Post-Dispatch Review: 3/7/00, St. Louis, MO

Back - Index - Submissions - - What is RSS? Date: Mar 09, 2000 Source: The St. Louis Post-Dispatch Submitted By: Ivy C Backstreet Boys draw crowd of 68,000 screaming fans to Dome By Kevin C. Johnson Post-Dispatch Pop Music Critic The St. Louis branch of the Backstreet Boys' vast nation of fans came out in full force to the Trans World Dome on Tuesday night for the long-awaited return of the most popular pop group in the world. And it's long-awaited status was barely diminished by the fact the group just sold out the Kiel Center four months ago. "They're so hot. The music is good and they're awesome," said exuberant 14-year-old fan Kaitlin Jakel of Edwardsville, offering a simplistic yet to-the-point and popular opinion of the Backstreet Boys phenomenon. Jakel was one of 68,000 fans filling the Dome Tuesday at a concert this close to selling out. Folks at Contemporary Productions, the local promoter of the show, called the event one of the biggest concerts this town has ever seen (the last concert to play the Dome was a country lineup featuring George Strait, Tim McGraw and John Michael Montgomery. That show didn't sell out, despite intense marketing). Sensitive eardrums had no place at the Backstreet Boys concert, though the screaming began long before the group even hit the stage just before 9 p.m. Enthusiasm for the group spilled over onto the opening acts despite the fact most of the fans probably have never even heard of the oddly booked, old-school rappers the Jungle Brothers or the lightweight Jennifer Lopez-wannabe Willa. The concert, expected to last two hours, seemed to mimic the group's last recent appearance here, at least in its opening moments. During an extended, ceremonial prologue that was as pompous as it was flashy, Nick Carter, Howard "Howie D." Dorough, Brian Littrell, Kevin Richardson and Alexander James "A.J." McLean emerged amid much pomp and circumstance (complete with trumpet sounds and torches), gliding out over the stage on glowing boards while wearing futuristic suits. After marching to each side of the stage, where they longingly stared at the crowd in each section, blazing-red pyrotechnics ushered in the opening song "Larger Than Life" from the blockbuster "Millennium" CD, while other upbeat songs such as "Get Down (You're the One for Me)" and "The One" followed. And there was no going wrong as far as these screaming fans were concerned when it came to the Backstreet Boys, the latest flavor in a long line of frenzy-inducing boy groups that has included New Kids on the Block, the Jackson 5, the Beatles and the Monkees. Jenny Owens, 14; Jessica Alton, 12; and sisters Aylssa Dial, 17 and Leah Dial, 15, all of Springfield, all had one thing to say about the Backstreet Boys last night - "they're so hot!" They attended with the Dial girls' cousin, 10-year-old Austin Klobe, attending his first concert, and Klobe's father, Tom, both of Ballwin. The older Klobe called the scene was something else. "I've seen a lot of concerts, plenty of Kiss and Celine Dion, but I've never seen anything like this before." "They're good at everything. I just love them," says Penny Smith, 14, of Edwardsville. Many fans came bearing homemade signs with messages like "Backstreet Boys Rule," "I Love Nick," and "Nick Won't You Marry Me?" A number of vehicles were also decorated with temporary paint touting a variety of Backstreet Boys messages. Though the majority of those in attendance were teen girls and young women, there was also a number of mother-daughter teams and even father-daughter couplings. Shanetta Lofton of St. Louis bought her two children, 13-year-old Christopher and 11-year-old LaKendra, concert tickets as a Christmas present, though she didn't buy one for herself. "I thought I'd let them grow up a little bit," she said of her children's first-ever concert. Fans had mixed feelings for a bit of the biggest news to come out of the Backstreet camp in a while - the news that both Richardson and Littrell were recently engaged to be married. "It's a bummer. I didn't want them to be married," said Jakel. Smith said, "That got me so upset. It was supposed to be me. I got my hopes up and they let me down." And Alton quipped, "They weren't the hot ones anyway." Comment on this item. Recent Comments Submitted by: crorkzz yRGBzG you've gotten an important blog here! would you like to make some invite posts on my weblog? Submitted by: Dirk Submitted by: Kevin Shen Submitted by: Mary Submitted by: Halz Submitted by: Kevin Shen Submitted by: Mary Submitted by: Antony Submitted by: Paulo Comment on this item. Next Item: Daily Texan Review: 3/5/00, Austin, TX Prev Item: Another Post-Dispatch Review: 3/7/00, St. Louis, MO