Fans eat up sci-fi and shtick
Source: The Orlando Sentinel
By Jim Abbott
Sentinel Pop Music Writer
First, there was that Burger King TV ad.
Now the Backstreet Boys are shilling for Pop Tarts, the sponsor with ads plastered on much of the railing space inside the TD Waterhouse Centre on Friday for the opening show of the group's U.S. tour.
In fact, the first legitimate screams of the night came when a Pop Tarts PR type � filling time after the opening acts � held aloft a half-eaten pastry supposedly consumed by the Boys backstage.
Look for it on eBay today.
For some performers, such corporate ties would represent a collossal sell-out, but a burger and toaster pastry is the perfect combination for pop music's ultimate dose of empty calories.
What's more fun: eating your vegetables or a quart of cookie-dough ice cream?
It was the eat-dessert-first crowd that greeted hometown heroes Nick Carter, Brian Littrell, Kevin Richardson, A.J. McLean and Howie Dorough. The guys responded with a menu as predictable as McDonald's and just as well-suited to the audience.
Back in Florida after shows in Venezuela and Mexico, the Boys presented a triumph of style over substance that relied on elaborate production feats, numerous costume changes and the formidable, timeless power of puppy love.
The adenoidal screams sounded like the roar of a rocket ship as the band members entered a lavishly produced sci-fi scene on stage. Meteorites crashed to the stage and simultaneously exploded on a giant Earth projected against a Milky Way on three huge video screens behind the stage.
Dressed in matching long black leather coats, the band quickly segued into the radio hit �Larger Than Life.''
After disappearing in plumes of flame, each of the Boys returned individually to offer a brief greeting.
It was the stuff of Tiger Beat magazine, perfect for the family-oriented crowd that didn't quite manage to fill the arena.
The fact that there were pockets of empty seats illustrates that the Backstreet Boys � now well into adulthood, by the way � aren't quite the cultural force they once were.
Even after a whirlwind world-in-a-weekend tour to promote its release, the band's new Black & Blue album failed to top record first-week sales of 2.4 million copies for rival �N Sync's No Strings Attached.
Not that you could notice any wavering support amid the incessant screaming that accompanies the band's every movement. The guys even poked fun at themselves with a video segment showing them 50 years from now.
�I think we've still got a couple of good years left in us,'' said Richardson, made up in a gray beard.
For those past the band's teen demographic, the between-song shtick seemed interminable at times, especially a long-winded video that showed the guys backstage.
But the true fans obviously relished any chance to glimpse their heroes.
Unfortunately, they didn't get a chance to hear them too well. The sound mix rendered the dialogue inaudible at some moments and generally kept the band's harmonies too low against a mushy wall of synthesizers and guitars.
The best moments were when the group jettisoned the big arrangements, such as on tender renditions of �Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)'' and �Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely.''
The latter was performed on a circular stage at the far end of the arena's floor, which was connected to the stage by a monstrous catwalk that allowed the guys to stand only a few feet above the audience.
With tricks like that to keep fans screaming, who cares what it sounds like?
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