Please don't go, NKOTB!

In 2008, New Kids on the Block released a new album, aptly titled The Block, and went on a reunion tour. A bunch of friends and I went to see them at Madison Square Garden. It was undoubtedly one of the most fun nights of our lives. Which is why we went to see them again last week at Radio City Music Hall. Was the NKOTB magic still alive? To quote Sarah Palin (something I never do)--You betcha!

Before you roll your eyes or snicker or something, let me explain what happens when you are in a room with thousands of women and Jordan, Joey, Donnie, Jon, and Danny come running on stage. In a word: PANDEMONIUM! The kind that can only be caused by a large swarm of crazed 13-year-old girls. The sweet, sweet mob mentality takes hold of you and won't let go. Check out the demented look here in my eyes? Thankfully, my friend Michelle was impervious to the NKOTB madness (probably because she had seen them five times when she was a tween) or else I would have fainted and been dragged out of the balcony.

In all seriousness, though, the reason why thirty-something women like me are still going to NKOTB concerts is because it's the closest thing to a time warp that we'll ever experience. We step inside the venue, the band comes out, the screaming starts, and it's 1988 all over again. I could almost feel my hair transform into a spiral perm and my jeans morph into stirrup pants. And the same thing was happening to everyone around me, too. There was this uniform feeling amongst us all, that we'd travelled to a simpler time, when crushes on Joey McIyntre and Jordan Knight were the most fulfilling romantic relationships in our lives. Who wouldn't want to re-experience that youthful innocence, if given the chance?

This must have been the thinking of the NKOTB management team, because their shows have been selling out all across the country for the last couple years. Not only that, there was a NKOTB cruise--as in an actual cruise ship where the band performed for three nights. Yep, that sold out, too. I suppose there are some women out there who think that being on ship with NKOTB increases their chances of meeting them. Considering how well the guys have aged, I can't say that I blame them.

Just for the record, when I was a kid, my favorite NKOTB member was Joey Mac. As the youngest, smallest kid on the block, he just seemed so cute and adorable, especially when he sang Please Don't Go, Girl, wearing his smiley-face jacket and his signature hat with the top cut out. Now, he's wearing eye-liner and a tuxedo jacket minus the shirt and singing the Eurythmics' Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) while a spotlight shines on his abs.

Well, I guess being a grown-up ain't so bad. :0)

(To see more pictures of the concert, click here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/24746374@N06/sets/72157624347261256/)