Saturday, December 11, 1999

Boys will be boys

'N Sync thrills 10,000 (mostly girls) at Skyreach

EDMONTON -- Imagine rock 'n' roll as experienced through the magic of Disneyworld.

 That would be 'N Sync in Skyreach Centre last night. At least it was as loud as a rock show. The music was pretty loud, too. As deafening screams from 10,000 girls (plus parents and a few dedicated boyfriends) crashed through the arena like waves on a particularly stormy day at the Bay of Fundy, the fab five from Florida delivered a spectacular song-and-dance revue filled with action, drama, romance - especially romance; Justin is, like, just sooooo dreamy - and comedy. These guys were a veritable entertainment machine. Nary a note or hair or video interlude or explosion was out of place. What a way to mark the last major concert of the millennium. (It was also N Sync's last North American show on the tour, proving that Edmonton is indeed the end of the earth.)

  After brief opening sets from McMaster and James (there's something creepy about grown men dirty-dancing in front of little girls) and Ron Irrazary (a guitar-slinging folk-singer backed by disco beats; he actually shows a lot of promise), the 'N Sync Adventure Theme Park opened with a James Bond-like skit that ate up a good 15 minutes of show time. The story: Some evil genius that looked like Bill Gates' kid brother locked the boys out and took the audience hostage. Omigod! Would the boys be able to get in? Would the show go on? Of course. After a video introduction detailing the guys' vital statistics, they came by helicopter to the roof, cut through with welding torches and lowered themselves by ropes as the Mission Impossible theme blared. There was much rejoicing.

  Explosions and flames launched the first number, aptly titled Here We Go, and then it was straight into You Got It. "You got it, I need it" - whatever "it," is - they sang in perfect five-part harmony as they pulled off a perfectly choreographed dance routine. OK, maybe there were some "enhanced" vocals going on. No one can sing properly dancing like that. They proved their singing ability later on with such ballads as God Must've Spent a Little More Time On You. Besides, it scarcely mattered. The crowd was on its feet - screaming, screaming, all that screaming ...

  There was actually something to scream about. Say what you want about boy-groups with millions of dollars in production at their disposal. They may be pinnacle of pop fluff, but they're not putting on boring concerts.

  After a heart-melting ballad - For the Girl Who Has Everything - it was time for a trip to the past, 'N Sync-style. First, the '60s and a version of That Thing You Do (from the Tom Hanks film of the same name), dressed in red blazers and actually appearing to play instruments. Then, the '70s - "Vietnam vets came home to a mixed response; dogs played Frisbee," intoned the booming narrator - and a Jackson Five medley. They donned fringes and 'fros, but no blackface. For the '80s, no Devo, but Kool and the Gang and a faithful rendition of Celebrate. The '90s got the biggest hand, since it's the decade most of the crowd was old enough to remember. The hit parade continued.

  Chris Kirkpatrick, the oldest of the 'N Syncers with a voice like Joe Pesci on helium, stopped to address the crowd. He assured the girls that the lawsuit was nothing to worry about, there were no hard feelings and that "'N Sync will be around for a very, very, very long time."

  Yeah, well ... if not 'N Sync, then some other boy band of the future will carry the torch. Someone's got to do it. This sort of thing never seems to go out of style.

Screaming in Sync