Backstreet Boys Shortchange Fans
30-Minute Show Hardly Worth It
Knee-high snow drifts and a citywide parking ban weren't enough to keep a hardy few from making their way to Hartford's Webster Theatre Thursday night for a radio-station holiday concert featuring the Backstreet Boys.
Their reward for braving the storm? A headline act that went on an hour late and then performed for just 30 minutes, with no encore.
Despite the slippery conditions, the Backstreet Boys refused to cancel or postpone the show, which is a scenario with great potential: You and your friends, among the lucky ones who make it to a half-full club that was supposed to have been packed, ready to have an unforgettable night. This was unforgettable, but for the wrong reasons.
At least the quartet was in peak form for its seven-song set. Accompanied only by keyboard and guitar, the Boys showed off their vocal chops without the bombastic song arrangements from their albums — and they certainly can sing.
Their voices fell into layers of multihued harmonies on "Unmistakable," and they perched on stools to deliver the catchy minor-key melodrama of "Shape of My Heart," grinning at each other and looking as though they were having a great time.
A spiky current seemed to surge through the crowd, mostly comprising young women, after the opening notes of "I Want It That Way," and the audience sang along at top volume, all but drowning out the Backstreet Boys.
There was a different energy rippling through the theater when the Backstreet Boys said good night after "Helpless When She Smiles." The stunned audience paused for a few moments, then started chanting the band's name and "one more song!" before trudging out of the venue as if in shock.
译文:
后街男孩不厚道
30分钟的表演太短，实在让人意犹未尽。
即使雪堆得跟膝盖一样高，全市也颁布了禁止停车令，一些铁杆歌迷还是在周四晚上来到了Hartford's Webster 剧院，观看后街男孩在由电台举办的假日演唱会上的表演。
那么歌迷们不畏风雨险阻，收获到的是什么呢？一个长达一小时的主要剧目演出，和后街男孩30分钟的表演，没有一首附加的歌曲。
尽管天气情况很恶劣，后街男孩也没有取消或者推迟演出。然而，本该是挤满了人的俱乐部，当天却只到了一半的人。他们的本意是好的，他们希望到场的歌迷朋友们能度过一个非常难忘的夜晚。那天确实是非常让人难忘，但是不是因为他们简短的演出。
不过，至少他们四个人在唱歌的时候状态还是很好的，他们连唱了7首歌。仅仅用键盘和吉他的伴奏，而并非采用专集里面华丽喧闹的排曲风格，他们就很好地展示了他们的和声。说实话，他们还是很会唱歌的。
他们的声音分成几种不同音色，在表现"Unmistakable"的时候，很和谐地融合在一起。而后他们依旧做在凳子上，唱起那首悦耳易记的"Shape of My Heart”，这首歌是小调，但却唱得很大气，他们在唱的时候互相笑着，似乎很享受这个时光。
当"I Want It That Way"的前奏响起时，人群中的几个年轻女子高声尖叫起来，台下的观众高声和他们一起唱，但是即使是全部的声音和在一起，也没有盖过后街男孩的声音。
“你们知道这首歌么？”A.J.开玩笑地说。
但是当后街男孩唱起"Helpless When She Smiles"的时候，台下的观众的反应却不尽相同。之后他们就离开了舞台。等听众们缓过神来，才开始反复叫着他们的名字，并希望他们再唱一首。但是他们却再也没有出现，观众们只好缓慢地走出场地，非常不尽兴。