By TONYA JAMESON Staff Writer
The Backstreet Boys are entertainers -- not singers or dancers.
And Friday night, they put on a high-energy show guaranteed to wow every little girl experiencing her first concert.
The show had fireworks, trapeze-like devices that sent the group soaring above the audience and a slammin' band and dance troupe.
The ensemble kept thousands of screaming teen-age and preteen girls -- combined with a handful of boys and lots of parents -- on their feet for most of the 90-minute show at the Charlotte Coliseum.
The Orlando, Fla.-based group -- Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell, A.J. McLean and Kevin Richardson -- kicked off its national tour in Charlotte after Hurricane Floyd forced a postponement of its Florida shows earlier this week.
Right now, it's Backstreet's world. The group's album dominates the sales chart, all its concerts are sold out and last week the quintet won the viewers' choice award on MTV's 1999 Video Music Awards for ``I Want It That Way,'' a Top Ten smash single.
Friday night's show seemed more like a circus with the special effects -- this ain't your mother's boy band.
The show opened with Backstreet floating from the floor to the stage in the center of the coliseum on devices that looked like kneeboards. There were about 10 costume changes and Backstreet sang nearly 20 songs from its two albums.
The group's singing was average; they harmonized well, but the solos sounded strained. And their dancing, except for McLean's and Dorough's, initially looked stiff.
During costume changes, the six-piece band let loose with extended versions of songs and a nice rendition of ``Killer Joe,'' featuring Mindy Abair, who performed several gut-wrenching solos throughout the show.
For hundreds of little girls, Friday's performance was their first concert. And Backstreet made sure they'd never forget it. Heck, their moms won't, either. Source: The Charlotte Observer got a concert review? send 'em on in!
