Bercy Stadium, Paris France
My 15 year-old daughter Amy and I are from Toronto, Canada. We were lucky enough to win a trip from a local radio station to see the boys for the Paris France concert, and what a concert it was!
We were a little disappointed to find out that our tickets were for general admission seating, but then the whole venue was set up that way. We managed to find a spot along the railing on the first level off the floor, which put us at the same level as the stage. We could see perfectly. There was quite a crowd on the floor, but there were still many empty seats. The stadium which holds about 17,000 people I would say was only about two/thirds full.
Tatyana Ali was up first. She did a Will Smith medley and a few other songs, including her newest single, Everytime. That song contains the lyrics "Everytime you go away, my heart goes with you" and she also threw roses into the crowd. Amy and I just looked at each other and shook our heads. It was so similar to Howie’s performance of My Heart Stays With You. Of course, we would have preferred Howie’s version better. But Tatyana did a good job and was welcomed warmly by the crowd.
Then of course, the anticipation for the boys! With great pomp and circumstance, the band started playing Star Wars music as the 10 dancers, 5 girls, 5 guys (and NO!!! the blonde one is NOT Mandy!!!) walked in a procession onto the stage. They were carrying these huge white lights that looked like torches that they placed along the edges of the stage. The very centre of the stage was a circular platform that could sink beneath the stage for costume changes and rise up into the air for the boys to perform on. The band’s circular stage surrounded the centre. The band, all looking terrific in white and sounding awesome includes new member Bubba Bryant on drums as band leader, Guy Walker on guitar and Louis Vigilante on bass, Mindi Abair on sax and percussion. She is unbelievable!!! And of course, the incomparable Dennis Gallo on guitar and my personal fave, Tommy Smith on keys. And surrounding the band’s stage, was a pentagon shaped outer stage. The boys could get back and forth from the outer stage to the centre circular platform by steep metal ramps.
As the music blared, the boys finally made their appearance on hoverboards, wearing futuristic type suits. They were also individually harnessed as they floated on the boards over the crowd and landed onto the stage. With the dancers, they then marched to each side of the stage and stood like soldiers so we could get a really good look at them. Kevin got smacked right in the chest with a stuffed toy, but he managed to keep his composure. Then they broke into Larger Than Life, which set the already roaring crowd into a further frenzy and from then on the show was a spectacle of lights, fireworks, glitz and glam, and many, many costume changes.
They did most of the songs from Millennium. They didn’t do I Need You Tonight. And we were extremely disappointed that they did not do Spanish Eyes. They also did Get Down, As Long As You Love Me, Everybody, We’ve Got I Goin’ On, That’s The Way I Like It, I’ll Never Break Your Heart and All I Have To Give. There were some little bits of new choreography thrown in with our fave routines such as the chair and hat routines, although, we could’ve done without the pink (yes, pink!!) suits. They also did Quit Playin’ Games, where once again, they donned harnesses and "flew" over the crowd doing somersaults, spins and hanging upside down, and generally just having a blast! We couldn’t see Brian from where we were but I can’t believe they talked him into that. They were pretty high in the air! The quieter Show Me The Meaning that they dedicated to Denniz Pop, was very touching and included a very nice Spanish dance routine that each of them did with a female dancer. Don’t Want You Back had them bumping and grinding on these ladders that were positioned on each corner of the stage. Kevin seemed to have fun hanging upside down on his. For the Perfect Fan, they had five moms and daughters join them on stage. During the song, each daughter walked around the stage accompanied by one of the boys, although even my daughter thought they should have walked around with the moms. I like that idea myself. And for Back To Your Heart, fortunately the boys sat on our side of the stage to sing while Kevin played keys on a white piano on the centre platform that rose into the air as he played. Very, very nice.
At one point, as Brian was standing along the edge of the stage, one not too bright fan, threw water right on his shoe! Amy made a huge sign that said "AJ Show Me Your New Tattoo" - and he did!!! I had a huge Canadian flag sign that I’m pretty sure they all saw. All the boys did a great job of interacting and making eye contact with the fans. They were constantly getting beaned with all kinds of flying objects, mostly stuffed toys. Kevin got a huge response and appears to be the fave there. A few times, each of the boys at one point or another had trouble either getting up or going down the metal ramps. They did not one but two encores. The first was It’s Gotta Be You where they introduced all the band members and dancers. And the second was of course, I Want It That Way.
You could tell that there are still a few small technical problems to work out and the boys still don’t seem quite comfortable with the show yet, which is to be expected. But all in all, a very energetic, physically demanding, well-done, exciting, BIG show by the boys. Well worth the wait! Well worth the long travel! Oh yeah. And Paris is nice too.
Ann Violette
