Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Guest blogging . . .

Hey, friends!

I am guest blogging today for my friend Lincee. She writes a recap of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette and needed me to fill in for her this week. Soooooooooooooo, I didn't get a chance to write my OWN blog!! If you watch The Bachelorette and are interested, check out the recap at www.ihategreenbeans.com. (It might not be posted until later this morning so be patient . . .) Lincee's blog is hilarious and she does more than just recap that show so you should check it out and add it to your faves!!

For now, I thought I'd post a recap of LAST YEAR'S New Kids concert that I wrote for Lincee's blog back in October. Thought it was a timely subject and that my fellow New Kids fans would appreciate spending a little more time talking about our favorite boys . . . :)



1989: Getting ready for a New Kids on the Block concert was a big deal for this 14 year old girl. Always in the back of my mind was the possiblity that they would shine a spotlight on me while I sang along to "Please Don't Go Girl" and Joe would see me and fall madly in love with me. He'd stop singing because, you know, he'd become breathless upon seeing me. His unusually large bodyguard, Biscuit, would come get me from my seat and I'd be escorted backstage and into a life of marital bliss with Joe. So getting ready for such an event was a big deal. I picked my best pair of acid-washed jean shorts, my favorite Joe t-shirt, and pinned one of my over-sized Joe buttons onto my shirt. I curled half my bangs back and half forward and then teased them to perfection. Half a bottle of hairspray later, and I was ready for the concert . . . after dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe, of course. We arrived at the concert, stood in line for an hour to get our favorite concert t-shirt (hoping that they hadn't sold out of mediums), and then we found our seats. The lights went down, the screaming started, my parents put their earplugs in, and we waited for the big moment. One of the New Kids asked "Are you READY??" "YES!!!" we screamed. And when the New Kids came out on the stage, we screamed, hugged each other, jumped around, and cried like babies.

2008: Things were a little different this time. As a 33 year old woman, I knew that there was no possibility that a spotlight would shine on me and reveal Joe's true love to him. So getting ready was less stressful. I picked the jeans that actually fit me right now, a long-sleeved t-shirt (purple, because that's the big color this Fall), and pinned my favorite over-sized Joe button on. I don't wear bangs anymore and don't even own hairspray so I just brushed my hair and headed out. We ate Mexican food instead of Hard Rock Cafe because Margaritas were in order for such a big night (didn't have THOSE when we were 14). And then it was just like old times . . . we arrived at the concert, stood in line for an hour to get our favorite concert t-shirt (hoping they hadn't sold out of extra larges), and then we found our seats. The lights went down and the screaming started. One of the New Kids asked "Any ladies out there SINGLE???" and then spotlights started going all over the place. "Holy CRAP," I thought, "maybe the freakin' spotlight WILL shine on me!!!" And when the New Kids came out on the stage, we screamed, hugged each other, jumped around, and, I'm not afraid to admit it . . . cried like babies.

The concert was AWESOME . . . the New Kids still definitely know how to entertain their fans!! I was afraid that they would try to focus on their new music and downplay their past. But they DEFINITELY didn't do that. They started off with Single which is one of their new songs and then went into such classics as Favorite Girl and Valentine. We heard Please Don't Girl, The Right Stuff, Tonight, Cover Girl, Didn't I Blow Your Mind This Time, Baby I Believe in You, and If You Go Away. They did all their old choreography and got LOTS of cheers when they did their old "Right Stuff" dance. They played video clips of some their old videos as they sang - that was such a great touch. Joe and Jordan did their songs they did as solo artists and, of course, the group did several of their new songs, all with old-school choreography. Fun times. There were several costume changes, one that included Joe's old leather jacket with the yellow smiley face on the back. Their last costume change put them all in white and then they sang I'll Be Loving You (Forever) to end the concert. Of course, we knew they couldn't be done YET because they hadn't played Step By Step or Hangin' Tough. So we screamed and screamed and then they raised up out of the stage and sang Step By Step. It was so freakin' awesome . . . sorry, I feel like I'm there again! And then the lights went down and we screamed and screamed until they came back out in Boston Celtics jerseys and sang Hangin' Tough. It was so fun. And I can't tell you what a cool feeling it was to look around the Toyota Center and see so many 30-something women throwing their arms back and forth and singing along. It really was just like old times.

Of course, there were many differences. They had some female dancers on stage with them (which we did NOT appreciate) and we were, of course, obliged to glare at them and call them names when they danced too close to Joe or Jordan. One of the women was dancing on a piano during their new song "Dirty Dancing". I think she was supposed to be dancing dirty but I think she was actually having a seizure. It was strange and, again, I was forced to call her a name. Danny's break-dancing was a bit rusty but God bless him for doing it for us. In the stands, we noticed a few differences in ourselves. First, we all had indigestion which I don't think is something we had to deal with as teenagers. We all burped up our Mexican food while we sang along - our row smelled like a strange combination of fajitas and enchiladas. Another difference is that, at times, I was wishing I had my parents' earplugs with me - I was wincing like my mom does when the surround sound is too loud at the movie theater. Also, since our last NKOTB concert, my sister Erin has had two kiddos so things were a little different for her, too, because everytime she screamed and jumped, she peed on herself. But that didn't stop her from letting it all out (literally) and screaming "I'm not okay . . . I'm NOT okay" when Jordan was singing "Baby I Believe in You."

It was a fun night for New Kids fans, that's for sure!! And there was definitely a feeling of solidarity among us all. When we were kids, there was an unspoken animosity among fans who liked the same Kid. If I saw another girl wearing a Joe pin, I had to automatically consider her my sworn enemy. That's just how it was. This time, however, everyone was laughing together in line and in the stands. People chatted in the t-shirt line about old concerts and our favorite Kids and teased each other about the competition for Jordan or Joe or Donnie's undying love (not Danny or Jon, though, poor guys . . .). Erin saw someone walking in an old-school t-shirt and she stopped the girl to say "I hate you that you can still wear your old shirts!!" Then the girl laughed and told her it was an old nightgown so we loved her again. Lots of women had pulled out their old-school stuff and other fans really got a kick out of that. It was like we were one big, happy family and we were all just excited to be taking this walk down memory lane together.

So Joe has blown through Houston again without falling in love with me. Oh well, it's ok. All that matters is that I had a blast and I hope that they come back soon!! And in the meantime, I have GOT to get a hold of the guy who runs the spotlight . . .

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