not kids anymore

I remember when I was twelve years old with a major obsession for New Kids on the Block. Jordan was my first crush. It was the voice that did me in. Then it shifted to Joey because he was closer to my age which meant that there was a 1 in 1,000,000 chance that we'd be together one day. Eventually, my crush shifted to the other members of the 80's boy band (waaay before Nsync and Backstreet Boys, NKOTB was THE boy band). Well, except for Donnie and Danny. They were a part of New Kids on the Block, so therefore likable by association but I never crushed on them hard like I did for Jordan, Joey and Jon. It was more of a passing fancy. But now, they're all grown up, my friend got tickets to go see them in concert yesterday and I would have been an idiot to turn it down.

My review of the concert: It was over-the-top, 80's cheesiness, but you know what? I ate it up. I loved every minute of it. It brought me back to my preteen years, being infatuated with the New Kids on the Block, the nostalgia, the crushes, the slap bracelets that my mom took away from me because she thought I was hurting myself. You remember the slap bracelets, don't you? They were a menace at my school, kids trading bracelets and slapping them on, causing these red marks and bruises on the wrists. But, it was the cool thing to do and since I had a NKOTB slap bracelet, I wore that thing every freakin' day, putting up with the pain to show off my love for the boys.

But back to the concert. The awesomeness of it all is indescribable. It's impossible to compare this concert to Janet Jackson, because there was so much more to experience, past and present. Not to mention, it totally surpassed my expectations. I wasn't expecting them to do most of their dance moves. I mean, they're no Justin Timberlake, ya know? But they did it! They commited to the whole routine, the persona, the 80's cheesiness and that's what blew my mind. They sang a few songs from their new album, The Block, and a lot of their 80's hits. Step by Step! And Jordan with his high notes! Jon looked very sexy in his suits. JOEY! OMG! I reverted back to my twelve year old self, completely in love with NKOTB, screaming "I love you Jordan! I love you Joey!"

The dancing usher! He was shaking his bon bon to Lady Gaga and Natasha Beddingfield, the two opening acts. And damn, can the girls sing! Not a fan of NKOTB though. No dancing there.

The place was packed!

They were so close to where we were sitting! SO close!

"Step by step, oooh baby! Gonna get to you girl!"

Step one
We can have lots of fun
Step two
There's so much we can do
Step three
Its just you and me
Step four
I can give you more
Step five
Don't you know the time has arrived!