BURGETTSTOWN — Backstreet’s back, all right.
But did they ever really leave?
The five original Backstreet Boys — Nick, Brian, Kevin, A.J. and Howie — sang, danced and shook what their mamas gave them Saturday night during a two-hour concert at First Niagara Pavilion.
Here’s what BSB had to offer:
THE HITS
After 21 years together, the men still look and sound good. The tour, which began last year as a 20th anniversary celebration, featured all of the hits and dance moves fans are accustomed to.
With a few newer songs sprinkled in, BSB performed their catchy tunes and original choreography. We heard them all — “The Call,” which opened the show,” “I Want it That Way,” “All I Have to Give” and “The One,” among others. “Backstreet’s Back” and “Larger Than Life” were the choices for the two-song encore.
Saying that BSB is now legal in most places, Howie told the predominantly female crowd that the group is like a fine wine – “We get better with time.”
There’s some truth to that. They all have aged well and their voices have held up through the years.
THE BANTER
Backstreet was heavy on the talking but there wasn’t much depth to what they were saying. The show ran too long, with the mindless banter taking up too much time.
True, they needed to kill some time for costume changes and rest after some of those elaborate dance sequences. They had a solution in the beginning. A video played on the big screen interviewing the members, asking who was the most serious, sexiest, etc. Later, we saw a preview for “Backstreet Boys: The Movie.” But in between, we got some really uninteresting chatter, each man taking his turn at the mic.
There was also a misplaced moment of silence A.J. led for a beloved security guard who passed away last year. I’m impressed that the pavilion got as quiet as it did, but there was a time and a place, and the middle of the show wasn’t it.
Oh, and did you know we live in Pennsylvania? In case you didn’t, the five men reminded us about 20 times. Because why address the city you’re in when you can claim the whole state?
CHEESE AND NOSTALGIA
You knew going into the show there would be some cheesy moments, and there were. The predicted costumes — matching suits in the beginning and later coordinating street looks — synchronized dancing with a hat as a prop and five-part harmonies, all cheesy, but the Backstreet Boys have built their career on cheesy lyrics and dance moves.
But there wasn’t nearly as much eye rolling as I expected.
Early on, Nick told us that we all need to act like we’re 15 years old again, and later, the men said that they wanted to party like it was 1999. We did and they did.
DON’T FORGET ABOUT AVRIL AND BAYLEE
Speaking of nostalgia, Avril Lavigne opened the show with a 40-minute set. Dressed in a black tutu, Lavigne opened with the appropriate “Here’s to Never Growing Up.” The hits spanning a career that started in the early 2000s were all there — “Sk8er Boi,” “Girlfriend,” “My Happy Ending,” “With You” and of course, her breakout hit, “Complicated,” ended the set.
Lavigne was a great choice for a support act. She kept the crowd on its feet dancing and she looks and sounds as good as she ever did.
We had another opener on Saturday night. Before Lavigne started the show, Brian came out on stage, asking if it was OK if his son, Baylee, performed for us.
We didn’t really have a choice, but the boy did a stellar job, singing three cover songs, starting with “My Girl.” Even at 11 years old, Baylee has a great voice and stage presence.
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