Friday, September 03, 1999
CONCERT REVIEW
Sorry, kids: 'NSync is an 'NSipid rip-off
BY LARRY NAGER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The good news for dads taking daughters to 'NSync at Riverbend on Thursday? No beer lines and empty men's rooms. The bad? Just about everything else.
In the boy-band derby, 'NSync runs a distant third to the better-established Backstreet Boys and the more musically accomplished 98`. But even given their basic 'NEptitude, 'NSync could have put on a better show.
Less than half of the 100 minutes 'NSync and its six-man band spent onstage involved music. Much of the rest was given over to a retro segment featuring minidocumentaries (“The '60s,” “The '70s,” etc.). Each film was followed by a costume change and a song or two from the decade. A clever way to cover up 'NSync's lack of original material, but it was simply 'NTerminable.
There was also an unfunny, 15-minute routine about Justin Timberlake messing up the ending to “God Must Have Spent a Little More Time on You,” 'NSync's best song. He was reprimanded for stealing the spotlight by Chris Kirkpatrick, but it went on so long that even the rest of the group was bored. Joey Fatone, hair-dyed Bozo Red, yawned and fidgeted, then joined the other guys, who pulled out sandwiches as they waited.
'NSync's organization depends on the 'NExperience of its mostly preteen fans. With no frame of reference by which to judge the concert, they're thrilled simply to have scored tickets for the sellout and to be there on a school night.
'NSync gave them a show, dancing a lot and providing plenty of explosions. In the first encore, during Christopher Cross' “Sailing,” the three lead singers — Mr. Timberlake, Mr. Kirkpatrick and JC Chasez — soared into the middle of the pavilion suspended on wires. They did it again in the final encore, “Tearin' Up My Heart.” This time, though, they were armed with Super Soakers. But with a $42.50 top ticket for so little music, the crowd had already been well-hosed.
'NSync's greedy attitude extended to its no-name opening acts. Mandy Moore, 15, is yet another Britney wannabe. She opened with a bland, three-song, 15-minute set sung to recorded tracks and accompanied by four male dancers.
Generic pop-rocker Ron Irizarry's three-song, 15-minute, “track” show was worse. Even the loud tapes couldn't disguise a voice flatter than parents' post-concert wallets.
He was followed by 40 minutes of live Rolling Stones recordings. Mick Jagger can still sing “Time is On My Side,” but it's impossible to imagine 'NSync touring 30 years from now. Not even New Kids on the Block were so 'NCessantly 'NSipid.
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