  New Kids On The Block and Backstreet Boys joined forces at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto on Wednesday June 8, 2011. (Craig Robertson, QMI Agency)
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TORONTO - Are two boy bands better than one?
Apparently.
The NKOTBSB tour, consisting of ‘80s boy group New Kids On The Block and their ‘90s successors Backstreet Boys, arrived at the Air Canada Centre on Wednesday night to deafening cheers from about 14,500 mostly female fans at the first show of a two-night stand.
The idea is that with both of their careers on the back nine, as it were, maybe teaming up for a summer tour together would mean a major career boost in 2011.
It appears to have worked. At least, in a live setting.
“It feels damn good to be back!” said New Kids’ tough guy Donnie Wahlberg.
“It just keeps getting better - can we do this for the rest of our lives please?” added New Kids’ still baby-faced youngest member Joey McIntyre. “This has been a blast.”
Now in their ‘40s and ‘30s but still chiselled and sporting tattoos, facial hair, and hats for those losing their hair (Wahlberg and BSB’s resident bad boy AJ Maclean, who later called each other “brothers from another mother”) there were more muscles on stage than an MMA main card.
And that testosterone combined with hit pop songs, choreographed dance moves (including crotch grabs), costume changes, and a major production that included two elevating platforms, a long catwalk, fireworks, confetti, videos, lights and big sound coming out of a four-piece band, the two groups couldn’t really lose.
Well, actually they could have but both were slick, well-oiled machines starting off with all nine of them - the lone hold out is Backstreet Boys’ Kevin Richardson - first appearing on a platform together to kick off the two-hour-15-minute show with a mash-up of Single/The One, fuelled by Coldplay’s Vida La Vida.
It was a good anthem to open the night and they’d only reached the same heights again with the Backstreet Boys’ I Want It That Way and Everybody (Backstreet’s Back), the latter a mash-up with AC/DC’s Back in Black towards the end of the evening.
They then alternated on stage for the rest of their night although they playfully introduced one another and sang their joint new single, Don’t Turn Out The Lights, and a reprise of their respective hits Everybody (Backstreet’s Back) and Hangin’ Tough dressed in Orlando and Celtic jerseys (with Wahlberg also wrapped in a Canadian flag) during the encore.
Other highlights were such uptempo numbers as New Kids’ You Got It (The Right Stuff) and Step By Step, and BSB’s Larger Than Life, Quit Playing Games (With My Heart), along with Backstreet power ballads like Show Me The Meaning of Lonely, Incomplete, As Long As You Love Me, All I Have To Give, and If You Stay.
Sadly, the cheese factor was particularly high on such New Kids slow numbers as Didn’t I (Blow Your Mind This Time), If You Go Away and I’ll be Loving You (Forever) with Jordan Knight’s falsetto not helping matters.
Still, the crowd couldn’t get enough of McIntyre’s Please Don’t Go Girl lead vocals while he dramatically slid on his knees across the catwalk.
And when there was actual audience participation, the collective swoon practically caused the arena to vibrate.
“You guys look beautiful tonight,” said BSB’s Howie Dorough before they all dragged one female fan each up on stage to give them red roses, seat them in chairs and serenade them with I’ll Never Break Your Heart.
And later the New Kids wandered into the crowd to stand atop five separate platforms on the floor to perform Tonight and Backstreet Boys wandered through the stands singing Shape Of My Heart while shaking hands and high-fiving fans.
But it was Wahlberg who really upped the beefcake ante when he ripped off his shirt off in the middle of New Kids’ Cover Girl.
SET LIST:
Single /The One (with Viva la Vida)
Summertime
The Call
Dirty Dancing
Bye Bye Love
You Got It (The Right Stuff)
Larger Than Life
Didn’t I (Blow Your Mind This Time)
If You Go Away
Please Don’t Go Girl
Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely
10,000 Promises
I’ll Never Break Your Heart
Drowning
Incomplete
Step By Step
Cover Girl
My Favorite Girl
Games
Tonight
Shape of My Heart
As Long As You Love Me
All I Have to Give
If You Stay
Raspberry Beret/Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)
I’ll Be Loving You (Forever)
I Want It That Way
Don’t Turn Out the Lights
ENCORE
Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)/Back In Black
Hangin’ Tough/We Will Rock You
Reprise: Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)/ Hangin’ Tough
