Backstreet Boys return to deliver the goods

Backstreet Boys return to deliver the goods
By Alexander Choman
November 02, 2008
The Times-Tribune

WILKES-BARRE TWP. — The Backstreet Boys are back, alright.

That was clearly evident Saturday night at the Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza as the talented foursome known as the Backstreet Boys, sang, gyrated and did everything seemingly right as the audience shrieked, oooohed and aaahed as the Boys showed that they are back and stronger than ever.

The Backstreet Boys in concert present a very polished, glitzy production of talented guys that have mastered multi-part harmony in the finest tradition of street corner, a cappella doo-wop. That’s not to say that they can out-sing Boyz II Men but it is to say that they know exactly what their audience wants and they deliver the goods.

It’s not clear whether the less-than-ominous entrance in boxing robes was a spoof on “Rocky,” a challenge to fight with music critics that have panned them from day one or a statement that they will keep fighting no matter what.

Nevertheless, the Backstreet Boys reverted to their saccharin-laced, syrupy harmonies that had the mostly female audience yearning for more all night. An aside to the Boys: It was not necessary for you to keep encouraging the girls to scream. They had that covered nicely by themselves.

The lineup now includes Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell and A.J. McClean. Original member Kevin Richardson split off in 2006 to pursue a solo career.

While Mr. Richardson’s loss has not been catastrophic to the Boys in concert, they do present a slightly stripped down version of their five-part harmonies that vaulted their earlier work to stardom.

Let’s also not forget Max Martin, though, without whose able-bodied production and songwriting help the Boys may have never left the launching pad.

Each song’s opening notes were greeted with a frenzy of screams as their adoring audience turned into their backing vocalists and joined in on versions of “Larger Than Life,” “Everybody,” “Any Other Way,” “You Can Let Go,” “Unmistakable” and “More Than That.”

The ballad “Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely,” showcased the Boys sitting around a table playing cards, each with a glass of brandy telling their own tale of loneliness.

By contrast, their rousing version of “I Want It That Way” had the audience all on its feet singing along to every word each seeming to want to be the girl of the Boys’ dreams, as the song suggests.

Try as it might, even the acoustic imperfections at Wachovia could not dampen the Backstreet Boys’ performance as their buttery smooth harmonies overcame the continually neglected challenges of the mortar and steel building.

The Backstreet Boys have always been and continue to be a near perfectly assembled pop product.

I called them the Benetton Boys when they played at the Kirby Center. They have matured a great deal since then. They now shop at Abercrombie and Fitch.

The quartet did a very classy thing Saturday afternoon by visiting a young lady in a local hospital who was the victim of a hit-and-run incident.

The Boys signed autographs, posed for a picture and even gave the young lady a private, a cappella concert.

Very classy indeed.