Backstreet Boys In a World Like This Tour
(Seen August 13, 2013)

 

August 14, 2013

 

What summer of boy bands wouldn’t be complete without a visit to see the Backstreet Boys? I am very, very mixed about the show at Jones Beach in Wantagh, NY on August 13, 2013. I don’t know if it’s because I kept comparing them to NKTOB (of whom I’ve seen twice this summer) or it’s because the audience was on the younger side and I’m older. Or maybe I was expecting too much. Either way, I walked out feeling empty, which was upsetting as I’ve been a fan for 15 plus years. I mean, I was the teen who had VHS tape upon VHS tape with MTV and talk show appearances. My walls were plastered with (first Jordan Knight) and then Nick Carter (though my older preference have now changed to AJ – but I digress). I knew every, single dance move to “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back).”
 
That said, as I’ve grown up, my music preferences have changed, and I admit, I don’t have the past few albums. In my defense, I don’t own any albums anymore, everything is saved on Spotify and I do have a Backstreet playlist (among other boy bands and guilty pleasures). However, I try to support the Boys when they come into town and have seen the last few tours, including NKOTBSB two years ago. As I do like to re-live my youth.
 
I fear, though, that as we’ve all grown up, a lot of the fans have not and the young crowd confirmed that theory. As a result, the guys acted the same as they did 5-10 years ago on stage. Same antics, almost the same scripted dialogue in between songs. Disappointing by far. The ‘thank yous’ and acknowledgement that they’ve been around for 20 years seemed forced. And I think the most disappointing of the night was the fact that a band was no where to be found on stage. Granted the band could have been behind the stage or underneath it, but I did see a guy on a laptop to the side. So it occurred to me that the guys could have been singing along to tracks. LOOK. Don’t hate me. I get it. We’re all not the young people we were 20 years ago. Everyone does it from time to time. And who knows, maybe they’ve been doing this for all their shows and I just never noticed because all I wanted was for Nick (or AJ) to notice me in the nosebleed sections. But to not see a band (or even have the band introduced) was highly disappointing, because, yes, I am that fan that thinks deep down these guys do have talent. I mean, the album they just released took a year to write/produce and was written by them (or so they say).
 
The show itself was enjoyable. The adult beverages I had in the parking lot, of course, helped fuel my sweet dance moves during the most popular songs. And the newer songs are pretty catchy. The guys did a pretty good job re-creating the dances from yester-years and the audience still screams when Nick and AJ do pelvic thrusts. Brian still does his cute little smiles and waves. AJ is still damn sexy with his beard and tats. Nick is just boy cute, always will be, however, he had a LOT of energy (maybe it’s because he’s the only one without kids to tend to). Or maybe it was because he too had adult beverages? Kevin is the captain, and quite frankly the most useless one of the group. And Howie is just Howie. And his lame attempt to make a joke about his penis was just not funny.
 
The show itself did have a lot of high energy and fun, even during the slower songs. The classics are great to sing along to, though the attempt to get the audience to sing “Quit Playing Games” could be considered a fail. The part where they sang acapella lasted for all of 30 seconds until they broke out their guitars. Though it did finally showcase their singing talent.