It was obvious to me why the Backstreet Boys have been around for 21 years, not only their brand of music that has graced dance floors world wide for two decades, and a performance show that is high energy and interactive, but a dedicated and rabid fan base. The Backstreet Boys have sold over 130 million records worldwide, thus making them the best selling boy band in history, and one of the world’s best selling musical artists. They are one of a small group to have their first nine albums reach the top 10 on the Billboard 200 and the only boy band to accomplish this. This night, they launch their 2014 North American “In A World Like This” Tour, at the Moncton Coliseum.
The line-up outside the Coliseum was staggering upon arrival, dominated not surprisingly by the female gender, as thousands of fans awaited entry as a technical glitch delayed the start time (hey it is the first show of the NA tour after all). As I referred to earlier, their staying power has a lot to do with their fan base, which as I noted watching the crowd enter the building ranged from individuals from ages of about 10-50, again, predominately female. One fan I spoke with who was in the ‘gold circle’ on the floor, this was her 17th time seeing BSB, the following night in Halifax would be her 18th.
Backstreet Boys – In A World Like This Tour – Moncton Coliseum – 05/03/14 ~ Refrain Photography
The ‘steamy’ arena was buzzing in anticipation of the guys arriving on the stage, the full house on the edge of their seats, ready to scream for the next two hours (which they certainly did). As the lights dimmed and the group took to the stage I was very thankful to have found my misplaced ear plugs just before the show…it was loud! Not only was the music loud but so was the 5000 plus ladies screaming at the top of their lungs surrounding me (when I took my camera to the office after our allowed three song shooting I ran into one couple that were actually leaving because of the volume). A very simple and effective stage surrounded the group, emblazoned with LED’s that burst colour on their baby blue suits (one of many outfits on the night) and the group danced up a storm to the delight of the crowd. Although these ‘boys’ are in their early 30’s to early 40’s they still move as much and as well as they ever did. The only part of the stage that I disliked were the position of the speaker stacks hanging from the ceiling, they seriously impeded half of the top of the top two risers of the stage where the group spent a lot of time throughout the show if you were in the seats of the bowl.
Backstreet Boys – In A World Like This Tour – Moncton Coliseum – 05/03/14 ~ Refrain Photography
A few songs in, group member AJ Maclean took to the stage alone to ask the crowd for a brief moment of silence for their long time head of security Johnny “Q” Elgani who had recently passed, which the crowd respected as Maclean held a raised fist to the sky. Another reason this group has had the staying power of no other boy band is their love of their crowds, their interactivity with their crowds. They noted that Canada had a special place in their hearts because, even though they were formed in Orlando, they ‘made it’ in Europe and Canada long before they were heavily on the radar in the US.
An hour into the show, the band broke it down bringing out the acoustic guitars, box drums, and keyboards to ‘play’ some songs for the fanatical crowd. They noted that the crowd was likely thinking “what are the backstreet boys doing with instruments”? They called it insurance for 30-40 years from now when they can’t dance anymore, unless it was a latin flavoured song for which group member Howie did a dance for the crowd. Much to the delight of the ladies. They play a few older songs acoustically, and very well, it was obvious that playing instruments is something they have done for a long time and well. They also played a new song called “Madelaine” off their latest, and 8th studio album. They told stories, and there was a brief video about them shown on the three large video screens and when they returned to the stage they sang another new song from the latest album and the title of the tour, “In A World Like This” which I personally enjoyed quite a bit. During the song AJ, walked around in the crowd while he sang joining the other members on stage near the end of the song. One interesting highlight was when they asked the crowd to turn the flashlights of their cell phones on during a song, like thousands of firefly’s they danced around they entire arena. Their interactivity stretched even further and members would pose for cell phone pics as they sang, member Brian Litrell even getting right down on his stomach on stage to be part of a ‘selfie’ with a group of girls, all while continuing to sing. (It should be noted that I as a viewer of many, many shows appreciate performers who do things like this and realize why they are here, the fans, don’t just come out and play and leave)
Backstreet Boys – In A World Like This Tour – Moncton Coliseum – 05/03/14 ~ Refrain Photography
After almost two solid hours of music, the band bid farewell to the excited and screaming fans, to be pulled back for a two song encore of “Backstreet’s Back”, and “Larger Than Life”. In a show I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, the BSB’s entertained, made me laugh, played fun songs that took me back, interacted and performed…sounds like a perfect show to me. Backstreet’s Back…in North America for the summer of 2014, and I highly encourage you to take in this show, definitely a good one.
Thanks to the Backstreet Boys, Evenko, and PPRL for a fun night of music and entertainment in the city yet again!