Backstreet Boys Party Like It's 1999 at Wolf Trap
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The Backstreet Boys still make girls scream. And the yelps they inspire these days don't sound grown-up or ironic, either. No, all through Monday's show at a packed Wolf Trap, the Boys were hit with the sort of meaning-of-life squeals historically reserved for Tiger Beat cover kids. That's a role they haven't filled in this century.
Three of the band's remaining members -- Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell and A.J. McLean -- are in their 30s; the fourth, reality-TV himbo Nick Carter, is a weathered 28. (Kevin Richardson, the oldest original BSB'er, is now 37, but left the group two years ago.) Littrell, who spent the night smirking and giggling, was about the only person on the premises who grasped the goofiness of playing a teen idol so far past one's teens. But he, like everybody in the Zip code on this night, was having a blast nonetheless.
The Boys hit the stage dressed in boxing robes and wearing fighters' gloves. That's fitting attire, considering how long the band served as critics' punching bags. But enough time has passed for longtime haters to admit that some of BSB's vintage material really did rate the love the fans gave it from the start. "I Want It That Way" from 1999 and 1997's "Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)," for example, remain pop gold.
The ensemble did a Motown-like line dance routine while harmonizing during 1997's "As Long as You Love Me," as the backing band played the very similar music of the Spinners' classic "I'll Be Around." Of the band's old-school smashes, only "Everybody (Backstreets Back)," a Michael Jackson homage full of commands for fans to "Rock your body!," came off as too kitschy.
There were signs that band members are preparing for life post-BSB. Dorough did a very adult samba strut while crooning a number from his solo career. And Littrell stood alone on the stage for a folksy delivery of "Welcome Home (You)," a tearjerker about the pain of growing up and leaving the nest. Professionally, that's a pain these guys haven't yet faced and, strange as it sounds, might not have to for some time.
-- Dave McKenna
