Your Weekly Townsend Fix Column 45
Hey Everyone!
WOW! Ok so Tracy was AWESOME! I think Holly and I are on the
same page! I'm just going to skip all the small talk and get right to
the day...it was pretty long. Well, the day started off great. I
looked out the window and the weather in San Francisco...FOGGY SAN
FRANCISCO was clear and warm and perfect! If it was nice out here by
the coast it was going to be beautiful in Tracy. The ride over was
pretty smooth once we hit the freeway. There was a lot of traffic
through Chinatown. I left the city with Bob & Wendy at 1:30ish and
got to Tracy around 2:50. As soon as we stepped outta the car it was
sooooooooooooooooooooooooo warm. Ok me, I'm not used to that weather.
I'm from San Francisco where the highest temp is in the mid 70s.
After about 20 minutes of time inside we went to go drop some stuff
in the car and as we were finishing that some guys pulled up to
park...I looked and I saw Todd and then realized "Oh it's them." All
the guys looked kinda tired but still very very hott. I leaned over
to Amber maybe twice in the 5 to 10 minutes to say "Oh God Rye's
hott" or something like that. Hey man he was hott. As all the guys
got out it was like I hadn't seen them in a year or something, it was
really only like a couple of weeks but hey it's all the same. I got
questions about the "got ryan?" shirt for Matt that I had in my
clutches...Nick ruined it by the way by saying "HEY IS THAT GOT
RYAN?" I almost slapped the guy on the arm but Rye had to find out
eventually didn't he? Soon enough they went inside and Amber and I
dropped off something in her car. I was dying out there I was baking
too. I told Amber, Joy, Megan and Courtney that if I complained about
the heat again to slap me on the arm. Megan came back from
Tennessee!!! It was so great seeing her again! Joy looked like she
was dying, she was wearing a black shirt, I was getting dehydrated
just looking at her. I also got to meet some of you guys! I'm
forewarning you right now that I'm REALLY bad with names. I get that
from my dad, I will never forget a face but can forget a name just as
fast as Ryan's car. (Self admitted lead foot driver.)
I was able to see a lot of familiar and fun faces. Just to
name a few, Joy, Megan, Crazy Meg, Amber, Courtney, Jen, Andrea,
Katie, and of course my partner in crime, Holly. I was talking with
Wendy and Bob in the car about how incredible these fans are. In fact
I can't even use the word "fan" only because it doesn't describe you
guys, it doesn't do any justice, it's so past it, we're all friends
and that alone makes me happy. I mean the guys are great but
sometimes I find myself going to select functions to enjoy the
company of everyone. I met the infamous "Billy Castro" yesterday
while waiting in line to reach the table with the guys (actually I
don't know why I was in line since they didn't sign anything) and I
could've stood at the table all day with Courtney and Amber talking
to this guy letting everyone bypass us.
Well luckily as the afternoon calmed down the cool breeze
came. I met the girls of "KnockOut" Tawny, Clarissa, and Crystal.
Clarissa was such a sweetheart! She introduced herself and
everything. Both her and Crystal seemed to love the "got ryan?"
shirts. Crystal mentioned something about Ryan and how he's probably
my favorite but I was temporarily distracted by the rip in Todd's
jeans. I smiled and nodded, I'm not sure what I nodded to but it
seemed to satisfy them. As I came up to the table Todd was up
first "Little Sis" was the first thing he said to me at the table.
Hearing that made me want to just squeeze his cheeks, I don't know
why, it was an impulsive thing. In the meantime Tamara was having fun
with a bottle of water behind Todd. I didn't take a lot of pictures
with the guys, I don't know why, I took one with Todd and that was
it. I took a shot of Ryan at the table and a solo one of Matt in
the "got ryan" shirt after the show. I took PLENTY of performance
shots...but thats later.
I had fun though just hanging outside, there was a band
playing and that got me in the mood for music, Joy bought the
CD...remind me to ask her to borrow it. After the guys had their time
at the table, they went in for the press confrence. From what I
gather...a couple good questions were asked...I wonder if they'll pop
up somewhere. While the press confrence went on Andrea, Katie, Amber,
Courtney, and I and a couple others hung out with Bob outside with
Wendy. We all had a good time enjoying the warm breeze until we had
to move outside so they could lock up the area. I went back to the
car with them to put some more stuff in there. We went to go stand in
line and I got meet Todd's mom, she's a sweet lady. Steve came by and
swooped us up to go inside by the back door. When Todd posted on the
board that the sound system would make you deaf...he wasn't lying.
Just from outside the door I thought that I would need ear
protection.
As we walked in I saw the gym was decked out with chairs and
bleachers. The stage, for those of you who didn't go was split level.
