National Post Review: 3/15/00, Toronto, ON

Back - Index - Submissions - - What is RSS? Date: Mar 20, 2000 Source: The National Post Submitted By: Maria and Ivy C for sending this in. Written by Jason Anderson, National Post The cry went up from the audience like the sound of a million angry locusts. Or, if you like, the sound of 36,000 screaming teenage girls. Same difference. To a fanfare of the theme from Star Wars, the Backstreet Boys descended on the stage in the guise of futuristic superheroes. The costumes are a preview of their forthcoming incarnation in an online comic book, co-created by the band's Nick Carter and Stan Lee of Spider-Man fame, that will be launched in June. But last night the Orlando-based quintet waged a battle not with lasers and light-sabres but with singing, dancing and suits tight enough to delight any rubber fetishist. Despite the dark sci-fi imagery in the opening sequence, it was a surprisingly emotional show for the Backstreet Boys. In their hellos to the audience, many of the Boys -- A.J. McLean, Howie Dorough, Nick Carter, Kevin Richardson and Brian Littrell -- claimed that it was the special devotion of the fans here that led to the choice of Toronto as the last stop on their "Into the Millennium" tour. Canada caught on to the Backstreet Boys well before the rest of the English-speaking world and each of their three albums has sold over a million copies here. Judging by their ecstatic reaction, the fans didn't seem to mind that the Backstreet Boys delivered much the same show they did in the same venue last November. The unorthodox pentagram-shaped stage meant that the Boys often had to split up to give equal attention to every side of the audience, thereby depriving the show of a single focal point. But this also meant that they could cover more ground when they flew over the crowd while suspended on wires. With the Boys sharing the stage with a crew of agile dancers and six musicians (plus the occasional turn by Kevin on piano and Nick on drums), there was no shortage of things to look at, especially during upbeat numbers like Don't Want You Back and Everybody. The show's energy flagged during a seemingly endless string of ballads, but their material continues to improve with each album -- last year's hit, I Want It That Way, sounded undeniably sweet. Grouchy critics may always consider them teen-pop lightweights, but with their arsenal of pyrotechnic effects and gushy love songs, the Backstreet Boys make for a formidable force. As long as they don't take the Star Wars obsession too far in their new career as comic-book heroes and hire Jar Jar Binks to be the sixth Backstreet Boy, they will continue to rule this part of the universe. Comment on this item. Recent Comments Submitted by: awesome seo um3I1j You should participate in a contest for probably the greatest blogs on the web. I'll recommend this web site! Submitted by: peto4ok Submitted by: lodo4ka Submitted by: Shawn Submitted by: Dirk Submitted by: Ann Submitted by: Halz Submitted by: Kelly Submitted by: Mary Comment on this item. Next Item: Globe and Mail Review: 3/15/00, Toronto, ON Prev Item: A.J. sings pop, blues in Suede's shoes