in one night at the park
Britney and the Boys
hit Old Bridge, sort of
Concert series hits peak with two tribute acts
in one night at the park
By sue m. morgan
Staff Writer
FARRAH MAFFAI Young fans vie for the attention of the boys in Backstreets Back as they lean on the edge of the stage during the tribute band’s performance at a free summer concert at Geick Park in Old Bridge on Aug. 7.
OLD BRIDGE — Oops … they did it again!
True to their monikers, Britney One More Time and Backstreets Back returned to the stage at Geick Park on Aug. 7 to satisfy their screaming fans one more time.
The pulsating musical beats, high-energy rhythms and continuous shrieks of "A.J.!" and "Britney!" heard throughout the Route 516 park were not unlike those heard at venues such as Madison Square Garden or the Continental Airlines Arena when Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys perform there.
The moppets in attendance did not seem to mind that the real superstars were not belting out tunes and dancing the intricately choreographed routines on the park’s portable stage, but they screamed and gasped, and held their hands out hoping to touch their idols just the same.
FARRAH MAFFAI Laura Aiello, a singer/dancer from Toronto, struts her Britney Spears-like stuff during the concert sponsored by Old Bridge Township’s Cultural Arts Committee.
Later on, they even waited in long lines for posters autographed by these performers, imitators or not.
Following in the tradition of tribute acts made famous since Elvis Presley, Britney One More Time, a.k.a. Laura Aiello, and Backstreets Back — better known as Nick Luca (A.J.), Gabriel Popescu (Nick), Shawn Clyde (Kevin), Carlos Jimenez-Rauda (Howie D.) and Russ Krieger (Brian) — entertained a mostly youthful crowd of nearly 1,000 who flocked to see and hear the highly anticipated concert sponsored by the township’s Cultural Arts Committee.
The show was the fourth in a series of six free summer concerts staged on Wednesday nights during July and August at the park, and was the best attended show to date this season, organizers said.
Even though the evening air was relatively mild, the performances were hot. Just ask the audience.
FARRAH MAFFAI Terri Gelpke and her daughter, Sydney, 3, can’t believe it’s not really Britney Spears as they watch Laura Aiello.
Aiello, 19, first belted out Spears’ breakthrough hit "Baby One More Time" to much applause. She followed up with another Spears signature song, "Oops … I Did It Again."
Wearing low-rise jeans, a halter and sporting a navel piercing similar to Spears’ trademark, the tanned, blonde Aiello is a doppelgänger for the pop princess. A Spears tribute act for two years, Aiello has been touring parks and other venues with her act. A singer and dancer since age 2, Aiello said she choreographs her own routines based upon Spears’ own moves.
"I use the signature moves that she does," Aiello said backstage.
When she’s not being Britney, Aiello waitresses at home in Toronto. However, she hopes not to do that much longer.
"I’ll keep doing this until I become famous," Aiello said.
Aiello is presently working on adapting the style of Grammy-winner Alicia Keys, another current singer who plays and composes her own music.
When Backstreets Back took the stage, young girls ranging in age from preschool to pre-teens could not resist coming closer to the stage. Each, it appeared, could not wait to touch the fingers of the boy-band members.
In black jeans and muscle T-shirts, the quintet strutted seamlessly to the pulsating rhythms. For some numbers, they used folding metal chairs as props, sitting down backwards on them for selected parts of the songs.
Their excited fans screamed, and, in some cases, so did their mothers.
Harmonizing on the hits, "Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely," "I Want It That Way" and "As Long As You Love Me," Backstreets Back sounded authentic enough to double for the actual Backstreet Boys.
After a long break that gave the audience time for a restroom run (albeit with long lines for the ladies’ room) and to purchase more snack foods, "Britney" again took the stage.
Perhaps taking a cue from Backstreets Back, Britney also danced around a folding metal chair. Later, she also reached out to touch the outstretched hands of her admiring juvenile fans.
"I’m Your Slave," a high-energy dance number prompted Aiello to demonstrate some of Spears’ signature dance moves including gyrating and rotating her hips.
After performing, Aiello went into the audience and hugged some of her admirers. Backstreets Back then came back onstage to "Rock Your Body."
As a follow-up, "Backstreet’s Back (All Right)," one of the real quintet’s signature songs, kept their fans on their feet.
For those baby-boomer parents who could not be at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford for the highly anticipated Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band concert held the same night, "A.J." a.k.a. Nick Luca, 24, tried to relate. Announcing his allegiance to the Boss, Luca took off his jacket to reveal a T-shirt bearing the logo from Springsteen’s first album, Greetings From Asbury Park.
"I’m going to the Stone Pony later tonight," Luca announced. "I want to see where Bruce and the E Street Band began."
While continuing to belt out a cappella harmonies on "Drowning in Your Love," the boys used a digital camera to view themselves and their enthusiastic fans, much to the audience’s delight.
The signature ballad, "Strings of My Heart," temporarily calmed the crowd as they rocked along in time. Following some comic banter between the boys, the group closed with "I’m Going to a Place Nearby."
With that, they invited their fans to "come by and say ‘Hello’" once they came out from backstage to sign autographs.
Like Aiello, Backstreets Back, who range in age from 24 to 28, incorporated much of their own choreography with what they have observed in the Backstreet Boys’ videos.
Wherever they can find work, they go, often traveling with Aiello, the band members said.
"We travel the world — Panama, Hawaii, Malaysia," said Popescu, 25, who plays "Nick."
In contrast to their boy-band act, all of the band members are musicians in their own right who play instruments. Their day jobs range from cooking to construction, Popescu said.
Luca noted that his musical projects are similar to Springsteen’s. During his visit to New Jersey, he hoped to visit some of the Boss’s old haunts for inspiration, he said.
Overall, the singers said they enjoy performing and do not mind the screaming girls.
"It’s fun, travel and music," Popescu said.
Sticky Fingers, a band paying tribute to the Rolling Stones, was scheduled to perform last night. The last summer concert, featuring cast members of the Broadway musical Beatlemania, will be held at the park next Wednesday evening.
A 1950s-themed drive-in movie night is also in the works for September, according to the Cultural Arts Committee.