Since the In A World Like This tour, Backstreet Boys fans have been given the opportunity to be closer than ever to our favorite band. General admission spots, more commonly referred to by fans as “the pit”, have been a staple since the 2014 tour, carrying through the Boys’ Larger Than Life Vegas residency, so we were thrilled to see the circle built into the DNA stage.
Please note that we’re not here to discuss the pricing or the way things played out with packages and whatnot. If you couldn’t afford the circle or couldn’t stand for a long period of time, we get it. From circle to nosebleeds, there’s not a single fan that shows up for the Backstreet Boys on tour that is better than any other.
But we want to talk a little bit about one of the most beautiful aspects of the DNA Circle.
Admittedly, we thought the circle would be more like the Vegas stage – low and loaded with Backstreet interaction. Would we still be able to see everything if we were under 5’7″? Would we be able to reach their hands? Would it be crowded? Would it be worth it? How do we go from the pits of IAWLT and BSB Vegas to this, which seemed to be a step backward?
We had all of these thoughts.
And we’re here to tell you — we were wrong.
Not only is there LARGE AMOUNTS OF SPACE in the circle – you can literally run circles or lay down and take a nap, whatever suits you – but it’s a whole new experience that we weren’t prepared for.
Because this time, the “pit” felt like that Backstreet Boys had chosen to make us a part of the show. It felt like this tour is for us and equally ours all at once. For those of us who stood in summer heat of the “fan pit” for multiple concerts at outdoor amphitheaters during the IAWLT tour and returned time and time again to Vegas, cramming into both sides of the stage to be included in an unforgettable energy, the circle experience felt easy.
And it felt thoughtful.
We had the space to dance. We had the space to run around hugging our friends before the show started. And when the lights went down, we had enough space to back up and take it all in. When they jumped down onto the main stage, our fangirl hearts felt like they were exploding into the confetti that we would soon be showered with.
Then they started coming down onto the circle “sides” and all of our worries about the stage being too high were gone because Kevin, Howie, AJ, Nick and Brian are bending and stretching to touch every last person that’s reaching for them throughout the show. All the while, they can be seen by every person in the arena, from floor to ceiling.
When they finally made it to the “second stage”, we saw what they were seeing.
The view…well, it’s some sort of magic.
For years, we’ve wondered where the Backstreet Boys get their energy. We’ve wondered why they get emotional mid-concert. Standing in the circle, we got our answers.
We all joke about it not being such a bad view – to be staring at the back of the Backstreet Boys for some of the show – but to be honest, more than a few of us wondered if it was the *best* view.
Then you see it. You see Kevin, Howie, Brian, AJ and Nick standing at the front of the stage, while thousands of people, floor to ceiling, scream for them. Scream with us.
You hear it. Every song you’re singing along to being sung from high, low and every side of the arena. For nearly two hours, you get glimpse of what the Backstreet Boys have been in and out of for 26 years. For those of us who traveled city to city for lesser known tours in the past, the feeling…the vision…is surely something that will make you swallow your emotions when you stop to take it in.
It felt like a warm hug from our favorite band.
As the five men continued to steadily circle around us from main stage to second stage and the in between for the whole show, there was excitement, a warmth and suddenly, the circle felt like it was a hug. The music wrapped us in its familiar tones, the Boys were present and performing but also including fans in every single moment and in those hours, in that circle, we were protected. Inside that circle, we were protected from the outside – the people who told us to stop wasting money on a band, the real life problems we might have been facing earlier that day, the anything-but-wonderful thoughts that we sabotage ourselves with. There is a comfort and a peace and a euphoria and a circle full of memories that will no doubt make this a chapter we won’t soon forget.
And an overwhelming sense of gratitude.
Building a circle in the center of the stage seems like a perfect way for the Backstreet Boys, ever grateful for their fans and expressing such repeatedly during their show, to take it a step further by giving us an opportunity to be as close as possible. Not only are those in the circle as close as possible, but they are a focal point of the stage and the show itself. It is not lost on us that it’s just another way of the Backstreet Boys backing what they’ve always said – that they would be nothing without their fans.
And, of course, the feeling is mutual. Where would we be without the Backstreet Boys? Not with these memories and moments to last a lifetime.
Everything has come full [DNA] Circle.
— Please Note —
This post is not written to determine the “level” of any fan. You can be in the nosebleeds or you can not see this tour at all and still be a huge, loyal, ride or die fan. In this post, I have used the phrase “some of the biggest fans” because there are people in the circle that are casual fans – ones who missed the past tours, albums, etc. – that might not get the same feelings. Before you come at us for this post, please understand that it is not meant to insult anyone who can’t afford it. This show is made to be seen from all angles and if you can swing it, please see it!
Also, this is purely subjective. This is how I felt in my experience and I know many who feel the same way. If you didn’t, that’s okay too! We get asked daily if we think the DNA circle is worth it, so here it is. For me, it was.
