Backstreet's back alright!
By Theresa Cano
August 27, 2005
AZ Central

A sea of waving green glow sticks and ear-piercing screams welcomed a reunited Backstreet Boys back to the Valley Friday night at Dodge Theatre.

Though the venue holds quite a few less fans than the venues the band used to sell-out in a matter of hours during it's prime in the'90s, the 5,000 seat building was packed.

Surrounded by an arsenal of neon green lasers, the group walked down a lighted staircase to open their Never Gone tour with a spirited version of 'The Call,' off of quintet's 2000 release Black & Blue.

Despite the smaller crowd, the noise level generated by the band's rabid fans during the group's 110 minute set was just as deafening as it was during their heyday and the band ate it up. All five members seemed genuinely humbled by the crowd's excitement and dedication.

The Backstreet Boys made up of Brian Littrell, 30, Nick Carter, 25, A.J. McLean, 27, Kevin Richardson, 33, and Howie Dorough, 32, were in great spirits all night. They spent much of the night interacting with fans, laughing with each other and thanking the crowd for coming out and still supporting them through the years.

Fans often times drowned out the group's vocals especially on favorites like 'I Want It That Way,' 'All I Have To Give' and surprisingly, on the all the songs the band performed off of their latest release. It obvious that the Backstreet Boys' loyal fans did their homework when it came to learning the new songs.

Thankfully, the group ditched their cheesy futuristic, padded uniforms of past concerts for a much more stylish, urban look. One thing that the group did retain from previous shows was their well choreographed dance routines. Even though oldest member Richardson is fast approaching 34, the boy band moves still worked in the scheme of the show and drew plenty of delirious screams from the crowd.

While the group played about three-quarters of the tracks off of their latest album, Never Gone, they didn't forget about the songs that helped them sell millions of albums around the globe.

'I'll Never Break Your Heart,' 'Larger Than Life' and a soaring version of 'Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely' were all pure pop bliss that showcased the group's crisp and clean vocals.

Backstreet Boys mixed up their hit 'As Long as You Love Me' with the tune of The Spinners' classic 'I'll Be Around' to create a smooth, soulful new take on the song. It was definitely a risk that paid off for the group.

New songs like 'Climbing the Walls,' 'I Still…,' the dark 'Siberia' which featured a dramatic backdrop of falling snow and the Bon Jovi-inspired rock track 'Just Want To Know You' hinted towards the group's staying power. The latter is the group's new single and featured a humorous video that had the band time-warped into the '80s hair band craze complete with the guys sporting spiked mullets and muscle tees.

The group closed out the show with back to back hits an inspired take on the new power ballad, 'Incomplete' and 'Everybody (Backstreet's Back)' and for at least one night in Phoenix, they truly were.

Setlist:

The Call
My Beautiful Woman
More Than That
Climbing the Walls (Nick on guitar)
Shape of My Heart
(Video: Millennium)
The One
I Still
I Want It That Way
Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely
Larger Than Life
Siberia
(Video: We've Got it Goin On)
All I Have to Give
As Long As You Love Me
I'll Never Break Your Heart
Just Want you To Know
Crawlin Back To You
Drowning
Quit Playing Game
(Video: Never Gone)
Weird World

Encore: Incomplete
Everybody (Backstreet's Back)