A record label marketing guru once said jokingly, "You can always tell the music industry folks at any concert. They are the ones not clapping along with the performers or singing aloud proudly. They don't dress up because they're not under the impression they're going home with the lead singer cause they're wearing a cute sundress. They're the ones judging the sound, the instruments used, and the overall aesthetics of the show."
And three years ago when I first got to this town, I couldn't have been further from this description. But nowadays, it's pretty dead on. The longer I work in music, the more I care about the music. I'm no longer a fan of a band; I'm a fan of the music. I don't want to make out with the sweaty lead singer- I want to discuss his vocal training with him.
Now throw all that out the window for the NKOTBSB show in Nashville at the Bridgestone Arena on June 21, 2011.
My inner Jr. High self woke up that morning to find some front row seats having just been released on Ticketmaster. So, naturally, I scooped up a couple of tickets. (Cost? A little high, but FRONT ROW? At a Backstreet Boys show? C'mon, I couldn't deny my 13-yr-old self that.)
Ashlyne Huff, a Nashville native, opened up the show with incredible vocal power and energy. Admittedly, I was impressed. She looked like a pop star version of Gisele Bundchen. So naturally, I expected her to be lip synching her way through her performance. Not even close. Girl has pipes that had my eyebrows raised to the ceiling. After doing a little research, I realized she was Dan Huff's-- THE producer Dan Huff (think Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey)-- child. Talk about music running in the family. Follow Ashlyne on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ashlynehuff
Next, Jordin Sparks came out. She was good....but I couldn't understand why the opener to the opener could manage to sing in spite of dancing like Britney circa '99....yet Jordin proudly lip synched her way through much of her performance. I was disappointed. A mad good vocalist like Sparks good certainly have brought more to the table. Her stage presence was demanding, and you dared not take an eye off her for fear she might take her "I Am Woman" self and tell you how it is.
Finally, NKOTBSB......
As they took the stage, the entire arena erupted in screams that I'm certain could be measured sonically all the way to Houston. And as Nick Carter came to my side of the stage (oh yes, my) and sang directly to me, I became a fan again for the first time in years.
And there it was....all wrapped up into 10 thrusting and dancing men, singing romantic songs, and making eye contact with virtually all million of us screaming girls....my childhood innocence surfacing. I remember listening to those songs as a preteen and teenager, daydreaming about my first kiss, finding a boy that believed so fiercely in love like the Backstreet Boys, and hoping someday I would be a girl they would sing about.
Music isn't necessarily about one thing for anyone. I can listen to every genre and find things I like. I can listen to modern pop and want to throw it out the window most days. But music can bring you back to a place and time. It transcends all of life's troubles and can be like a mini-vacation. And that's precisely what the NKOTBSB concert was.
Between the dancing, the screaming, the obnoxiously loud singing....all the women in there were reliving the fantasy of the boy band.
And while bubblegum pop might be disposable to most, it was a night that was magical to all of us. Talking to another friend of mine that attended the show, she said (with stars in her eyes): "It was like a musical high. It was the best concert experience of my life."
Whether you loved the music or not, the pyrotechnics and the show itself were beyond impressive. It was an arena show not to be missed. I had never so much as heard a NKOTB song, but I admired their energy and Donnie Walhberg's abs for sure.
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