Honestly, 15-year-old me would have punched me in the face tonight if he knew I was choosing to be in the same room as a Backstreet Boy. Probably wouldn’t have hurt too much though; I was even twerpier then than I am now.
But seriously, every day in high school, I listened to the girls in my class swooning over Howie, AJ, or Nick (never Kevin or Brian, weirdly). It was enough to drive me and my pimpled schoolmates insane.
And yet, as they say, time heals everything—and so does nostalgia. Despite avoiding this band as much as I could, my brain is still somehow imprinted with their lyrics. The instant I hear one of their songs on 90s on 9, I’m belting it out at the top of my lungs like the 6th Backstreet Boy. Just ask my office mate.
So when the opportunity comes up to review Nick Carter at the tiny Théâtre Beanfield, of course, I jump at the chance. I mean, Summer Wheatley did her dance routine to “Larger Than Life” in Napoleon Dynamite; apparently, that’s the song he starts his show with. IMAGINE HEARING THAT LIVE!
Except I don’t. After getting some bogus set times in advance, I arrive at Théâtre Beanfield about five songs into the set. CRAP! Still, I don’t have to wait too long for the next dose of Backstreet. After the MOR “I Got You” from his solo catalogue, “Shape of My Heart” from the 2000 Black & Blue album arrives in all its power-ballad glory, and I’m singing like a teenage girl from start to finish. My wife looks at me like she’s not sure who she actually married.
We get the full boyband stage experience when Nick pulls up a barstool to sing “I Need You Tonight.” Man, remember how every boyband would be seated for most of the song, then stand up at the key change and outro?! “Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely” and “We’ve Got It Goin’ On” are turned into rock songs but also weirdly truncated to about one minute each, which is a bit of a shame. Normal service is resumed to close out the show, thoroughly blowing the minds and destroying the vocal cords of all assembled. “Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)” and “As Long as You Love Me” close the main set, then “I Want It That Way” and “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)” for an encore. Honestly, if you aren’t singing at the top of your lungs at the end of all that, you might wanna check your pulse.
Did you ever lie awake at night wondering what Nick would do if you ever took him to Pang Pang Karaoke Bar? Well, wonder no more, because the set is loaded with covers that answer that age-old question and will cure that insomnia once and for all. Apparently, it would be Tears For Fears, Corey Hart, Simple Minds, Bon Jovi, and ZZ Top. He has them down pretty good too, and the +1 guys in the crowd who really don’t care for Backstreet Boys songs suddenly perk up for the covers—especially the Bon Jovi “Wanted Dead or Alive” rendition, with a group of guys busting out the “WANNNTEEED!” chorus harmony at every possible opportunity.
With a few slices of his own solo material mixed in that sound kinda Matchbox 20-ish (except for “19 in 99,” which is distinctly Sum 41 pop punk), it makes for a pretty eclectic set and an absolute blast of an evening overall. And if you read this in time, he’s playing again this Thursday (14th November) too.
I recommend you grab a ticket and unleash your inner teen girl!
Setlist
- Larger Than Life (Backstreet Boys song)
- Everybody Wants to Rule the World (Tears for Fears cover)
- Sunglasses at Night (Corey Hart cover)
- Get Over Me
- Don’t You (Forget About Me) (Simple Minds cover)
- I Got You
- Shape of My Heart (Backstreet Boys song)
- I’ll Never Break Your Heart (Backstreet Boys song) (Snippet; preceded by an improvised love song)
- Anywhere for You (Backstreet Boys song) (Snippet)
- If You Want It to Be Good Girl (Get Yourself a Bad Boy) (Backstreet Boys song) (Snippet)
- I Need You Tonight (Backstreet Boys song)
- Help Me
- Made for Us
- Wanted Dead or Alive (Bon Jovi cover)
- Just Want You to Know (Backstreet Boys song)
- Sharp Dressed Man (ZZ Top cover)
- Blow Your Mind
- Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely (Backstreet Boys song)
- We’ve Got It Goin’ On (Backstreet Boys song)
- 19 in 99
- Quit Playing Games (With My Heart) (Backstreet Boys song)
- As Long as You Love Me (Backstreet Boys song)
Encore
- I Want It That Way (Backstreet Boys song)
- Everybody (Backstreet’s Back) (Backstreet Boys song)
Review – Simon Williams
Photos – Kieron Yates
