A concert review

The Backstreet Boys and their fans took Wild Adventures by storm Saturday evening when the vocal group performed in South Georgia for the first time as a part of the theme park’s 2010 concert series.

Fans from Tallahassee, Jacksonville, Orlando, Waycross, Gainesville and yes, even Canada and Europe, began lining up at 10 a.m. to put their lawn chairs out in the general admission area of the concert stage or wait to be the first inside reserved seating. Die-hard fans tried every way they could think of to sneak backstage and get a glimpse of their favorite member.

Several of the group members, including Brian Littrell, his wife Leighanne and their son Baylee, who live in Marietta, ventured out into the park to play games, ride rides and feed some of the animals.

The show, which according to a park representative was sold-out, began with the opening act Mindless Behavior, a group of 12 and 13-year-olds who sang lyrics and danced way above their maturity level.

After three songs, the opening act left and Baylee Littrell came out to introduce his father’s group.

The group took the stage shortly after 8 p.m. to enthusiasm that wasn’t present in their Clearwater and Orlando dates last week. While Orlando was a hometown show for the group, it was the first time that the group had ever performed in the Valdosta area.

Whether it was because many in the crowd never had the means to travel to see a show or whether they were delirious from the temperatures in the mid-90s, the crowd was more energetic than any crowd that has ever been seen at Wild Adventures for a concert.

The group members interacted with the crowd, posing for cameras and talking to fans in the front row. They shook hands of fans that never thought they would be that close to their favorite band members.

This reporter even got a rose from her favorite Backstreet Boy, Nick Carter.

While many say that the only people that like the Backstreet Boys are grown women who were teenagers in the 1990s, last night proved otherwise. Young children, teenagers, older couples and yes, women in their 20s and 30s sang and danced along with the group as they performed some of their favorite songs such as “Everybody,” “As Long As You Love Me,” “All I Have To Give” and “I Want It That Way.”

The show, which was very theatrical due to the theme of their last album, showed the group performing small skits during songs with back-up dancers.

During the breaks where the group would change clothes, each member of the group had a small movie play on the huge screen on stage. Nick Carter performed in “The Matrix,” Littrell performed in “Enchanted,” A.J. McLean performed in “Fight Club” and Howie Dorough performed in “The Fast and the Furious.”

Among the songs from their latest album, “This Is Us,” that were performed were “Bigger,” their latest single, “PDA (Public Display of Affection), “Shattered,” “This Is Us,” “She’s a Dream,” “Bye Bye Love” and their closing number, “Straight Through The Heart.”

Though one of the group’s signature motto’s is “Backstreet’s Back,” for the fans in South Georgia Saturday night, the Backstreet Boys were never gone.