When I first purchased my tickets for the Backstreet Boys concert in mid-December 1996, I was kind of apprehensive. I had never gone to a concert for some artists that I hardly knew. All I had experienced before was a few videos of Get Down and some songs on the radio. And I had never gone to such a small concert (less than 2000). I was used to concerts like Janet Jackson's 40,000 and Mariah Carey's 7,000 at her autograph session. To make things easier on me, I managed to talk one of my friends into going to the concert with me.

January 4, was a miserable, cold rainy day. Steady rain and snow made the streets slick and getting to the concert hall was no easy task. By the time we arrived at Toronto's Waterfront, an eager throng of fans were riding in the bus with us. As we approached the hall, we saw a pretty small line waiting outside. Relieved at the prospects of a small audience, we stood in line. However, we were soon directed that this was the "break-off" group from a larger line that stretched about 3 blocks down. While my friend screamed at me for bringing her to this melee, we walked to the end of the line which took about 2 minutes.

As fans huddled in the cold wind and driving rain, the line slowly moved. The BSBs tour buses were parked outside while radio stations promoted the concert with their prize vans. I didn't expect the crowd to be very large given that the 3 Tenors were performing in the Skydome (the world's first stadium with a retractable roof) nearby. I was quite surprised to see guys my own age at the concert with friends and I didn't feel quite as ackward as I thought I was going to feel.

Finally, by 6:50 PM, we entered the concert hall and we were herded along into the main stage area. By this time, smoking and the crowds of people had created a thick layer of fog that was settling over the crowd. My friend and I managed to squeeze our way into the center area of the stage about 30 people away. Not bad, considering we came late. The crowd pulsated, I mean really pulsated, going back and forth each time some person thought they had caught a glimpse of the BSBs. Security made us constantly back up to make room for girls that had either passed out or were in need of asisstance.

By 7:30 PM, the crowd was growing restless but your heroes were no where in sight. 8:00, 8:15, 8:30 , where were they? I was growing impatient having to stand during this time. We were being pushed from the back, the sides and God knows where during this time and it was getting HOT! Finally, by 8:35 PM the MC of the concert, Tarzan Dan (host of YTV's Hit List) came out to herald the arrival of the BSBs.

The lights dimmed and the screaming had begun. A prelude of Coolio's Gangsta's Paradise provided the perfect atmosphere for the concert. The curtain dropped and there were the BSBs standing in a great pose. Kevin in the centre, A.J. and Nick to his left with Brian and Howie to his right. The crowd was hysterical at this time. Finally, the boys belted out , "I wanna be with You." And boy was the bass deep.

My chest pounded so hard I thought that if I were to have a heart attack, the bass would have been strong enough to revive me. I swear my ears were ringing with all the screams of these girls.

The boys were sporting waist-length leather jackets with baggy jeans. Each BSB wore a tight ribbed short-sleeve shirt underneath. Kevin wore black, Nick wore orange, Brian wore blue, A.J. wore green and Howie wore red. By the end of the song, the crowd was just dying for more. The BSBs thanked all of their fans for coming and said that it was their first but definetely not their last visit to Toronto.

They went on to sing Let's Have a Party and Anywhere for You. And frankly the crowd was kinda dumbfounded as many had never heard of these songs before (including me!).

The BSBs also launched into Shai's If I Ever, which I thought was okay but I was expecting to see more of the BSBs singing their own songs.

By mid-concert things had somewhat quieted down and the boys each came out and sang a song of their own choice. Kevin sang Nobody But You, Nick sang Heaven by Canada's own Bryan Adams, Brian sang the Bee Gees' and Take That's How Deep Is Your Love. Howie tried to sing Prince's The Most Beautiful Girl in the World. While he made a valiant attempt, it just couldn't beat Prince's version. Sorry. But I think it had to do more with the sound system than anything else.

The sound was quite horrible at times, with dissonance and the overwhelming bass that drowned out the BSBs. Coupled with the maddening screams of the fans, it wasn't surprising that some couldn't hear a thing the BSBs were singing. They also sang Boys will be Boys but I was surprised they didn't sing Just to Be Close to You. Three lucky ladies were chosen from the audience to dance with the BSBs in I'll Never Break Your Heart which I must admit was one of the best performances I have ever seen next to Janet Jackson's performance of If at the Skydome in November 1994. I actually thought these girls were "planted" in that they were hired by the BSBs. Boy was I wrong, cuz I managed to catch a glimpse of this girl clutching a white rose moving through the crowd later on.

The boys then took their "leave" a la James Brown. But of course, us Canadian fans were quite polite and actually thought the concert was over. In the end, Nick returned and started playing the drums much to the delight of his female admirers. Kevin and Nick then broke out in Elton John's Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me. Quite good, but Kevin needs to work on his vocals. I was very impressed by Nick's performance on the drums though.

The boys donned Toronto Maple leaf jerseys and started their trademark songs, Get Down and then We've Got It Goin' On. By this time, the crowd was revitalized by this performance. I must say that the BSBs are one demoractic organization, exchanging positions on the stage and sharing the lead in songs. Bravo. I was particularly disappointed with the length of the concert. The concert was over at 9:50 PM just under 1.5 hours. Well, what should I expect for a $25 CDN ticket?

The crowds dispersed having thoroughly enjoyed the concert. I for one did enjoy it but I did have some reservations as to the length of it as I mentioned before. But don't worry Canadian and International BSBs fan, they will return on March 29 at Maple Leaf Gardens. Tickets are still available.

Many of you International Fans may want to come if you want to avoid crowds cuz the BSBs are just breaking out here and less than 2,000 showed up at the concert on January 4. About 1,000 showed up at an autograph sessions where it was reported that everyone got to speak with the boys and got their autographs. But this may not last long as BSB fever is soon to hit Metro Toronto.