Title: LIVE!
Source: The Washington Post
Date: January 24, 2002
Source: FAIRFAX EXTRA; Pg. T20
Author: Marianne Meyer
Topic: 2002 News
Aaron Carter is cute and potentially dangerous. He's a 13-year-old kid with killer good looks of the all-American blond variety, and his reputation as a PG-rated party animal has made him a heartthrob for 'tween girls and a role model for that select group of younger boys who have already begun asking, "What do little women want?"
So parents, beware. When "Aaron's Winter Party" tour pulls into the Patriot Center on Wednesday, those game elders taking kids to their first pop concert are in for serious eardrum damage if they don't have plugs at the ready.
We're talking major decibel level squeals, not to mention booming sound system action, frenzied acrobatics and choreography (some of it even on stage), and the financial endurance test known as Running the Lobby Merchandise Display Gantlet.
Welcome to state-of-the-art Teen Pop 2002. If you put aside your Beatles-esque memories of four guys who wrote their own songs, played their own instruments and preferred singing to costume changes, you may even have a good time. After all, young Mr. Carter is an energetic charmer who has learned lots from his older brother, Nick, of the Backstreet Boys, about how this boy band thing works.
He's a natural showman, eager to please, with a re[acute]sume[acute] that includes a short, sold-out stint on Broadway in "Seussical," three albums and two video collections cast in various degrees of platinum, and a European title as youngest artist to garner four consecutive top 40 singles in the United Kingdom.
As for the music, it's the tasty fast-food product of a well-oiled machine of studio pros, catchy material full of light raps and bright hooks. Occasional dips into the oldies pool ("I Want Candy" and "Iko Iko") give parents a handle to hold on to, while flirtations with the opposite sex and narrative tales of youthful pranks appeal to budding-teen illusions of freedom, like adolescent rebellion with training wheels.
The show starts early (7 p.m.) with sets from young singer Lindsay Pagano and more cute-boy action by the quintet Dream Street. For this concert, the Patriot Center will be using its more intimate half-arena configuration, which puts each seat closer to the stage. The better to see those hotties! So join the party. After all, it's a Nickelodeon world. We just live in it and pay for the accessories.
The Patriot Center is at 4500 Patriot Cir. on the campus of George Mason University, west of the Capital Beltway off Braddock Road. Tickets are $ 35.50, which includes parking, and are available at www.ticketmaster.com or 703-573-7328. Doors open one hour before showtime. For further details and directions, visit www.patriotcenter.com.
If you have a suggestion for LIVE!, please e-mail details to mariannemeyer@home.com.
