Clearwater Article

O-TOWN TREATS FANS TO FUN N SUN
Coachman Park - Clearwater, FL
April 27, 2003
Story by Candace Cruz and Amanda Milliken
Photos by Amanda Milliken

As if it wasn't already a hot enough Sunday afternoon in Clearwater, O-Town came along and made it even hotter at the Sun N Fun Festival on April 27. They took the stage almost on time (for once) and got the crowd up and dancing with "The Joint." The guys seemed just as hyped as the fans! Erik changed the end up a bit by beatboxing for almost a full minute. We’re sure jaws hit the floor just as much as ours did when we heard that!

The sun and warm weather made us wish that we were on a big yacht dancing and singing along. After "WFT", Jacob traded in his acoustic for an electric, and Ashley picked up his as well for "Suddenly." "Suddenly" segued into a fan, as well as band favorite, "Love Should be a Crime." We've seen O-Town numerous times live, and we've never noticed parts of this song before. Especially from Trevor. It gets better every time we hear it!

They left the stage and re-emerged one at a time for their solos. Jacob came out and addressed the crowd, saying, "if you don't know this song, then we don't want you here, so you may as well leave." He was of course referring to his solo, The Black Crowes' "Hard to Handle," which he really rocked to. It seemed he had to release some extra energy, so he climbed part of the scaffolding on the side of the stage!

Jacob took his rocker self off the stage and made way for Ashley to come up with his solo, Third Eye Blind's "Semi-Charmed Life." As usual, Ashley was bright and bouncy and his smile outshone the sun.

Erik came up next with a song he used to sing with his friends in high school, Steve Miller Band’s “The Joker.” Sung with hands in pockets, there was a cool vibe both on stage and off. Erik wanted to bring his music closer to the fans, so he jumped off stage to sing to everyone from their level. He had a hard time getting back up on stage, so he just hung out against it for a while.

After a fast trip to the back of the stage, they re-emerged, and this time Jacob came armed with an acoustic guitar for "We Fit Together".

Dan was up next with his original song, “Easy Way.” Hey cutie…hey baby. Dan gave us the chillies! He’s a very talented writer, and his guitar skills are improving with every show. Trevor finished the solos by transforming himself into Will Smith, and singing Will's song “Getting Jiggy With It.” That turned into “Pass the Courvoisier” where the rest of the guys joined Trevor on stage to transform it into an O-Town song. It was high energy, and the fans really got into it as always.