Many of you will want to just skip this blog entry. There will be NO making fun of me in the comments (this means you BIL).
If finally happened. My dream came true. The New Kids on the Block reunited. It was one of the best nights of my life. Seriously...don't make fun of me. It was.
I remember the late 80s and the early 90s. The New Kids were everywhere and I was happy to jump on the bandwagon. This was mainly thanks to my neighbor and good friend Sheri. She is a few years older than me, so she was prime NKOTB lovin' age. I was a little young to be so obsessed, but that didn't really matter. We memorized all of their songs by rewinding the tape player and stopping it so we could write down the words. We hung up posters all over our bedrooms, even though my dad didn't like it. We purchased the ridiculous memorybilia; buttons, sleeping bags, lunch boxes and even NKOTB dolls. I had Jordan, my sister had Joey and Sheri had Jon.
Our wonderful parents took us to the concerts. I specifically remember one where it was my sister and our parents. All we did was scream the entire time. Couldn't really hear anything. But it didn't matter. We were at a NKOTB concert! My dad just sat there and shook his head in disbelief....what were we screaming for? He didn't get it...... When I think of what my parents must have given up to take us to that concert....THANKS MOM AND DAD!!!!!
Fast fowards 15 years. To my delight they announced a tour and New Orleans was one of the stops. Not that it mattered, Sheri and I were already making plans to travel to Houston or Dallas to see them if they didn't come to New Orleans. Sheri then talked me into spending $375 on a 5-star VIP package. I am one of the cheapest people in the world. That was hard for me. But one of the BEST things I've ever done. It was just amazing.
The big day was Saturday, October 18th. Friday night Sheri and I gathered in her garage to try and find old buttons. We found a lot of old stuff, including t-shirts, magazines and tour books, but no buttons. Then we spent a few hours googling the guys and reminiscing. We found some funny videos on You Tube and laughed our butts off. All of this while our kids were running around playing...my how times have changed! I couldn't really sleep Friday night. I was so excited.
Saturday morning I headed out around 10:00 and picked up Sheri and her supply of liquor. We picked up 2 other NKOTB fans and were on our way. After a late lunch at Pat O'Briens, we returned to our hotel to get ready to meet the guys!!!!! After a few shots of vodka, we finally calmed down enough to get dressed.
This is where the fun began........ We waited in line for a while. Received our tickets, 3rd ROW! Got our gift bags, which included a NKOTB blanket and some other cool stuff. A few more drinks in the bar with 150 other anxious women, all our age, most married, most with kids...we were quite a sight. There were some hoochies like you would not believe! During the weeks of preparation for this concert, there was a brief moment where I considered wearing my hair like I did back then, then a co-worker pointed out that there was a good possibility that my hair-style might be mistaken for a bad fashion choice....so I opted to keep it modern. But some of these girls didn't. And they looked like there were still trying to wear the same size clothes they wore back in 1992. It was quite funny actually.
Anyway, they take you in groups of 10 for the Meet & Greet. This was mostly a blur, but the guys were super nice! Everyone got a big hug and then we posed for our picture. We just got the pictures yesterday, and I must say that this was a bit of a dissapointment. Red eyes, not centered, blurry....you get the point. I guess you can only do so much with so many people. But it was great getting to meet the guys!
After that we headed to our seats, where we realized we were actually in the 2nd row, because the stage was split. And we were directly in the CENTER. Our seats were beyond awesome. IMO, the seats were worth $375! Unfortunately we had a long while to go before the guys came on at 9:00.Tammy Chynn was cute and interesting, Natasha Bedingfield totally rocked.
Then it was time....... I can't even begin to describe how excited I was. They built up the crowd for serveral minutes before the guys were lifted up on stage. From then on, it was 2 hours of pure heaven. They rocked out to the old stuff, including many familiar dance moves. Joey and Jordan did some solo stuff. If you are a TRUE fan, which I am, you knew and loved their solo stuff as well! They also performed several of their new songs, which I love as well. I think the new album rocks and listen to it all day long.....(I'm pitiful, I know).
Of course we painted the car....I hope my hubby doesn't read my blog...He would be so mad!
Waiting to get our tickets!
The crowd was going wild, it was so loud! I was still in shock that we were that close to the stage.
And there they are! They opened with "Single" which is now one of my favorite songs!
Donnie did most of the crowd interaction and he was amazing!
Jordan during his solo.
Yes, "Baby I Believe in You", too.
Isn't he a cutie? I love me some Joey Joe.
They might be older now, but these guys still have it. You could tell by the end of the night that they were exhausted!
Danny did some seriously awesome breakdancing.
This one doesn't even need words...
"I'll Be Loving You Forever"
Jordan....sigh. I just love him.
A little bit of Jon booty!
The "pretend" encore. I knew there were coming back. We needed some "Step by Step" and there was no way I was leaving until we got to "Hang Tough"!
This really was the end:(
They also went to a smaller stage in the back for a few songs. Since we were so far up front (I know, don't you feel sorry for us?), we couldn't see at all. We couldn't even see the screen. But at least I got to rest my feet for a little while!
So, in case you haven't figured it out, I had a fantastic time. Hopefully they will tour again next year and I'll be there! Have to get the 5 star package again, or at least seats in the first few rows.
