Bakersfield Concert Preview

Back - Index - Submissions - - What is RSS? Date: Oct 15, 2001 Source: The Bakersfield Californian Submitted By: Sol CarthoruddTK "Black and Blue" tour finally arrives in Bakersfield By CHRIS PAGE, Californian staff writer e-mail: cpage@bakersfield.com The Backstreet Boys have seen better days. Lately, it's easier to document the boy band's low points: One member caused the group's 2001 megatour to go on hiatus this summer while he underwent treatment for depression and substance abuse. Most of the remaining dates on the band's tour have been several hundred seats short of selling out. And, worst of all -- because pre-teenybopper fans have all the freaky fickleness of newborns being fed baby food -- it's been weeks since the band had a video on MTV's "Total Request Live." How apt was it, then, that the group named its last album "Black and Blue"? Critics have spent the better part of the past year trying to beat down the group with a fervor not seen since the bygone days of the Spice Girls and New Kids on the Block. But that hasn't prompted the Backstreet Boys -- Brian Littrell, A.J. McLean, Nick Carter, Howie Dorough and Kevin Richardson -- to throw in the towel. Hardly. On Oct. 23, the group will release a collection of greatest hits titled "Chapter One." As far as the feisty fivesome is concerned, the past three years of smash hits, 55 million records sold and millions of screaming teen fans rushing to global tour dates -- well, that was only the beginning. But first, the group will finish out the last six make-up dates on its "Black and Blue" tour. That multimedia onslaught of dancing, music and special effects will make its way to Bakersfield's Centennial Garden on Wednesday night. Tickets are still available. The show is a heavily choreographed collection of longtime hits like "I Want It That Way" (the 1999 radio favorite that Rolling Stone hailed as one of the top 10 pop songs of all time), "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" and "Larger than Life." Along the way, the members take time to change costumes, banter with the audience (spoiler: most of it is scripted, including rehab-fresh McLean's announcement that, by the time he hits Bakersfield, he will have been 105 days sober) and sing patriotic tunes dedicated to the terrorist victims and stage crew member Daniel Lee, who was in one of the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center. What makes this tour different from the previous (and, considering ticket sales figures, more popular) "Millennium" tour is an emphasis on ballads. Chalk it up to the band's desire to come across as more mature -- including co-writing some of the band's "Black and Blue" tracks -- and to fight growing criticism against lip-syncing live pop shows. (The more uptempo numbers that focus on dance moves are still lip-synced, but when they're standing still, crooning to the audience, that's straight from the pipes.) If the BSB -- that's what the group's fans call them -- stands for anything, it's doing things on the grand scale (why have one pop star when you can have five?): It will take 28 trucks to haul in all of the pyrotechnics, staging and big screen whiz-bang for the no-dull-moments, two-hour show that cranks out 23 tunes throughout. And there isn't a wallet big enough to hold all the cash that will be raked in from merchandise ranging from BSB-logoed glowsticks to babydoll T-shirts and tour jackets. Krystal, Sisqo to open show Opening up the concert is teen pop newcomer Krystal, whose songs (like the single "Supergirl") blend power pop with religious undertones. Reggae-pop artist Shaggy was scheduled to play, but McLean's rehab stint and subsequent tour rescheduling meant Shaggy had to drop out. Sisqo, who is known most for "The Thong Song," will fill in. Comment on this item. Recent Comments Submitted by: johnansaz http://imrdsoacha.gov.co/silvitra-120mg-qrms Comment on this item. Next Item: Backstreet Boys Sign On For NYC Benefit Prev Item: BSB Join "The concert for New York City"