New Kids on the Block

Can you believe that, on this day last year, we were moving into our new home on Adventure Lane??  We were officially the new kids on the block.  Perhaps it's only appropriate then that last night, exactly one year later, Beth and I got to see the New Kids on the Block, BoyzIIMen and 98 Degrees (locals in our neck of the woods) in Downtown Cincy!!

For me and Beth, this was a concert date 22 years in the making...  We actually saw New Kids on the Block together (way back) in 1991, which was tons of fun...and such a big deal for us.  Our tickets cost a whopping $25/piece back then; we paid double that in good, ol' 2013.  Back then, our parents dropped us off at the Blaisdell Arena in downtown Honolulu, Hawaii; this time, we drove ourselves into downtown Cincinnati.  Last time, we sat (and stood) on folding chairs that were pretty far back from the stage; this time, our chairs were bolted to the ground--and we had GREAT seats. 

Let's rewind a week:  In advance of last night's concert, I tried very hard to find a picture of me and Beth from our New Kids fanfare era, but had no luck. In a box in our garage marked (amongst other things) "NKOTB Stuff," however, I did find some very important magazines that were worthy of 22+ years of preservation. Can you tell why??

         

Back to last night:  Here are Beth and I all ready to leave for the concert:

And here's one of us posing with the t-shirt I bought at the Hawaii concert. Guess my 13-year-old self thought an XL would be most stylish! ;-)

I loved this shirt. It even has fake pieces of tape on the corners of the photo!

The back has a list of all the tour stops.

It's neat to think that they hit Cincinnati (and Japan!) shortly before Honolulu!!

Right about now, you're probably wondering, "Who was your favorite New Kid, Steph?" Easy question! My favorite was Jonathan Knight--the tall, dark and handsome, talented but soft-spoken one with a great chin.  Nope, my type has not changed!

And Beth was a Joe McIntyre fan. Between NKOTB, a solo stint, a successful Broadway career and "Dancing with the Stars," everyone knows Joe, right?

           

OK...back to the concert! Here's us (and thousands of other 30- and 40-something women) at the US Bank Arena!

The show started at 7:30 p.m. on the dot with BoyzIIMen as the first opening act...and they did not disappoint.  The guys have amazing voices and they sang their biggest hits...we knew every one of them. 

BoyzIIMen!!

Then 98 Degrees came out, and you could tell it was a hometown crowd!  The entire arena was so excited, and it was obvious that the band members were genuinely thrilled and proud to be playing at such a big venue...with their families in the audience, no doubt!

Hometown hero Nick Lachey belting out a 98 Degrees ballad

It's safe to say that, right about when we could not have been having more fun, the main act took the stage: New Kids on the Block!! It was SO thrilling to see them on stage...just like we did 22 years ago!

The Fab Five!

If all five members of the band weren't as pumped as the crowd, you never would have known it.  They performed for two solid hours, singing their hearts out to ALL of their best hits and a few new songs that were REALLY good. They danced--yes, all the boy band dances you're thinking of, dogged Cleveland (must be a Cincy thing?), talked up their hometown of Boston, and even sang a few of their favorites, including George Michael, Prince and Nelly. Such a treat for the crowd, believe me!

It's fair to say that I haven't thought all that much about the New Kids in the past decade or so. What can I say? Life's been busy! But it's also fair to say that last night took me through so many ages and stages (and moves!) of my life. The songs got my adrenaline pumping, but they also touched my teenage heart. I was reminded how important this music was to me when middle school can be so tough and awkward, at a time when having a celebrity crush is so sweet and dating real boys is still in the future, of a bygone era when pics of your favorite band are the wallpaper on your bedroom and not your computer screen or phone.

This nostalgia made me want to put together a quick timeline of my "personal" NKOTB song history...maybe you can tell how I was transported with each hit!

(Late) Elementary School

"You Got it (the Right Stuff)" was the first NKOTB song I ever heard and I remember the first time I ever heard it:  5th grade in Nuremberg, Germany...at the home of a family I was cat-sitting for.  (When you cat-sit at age 11, you literally sit and play with the cats, so why not turn on the TV??)  It was that music video...and I was hooked.  I also loved the scene where Joe McIntyre drives off with the car when he's clearly too young to drive. Here's a video that I took last night of the guys performing their signature moves = a HUGE hit with the crowd!

