Originally written: Feb. 2, 2001.
I will not lie to you, I was seriously wondering if they could top the Into The Millennium tour as they promised. The new album after which they named the tour, Black & Blue, was certainly not a disappointment, with songs that I couldn’t wait to see performed live. I will tell you now, the concert was not a disappointment in the slightest.
A Little Girl With a Big Voice
Krystal Harris, who was just signed to the Backstreet Boys’ very own label, KBNHA Records, is on the road with the group during the tour. I believe Krystal has an amazing talent that will get her places. I don’t know if I, personally would pay to see her in concert if she were the headliner, but I do admit I love her first single, ’’Supergirl.’’
...it’s time for the show to begin...
Forty minutes to an hour after Krystal left the stage, enduring half an hour of 70s music, the Backstreet Boys began. Before they showed their faces, the jumbo screen reenacted Earth being hit by meteors, when all of a sudden there are thunderous explosions blasting onto the stage. They look like meteors hitting the stage. After about 2-3 minutes of jumping every time a ’’meteor’’ hit the stage, the BSB rose from beneath the stage and then above it on five small platforms.
For about a minute, the boys turn abruptly a few times on the platforms for photo ops. Just as on the Millennium tour, they did this military fashion, saluting the audience.
The 20-some song set included all tracks from Black & Blue except ’’It’s True, ’’ which I resent! They also included three songs from Millennium, three from Backstreet Boys & Backstreet’s Back.
The highlights of the evening...where do I begin? First, the stage was setup so that there were ramps that went up into the lower level audience that was next to the stage. Umm, that meant that the Boys would be extremely close when they walked up there. AJ seemed to love our side. That corn-rolled head and tattood body was way too much for some girls to handle and just lost their minds, no I’m serious, they lost their minds. wink
During Shining Star, Nick and AJ seemed to be having the most fun of all the men. Almost too much fun if you know what I mean. The subjective lyrics and Nick’s sexy voice made for his impulse of groin dances that just about knocked every Nick lover down to the floor. AJ was up next for his solo, with both Nick and AJ moving towards the center of the stage with their booty shaking dances. I really thought AJ might get down and do his hump-the-stage dance like on the first tour. Sorry AJ fans, he didn’t. Shining Star has a Latin sound, which made for some hot dancing. They clapped and did some hip shaking. It was fantastic, and that’s what I want to see the guys do more of!
Before doing The Call, AJ did rehearsed monologue. He talked to the crowd while the guys changed in the back. He told the fans that they were about to perform the last song (this is the last time we were going to be fooled!), and he just spoke for a little bit. All of a sudden, a phone rang. It was sort of weird because you could tell AJ was expecting it and even stopped mid-sentence waiting for it. The ring was off, but AJ pulled it off anyway. When the phone rang, however, I think you might just imagine the screaming and shrieking from the audience. We knew what was to come. AJ told the ’’girlfriend’’ on the phone that they were about to do the last song in Charlotte (nice touch, AJ), and that it was a bad time for her to call. When finally he said ’’listen I gotta go baby, I love you, I’ll be thinking about you, ’’ he snaps the cell phone shut and exclaims sarcastically, ’’NOT!’’ Immediately after, the rest of the guys appear and they jump into The Call.
The beginning wasn’t the best part of The Call, though. Before they go into the choir boy type sound, right after Nick’s solo and they sing the chorus, and ’’gotta go!’’ and jump beneath the stage. Everyone is wondering where they went when just seconds later, out they come gracefully in blue choir boy robes singing the bridge. It was just so funny, so adorable, that I had to snap a picture. At the first sound of the thumping drum beat, they tore off the blue robes to be seen in retro cowboy, leather type gear. I think that The Call was the most energetic performance. A++ guys!
During one more acting skit, AJ teases the crowd, asking if they’d like to watch them change in the dressing room. Loudest screams and shrieks come from the teen girls, and down go the BSB into a trunk set up on stage, that oddly enough says ’’BSB Wardrobe’’ on it. When they are actually going underneath the stage, and get ready to appear on another small stage on the other side of the coliseum. The dressing room video is very cute and little boy-ish. The best part of it is when they open one of the closets and dozens of teddy bears fall at their feet. As Kevin is trying to find something, he throws the bears. To be funny, bears come flying out from the ’’trunk’’ on the stage. The ’’camera man’’ on the stage dodges them overdramatically.
After that is finally over, the lights capture the small stage on the other end of the coliseum with the Boys standing on it. During the dressing room video, the guys had gone up through the seats not used behind the stage, into the hallway, and down the stairs wearing staff’’ jackets to be unseen. They venture down being grabbed by girls along the way (yeah like yellow staff jackets are going to fool them). This is when they do a medly of slower songs. I’ll Never Break Your Heart/I Promise You, and then How Did I Fall In Love With You in its entirety.
During ’How Did I...’, Howie has many solos, and rightfully so. He sounds absolutely wonderful! During the song, however, he has one note that draws out for a long time. On the CD it is done crystal clear and beautifully, but the fans all knew that it may be hard for him to do it during the concert. In earlier concert videos we see him struggle with his song My Heart Stays With You. So when it is about time for Howie to sing the note, the crowd is hushed and frozen in time as Howie belts out the word ’’life’’ as if it means more to him than anything. He even holds out the note longer and better than on the CD. He is given screams, shrieks, & applaud of approval. It was amazing how the audience just burst with excitement during and after he sang the note. I, for one, was screaming to the point of no return. Howie, you rock.
After this, a catwalk is lowered above the floor seats that would allow the BSB to walk from the small stage to the bigger one. During this, they would sing Time. Dodging teddy bears and hats, the guys slowly made their way to the other stage. It was a very good way for more fans to get closer to the guys. They really incorporated all of the fans into the show so that everyone had a good seat. As for us, we had a sign for Nick that said ’’Happy 21st B-Day Nick!’’ He pointed at our sign!
The next few songs were Not For Me, and Get Another Boyfriend. The most interesting parts of these were the dance moves and the way they moved around the stage. I really enjoyed it and sang along loudly. The night ended with Shape Of My Heart. It was really just them singing and walking around the stage to see the fans. As soon as they were finished they did a long goodbye, a photo op, and went beneath the stage. Well, everyone except AJ! His platform was brought back up and he gave a few more quick goodbyes and thank yous.
All in all, I really couldn’t say which tour is better, Black & Blue World Tour or the world-renowned Into The Millennium Tour. They are equal. Things they did on the Millennium tour were amazing, as well as on this tour. Honestly, I had a great night and wouldn’t trade it for the world!