Ft. Worth Star Telegram Review: 3/3/00, Dallas, TX

Back - Index - Submissions - - What is RSS? Date: Mar 05, 2000 Source: Ft. Worth Star Telegram Submitted By: G. Burrows Updated: Saturday, Mar. 4, 2000 at 02:18 CST Backstreet Boys not original, but very, very savvy by Dave Ferman Star-Telegram Pop Music Critic DALLAS -- When Ricky Martin started off his show with `Livin' La Vida Loca' and a car rising out of the stage, I thought I had seen the best entrance in teen-scream/cute-guy history. Man, was I wrong. Last night's Backstreet Boys show -- the first of two sold-out concerts the Florida-based band is doing at Reunion Arena -- began with all five members riding boogie boards (glowing boogie boards, no less) down from the sky and onto the stage to the theme from `Star Wars.' Then they and their 10 dancers walked to different parts of the in-the-round stage and stood still for a moment, basking in the shrieks of thousands of (mainly) under-16 girls. And then the music started: `Larger Than Life,' the leadoff cut from their 11 million- copies-sold-and-counting second CD, `Millennium.' P.T. Barnum couldn't have done it any better. And he darn sure never made as much on T- shirts and programs as these fellas. There was much more to come: Flames shooting in the air. Multiple costume changes (my favorite was the muscle- man top the guys wore for the first few songs). Fireworks. And so on. As a vocal group, the Boys (blond love object Nick Carter, hunkier dark-haired love object Kevin Richardson, tattooed Howie Dorough, baby- faced nice guy Brian Littrell and utility dude A.J. McLean) make thoroughly disposable, I'll-always-love-you-girl puberty-pop -- better than 'N Sync, laughably bad when compared to anything by the O'Jays or the Temptations. As a five-guy incarnation of the gooey fantasies of the world's junior high school girls, they're very, very savvy. Not for nothing have the Boys been playing live for seven years. Last night, their energy was high, their synchronized moves sure and their harmonies admirably tight, most notably on `As Long As You Love Me' and `Don't Wanna Lose You Now.' All five would come forward at different times to sing -- Nick and Kevin got the biggest squeals -- and often ascended on a retractable riser in the middle of the stage. At one point, all five "flew" over the audience while suspended from wires, pretending to swim or walk in the air. During `Don't Want You Back,' all five scampered on what looked like very large old- style TV antennas; Richardson spent much of the song singing while hanging upside down. All five stepped forward briefly to shamelessly pander to the crowd, endlessly noting that they were in Dallas, thanking the fans and mentioning how many "lovely ladies" were in the house. And all five sang to a mother-daughter pair plucked from the audience on Littrell's big aw-shucks moment, `The Perfect Fan,' which was dedicated, of course, to all the moms out there. Awwww. The Backstreet Boys do nothing original, but live, at least, they do what they do well. Their show owes something to Kiss, something to Boyz II Men, something to Las Vegas. But it works, because it's just so over the top and, really, often so much fun. Now if my ears would just quit ringing. Dave Ferman Send comments to dfer@star-telegram.com Comment on this item. Recent Comments Submitted by: johnanz http://imrdsoacha.gov.co/silvitra-120mg-qrms Submitted by: cheap seo services e6Kd2l Hi there! I just wish to give a huge thumbs up for the great data you might have here on this post. I will probably be coming again to your weblog for extra soon. Submitted by: Greg Guepy Submitted by: Kelly Submitted by: Michael Pollitt Submitted by: David Submitted by: Kelly Submitted by: Louise Submitted by: Jennifer Submitted by: Ann Click here to see more comments. Comment on this item. Next Item: Dallas Morning News Review: 03/: 3/3/00, Dallas, TX Prev Item: American-Statesman Review: 3/5/00, Austin, TX