MTV's Review
I found this at MTV Online and I thought it was just too funny to keep it to myself.
'N Sync
@ Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY, 3/12/99
'N Sync: they sweat. You get yourself an 'N Sync ticket and you're guaranteed an hour-and-a-half of unbridled sweat action. Which, to us, seemed rather odd. You'd think that the guys would just half-ass it, knowing that the girls would go home hoarse and happy anyway. But not only do they sweat; they dance like nobody's business, they play to the crowd, they crank it out hi-NRG, and they don't stop till the lights come up. 'N Sync actually wants to win you over, or at least make it look like they're trying.
During a speedy, snappy set which made the Backstreet Boys' recent Tour O' Slow Jams look like the concert equivalent of Seconal, 'N Sync proved themselves to be nothing short of upbeat, fun, and slickly professional, even if the fivesome's collective technical accuracy was so sharply delineated that it led one to believe there may be a cyborg or two lurking in its ranks. Justin (the Monchichi-like blond one) barely batted an eye when he got pegged with a slew of Beanie Babies during "For the Girl Who Has Everything," and J.C. (the cheekboned one) was showboating so hard by the end of "I Drive Myself Crazy" that we temporarily feared he was having a heart attack. But he just kept on going, and like true suckers, we giddily went along.
From "Here We Go" to the final encore of "Tearin' Up My Heart," the 'N Sync machine motored along with precision, secure in the knowledge that following up a slow number like "God Must Have Spent a Little More Time on You" with any less of a jam than "I Want You Back" would spell disaster. 'N Sync's stage presentation, however, is half pure entertainment and half huh?, from the 30-foot-tall pop-lockin' body-rockin' electric boogaloo loincloth-garbed gargoyle to the dayglo Kabuki fencing outfits the guys wore while twirling around giant fluorescent pixie sticks... oh, did we happen to mention this all happens before the show even starts?
And while the segment during which 'N Sync traveled back in time to perform covers was an adorable idea, the execution was amusing for all the wrong reasons. OK, watching the guys play instruments was cute (though shaky) for the '60s segment, but the Wonders' "That Thing You Do"... well, it's safe to say that song doesn't quite qualify for "back in the day" status. A Jackson 5 medley for the '70s made far more sense, but the Afro wigs troubled us a bit, not to mention the introductory "educational film" which told us that while kids were getting killed at Kent State and in Vietnam, the Jackson 5 were riiiding hiiigh on the charts. (Um… hooray?) The concept master behind this segment has either a truly perverse sense of humor or no brain. It's anyone's call.
Still, 'N Sync's chops managed to escape the more circus-like productions unscathed, and when they came out to perform their cover of Christopher Cross' "Sailing," harnesses sent all five guys up to the ceiling and flying over the crowd. It came out of nowhere, it whipped the crowd into a frenzy, and it was darn classy on top of that. Of course, compared to some of the things we'd seen, maybe that's not saying much. But the gimmick sent everyone home happy -- something that's not all that easy to come by.
Confounded by 'N Sync's success? So were we. But after this show, it makes a weird kind of sense. We're pleasantly surprised... and at the same time, downright terrified.
-- Kim Stitzel
Email: fuzzybunnies@collegeclub.com