There was an elevated back that was narrow for the guys' limber
dancers, the main stage was wide with a small catwalk. I was
impressed by the sound system they had, it was loud but hey, we've
all been to a concert, adapt and enjoy. All the guys were practicing
hard, they did it without the mics but Todd had a handheld for the
rap. They seemed rather relaxed, they made every movement look
natural. From just watching them you would know that they belong up
there on stage. Mr. & Mrs. Yoakum and Matt's two younger siblings
walked in. Matt ran off stage and gave them the biggest hugs. It was
so sweet to see, I almost cried just watching them. Matt's little
brother...he's a mini Matt, actually he's not mini he's tall but
looks like Matt but younger. His sister is taller than I am. She's
younger than me and I actually looked up at her. Wendy introduced me
to Peter & Trina, they are some of the sweetest people I have ever
met. It's obvious that Matt has learned a lot from them. Sound check
ended and the guys were trying to teach Colin (Julie's son) some
dance moves...I think that he had them down though.
Soon enough they started letting people in and Amy took stage
(it was her 19th Bday by the way) and introduced KnockOut. They
performed a couple of songs 2 or 3 fast ones to start them out and
then 2 ballads. After they sped things up some more Tawny mentioned
something about a surprise. They sang the "scooter" song and soon
enough the guys came out on scooters. Joy and I were sitting there
laughing, it's weird, all of us knew they had scooters but actually
seeing them on scooters was pretty awesome. Matt zipped right in
front of Joy and I wearing the "got ryan?" shirt...it looked good on
him...I nearly choked on my gum. Rye sported the cool Diesel beanie
she got for Rye in NYC. And in case any of you go to a Diesel store
and wonder that one size really does fit all...it does.
After KnockOut completed their set everyone was ready for
Townsend. A group of girls even started a Townsend chant. Amy came
out and handed out 10 drawings that Bob did of the guys. After that
was the Townsend CD with a boombox. After the drawing, everyone was
ready. I was ready, everyone behind and next to me was ready. Who
wasn't?! Plus 5 came out and did their thing. I think I can name them
all....Tiffany, Katelyn, Andrea, Penni,....wait dont' tell
me....ohhhh the illlusive one...darn...next time I'll get them all.
I'm sure I know it and when someone sends me the name I'll be
like "Oh damn." Out came the guys and they did their thing. Of course
Understand This, Tonight is for you, and Just Say Goodbye was great.
When they did their "Close your Eyes" I called up my place. I was
hoping that no one was home and that the machine was pick up but my
mom did. She said she listened to it and cried in the kitchen. The
last song was "Pour Some Sugar On Me" that has got to be one of the
world's hottest songs and they totally nailed it!!! In between their
sets Plus 5 did a dance segment to "Bootylicious" those girls are so
limber...I can't even touch my toes. Also Peaches n Cream played on
the system...I wanted to stand up and dance but there was a section
of the crowd already taking care of that. Joy, Megan and I swayed
back and forth and when the song ended Missy Elliot's "Get Yo Freak
On" played and just as you thought we'd get the whole song...out came
the guys again. It was a good show. I was in awe of their dancing
still. Part of me wants to go "Oh wow look at that" and the other
aprt of me sits there in disbelief that I could know 5 guys with so
much talent. I was so proud of them you could tell that they
practiced their craft and indeed accomplished in a short time what it
can take to do in a lifetime. Not so say that their job is
over...there's till much more ground for them to cover.
After the show I said goodbye to some people and tried to
figure out how long the slight ringing in my ear would last. Like I
expected...no permanent effects. Wendy and I lost Bob...we thought he
went back where the guys were and we didn't want to lose eachother so
we went back to look for him. We walked into a room with Kelby and
Colin and a large table of food and figured that guys weren't there.
We asked where everyone was and they didn't know so we walked out and
saw Ryan's parents. (Nice nice people.) Two seconds later we saw the
guys in the room with Julie, Plus 5 and some other people.
Bob...still not found. We went over and I met Tiffany and Todd came
over to give Wendy and me a hug. (He was sweaty.) We told them that
the show went great and everything. Just then Bob walked in...good we
didn't lose him...I think he found the room easier than we did. In
the mean time everyone was doing their own thing. I saw this guy with
a cap ride past me on a razor...I figured it was probably Todd since
he seemed to be enjoying it most and when I looked closer it was
Matt's dad! All the Townsend families seem to be really cool and a
lot of fun. Slowly but surely we made our way out again to head to
the car. As we were all saying goodbyes I went and talked to Amber
whose voice was either going or gone most of the day. She pursaded me
actually got me to take a picture with Myles of Knyption (yummm).
Tony was there too he was a super sweety. After that we made our way
outside and talked some more. I was watching Colin do the dance moves
to "Tonight Is For You." I talked to Kaitlyn and Kris of the Dream
Team for a bit and said goodbye to them and said goodbye to Peter and
Trina. On the way to the car I gave a goodbye hug to Amber, Meg,
Court, Drea and Katie.
It was a long night and I had built up energy all the way
through dinner but once I got home I colapsed! It was a long day. I
hope a lot of you were able to go, it was for a great party and a lot
of fun! My pictures are in and I should get them back within the
week, I'll scan them in right away...I hope they came out!
Remember that the Townsendboys.com site WILL BE COMING DOWN
WITHIN THE NEXT FEW DAYS. Go post your message to Mr. & Mrs. Trex on
the board and save whatever you can from the site!!!
Stay Safe & Stay You
Love Always,
Kristen
xoxoxo
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