Boy band mania hits Erie...again? by Katie Przepyszny features co-MIR)! -11 happened once befole. as I,l\l tall marked the tirst lime one u 1 I.IIL hands stopped in Erie to do their thing. Despite the rainy weather, QS Degree \ made an appearance at a sold out Jerry I. l ln Park stadium. Well. it ha' happened again. East Tuesday night ITO entertained a sold-out crowd at Erie's Warner Theater. And despite the success of the show, `N()Id out in a Warner record time of 41 min utes. one question remains: lio\e can this he happening? Tuesday', show at the Warne! I ca tured ITO members Brad, Rich. and Dev in entertaining the crowd with the usual sing and dance routine. Songs like their debut cut "Summer Girls,' and others including "Girl On T and "If I Can't Have You'' were heard. but not without the sing-a-long of the crowd And the crowd, well, someone had LFO behind the scenes during the making of their video for "Summer Girls" to sell out the theater. Just as many have guessed, 1,1:0 took the ,tiige to , ireet hundreds of screaming and teen girls that could tell ru any I~ rig 01;0 \vas song or move Mat ',\;t, (lanced, a a result of their ~ ,tv the least) ',mention \fur im! the short. And a‘: a result of that ;mention. ITO felt free to hare their halt torsir,, its well is pull an inno- ccni lonac fan I() ttic sla2c ,lending close to an hour on stage, the guys of ItO said tioodnit.thi. For them, it would he HMO another ShOW 111 another city. But for the crowd. pictures of the guys and CD \ orsions of their songs \\ mild have to he enough to help them rememher their one shining hour with I,[o. Todav's latest musical crave seems to he in the hands of these young hip hoppers. N' Sync. 98 Degrees, and 110, have somehow successfully continued the tradition that the Backstreet Bo‘s started. Or wait, was it started by those good ol' New Kids On The Block, whose members Jor- FEATURES dun Knight and Joey Mclntyre are hack again to hold Onto the legacy? And the fad doesn't stop there. The female counterparts of the hoy hands, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, have started their own trend with young girls like Mandy Moore taking after them. These girls even have country star LeAnn Rimes spitting out hip-hop flavored lyrics and dance steps. People everywhere are buying into generic upbeat dance hits and sappy love ballads, and young musical acts are eating the attention up. For sonie, the evidence may he comforting. hut for others, it's sickening. It is a true testimony that this trend will not be going out of style anytime soon, un less of course all the promoters fall off the face off the earth like NKOTB managed to do. But at the same time, how can this be happening? Will any one ever get enough? And even if they do, we may be in too far over our heads to do anything about it. I can't see these young hip-hoppers going down without a fight, that's for sure. Max and Erma's offers great option to the nor mal Upper Peach Street selection of restaurants Among the newest of the many new restaurants located in Erie's Upper Peach Street corridor is Max and Erma's, a family restaurant located in the Millcreek Mall complex. Applebee's, Damon's and Fridays are also nearby, but you've maybe eaten at all of those many times already, and you may not have enough time to wait in line for 25 minutes at Quaker Steak. Many of us often forget about that far northwestern corner of the mall located just east of the 179 overpass on Interchange Rd, where Max and Erma's is located. As my friend and I entered Max and Erma's, we were cheerfully greeted by a group of bright-eyed, smiling hostesses, all of whom were determined to pull to gether and find a's the best possible seat. Max and Erma's is an excellent option among the wide selection on upper Peach. The prices are reason able, the atmosphere is fun and up beat, and the service is quick and friendly. Max and Erma's menu of- FILE PHOTO by Michael Nies staff writer Crossword ACROSS 1 Pansy's kin 6 Poi source 10 Sacred 14 Turn out 15 Comply 16 'Typee" sequel 17 Steps over a fence 18 Uses superiority for an advantage 20 Missouri River port in lowa 22 Actress Potts 23 Rhea's relative 24 Increase eightfold 26 Smaller of two 29 Disciples 33 Paddle 34 Grouped merchandise 35 1_ Not Unusual" 36 Self-indulgent spree 40 Flammable solvent 43 Pledge 44 Name 46 Tell's canton 47 Sufficient 50 Felt hat with a brim 54 Most of New York? 56 Director Spike 57 WWII sinker 60 Like a forward flow 63 University in Halifax, NS 65 Embankment 66 Scandinavian capital 67 Espied 68 Sappho's last letter 69 Uneven cut 70 Tobacco kiln 71 City on the Ruhr DOWN 1 Nautical craft 2 Before it's too late 3 Loathsome 4 Humdinger FEBRUARY 25, 2000, THE BEHREND BEACON, PAGE 12 fers a broad selection of food that is sure to satisfy your tastebuds and fill your stomach Upon browsing the menu, you'll notice that Max and Erma's offers many unique and tasty selections, in cluding items such as the Black Bean Roll-up appetizer and a Garbage Burger, which has everything on it but the kitchen sink. Max and Erma's also offers a soup du jour, a fresh catch, and daily specials. The more tradi tional steaks, ribs and sandwiches are also available. Max and Erma's menu also has sev eral dinner entrees available includ ing my personal favorite, the Carib bean Chicken, a spicy seasoned chicken breast grilled and served over a bed of rice. For those of you look ing for something on the lighter side, half portions of all dinner entrees are available as well as steak and chicken salads and a killer French Onion Soup. For anybody with a sweet tooth to satisfy, a sundae bar and Chocolate Mousse Cake are only two of the many tantalizing desserts offered at Max and Erma's. Pepsi products and many different flavors of shakes and 0 2000 Tribune Media Services, Inc All rights reserved. 5 Topmost point 6 Subject 7 Contiguity 8 Trust in 9 Popeye's Olive 10 Stinging wasp 11 Middle Eastern nation 12 Anderson of "WKRP..." 13 Span connection 19 Maglie and Mineo 21 Bullfights 25 French stewlike dish 27 Heavy imbiber 28 Corn holder 30 Coll. course 31 Ordinal ending 32 987-65-4321 grp 36 One Gabor 37 Zeus or Odin 38 Be beholding to 39 Set sail 41 Cursor starter? 42 Secreted Solutions 45 Frosh caps 48 Cape Cod clam 49 As far as 51 Martini garnishes 59 ___ podrida 52 Mistrump 61 Gin flavoring 53 Homer's sea 62 Skirt edges 55 City on the Adige 64 Mil. minstrels smoothies are available to quench your thirst, in addition to a full ser vice bar. The decor is an eclectic mix of knickknacks, signs and murals, some what similar to that of Applebee's or Friday's. But Max and Erma's has a unique twist that most other restau rants in this town are lacking, a feel ing of local pride. The walls are cov ered with jerseys from local sports teams such as the Otters and the Sea Wolves. Hanging behind the bar are helmets from local high-school football teams and Erie Brewing Company signs. Local college pennants and a big mural including one of the tower at Dobbins Landing decorate different sections of the dining room. So next time you're hungry for good food at reasonable prices and you're tired of your usual upper Peach restaurants, head to Max and Erma's for a nice break from the ordinary. The restaurant is open from 11:00 AM to 10:00 PM, Sundays through Thurs days, and from 11:00 AM to 11:00 PM on Fridays and Saturdays. ax & Erma's restau tnt located on inter 'ange Road near illcreek Mall. OTO BY JEFF MILLER 57 Japanese vegetables 58 Wild party