By Kevin Joy
The Columbus Dispatch
Slide show
To be a New Kid on the Block - or a Backstreet Boy, for that matter - in 2011 requires a certain indifference to social and sartorial norms that would typically recede with time and age:
Safe, synchronized dance moves.
Semi-formalwear awash in sequins.
Startling bursts of pyrotechnics, steam and confetti.
Gratuitous crotch-grabbing.
But a female-heavy crowd squealingly embraced such tactics last night when the two boy bands joined forces for a two-hour-plus show that took nostalgia-hungry listeners - depending on the performers - back 10 years (the Backstreet Boys, which formed in Orlando, Fla., in the early 1990s) or two decades (the Boston-based New Kids were first assembled in 1984).
"It feels a lot like 1989 again," New Kids vocalist Joey McIntyre told a packed Value City Arena last night. "No matter what beautiful, time-traveling journey we're on, we don't intend for it to stop."
Much of the show felt pretty modern, however.
The nine-piece group began the concert with a mash-up blending the New Kids' Single with the Backstreet Boys' The One while backed by the melody of the recent Coldplay hit Viva la Vida. It came off as a mix between an American Idol opening number and something those Glee kids might effortlessly throw together.
Utilizing a floor-length catwalk like it was Fashion Week, the guys effectively strutted, posed and offered a constant, childlike wave to no one in particular.
What worked best for the double-billing, though, was the iPod-Shuffle-style set list alternating between ensembles, which kept energy and audience interest high.
Still, the New Kids were the clear stars, running through upbeat songs of puppy love - Step by Step, You Got It (The Right Stuff), I'll be Loving You (Forever). Falsetto crooner Jordan Knight still hit the extended high notes.
For guys in their 40s, they've aged well, playing up the teenage Romeo shtick with full force - particularly bad-boy-turned-actor Donnie Wahlberg, whose face was covered for much of the show by a sparkly fedora (and, later, a Columbus Clippers cap) until he ripped off a black tank top to reveal a necklace strung with buckeyes (hey, it's only weird if you shouldn't flaunt it).
On their own, the Backstreet Boys were less magnetic. Performing without Kevin Richardson, who left the group in 2006, the foursome seemed bogged down by ballads, some of which were remixed with the Spinners and AC/DC music. Vocalist Brian Littrell seemed distracted, flapping his arms and making odd faces throughout.
And while their slow tunes have the burden of sounding strikingly similar, several stood out: As Long as You Love Me and I Want it that Way among them.
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