Vancouver Sun

New Kids still hanging tough

Deliver the biggest kick in sugary lineup of boy- band pop at Rogers Arena

- STUART DERDEYN

A fist thump to the chest over the heart and a two- finger salute to the sky — everybody say yeah. Then scream yourselves silly.

It was indeed the full mid-’ 90s boy band pop at the Package Tour last night at Rogers Arena.

The New Kids On The Block, 98 Degrees and Boyz II Men showcase was as back to the future as it can get, complete with matching his and hers acid- washed denim sweatsuits. A lot of babysitter­s raked it in as the first generation of fans have families now.

I can only hope nobody confessed to their children that a sugary toothache of a song such as 98 Degrees’ Invisible Man was, you know, “that song.” Written in Vancouver or not, some things are best left in the vault forever.

Boyz II Men isn’t one of those. The vocal trio is the only group in the tour that has kept on working long after the glitter was gone.

98 Degrees, on the other hand, baffled me back in the day and still does. Essentiall­y a quartet of meticulous­ly unkempt dudes rocking a straight- outta- Yaletown look who can’t dance. They sang super soppy songs to fans too taken with their well- trained biceps to notice how painful the group is to listen to.

With nowhere to go but up, the DJ got the ladeez in da house heated up for the headliners with house beat mixes of Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’ and Bon Jovi’s Livin’ On A Prayer.

The headliners took it up about 10 notches.

An opening video, a lengthy musical prelude, copious dry ice and a moving stage all featured in We Own Tonight. The first tune off the new album 10 was followed by Block Party complete with balloons and streamers, pyro and the requisite disrobing into sleeveless tees to show off those tattoos. Donnie Wahlberg, Danny Wood, Jordan Knight, Jonathan Knight and Joey McIntyre are still dancing and singing machines whose distinct personalit­ies — created by mogul Maurice Starr back in the late ’ 80s — remain intact and workable. Given the seemingly endless array of cool stage tricks, long runway and stage in the round setup and baring of impossibly ripped torsos, it’s easy to understand why NKOTB has been able to reclaim its concert draw.

Interspers­ed between all the dancing moms were a fair number of 20- somethings hanging on to every histrionic note of overwrough­t emotion in Survive You.

Survive they did for another costume change, another thematic routine for a hit like Didn’t I ( Blow Your Mind This Time) and more opportunit­y to scream yet again. The NKOTB crew certainly appears to be making a serious attempt at coming back as an adult contempora­ry act. Canada is critical as this market has embraced the last two singles more than any other. It’s still hard to imagine it happening but they are hanging tough.

 ?? See concert photos at vancouvers­un. com/ galleries ??
See concert photos at vancouvers­un. com/ galleries

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