Backstreet Boys Put Emphasis On Ballads
Source: ctnow.com

By ROGER CATLIN
The Hartford Courant

Jun 29 2001 12:00AM

There's a film bit in the Backstreet Boys "Black and Blue World Tour" in which they picture themselves 50 years from now, trudging on as old men, straining to keep hip despite hip replacements.

The Backstreet Boys more immediate paradox is trying to present more mature songs to an audience that keeps getting younger.
THE SET LIST
 The set list for the Backstreet Boys Thursday was:

  • "Everyone"
  • "Larger Than Life,"
  • "Not for Me,"
  • "What Makes You Different (Makes You Beautiful),"
  • "Yes I Will,"
  • "More Than That,"
  • "I Want It That Way,"
  • "Quit Playing Games (With My Heart),"
  • "As Long As You Love Me,"
  • "I'll Never Break Your Heart,"
  • "Don't Want You Back,"
  • "Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely,"
  • "I Promise You,"
  • "How Did I Fall in Love with You,"
  • "Time,"
  • "The Answer to Our Life,"
  • "If You Stay,"
  • "Shining Star,"
  • "Everybody (Backstreet's Back),"
  • "Get Another Boyfriend,"
  • "The Call" (encore)
  • "Shape of My Heart."
    • You'd think it was a circus at the ctnow.com Meadows Music Centre Thursday for all the grade- schoolers being pulled along by their parents. Ah, but that's the secret: The group's endless ballads are currently doing better on adult contemporary charts than the regular Top 40.

    The first of two nights at the Meadows began like it was going to be a big stage production: A long, incomprehensible prologue about meteors being shot to Earth, each one possibly being a Backstreet Boy. Anyway, it involved a lot of fireworks.

    Then, having arrived on perches onstage, the five take off in the kind of singing and dance numbers that made you admire their mastery over either breath control or pure lip synching.

    The upbeat first few numbers of welcome, though, made way for a very long string of ballads, from the nice A.J. McClean obscurity "What Makes You Different (Makes You Beautiful)" to a string of romantic promises including "Yes I Will" and "More Than That," culminating in the one song they just might be remembered for, "I Want It That Way."

    For a long show, it seemed like they cut a lot of songs short, including some of their older hits in an quasi-acoustic section that showed off their voices.

    Young fans don't seem to respond directly to the individual voices though, which strain to echo more classic R&B. Instead, they screamed as individual members were featured on the big overhead video (with blonds Nick Carter and Brian Littrell getting most screams).

    It's not like they didn't have time to sing more than a verse and a chorus of some of their best known songs, they just chose to spend it backstage changing into six different costumes and showing preshot films or bantering with the fans (whom they told were No. 1).

    They took a surprising turn by taking on instruments to play their quasi-rock save the world anthem, "The Answer to Our Life." But unlike other stops in their tour, they did not fashion any lawn stage to sing "Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely." Nor was there a lot of extra fireworks. And in the $72 dollar reserved seats, I can tell you the only songs people stood for were the beginning two, "I Want It That Way" and the concluding "Shape of My Heart."

    By that standard, opener Shaggy had a lot more excitement going on, and quite a few hits. Still, he was placed in the same kind of squeeze between kiddie pop and the more randy dance hall reggae he's used to. That meant a chaste hug for a fan named Sarah, followed by the bump and grind of his four dancers.


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