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Tuesday, April 23, 2002

By Scott Mervis, Weekend Editor, Post-Gazette

After the gimmick-a-minute spectacle of the "PopOdyssey" stadium tour, the prospect of a stripped-down 'N Sync concert was about as appealing as Kiss without the makeup, Jimmy Buffet without the rum drinks or the Grateful Dead without the parking lot party.

But the boy band had to come back down to Earth at some point, and a second run for the "Celebrity" record was as good a time as any.

In place of the visual sizzle, 'N Sync offered fans at Mellon Arena last night a chance to see them a little closer, with a bit more banter, for better or worse (mostly worse), a couple song makeovers and a pair of tributes with the potential to either delight or horrify folks over 30.

The anticipated Beatles medley came about midway through the set, with 'N Sync trading in its raggedy streetwear for a set of cheesy black tuxes. They looked like a Vegas show band and didn't sound too far from one, strolling the giant scaffolding to the back of the Arena on "She Loves You" and "I Want to Hold Your Hand," complete with Joey Fatone and Chris Kirkpatrick taking some rare lead vocals. Before you could write it all off, they came up sounding respectable again with Justin Timberlake fronting them on a spirited "Hey Jude."

Then they went after Motown, sounding better than the typical Temptations review band on "My Girl," "The Way You Do the Things You Do" and "I Can't Get Next to You."

It wasn't that horrifying at all, and given that they were determined to honor their influences, it sure beat a New Kids on the Block medley. It was a little bewildering, though, that they could dig on the Beatles and the Tempts, and then launch into "one of their favorite songs" -- Christopher Cross' "Sailing."

On either side of the medley section, 'N Sync put some pop into favorites like "Bye Bye Bye," "Tearin' Up My Heart" and "Celebrity," streaming along the runways, setting off pyro and falling into their typical boy band jive. "Up Against the Wall" wasn't the same without the Velcro wall, but "No Strings Attached" did offer the low-budget thrill of 'N Sync flying over the crowd on rope swings.

The get-to-know-the-group part was fairly intolerable with the boys trading off bad jokes and Clarion native Kirkpatrick, the one with the goat beard, freestyling on fairy tales like he had indeed just come from the parking lot of a Grateful Dead show.

The reward for enduring that was a version of "I Want You Back" that let the band sound like a real band and showcased Timberlake's surprising talent for the blues.

'N Sync's other frontman, JC Chasez, was strong all night as well, whether it was taking his shot at the blues or caressing the melodies of "This I Promise You."

In fact, the better Timberlake and Chasez sound and the more tired the five-piece choreography appears, the more they look like solo artists, and here's guessing that day comes sooner rather than later.

Speaking of coming back to Earth, P. Diddy, who was once the big Daddy of hip-hop, found himself in the opening slot, pumping up the crowd for 'N Sync.