For 21 years the Backstreet Boys have remained on top of the pop music world. Despite their success (130 million albums sold and 10 world tours) they still get plagued by critics who can't seem to wrap their heads around the continued success of the group. Instead of focusing on the show, reviewers make snarky comments about how they aren't really boys (something you don't see referenced to the much older Beach Boys) and mocking the fans that continue to buy their albums and attend their concerts.
You won't find that in this review. I am 100% a Backstreet Boys fan, and have been since before my first Backstreet Boys concert in August 1998 on the Backstreets Back tour. The sold-out Dome show on May 16th was my 6thtime seeing the boys out of their 9 concerts in Calgary since 1997 and they continue to be one of my favourite live acts.
Their present In A World Like This tour, named after their current album, is the first time since 2005 that Kevin Richardson has been back with the band. It also represents a scaled down version of the BSB concert experience. Gone are the pyrotechnics, backup dancers, hover-boards and elaborate effects. Instead Richardson, AJ Maclean, Brian Littrell, Howie Dorough and Nick Carter relied on their personality, charm and talent to entertain. And it worked.
Entering the stage from giant risers the show kicked off with the high energy punch of The Call and Don't Want You Back. The first ballad Incomplete featured Richards on keyboard and Carter on guitar. The sold out Saddledome crowd stayed on their feet the entire time singing along to the long list of BSB hits like As Long As You Love Me and We've Got It Going On. Even tracks from the new album like Permanent Stain and Show Em What You're Made Of were massive sing-alongs. The audience and the boys clearly fed off each other’s energy. Fans in the front rows and the pit area in the stage were constantly receiving high fives, hugs and smiles from the guys who clearly were having a great time.
That in part is the key to the Backstreet Boys continued success. While their peers and those influenced by BSB may have long since faded, it is the commitment to their fans and each other that keeps the Backstreet Boys going. It is very obvious on stage, in interviews and at events like their annual cruise, sound check parties and after parties that they still very much love what they do, their fans, and each other. Constantly interacting and goofing off with each other, it’s a pleasure to see them having so much fun. It certainly doesn't hurt that they have aged well. These boys have become very handsome men which remains part of their appeal.
Their talent speaks volumes as well. "Look at this, the boy band is becoming areal band," Nick Carter quipped as he, Howie and Brian strapped on guitars and Kevin stood behind a keyboard for an acoustic set. When just harmonizing on songs like Safest Place to Hide and 10'000 Promises you are reminded that this "manufactured" group really has a lot of talent. Even Quit Playing Games (With My Heart) has a new dimension when stripped down to just acoustic guitars and voices.
All too soon the show went into the homestretch – I Want It That Way, Everybody (Backstreets Back) and Larger Than Life – the latter complete with Flames Jerseys, a gimmick that they used way back in 1998 that still gets a big response. They know what works after 2 decades.
So yes, as fans we screamed. We sang at the top of our lungs. We swooned over our favourite Backstreet Boy. Call it nostalgia for our youth, for more innocent times. Call it an opportunity to oogle cute guys singing and dancing. Whatever the reason why someone attended the concert, the one thing that it should have been called is a damn good concert.