Backstreet’s back. Why? To kiss the girls and make them cry.
Proving they still have whatever they had 15 years ago, the Backstreet Boys made the girls scream at the Canada Games Arena Saturday night.
And if screaming was any indication, it seems the BSB’s latest stop on their Unbreakable tour was a squealing success. But what do you expect from an estrogen-charged crowd of females ranging from less than 10 to (gasp) 40 years of age?
Decked out in boxing attire, the boys opened the show performing the 1990s hit, “Larger than Life” in a faux boxing ring. This was a fun start to a night destined to be full of heartache and tears (from the audience at least).
With promises of “big, juicy kisses” for all the sexy ladies, the Boys worked the stage like true veterans. It was impossible not to be drawn into their enthusiasm and charisma.
Brian pumped up the crowd even further with, “It’s cold outside Grande Prairie, but with all these hot women in here it’s getting hotter.” Later in the show he would shout something like, “Some of you were not even born 15 years ago.” Oops!
Above the cries for Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell and A.J. McLean, it was possible to hear the music. The Boys sang and danced their way through a mix of songs from their six albums including “Incomplete,” “Quit Playing Games With My Heart,” and “Trouble Is.”
Even in the early 1990s, the Boys’ vocal talent was never questionable. They can sing. But when you are a boy band like the New Kids on The Block, the jokes and criticism are a given. The years were good to the Boys and they sang just as well as they did more than a decade ago.
For some, the show was a walk down memory lane. So the Boys complied by showing the original videos on two screens on either side of the stage while singing hits like “I’ll Never Break Your Heart” and “As Long As You Love Me.” It would be fair to say most of the girls in the crowd have never seen these earlier videos. Still, many sang and screamed along.
All four guys had at least one solo spot. A.J. really got the crowd going with his energetic rock song “Drive By Love.” Makes you wonder whether he questioned his career as a pop artist opposed to living out a rockstar dream.
A BSBs’ show is just as much about its choreography as it is about the music. Here you could tell the years have caught up to the Boys – who are all in their 30s save for Nick who is 28.
A little slower, a little stiffer and a little out of synch (not to be confused with ‘N Sync), the routines were a faint cry from the high-energy shows of the Boys’ youth.
But they made it work. Amidst Nick sliding his hand down his pants, and A.J. thrusting his pelvis repeatedly at the crowd, gone were the innocence and boyish charm of the young teen sensations. This is the new Backstreet …. um … Boys.
Source: Grande Prairie Herald-Tribune/Monday Nov.17, 2008 By Crystal Rhyno/Herald-Tribune staff
Very nice review! Thanks 🙂