'N Sync has as much fun as crowd By Scott Mervis, Weekend Editor, Post-Gazette
They may be on the young side, but we can be secure in knowing that the members of 'N Sync saw "This is Spinal Tap."
And they got it.
With a nod to the rock-mockumentary, when the lights went down last night at the new Heinz Field, five Druids appeared, arms crossed, on the massive stage. Just when you expected them to disrobe and reveal themselves as the teen idols, the boys appeared instead from a pod at midfield.
Thus, the beauty of the "PopOdyssey" tour is that if it's going to be the biggest traveling stage production in the world, it's also going to make fun of the whole idea of pop-concert excess.
From the moment they emerged and slid down the people mover toward the stage, it was clear 'N Sync was there to have fun. And judging from the sweat that poured off of them, they work awfully hard to do it.
The group, which played the last-ever concert at Three Rivers Stadium last summer, was there to christen Heinz Field and was well aware this was no ordinary gig.
Chris Kirkpatrick, group founder and a native of Clarion, said it was a beautiful stadium. He seemed to not mind the yellow seats at all.
Although the banter has room for spontaneity, what 'N Sync does not attempt to do is be like stadium bands the Grateful Dead or the Dave Matthews Band and play a different set every night. "PopOdyssey" is all choreographed to a T, so what you get in D.C. is what you get in Indianapolis and what you get in Pittsburgh.
Fortunately, the crowd changes every night, so the reaction from the audience -- heavy on teen-age girls, but ranging from 2-year-olds to grandmas -- was screaming hysteria.
But one thing they didn't have were the homemade signs saying "We love Justin" because they had to be deposited at the gate.
'N Sync opened with the new single, "Pop," launching a 90-some minute show that sampled their growing oeuvre, from the Disney days to the new, harder-edged "Celebrity."
Resident heartthrobs Justin Timberlake, with a buzz cut, and the shaggy JC Chasez and the boys did their best Motown moves.
The five frontmen were backed by a legitimately funky and jazzy ensemble that reproduced and sometimes expanded on the group's slick studio sound. For all the jumping and jiving and slapping hands with the crowd that they do, 'N Sync does an admirable job with the vocals. Timberlake and Chasez offered true blue-eyed soul on ballads like "Gone" and "God Must Have Spent (A Little More Time on You)," while applying grit to funky rockers like "It's Gonna Be Me" and "Space Cowboy."
Having made about a trillion dollars last year, 'N Sync was able to buy plenty of toys at the concert prop store to keep the crowd dazzled. Even Kiss would have been jealous of their risers, trap doors and flying contraptions, although I don't think Kiss would have cared much for the day-glo costumes, the dancing girls, the velcro wall or the little bikes they rode around on.
On "PopOdyssey," every song came with a different gimmick or video intro, making that $65 ticket well worth the price.
For what it's worth, 'N Sync is taking teen-pop to the next level.
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