•  I heard "I'll be Loving You (Forever)" in sixth grade...a mere few months after moving to Hawaii.  Our teacher encouraged us to bring in some favorite songs (we're talking cassette tapes here, of course) to share with our class.  Someone brought in the New Kids on the Block's "Hangin' Tough" album, and [after hearing I.B.L.Y.F.] I remember thinking, "I have to hear that song again."  This was also the day I saw the Running Man and Roger Rabbit dances for the first time, and HAD to go home and practice them for weeks!

Middle School

• "Hangin' Tough" was last night's finale, and it was literally a (middle schooler's) dream-come-true to hear it live in concert. When Beth and I went to their show in 1991, they mainly played songs from their "No More Games" record.  We loved those songs, but part of me felt a pang of jealousy when I'd see "Hangin' Tough" performed in a music video (just picture Donnie Wahlberg with his half-hat on:  
  
  ) and I'd think to myself, "I want to be in that huge crowd of fans, waving my arm over my head and singing, 'Hangin' Tough.'"  Well, last night, I got to!
• "Tonight" is probably a more obscure song to most of you, but it was the second song released on NKOTB's "Step by Step" album and a pretty big hit for the group. Beth and I loved the video...and tuned into MTV every day to see it move it's way up the "Top 20 Video Countdown." Remember Adam Curry??
  
  

             Well, hearing the song last night was MAGICAL! It's such a fun, sentimental song and it's about devoted fans...like us!

High School

•   Actually, I have to give this one to BoyzIIMen. While I did listen to some NKOTB during high school, they sort of fell of my radar...so I got to enjoy other boy bands. These guys had something for everyone back then, and they played every one of their hits last night. Their voices are amazing!  Here's a little of last night's "Motown Philly" for you!

College

• I've always loved the song "Cover Girl" (one of the few that Donnie Wahlberg sings) and he sang it last night...solo...to a FLIPPING OUT crowd. The song also has special meaning for me because I listened to it over my first winter break during college...right around the time I fell in love with a certain person who I later married. ;-)

After College

• Admittedly, I was not a big 98 Degrees fan in college. Let's just say I was more of a BSB adorer. This probably explains that, while I recognized most of their song list last night, I did not know the songs were from 98 Degrees! In fact, when I lived in Shimizu from 2000-2001, I often listened to the Hullabahoos's album "8ch," which had "All Because of You" on it...who knew it was a 98 Degrees song?!  It made me SOOOO happy to hear it last night--I have very bittersweet memories of listening to that song when I was extremely happy living in Japan while feeling so far from friends and family in the States.
•   I loved the song "Step by Step" when it came out in 7th grade (what's not to like? it is so catchy and perfect for swim meet motivation!), but the meaning to me is more powerful because I heard it within the first week or two of moving to Japan in summer 2000. I was in the Hyaku-en Shop (Dollar Store) when it came on (in lieu of Muzak!) and immediately I looked around to see if anyone else was excited as I.  Well, it's not typical to sing or dance along to music in public in Japan, so it was just me...SO excited to hear an American song that I had loved and found meaningful since 7th grade.  I learned last night that I still feel that way.

So that was our wonderful evening...and my trip down memory lane. And, as the ringing in my ears finally quiets, I can't help but feel a little sad that my New Kids experience came and went so quickly. (I even wish I could call my middle school buddies (and fellow NKOTB fans--we had many New Kids-themed 13th birthday parties together!) Lani and Jill in Hawaii to tell them all about it!) One thing's for sure, I hope it's not my last. It's a date one day in the future, Beth!

P.S. I have to add that I did not buy another concert tour t-shirt last night; the cheapest was $40!! I'm pretty sure my Hawaii shirt was half that...talk about inflation!!
P.P.S.  Oh, and how are we liking our house after one year??  We love it!  It's perfect for us and makes us super happy. More on that soon!