Backstreet Boys bridge generations
Source: azcentral.com
Check out a slideshow of the Backstreet Boys concert from azcentral.com
Larry Rodgers
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 13, 2001
If the enthusiastic crowd at Monday's Backstreet Boys concert in Phoenix was any indication, the quintet is achieving its apparent goal of developing an older audience.
Deafening shrieks and non-stop ovations from a crowd heavy with 14- to 19-year-olds at America West Arena seemed to indicate that the Florida-based band's latest tour is successfully bridging its teenybopper past with a more grown-up future.
Staging a set that at times looked like a Vegas variety show, Backstreet traded the fantasy spacesuits of its last tour for black leather as it showcased its current Black & Blue album.
But they also kept one eye on their bubbly past, at one point changing into white suits and shaking lots of hands as they showed off the well-harmonized ballads that brought them fame.
The near sellout show opened with a bang, as a video screen showed meteors pummeling the Earth and stage - which was set up at one end of the arena.
The Backstreet Boys - Nick Carter, Brian Littrell, Howie Dorough, A.J. McLean and Kevin Richardson - then came to the rescue, rising on foggy pedestals from below the stage, dressed in black trench coats and singing their latest fan-appreciation number, Everyone.
If that wasn't enough to ignite the crowd, which also had plenty of preteens and parents, the band landed a one-two punch with Larger Than Life, a fan-inspired number from 1999.
The mood mellowed midset to allow the group to showcase its harmonies in slower numbers including the huge hit I Want It That Way and the new More Than That, sung to graceful ballerinas.
The group's on-stage moves were adequate, backed by 10 talented dancers.
Although the sound was muddy for most of the show, 1999's Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely rose as a local high point.
The harmonies again excelled when the group appeared on a small stage near the back of the arena to sing I'll Never Break Your Heart.
The band's raw star power shone as the quintet walked across a catwalk suspended above the crowd.
The 90-minute concert ended on a high note with energetic versions of two new songs - The Call and The Shape of My Heart.
The group is scheduled to appear again tonight at the arena.
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