‘N Sync/Pink/Boyz ‘N Girlz United
Anyone who says that pop stars such as ‘N Sync do little to inspire creativity among today’s youth would change their tune after seeing the Kemper Arena parking lot Thursday night. Many of the cars were decorated with artistic flair and witty slogans, such as “God made Coke, God made Pepsi, God made ‘N Sync oh so sexy!” Boyz ‘N Girlz United has yet to be immortalized with such a profound poetic tribute, but this quartet made the most of the arduous task of opening for teen idols with its peppy songs and impressive dance moves. As its name implies, Boyz ‘N Girlz United blends the ultrapopular girl-group and boy-band formats, and the end result resembles a grown-up version of Kids Incorporated.
Pink, the evening’s only solo female artist, bravely performed in front of a screaming, female-dominated audience. Marching out with four dancers in trenchcoats and fedoras, Pink remained anonymous until she lifted her hat to reveal her trademark locks. Singing and stomping around stage in a top hat and a half-black, half-silver robe, Pink made up for in visual stimulation what she lacked in lyrical content. Pink showed off her strong voice with the ballad “Stop Falling,” which was followed by the immensely popular “There You Go” and the inspiring philosophical tidbit “We are all pink on the inside!”
Dropping marionette-style onto the stage, ‘N Sync’s fab five once again played up the “No Strings Attached” theme of their tour and new album. ‘N Sync made a grand entrance, flying above the crowd in sparkling hobo outfits while rhythmic fireworks exploded in the background. Losing the strings and jumping aboard individual platforms that rose 20 feet above the stage, the quintet sweetly dedicated “God Must Have Spent A Little More Time On You” to the entire audience before belting it out convincingly.
While the boys ran backstage to change, MTV’s Ananda Lewis appeared on the giant screen that served as the backdrop. She played the host of the fictional TNL (Total ‘N Sync Live), and she gave the audience four choices for the group’s next tune. The first three were nursery rhymes, but whether the group would have actually performed these selections will forever remain a mystery because the fourth, “Tearing Up My Heart,” received deafening applause. As this song concluded, the group’s implied frontman Justin Timberlake remained on stage to perform his famous vocal beat-box routine, accompanied by a cleverly hidden synthesizer player.
During the performance of such hits as “It’s Gonna Be Me,” Timberlake and J.C. Chasez carried the group with their vocals and dancing. Joey Fatone, the requisite older-brother type, appeared worn out by the end of most songs, while shy guy Lance Bass occasionally had to play catch-up during the dance routines.
Taking a brief break from engaging in smooth moves, ‘N Sync sat on purple velvet couches for “I Drive Myself Crazy” and an a cappella version of “I Thought She Knew,” which they identified as the first song they ever sang together. The 10-minute intermission that followed this intimate segment of the show offered video footage of Lance’s appearance on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, with the other four members (and a robot) at the bottom of the screen ready to heckle the action Mystery Science Theater-style. After being asked a question about Pokemon, a clueless Lance decided to poll the audience, causing near hysteria from the throng of screaming girls. As he answered the question, the crowd was drenched with confetti, and the boys took the stage again to run through the soon-to-be-a-hit “Just Got Paid.”
During the next costume change, the crowd was confused by a special-effects display that featured a giant electronic face and frightened by a clown who spoke about the wonders of being famous. A sigh of relief was heard when the bright bunch rose up from underneath the stage and sang an energetic version of “Space Cowboy.” J.C. then quarreled with the others about moving closer to the audience, which led to the boys’ taking flight on a moving platform that hovered above the crowd. They stopped near the end of the floor section and sang “This I Promise You” as the platform slowly rotated in a manner reminiscent of a dessert carousel at a cafeteria. After making a safe landing back on stage, the boys bid the crowd adieu and ran away. The resultant cheers and foot-stomping brought the fivesome out one last time. Appearing in glowing outfits decorated like computer chips, ‘N Sync performed “Digital, Digital,” during which its members slid around on stage à la Jamiroquai. The show-ending “Bye, Bye, Bye” brought back the fantastic choreography from the video and allowed the boys to hammer the message across that this was the last song as they sang the titular words and disappeared into a cloud of smoke.
