On Saturday August 22nd, 1998 the Backstreet Boys returned to Toronto for the Backstreet's Back Summer Tour 98 . They preformed, not one but two SOLD OUT concerts at the Molson Amplitheatre. The first show was at 2:00pm while the second was at 8:00. Unfortunately during the earlier show, AJ slipt (possibly on a toy or letter thrown by a fan) and he tore a ligament, causing him to have to miss the 8:00 show and spend the night in a Toronto Hospital.
Since the shows were sold out, i only managed to see the evening show, and I think although there were only 4 members of the BSB on stage, it was still an INCREDIBLE preformance. They all worked especially hard (especially Brian and Nick) to cover for AJ's absence and they gave their all so that the fans would not feel let down in anyway.
If anyone has read the TORONTO SUN's review of the concert, believe me, it is nothing but CRAP! The reporter went to the concert with the intentions of bashing the BSB, and did not give them a chance at all.
Here is MY version of what happened. 7:30 pm
Solid Harmonie came out and preformed
I'll Be There For You, which they dedicated to Tarzan Dan, a DJ from Power 88.5
(i missed Solid Harmonie's preformance, so I don't know what else they sang)
7:45 pm
Aaron Carter's dancers came out and taught the audience how to do the dance to Shake It
7:50 pm
Aaron Carter came out and preformed Shake It followed by Crazy Little Party Girl
8:30 pm
Johnny Wright, one of the BSB's managers came on stage and explained that AJ had injured himself during the earlier preformance and that he would not be able to preform. Nobody really believed him because at the March 29, 1997 concert he jokingly came out and said that Nick would not preform, which wasn't true.
8:55 pm
The lights went, out the band started playing and all of a sudden there was a huge noise as the stage was lit with fire and BSB came out (all except for AJ) singing That's The Way I Like It .
The next part of the preformance was something unique that I had never seen at a Backstreet concert before. To show their talents as dancers the boys preformed a five minute dance routine to clips of some of the songs that have been popular this summer (possibly their favorites) including songs by Puff Daddy, Mase and Next.
The boys then came out to the front of the stage and Kevin announced that it was Howie's Birthday. A cake was brought out and they sang to Howie. After that, Kevin announced that it was also Terry, Tarzan Dan's wife's Birthday.
This was followed by Hey Mr. DJ which sounded amazing, but different, since Brian and Nick were singing all of AJ's parts which pretty much make up the entire song.
Before the song could end, Howie ran backstage to change and prepare for his solo which was next.
Once again (just like the January 3rd concert), Howie sang My Heart Stays With You . He sang it well and while walking around the stage he handed out roses to the crowd. The one thing that he could of left out was his stripping. He kept saying "I have a gift for you Toronto!" and took off his shirt. Apart from that he did a great job.
Then Brian came out and just like we had seen in January he sat down with his guitar and sang an emotional version of That's What She Said which as he explained is the song that he wrote.
Kevin followed with a fast and loud version of Nobody But You which was suprisingly different from the recorded version we've all heard before.
Last of all, was of course, Nick who appeared on the top part of the stage with an old fashioned microphone (like the one in the All I Have To Give video or on Mariah Carey's Music Box album picture). Everyone's first reaction was, "what the hell is that on his crotch?" because as we figured out a few minutes after there was a white stuffed animal attatched to the mike stand, positioned right in front of Nick's crotch which, to those of us in the 400 levels, made it look like his fly was open or something. Anyways, Nick sang Heaven In Your Eyes (which has ALWAYS been my FAVORITE song in the entire world) and he honestly sang it better than I have heard it before. If you visit RainbowLove's BSB site you can download one version of Nick singing the song, but trust me in Toronto it was much better. The Toronto Sun said that during the 2:00 show, Nick "chirped out" while singing his solo. Even if that was true, during the show that I saw it was absolutely amazing. It was like I was hearing the song for the first time again, it was that incredible. He actually sounded like he had written the song and felt what he was singing. Just that one song made the whole concert worth while. It was incredible!!!
As the rest of BSB joined him on stage, Nick announced that it was time to speed things up and he burst into Let's Have A Party . As the audience recovered from the high energy preformanc, they slowed it down and sang Darlin' .
