When New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys teamed up for a nostalgic double bill Wednesday evening at The Q in Cleveland, it was a historic display of boy-band bipartisanship.
Each group favored a different approach to dealing with the impending national heartbreak crisis. Of course, the fact that there even is an impending national heartbreak crisis was news to some of us.
New Kids on the Block came out in support of austere measures -- i.e., “Hangin’ Tough.” Backstreet Boys came out in support of transparency -- i.e., “Quit Playing Games (With My Heart).”
Yet in the end, both parties agreed to put aside their profound philosophical differences in favor of dancing the night away, to the delight of 12,000 supporters.
Slick pop songs and pop-and-lock choreography played exceedingly well to the boy bands’ bases, which were 99.9 percent female and way too excited to be there.
Your intrepid correspondent personally witnessed one young lady spill her beer. (On me.) Another fan was so worked up, she dropped her tube of lip gloss.
The hyperventilating commenced as soon as New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys were lowered into view atop a circular elevator. They promptly launched into a medley of “Single” and “The One,” with a bit of Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida” thrown in for good measure. Poor Coldplay.
Toward the end of the 2 1/2-hour show, the co-headliners joined forces for the least convincing cover of Queen’s “We Will Rock You” that I’ve ever heard. Poor Queen.
New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys were better off sticking to their own hits. And between them, they had plenty.
Both groups took turns strutting their stuff, frequently on a long catwalk that connected the stage to a smaller platform in the middle of the arena.
New Kids on the Block featured brothers Jordan and Jonathan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg and Danny Wood.
Their songs -- including “You Got It (The Right Stuff),” “Cover Girl” and “Step by Step” -- were well-received flashbacks from the late ’80s and early ’90s.
The fivesome peaked with the ballad “I’ll Be Loving You (Forever),” which found Jordan Knight’s stratospheric falsetto reaching altitudes where not even the Bee Gees would dare to soar.
The downsized Backstreet Boys included A.J. McLean, Brian Littrell, Howie Dorough and Nick Carter. They were without the services of Kevin Richardson, who left the group a few years ago to pursue other interests.
Apparently, those interests do not include revisiting “Shape of My Heart,” “I Want It that Way,” “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)” and other Top 10 singles from the late ’90s and early ’00s.
Backstreet Boys also personally serenaded four female admirers onstage to the tune of “I’ll Never Break Your Heart.”
It made for a sweet interlude, in sharp contrast to self-styled bad boy Wahlberg’s tiresome crotch grabs and incessant pelvic thrusts.
Perhaps it was better to focus on the music.
“Oh, oh, oh-oh-oh / Oh, oh, oh, oh / Oh, oh, oh-oh-oh!” New Kids on the Block fearlessly declared in five-part harmony.
“Na-na-na, na-na-na-na / Na-na-na, na-na, baby / Na-na-na, na-na-na-ahhh!” Backstreet Boys boldly countered in quadruplicate.
OK, so neither group’s lyrics have aged particularly well. Nonetheless, in light of their successful NKOTBSB Tour, it might be interesting to get their thoughts on the federal debt ceiling.
SET LIST:
Single / The One (NKOTBSB)
Summertime (NKOTB)
The Call (BSB)
Dirty Dancing (NKOTB)
Get Down (You’re the One for Me) (BSB)
You Got It (The Right Stuff) (NKOTB)
Larger than Life (BSB)
Didn’t I (Blow Your Mind This Time) (NKOTB)
If You Go Away (NKOTB)
Please Don’t Go Girl (NKOTB)
Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely (BSB)
10,000 Promises (BSB)
I'll Never Break Your Heart (BSB)
Drowning (BSB)
Incomplete (BSB)
Step by Step (NKOTB)
Cover Girl (NKOTB)
My Favorite Girl (NKOTB)
Games (NKOTB)
Click Click Click (NKOTB)
Tonight (NKOTB)
Shape of My Heart (BSB)
As Long as You Love Me (BSB)
All I Have to Give (BSB)
If You Stay (BSB)
Quit Playing Games (With My Heart) (BSB)
I’ll Be Loving You (Forever) (NKOTB)
I Want It that Way (BSB)
Don’t Turn Out the Lights (NKOTBSB)
ENCORE:
Everybody (Backstreet’s Back) (BSB)
Hangin’ Tough (NKOTB)
We Will Rock You / Everybody (Backstreet’s Back) / Hangin’ Tough (NKOTBSB)
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