Pepsi Pop 06.10.01 - By Cindy

PEPSI POP - 6 OCTOBER 2001 - AHOY ROTTERDAM

It started in the night from Friday to Saturday. I was awake at half past 4 already. That was too early of course so I went to sleep again. I woke again and was just thinking what time it would be when the clock downstairs said it was 6 o'clock. Too early too, but from that time I didn't sleep that good anymore. I got out of bed at 5 minutes past 7 that was 5 minutes before I was planning to go out. I took a shower, ate something, put the last things in my bags and stepped in my car to go to, that was at 8 o'clock.
I thought it would take some time to come in Rotterdam, but it wasn't that long as I thought it should be.

We left the hotel to search for a bus stop. That wasn't so easy to find but thanks to a nice man who told us where we could find one. We were almost at the bus stop, when we saw a bus coming. The bus was going to the venue we were going to! We waved. The driver was so nice to stop and wait for us. So we could get in the bus, just a little later we were at the Ahoy venue.
First we walked in front of it and took some pictures. Then we looked a bit around and decided to look for the backstage door.
The security in front of it couldn't tell us who was inside already but he did point us to some girls who were there all morning already. So we walked to these girls and they told us that they were there from 7 o'clock that morning! They saw everyone coming in, but no RONAN or Westlife.
We stayed with them watching the backstage door and watching artists come and go in. Most of them only waved at us and got in. Only one was coming to the fence. He gave signatures, but we didn't want one from him, because we don't like him.

At 3 o'clock we decided to go inside the venue. The doors were already open and we walked in, but there we got a bad surprise. First Pepsi Pop would be a week later, but they decided to do it a week early, but they couldn't use the venue were it was planned, so they changed it to Ahoy. But because we were going to sit, the numbers were not the same as in the other venue. We called about that of course but they said don't worry you get almost the same places. So that would be good ones because I got them 5 minutes after they went on sale. But inside Ahoy we found out that we had to search for a chair ourselves! So we were angry about that, but thankfully we could find 4 places in a very good position. Just the second section from stage, with just in front of us the second little stage! So we were lucky with that!

There was somebody from a Dutch radio station warming us up till it was 4 o'clock and then it started
with a Dutch band called K-otic. There was this huge curtain before the stage but we could see behind it and we saw children behind it and not the real band. At one point the curtain comes down and there were the kids. But shortly after that the real band comes up and joins in. They did 5 songs.
After that there were some Dutch singers, Edsilia, Sita and Creamy from Denmark (?) They didn't have nice voices they were very high and childish. After that The Boomfunk mc's - the older man next to me (50?) felt asleep then! We had so much fun about that. Jody Bernal a Dutch singer was next - his music is nice but we don't like him as a person.  After him we got Toybox who didn't sing live and Rosemary's Sons and then 16 Down, both Dutch.
When it was Sarah Conner’s turn it was time for me to look for the toilet. I didn't miss anything with doing that. I took some drinks with me back. No food, because for that there was a huge crowd before that and I didn't want to wait half an hour. After her there were three Dutch acts, Brainpower, Chris Zegers and Birgit.

Then it was time for the break. It was then already half past 6.
During the break they first showed the video from Westlife, When You're Looking Like That and then a very funny commercial with David Beckham. Do you know it? We had to laugh so hard about it!
Then it was time for RONAN with When You Say Nothing At All!  
The now awake again man from next to me, looked in the little book we got with all the artists in it. I saw him watch the page with RONAN on it. I think he wanted to know who we were talking about *lol*

10 minutes before it became 6 o'clock the show went on.
First Fontane a Dutch band, they sounded nice, after them Titiyo and again 2 Dutch bands, Juan Wells and Twarres and then there was s club 7, not live. Why do I know that? I noticed that Jon (I think that is his name, the blond one) had not plugged in his microphone. The flex was hanging behind his legs! And he didn't notice that. That is so stupid!

And then finally Ronan!!!
The hosts did make it special and the crowd went mad when he got on stage. First he did Lovin' Each Day, and at some point when there was a musical thing going on he looked around the venue. He started at the other side and looked round and his eyes stopped at our banner and then... he smiled so fantastic, so happy, so lovely and so only special for us. That was such a great feeling and I can’t get that smile out of my head.
Hope they show the smile on TV and our banner too of course. Later on Janet and Jo also noticed the banner and Ronan did look sometimes to us. He did bring his whole band by the way.
After Lovin' Each Day he did Life is a Rollercoaster and he did shake his bum in a very great way at some point! The last song he did was When You Say Nothing At All. Of course the audience helped him with singing that.
He looked so great! He put some weight on again. It is better this way. And after three songs he left.
After Ronan there was this Dutch band, but don't ask me about that one. I didn't notice a thing. I was only thinking of that smile and of Ronan!
Then it was time for Westlife, who did 5 songs, including the new single which I didn't hear before. It is a great song but I don't understand why they don't save it till Christmas. They did it very well too. The microphone dance was funny.
Just at the beginning of Westlife we saw Ronan next to the stage looking at them. Later he was gone.

Directly after Westlife we left. The people around us were like, why are you going now? There will be one more act! But we ran outside, but we were too late! They were already gone.
We didn't find that out till much later. They must have been running off the stage and got into a cab directly. We waited in the rain for them, not knowing they were so quick!

At some point we left and took the wrong bus to the hotel. We got out of the bus and walked a bit and then asked a man. He was saying we were going in the wrong direction. So we took a bus back to the metro station. It was the same driver as who took as to there. He helped us out and then we took the good bus at the metro station. We left that bus at the good point and walked the last part to the hotel, making up fantasies of Ronan and Westlife being in the bar at our hotel, because they wouldn't stay in the Hilton. They had to stay somewhere, but they weren't there *LOL*