Everyone has seen Anywhere For You on the live in concert video tape, but they have NEVER actually preformed it in Toronto. Next to Heaven In Your Eyes, it was the best song of the evening. Nick and Brian started out at the top of the stage singing, and then moved to the bottom during the chorus. Just like on the video tape, Nick and Brian walked to the middle of the stage and "hive fived" eachother, but instead of walking away, Nick put his arm around Brian and they sang the second verse together in the middle of the stage. I don't think anyone even noticed what Howie and Kevin were doing because everyone was watching Brian and Nick. It was a very memorable moment. Everyone knows that they're best friends, but at that moment you could really see just how much support they had for eachother. The audience could tell that the whole group, especially Brian were trying so hard to make everything work even though they were tired from the first show and they were missing AJ, but at that moment it's like Brian and Nick were showing that everything was going to be alright. No matter what we've all heard over the past few months, that proved it, that BACKSTREET'S BACK AND THEY ARE HERE TO STAY for a very long time!
Moving on, they then anounced that they would preform the song that has earned them the most success worldwide, Quit Playin' Games. They got into postion to start dancing but then stopped when the band seemed to be playing much too quickly. After telling the band to play it the right way they got into position again, as the song started way to slowly. The band then told them that if they thought they could do it better, why don't they play it them selves. So Nick took the drums, Howie, the guitar, Brian, percussion, and Kevin took the keyboard and they played and sang the song perfectly. After Nick's part and the second chorus, the band came back and each BSB introduced a member of the band as he gave them back their instrument. The four BSBs then finished the song and did the corresponding dance. It was amusing and unique, but for those of us who had seen the January concert where they did the exact same thing it was a little bit dissapointing, but hey, they haven't had much time to plan a whole new tour.
The next single they preformed was I'll Never Break You Heart which although they were without AJ, they managed to sing absolutely perfectly.
After taking a minute break the guys came out once more this time wearing hats, signifying that All I Have To Give was up next. They sang it sooo well. I personally thought it was another one of their best moments during this concert, however a few other people told me that it really bothered them to hear Howie covering AJ's part, but I personally think that he did an excellent job. After singing the main part of the song they broke into the "hat dance" which had the audience screaming almost as loud as they did when Nick sang his solo.
All I Have To Give was followed by Get Down and We've Got It Goin' On with Nick covering for AJ in Get Down, and the entire group helping Brian out with AJ's parts in We've Got It Goin' On.
As the first notes started and the chairs were brought out the audience's screams got much louder and when Nick started singing As Long As You Love Me everyone lost it. It ended up being very emotional (not as much as Heaven In Your Eyes but close) not only because it's the song that helped expose them to alot more people but also because everyone could sense the concert was nearly over. There were quite a few people who started to cry, knowing that the night we had all waited for was about to end.
As they left the stage and said goodbye, a few stupid people actually
left, while the rest of us screamed, knowing there'd be one more
song. Sure enough on the screens and the back curtain of the stage
we could see the video for Everybody Backstreet's Back . They showed the beginning of the video, then about three minutes
of dance clips followed by the end of the video. As AJ appeared
on screen the crowd went nuts and when the guys on the screen
screamed so did everyone in the amplitheatre. Just like before
four coffins were wheeled onto stage, and as the stage lit up
with fire, the coffins were turned around to reveal Nick, Brian,
Howie and Kevin dressed in the old fashioned clothes from the
video dance scene. They really got into the song as did the audience
and when Nick sang his line
" AS LONG AS THERE'LL BE MUSIC WE'LL BE COMING BACK AGAIN!!!"
, you couldn't help but believe that he really meant it.
Then it was over. They left the stage and we knew that it was over. The stage and sky surrounding the building were lit with tons of fireworks bright and loud. When the fireworks stopped we could all see it was a clear night and the sky was filled with stars. But the real stars, the one who mean the world to us had just left and as much as we all felt like we had experienced the night of our lives we were, or at least I was incredibly sad. You wait and plan for months on end for this one night, and then it's over so quickly. But as quickly as it came and went, the memories will be there FOREVER.
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