Amy O'Brian, Vancouver Sun
Published: Friday, September 05, 2008VANCOUVER - Never underestimate the power of the boy band.
They can take punch after punch from critics and nay sayers. They can wrinkle and grow bellies and lose some hair. But the girls who loved them at their peak are a loyal bunch, and will evidently hold onto that love as if it was their first.
Thousands of such fans descended - wearing spiky heels and tiny skirts - on GM Place Thursday night to witness the Backstreet Boys in all their carefully choreographed and well-groomed glory.
They didn't care that their beloved boy band is no longer made up of boys, or that there are now just four, rather than five Backstreet Boys. The screams during the pre-show sound check were piercing proof that this boy band will be able to get girls screaming into their 40s and 50s - or as long as the boys can still dance.
The show kicked off with the group - Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, Brian Litrell and tattooed bad boy A.J. McLean - draped in hooded boxing robes, throwing warm-up punches as their vital stats, including their astrological signs, which were flashed up on the jumbotrons. The introductions were unnecessary considering the level of adoration among the fans, but they served to quickly identify the best-loved member of the band when the screams for Nick Carter outdid those for the others. (Carter's the one who developed a bit of a belly a few years ago, but he was looking tremendously fit Thursday as he pounded through the physically demanding dance sequences.)
The boys worked through a choreographed boxing round as they belted out an unbelievably loud version of Larger than Life, one of the mega-hits off their 1999 album, Millennium.
It was a combative, but appropriate opener for a band that's always been on the defensive regarding their authenticity and ability, but has continuously managed to land on top.
The 10,000 or so fans in the nearly sold-out crowd waved their arms in unison and sang along to any song they could. (And that was most of them. The Backstreet Boys have had 13 top 40 hits and have sold more than 100 million albums.)
No comments:
Post a Comment