Boy members Kevin, left, Howie and Nick sing “The Call” during the show.

Credit: Erika Kreider

I wish I could write this article in pink.

One of my 12-year old fantasies was completed Tuesday night, complete with Nick Carter 30 feet in front of me, hip-thrusting. Don’t cringe, he’s surprisingly gorgeous now with buff arms accented with tattoos, and seductive lip-nibbling. Sigh…

Don’t stop reading though, this is not all girl-talk, lusting for untouchable boys. I criticize them later on.

The Backstreet Boys’ reunion tour makes me wonder, did they realize that all the underage cute girls that liked them are legal now? Possibly. Maybe they just want to promote their forthcoming CD, too.

When I was 12, I was a closet fan of the Backstreet Boys. To add to that, I don’t think I had a bad taste of music then either. My other musical loves were Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam and Nirvana. But, “I don’t care who you are/Where you’re from/What you did/As long as you love me,” was the lyric that always melted me. Even though I didn’t parade around expressing my BSB pride, the Boys knew I loved them; I bought all their CDs.

Fast forward five years and I’m planted in the House of Blues, with A.J., the bad one, Kevin, the old mature one, Nick, the hottie, Brian, the pretty boy, and Howie, the quiet one. This rings a bell to you, girls (and some of you boys), I know it does.

The show was a two-hour-long music video, only with good singing. I’m a huge fan of harmonizing, and they did it more than I lusted for Nick. They had dance moves, all matching, and a live band to back them up.

One of the best parts was the emotion the Boys turned on for “Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely.” They suffered; they were heartbroken; they showed it in their faces. They were good actors in that aspect.

If you liked their music videos, you would have loved this show.

All of their songs are about love and heartbreak. Very one-dimensional. Even though I was totally into these songs before, lip-synching every word, I never realized how silly and basic they are.

For a new song, Nick and A.J. have a song where they rap in the beginning. I loved how they are trying something new, even though it does seem out of character. They are from the “Backstreet” though, and now finally living up to that name. Rapping was great to weave into all of their sing-songy hits, which my roommate and I danced around singing along to the night before the concert.

The Boys didn’t interact much with the audience, unless you were up close and got to touch them. I only got to see their sweat, not have it drip on me. They did not emotionally connect with the audience as much as I hoped they would. Or maybe I’m not into them as much as I hoped to be. A combination of both most likely. They did encourage us to sing along, and “wave (our) hands in their air, wave them like (we) just don’t care.”

Giving them a fair chance, and getting into it as much as possible, I did sing along and wave my hands in the air like I just didn’t care. They seemed like they didn’t care though. They did not seem to be sincerely into it, unless they were making a heartbroken face. One of them was always at the back of the stage, rocking out with one of the musicians, and not paying attention to me.

Even though they haven’t changed much, basically just gotten older, and Nick got cuter, I think their fans have changed. If I was twelve, this article would be more like, “OMG, I totally ❤ BSB, they rule!” But after I see them straight up in my face, I see the addiction for them has left me.

They can still sing and dance, and for that I still love them.

Contact recovering Backstreet Bee-yotch Erika Kreider at [email protected].