All Access Column 9

	All Access Column 9 April 6, 2002 What a way to end March and start off April. I’m really glad the guys have allowed me to continue doing All Access for them. I was a little worried when Bob told me they were going to step down from handling the website. I still would have continued to write the column anyway because I love to give my perspective and just write hands down. I didn’t post any goodbye message on the message board because it would seem like I was saying goodbye to Bob and Wendy for forever. But really, thank you Bob and Wendy for everything you have done. You guys have been great mentors to look up to and I’ve learned a lot from you both. But wow, Townsend’s performance in Tracy was "off the heezy" as Todd had predicted and if it wasn’t the sound system that made me deaf, it was all the fans going insane. I had to go down memory lane and remember all of Townsend’s old shows, and I’ve come to the conclusion that Tracy is their best show overall. Let me start off with how that very, very long day began. I probably got into Tracy around 11am, so my friends and I went to go get something to eat, and then got dropped off at West High. I originally hadn’t planned on being there the entire day, but since Kyniption was going on at noon, I had to come early. It was so so so so hot!! Gum, lotion, and anything to fan myself with were my essentials for that day. Just when I thought I had escaped being sunburned, nope. Got home and there goes Mr. Sunburn. Oh well, it was nice to finally have some really killer hot weather after all that wind and rain. But in that time frame from noon to 5pm, we basically just sat around, listening to the other bands, talked, and walked around. I thought the last band UVR was really good, their music got me going. They convinced me to buy their cd. Townsend was doing their meet-n-greet outside during UVR’s performance around 5pm. I don’t really know what happened after that since I left to go check out the press conference. I learned a little more about Townsend’s opening act Knock Out. In case you weren’t there or didn’t hear them speak, Knock Out is a group of three very nice girls, Clarissa (16), Tawny (16), and Crystal (19). And I believe they’re from Southern California, so it was very cool of them to come all the way up to Tracy. I found it pretty hard to believe that two of them were sixteen; I thought they looked much older than that. After they answered some questions, Townsend went next and did the same. Myles gave me a good question to ask, but I didn’t have the chance to since I came up with one of my own at the last minute. Sorry Myles! He was telling me to ask them to say one nice thing about each other. I asked them something like, "Being around each other so much, I’m sure you pretty much know everything about each other. But do you ever find out something new?" Dom preceded to answer by saying Rye was boring. Haha He was just kidding though. It’s usually just personal stuff they find out if anything. Some of the questions they were asked were: -How do you feel when you have girls 10-20 years younger than you hitting on you and wanting to marry you? -What’s it like to have your new album out? -What’s your schedule been like on the school tour? -How has your life changed from when you used to work at WILD 94.9? -Why did you chose to perform for free? -What do you think of the townsendstalkers.com website? -Did anything interesting happen when you were on the road before the New Year? -Have the events of 9/11 changed music? Most of those things I touched base on in one of my last columns (#7), so if you want to go back and read what they said. As far as how the events of September 11th have changed music, Matt and Nick were just saying that during that time, new songs really weren’t being put out. And that was the time when they were trying to put their single out. But lyrically, songs have changed a lot and I agree with that. Writers are putting a lot more meaning behind lyrics and not just writing about things that don’t matter. Oh and let me clear up some rumors that were circulating. No fan websites were dissed in anyway. I have no clue how this got started, but I was hearing that and it is not true at all. I was there and if at all, fan websites were given much praise. Soundcheck followed the press conference. It was cool to have Penny, Tiffany, Meghan, Andrea, and Katelyn back dancing with the guys. I liked how the stage was set up, it gave the entire audience a really good view of the guys. Knockout went on first and did their three songs "Walk the Walk", "I’ll Be There", and "The Scooter Song". Yes I did just say the scooter song. As soon as they said that, my immediate thought was, "Oh my god, it would be perfect if the guys came out here on their scooters." Seriously, I was dying at the thought of that. Kristen and I were laughing about that. And then who comes out in the middle of the song on scooters?! Ahhhhhhh! I was rollin’, I’m surprised I didn’t fall out of my seat because I was cracking up so much. Matt whipped by wearing the "Got Ryan" shirt that Kristen and Holly gave him and that pretty much did it for me. And Rye was wearing the beanie Court got him from NYC, looked good! That made my day, I was ready to go home and smile for the rest of the night. It is pure comedy to see grown guys scoot around on scooters! I highly recommend it however. I’m known to go wild when given a scooter to ride. But aside from the scooter action, I got all excited when the lights went out and the gym was pitch dark. The guys came out and did "Understand This" first, got everyone all hyped. Then the music for "Jealousy" came on and got my attention. It was really interesting to see how the guys would perform that song. Wow, the choreography was tight!!! I loved it, the dancing was fast paced, Matt looked so smooth moving around in the front. I once again began to feel that proud mother feeling in my stomach. The one where you can’t stop smiling, you feel like you want to cry because you’re so proud, and you just look in awe of what’s happening in front of it. Seeing the guys perform "Jealousy" live made me like the song even more. After that, Todd started up the introductions, went to Matt, Matt went to Rye. Okay and I know I wasn’t the only one laughing when Dom jumped the gun and came out a little early. Rye hadn’t even said his name yet and here comes Dom. Boy, he must have been anxious. Rye had this confused look on his face like "Hey man, wait." Haha. Dom didn’t do his little auctioneer introduction of Nick! Aww, that’s ok. From there, they went into "Just Say Goodbye" which is always cute to see when they sing to whoever they bring up. My favorite "Tonight is For You" was after that. Don’t you just love how they added that "duh duh…duh duh duh" sound in the background. Sorry I can’t really be more specific. Hehe. I’m sure you know what I mean. "Close Your Eyes" is the most beautiful song! If you think "Just Say Goodbye" makes you want to cry, wait til’ you hear this one. Leave it to Matt to write another tear jerker. Imagine four of the guys in the back, all with the tall microphone stands and Matt kneeling in the front. And it’s dark, but there are spotlights on each of them. It was hot, not temperature-wise, the song was hot, the performance was hot. The emotions that just flood out through that song are unbelievable, it left me speechless. I had goosebumps. The final song was "Pour Some Sugar on Me" and like that, the show was over. I know there was a dance break in there somewhere, but I forget when the dancers did it. They just did their "Bootylicious" routine; the girls are looking more flexible than ever. I think I’ve mentioned before how much I’d hurt myself if I tried to kick up my leg that high. I’m trying to think of a big word to sum up the entire night, but I can’t. It was just great, tight, awesome, whatever you want to call it. Once again, the guys managed to impress me and go way beyond my expectations. Good job guys, I’m very proud of you. Also, you all know that Wendy has changed townsendboys.com and made it into a much simpler site. She’s been nice enough to keep my column up, as well as the event page, links page, bio page, and music page. If you guys need a place to keep in touch with the other Townsend fans, Amber has put up a message board on her site Townsend Love and Amy has put one up at the street team site, so you can keep up your posting there. http://members5.boardhost.com/townsendlove/ http://pub96.ezboard.com/btownsend24489 I forgot that my @townsendboys.com email addy doesn’t work anymore, so if you need to ask me something, just email or instant message me at TownsndAllAccess@aol.com Return To All Access Column Index