Backstreet Boys at New World Music Theatre

Here are a few factoids I picked up at the Backstreet Boys concert Saturday night at the New World Music Theatre in Tinley Park: Nick Carter, the youngest (18), tallest (6-foot-1) and blondest of the five Boys, is the most popular. The Backstreet Boys say “Wassup?!” a lot. They are the male equivalent of the Spice Girls: young, good-looking and blandly appealing as singers.

The Verve

Richard Ashcroft had his work cut out for him when the Verve kicked off their American tour in Chicago. Instead of performing at the 13,400-capacity Rosemont Horizon as originally planned, poor ticket sales forced the Englishmen to move the show to the Aragon Ballroom, a venue one-third the Horizon’s size. Then, too, the quintet performed minus lead guitarist Nick McCabe, who had announced earlier this month that he would not go on the road with his bandmates.