before the show, I met Keith and his friend Jennifer. They were really nice, and I talked to them for a while before we got in line. Before I met another internet friend, my dad and I met up with Russell and went to the VIP (backstage) part of the venue. I was there with many other fans, and later, we found out that Boyz II Men wanted to meet us all after the show. So, before we went to our seats, Russell asked me if I had any friends at the concert, and I said yeah, so he gave me two extra backstage passes. I knew exactly who to give them to, Keith & Jennifer. So, I met up with Keith and told him what happened and I told him that he was going to meet Boyz II Men. Jennifer was with him at the time, so they both went nuts! After that, my dad and I went to our seats which were in the 3rd row, in the center, on the floor. Then I met up with another internet friend who has been to my page many times before, Matt. He was really nice and sweet. :-)

The Concert

After watching the opening acts, Destiny's Child and Next, I was ready for the REAL show to begin! At about 8:45, the lights dimmed, and everyone stood up and started to SCREAM! There they were in black jeans with chaps over them. They sang the song that started it all, "Motownphilly." Fireworks were going off everywhere, and they made me jump everytime the fireworks went off. That got the crowd hyped up very fast. I was screaming and standing up the entire time, and I was mostly looking at Wanya to see how he was doing, and he looked great, but didn't sound as good. After that performance, I knew that this would be a lot better than my first concert experience in 1995. The next song they did was "Under Pressure" which was done well, they always get the crowd going when they do their older fast songs. Then came another fast song, "Sympin'." Then came another fast song, "Baby C'Mon" which included their girl dancers and they paused in the middle of the song to talk and joke around. After those four songs, Shawn told the standing room only crowd why Mike was sitting in a chair behind the other three members, so he wanted everyone to scream Michael's name, and we did. Shawn even acknowledged the Bay Area, about it not only being Mountain View fans there, but other places in the Bay. After that, they got on their red jackets and sat at the edge of the stage and sang "On Bended Knee." Wanya didn't sing all of his parts, so he put his microphone to the crowd and we sang it for him. After they finished their begging, "Doin' Just Fine" was next. I was lip synching to what they were saying the whole night, but I was the only person lip synching to "Doin' Just Fine" out of the people around me and Shawn looked at me because of that. :-) The choreography is great for that song. Then I heard the drums that started Boyz II Men's real first big song, "End of the Road." I was surprised to see that they did it so early in the show. It was still a great performance though. Then the Boyz had to change their clothes.

When they came back out, they were wearing these blue pajama looking things. Their girl dancers were near where the band was dancing in very pretty white dresses to "Girl in the Life Magazine." At the end of the song, each girl went to one member of Boyz II Men and stayed with them. They then took off their clothes right on stage and had on black jeans (with holes in them), and a black shirt over their black undershirts. They all told the crowd to get out of their seats, which my dad didn't want to do since he was taking pictures for me. But, he stood up anyway since we were right in the front. They then sang the song that really started the All Around the World Tour, "U Know," and the song that they perform very well, "Little Things." Then came another clothes change.

When the Boyz came out, they were wearing sparkley jackets, with white pants, so I already figured out that they were probably going to do a lot of their famous ballads. First they did the first single from Evolution, "4 Seasons of Loneliness" which is choreographed very well also. Next came the song that many people love, "Water Runs Dry." Shawn told us that we had to sway with them, and snap our fingers in the air and most of the crowd what they were told. Then, all four of them got together near the band, and all of the flashes from cameras were going off at that point. Boyz II Men then sang a song that everyone in the crowd knew, "A Song for Mama." Once they finished that song, I heard the beginning of "I'll Make Love to You" and I ran up to the baracades and was one of the first girls to get up there. The girl that was next to me in my seat was standing next to me for a rose also, and she got a rose from Shawn (who was her favorite) and I also got a rose personally from Shawn. After he gave me the rose, I just stood there in awe, since I've never been that close to them. That had to be my favorite moment of the concert. After they ran out of roses, they had their final clothes change.

Then came the finale. Boyz II Men came out in blue Groove hockey jersies and blue jean shorts. The finale was "Can't Let Her Go" and this had to be the song that had the most fireworks, which looked fantastic. When Wanya came out, he had this thing he wore on his head over his mouth, which looked pretty cute. In the middle of the song, they were singing some other song which I didn't understand, but it was still cool. Mike was even dancing a tad. That was the end of the my second Boyz II Men concert experience, and it was a great one!

Backstage

The moment I have been waiting for for three years had finally come, I was going to meet Boyz II Men! So, my dad and I got Keith and Jennifer (I was showing off my rose to them), and we got to the backstage area and went downstairs to where Boyz II Men's and their dancers dressing rooms were. We were all so excited, we couldn't calm outselves down. We saw the clothes they wore during the show, and we wished we could have at least touced their clothes, but we couldn't. About five minutes after we got backstage, Boyz II Men's dressing room door opened and there came Shawn followed by the rest of the group. We were in the back, so we had to wait a couple of minutes for everyone before us to shake hands and meet them. Then, they came to us. Keith shook hands with the guys first, then Jennifer, then me. All I could say was hi, in the most stupid voice. Shawn told me he loved my shirt and necklace and said something like I had the hook up, and all I could say was yeah. Then came Wanya (in the weirdest blue jacket), then Mike (who was really tall in person), and then my favorite member, Nate, (who had on a green robe). My dad was asking all of the questions, while Keith, Jennifer, and I stood there in complete awe. My dad asked Wanya how he felt and he said 75%. My dad really wanted to see Nate's 49er Super Bowl ring since my dad loves the 49ers. Nate showed it to him and he said that they were his team, and my dad said mine too. Mike stood there and laughed. Then my dad wanted to take pictures of us together, so we did, and Nate put his arm around me, and Shawn put his arm around Jenny, (the weird thing is is that Shawn is her favorite and Nate is my favorite). So, my dad took a picture of Nate, Mike, and I together. Then, Shawn asked if they got all us, and he didn't, so my dad tried to take another pic, but something was wrong with the stupid camera, so Nate started to boo my dad! But, my dad got the camera to work and he took the picture fine. After they met with the rest of the people backstage we had a chance to get their autographs, and I only got Nate's, but I am fine with that since I have their autographs on two other things. So, that was the end. My dream had finally come true. Hopefully, I will meet them again, and actually talk to them. :-) That had to be the greatest night of my entire life.

To see the 1st Page of Pics From This Concert, click here
To see the 2nd Page of Pics From This Concert, click here
To see the 3rd Page of Pics From This Concert, click here
To see the 4th Page of Pics From This Concert, click here

The Song List (this was a shortened concert because of Wanya's polyp):

1. "Motownphilly"
2. "Under Pressure"
3. "Sympin'"
4. "Baby C'Mon"
5. Shawn talks about Mike
6. "On Bended Knee"
7. "Doin' Just Fine"
8. "End of the Road"

~Clothes Change~

9. "Girl in the Life Magazine"
10. "U Know"
11. "Little Things"

~Clothes Change~

12. "4 Seasons of Loneliness"
13. "Water Runs Dry"
14. "A Song for Mama"
15. "I'll Make Love to You"

~Clothes Change~

16. "Can't Let Her Go" (in the middle of the song, they sang Tom Brown's "Jamaica Funk")

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