Last Thursday, beneath the burning ember of the Rose Quarter's
eternal flame, a force unlike any other was unleashed on
an unsuspecting public. That force: 'N Sync. The public's
reaction: screaming, crying. Starstruck teenage girls roaming
in tear-stained mobs. They screamed not out of fear, but
because they had just seen the "coolest band in the world,"
as 'N Sync fan Bonnie Watson put it. Her friend Taylor agreed.
"They get everybody involved," proclaimed Bonnie. And when
the fun was over, it was hard for Bonnie and Taylor and
thousands of others to say "Bye, Bye, Bye"
to the heartbreakers known as 'N Sync. So there were tears.
Because the New York wankers in the Jive Records flack
department refused to come through with a press pass for
the only music journalist in the city of Portland who has
ever given 'N Sync a positive review, your humble
correspondent had to taste the excitement second-hand. Dodging
the spray of the Rose Quarter's weird fountain, I waylaid
bawling fans and demanded to know: How the hell was it?
A success, it seems. Many agreed that 'N Sync is a rad
band. They get the crowd involved, and, mainly, they're
cute. In fact, weighing the merits of the Backstreet Boys,
Bonnie and Taylor said, "They're OK, but not as cute." And
when it comes to complete cuteness, the greater portion
of the Rose Garden crowd voted for Justin. Lance came up
a close second, rated "sorta cute." JC and Joey were mentioned,
so I guess they're cute. Not one fan uttered Chris' name
and "cute" in the same sentence. Cut the guy some slack!
The highlight came when I met a group of friends who called
themselves the 'N Sync Family. All dressed in bright red
shirts emblazoned with "'N Sync" in silver glitter and black
pants adorned with Mecca stickers, these four girls were
true 'N Sync fans. They said other fans were mistaking
them for 'N Sync backup dancers.
"We are gonna start wearing Mecca clothes now, 'cause 'N
Sync wears them," said Aimee Riandrakaisang, a member of
the 'N Sync Family. The Family also includes Vennus Vahrami,
Eliza Kang, Martina Man, and Martina's mom, who sported
the same red shirt, with "'N Sync Mama" written on it. They
had all taken advantage of the screaming deals at the vending
booths, buying $5 'N Sync glow sticks.
"It was the best concert ever," they all screamed in unison.
"We were screaming the whole time." This was the consensus.
"It's cool, because all walks of life came out tonight,"
noted Vennus. In fact, the 'N Sync Family represented four
different cultures.
But what was the real highlight of the show?
"The moving stage and 'Digital Get Down,'" said Aimee.
"Oh yeah--totally!" concurred the other members of the group.
And when the concert was over, what did they do? They ran
as fast as they could to try to catch a glimpse of the band's
tour bus. Did they see any members of the band?
"We thought we saw Justin, but we can't be sure," they
said. "But we think he held up his cell phone, and we all
screamed."
A group called Kara and Friends also enjoyed the show.
These tightknit friends think the 'N Sync boys are "all
hot and really nice."
"They put on a good show 'cause they know where we (as
fans) are coming from," said Kara. "They used to be just
like us at one point."
The real disappointment came when I found out neither Sisquo
nor Pink showed up to open the concert. "We really wanted
to see Sisquo," said Kara. Rumor had it that Sisquo was
sick. Only God knows what's up with Pink. Instead, two groups
of barely knowns, whose names I didn't even bother with,
opened.
"They were good, but we really came to see 'N Sync," Bonnie
Watson said. Her friend Taylor agreed.
Blink 182 was throwing down some competition that night
right across the fairway in the Memorial Coliseum. But I
asked fans if, hypothetically, they could ever get through
to MTV's Total Request Live and give a shout-out
to Carson Daly, who would they vote for: Blink or 'N Sync?
The answer was overwhelming. Blink was said to be good,
but just not as cute.
Although I didn't get to see the concert myself and witness
the infamous moving stage, I think the real show was outside.
Thousands of 'N Sync fans screaming, crying, running through
the fountains! Oh yeah! 'N Sync rules, and all those fans,
from Kara and Friends, to Bonnie and Taylor, to the Ultimate
'N Sync Family, know it. Next stop: Britney Spears in August.
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'N
Ink: A fan wears her devotion on her skin. 
