Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Review: April 1 - Milwaukee, WI

Back - Index - Submissions - - What is RSS? Date: Apr 03, 2000 Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Submitted By: n2backstreet@aol.com Boys' A.J. an exercise in self-indulgent quirkiness By Dave Tianen, Journal Sentinel pop music critic, April 1, 2000 This time he's a Backstreet Ploy. A.J. McLean is one-fifth of the most successful singing group on the planet - The Backstreet Boys. And although he's never done a solo album, McLean has decided to fill the spaces between Backstreet tours by going out on his own. Except he's not appearing as himself, but as a mysterious Englishman named Johnny No-Name. Based on his appearance at the Modjeska Theater on Saturday night, McLean may find that Johnny No-Name is a poor way to make a solo name for himself. The conceit has Johnny dressed in a baggy, white suit over a tight white T-shirt with a brimmed hat pulled low over his eyes. Visually, the concept borders on Leon Redbone - teen idol. Furthermore, for reasons probably better left unexplored, Johnny speaks in an ersatz English accent. As a two- or three-song interlude, Johnny No-Name might have been mildly funny. Stretched over the course of an entire show, Johnny became an exercise in self-indulgent quirkiness. To be fair, McLean is a bit of a non-conformist in teen idol terms anyway. Clearly Hispanic in a white bread genre, he radiates streetwise danger in a domain that skews suburban cuddly. Both arms are ribboned with tattoos from shoulder to wrist. Initially appearing as himself to introduce his opening acts, McLean came out in a sleeveless black T-shirt with a cleverly misspelled profanity across the front. Over that was a large silver crucifix, attitude and traditional values in the same getup. One moment he's extorting his audience of young teen girls to picture him naked, the next he's trying to rally support for Save the Music, a non-profit organization that supports music education in public schools. Although music is always a secondary issue when you've got thousands of teenage girls screaming non-stop, McLean is more adventuresome solo than he is in his usual music company. Saturday's set included Backstreet hits like "Hey Mr. DJ," but he also veered off into such unexpected terrain as Wild Cherry's "Play That Funky Music" and George Thorogood's "Bad to the Bone." The latter regrettably was done with self-conscious irony as a tribute to Bone of the Backstreet Boys. Bone, of course, is McLean's nickname. There was a touch of unplanned irony at the pre-show press conference when McLean put in a good word for Save the Music. Apparently, Save the Music never made it to A.J.'s neighborhood. In response to a question from a youngster from Roosevelt Middle School, he admitted he never learned to play an instrument Comment on this item. Recent Comments Submitted by: crorkzz i3Nkww Wow! Thank you! I permanently wanted to write on my site something like that. Can I include a portion of your post to my site? Submitted by: temnotak Submitted by: nikelir Submitted by: snymrik Submitted by: John Submitted by: Greg Guepy Submitted by: Halz Submitted by: Michael Pollitt Submitted by: Shawn Submitted by: Greg Guepy Click here to see more comments. Comment on this item. Next Item: Rolling Stone Review: Johnny No Name - March 27 - Los Angeles, Wiltern Theatre Prev Item: Wall Of Sound Review: Johnny No Name - April 2 - Minneapolis