Jon Bream / Star Tribune
BackstreetBoys, the main men among the current rage of boy bands, have become the best-selling group of the past two years (18 million albums and counting) by pulling at little girls' heart-strings in songs and in videos.
Saturday night at a sold-out Target Center, the BackstreetBoys (BSB) captured the hearts of 18,000 girls -- and moms and dads -- with a spectacular production that made them seem like masterful showmen. It was arguably the best-conceived and most effective in-the-round show presented at Target Center.
The nearly two-hour performance was light years better than BSB's low-budget, musically off-key and blase concert last November at Target Center, which was a makeup for a canceled-at-showtime performance at KDWB's Last Chance Summer Dance in September 1998.
On Saturday, the quintet from Orlando, Fla., made an unforgettable entrance: as six musicians played the theme from "Star Wars," the five singers came floating to the stage on surf boards. Totally awesome, dudes! Thereafter, it was fast-paced eye candy -- flamethrowers, oversized sparklers, high-energy dancing, colorful costumes (including salmon-colored zoot suits), a grand piano descending from the rafters and BSB (suspended on wires) somersaulting high in the air over the crowd, tossing teddy bears and roses to fans below.
On the five-sided stage, the five singers, assisted often by 10 dancers, worked the concertgoers from all angles, with giant video screens overhead keeping everyone abreast of what they might be missing on the other sides. The BackstreetBoys know how to work all the angles -- in more ways than one.
Nearly every other fan had purchased one of those glow-in-the-dark tubes to wave in the air (at $6, it was the most affordable souvenir). And then BSB pulled the ultimate crowd-pleasing ploy by inviting five female fans with their moms onstage for "The Perfect Fan." Each daughter paraded around the stage, hand in hand, with one of the Backstreeters as the moms snapped photographs.
Moms like the BackstreetBoys, too, because their music is nonthreatening, singalong ear-candy -- bubblegum pop-meets-R&B-lite (though the "sex you up" lyric in "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" earned a huge scream Saturday; indeed, some of the girls are becoming teenagers). That the music is generic and the vocals are anonymous doesn't matter. Because the fans melt for messages such as "As Long as You Love Me," "It's Gotta Be You," "Don't Wanna Lose You Now" and "I'll Never Break Your Heart."
Although none of the singers is probably vocally talented enough to have a significant solo career after BSB disband, the fans clearly identify with each member. Nick Carter, the youngest at 19, is the cute one (though he's getting pudgy). Kevin Richardson, the oldest at 28, is the dark, handsome one. A.J. McLean is the freaky one. Brian Littrell is the talented one. And Howie Dorough is everybody's pal. And everybody at Target Center was thrilled that Backstreet's back.
Opening the concert were two newcomers in the teen-pop sweepstakes. The performance by Mandy Moore, 15, was too short but sweet, though with her four smartly choreographed dancers she figured out how to use the huge in-the-round stage. EYC -- three buff guys from Los Angeles -- was long on showmanship and short on quality singing (to be honest, they were often flat). source:www.startribune.com
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