'N Sync opts for intimacy over stadium excess on this tour
By John Sinkevics
The Grand Rapids Press

Even 'N Sync has downsized.

It may not qualify as recession-related, but the world's biggest boy band -- after scaling Enron-like heights of popularity, celebrity, sales and influence -- has made cutbacks, shrinking its massive stadium stage show so it can return to arenas on its current national tour.

"We couldn't sell out stadiums this time, and we wanted to make it a lot more intimate," 'N Sync's Chris Kirkpatrick said in a recent telephone interview with The Press from a tour stop in San Antonio, Texas.

"We just did a stadium tour last year, and to do back-to-back stadium tours would have been impossible. We wanted to make it more fan-friendly and more musical."

For parents who figure a $110 ticket price sounds less than fan-friendly, Kirkpatrick essentially guaranteed fans would get their money's worth: Some of those with the highest-priced tickets will sit in "pit" seats surrounded by the stage upon which 'N Sync performs.

"If parents are worked up about spending $110 for their kids, they're basically talking about being on stage with us," he said. "We haven't charged for what hasn't been worth it. The best thing about this show is that we're right in their lap, and they're going to appreciate it."

Appreciation, 'n deed. Having Kirkpatrick, Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez, Joey Fatone or Lance Bass within sweat-splashing distance is worth far more than a Ben Franklin or two to the band's most devoted devotees.

"These are the best seats I've ever gotten," exclaimed longtime fan Dana

'N SYNC Arenas mean more emphasis on music, less on special effects

Bertolone, 21, of Sterling Heights, who drove all the way from the Detroit area and camped out overnight at Van Andel Arena to snag $110 tickets for the Grand Rapids show. "We're inside the stage!"

Of course, moving into smaller venues also means fewer special effects and less dependence on the dazzling light show that made last year's megatour -- which played two shows in Detroit's Comerica Park -- the biggest production in rock concert history.

"We have some pyro (fireworks) going on, but we cut out a lot of the lasers and gags that we do. We changed a lot of it because of what we wanted the show to be," Kirkpatrick said.

He said the band even dusts off its 1998 cover of "Sailing" for this tour plus a "blues" version of "I Want You Back," one of the group's first hits. "There's a lot more we do in a small space, which is fun, and there's a lot less running around."

Once the current tour wraps up at the end of April, all five group members will be doing a lot less running around for an extended period of time.

Kirkpatrick said after its arduous touring and recording schedule of the past couple of years, the band plans to take six to eight months off to relax, concentrate on "little things" and side projects and start writing new songs for the follow-up album to 2001's "Celebrity," which has sold more than 5 million copies but only about half as many as the band's monumental 2000 offering, "No Strings Attached."

Turning out OK

"We're really happy with the way it ended up. Of course, you'd like to sell a lot of records, but you can't complain if it doesn't sell as many as the album before that," Kirkpatrick said, conceding some critics couldn't wait to cite the sales drop as proof the boys are on their way out.

Kirkpatrick said he ignores that kind of talk.

"It doesn't matter. We just have to prove it with our actions, put out a quality album next year and tour again," he said. "With every album we do, there's always a different shift (in styles). We just take our music in the direction we feel we enjoy.

"If the business people had their way about it, they would milk us as a boy band the rest of our life until it didn't work anymore and then drop us. We're trying to mature with our sound. We write what we like and we like what's popular."

That also means continuing the group's trend of writing more of its own material.

The time taken off won't mean staying completely out of the spotlight. Each band member has outside interests, whether it's Bass' dream of being an astronaut by pursuing plans to take a Russian space flight to the International Space Station later this year or Kirkpatrick's recent decision to make his entry into the fashion industry.

Earlier this year, Kirkpatrick unveiled a new clothing line, "FuMan Skeeto," which features novelty T-shirts, loose velour tops and chenille patch jeans.

"It is a lot of work," he said of the venture, sparked by his interest in being able to find European-styled fashions in the United States.

"Rather than go out ... and sell my name to a manufacturer and have them pump out stuff, we've been through every stage of the process. It's going really well. We're getting picked up in some major stores."

Still all for one

But Kirkpatrick emphasized "the main focus will still be on the group," even if 'N Sync isn't actively touring or recording during the sabbatical -- effectively squelching speculation that Timberlake might pursue a solo career or that the band's popularity might die out if it takes an extended furlough.

(A publicist also described reports that the much-hyped relationship between Timberlake and singer Britney Spears might be on the rocks as a "stupid rumor" band members weren't interested in discussing.)

Kirkpatrick, for his part, considers himself a road warrior. At 30, the oldest 'N Syncer still relishes the globetrotting and the excitement of testing a new stage every night.

"I'm the oldest, but I love touring the most. I love living on the road," he said. "I love traveling city to city, I love being on the bus. It's just a great time for me, because as a group, it bring us all close. It's all about the road."