Before Justin...there was JOEY MAC!

I was about 9 years old, still living in Lima, Peru, when I first heard about the New Kids On The Block. It was because of them that I learned English and was so much more eager to learn the language! I would listen to their songs over and over and write the lyrics down to sing along. Of course, by the time I moved to Miami, FL in late 1990, it was already too late. The Summer Tour had already come and gone and their popularity was running low. I was the only interested fan around.
Fast forward 18 years and I get to relive the peak of my fanaticism with the NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK! You mean I get to see Joey McIntyre perform? live? HELL YEAH! And they did not let me down. Last night, I went to the most amazing concert ever.

It almost felt like I was back in the 80s again. Many of the girls in attendance brought out their neon and spandex 80s gear and donned their vintage Jordan, Joey, Danny, Donnie, and Jon T-shirts and buttons back on. Ponytails to the side and bangs as high as their Aquanet could make them. The Bank Atlantic Center in Sunrise, FL had covered the men's restrooms signs and made them only for women. Crazy?! Yes, but the place was packed with women 26 to 35 years old. My friend Jackie even brought a friend of hers who is pregnant. Imagine jamming to "Tonight" in the womb? Kick ass!

Once seated, I got super excited and my life flashed back to when I was 10. Heart beating, knots in my stomach, and I quickly finished my beer, so that I can move and dance and sing along. I couldn't believe it, I was finally going to see Joey sing live! All of a sudden, lights go out, smoke, lights, screams, flashes, big screen and "Single" is on! I got the chills, I screamed, and did a little OMG jig when they first came out. Although I went with my dearest husband (what a trooper!), I melted when I heard Joey sing "Please don't go girl." His voice has only gotten sexier and his dancing, well, what can I say, thank goodness for the Broadway and Dancing with the Stars training ;). His eyes? Still the perfect shade of blue. Jordan still with a great voice and even went back to "Give It To You" the best way he knew. Donnie rocked it out with "Cover Girl." Danny danced his ass off and pulled off some breakdancing moves. And Jon? Well, after his stoic stance after "Click Click Click" he wasn't much for words and remained uncomfortable as ever. I shed a tear when Heath Ledger's picture showed up during a remembrance of people who have passed after the song"If you go away girl." Let me tell you, they still got it, "the right stuff!"
I could not believe how freaking close I was to them. It was so much so, that I froze and could not move. They surprised the crowd by moving to the back of the stadium on a rotating platform. I was maybe less than 20 yards away from them. I was overtly excited and danced with them during "Dirty Dancer" that I couldn't keep my camera straight. I went ahead and passed it on to Renatto, who again motioned for me to move towards them. I got as close as I could to take pics with my cell phone camera, but still I should have made the move earlier so I can sing along "Tonight" with them.

I stood up through the entire concert, not a minute to sit or take a potty break (the beer had kicked in halfway through). The played EVERY song you could remember "Didn't I Blow your mind this time?" to gosh my new favorite: "Twisted." I saw signs imploring “Donnie + Positivity = Hotness,” and “I heart NKOTB 2008." If only I would have known about "Face Time" and the VIP backstage opportunities, I would have definitely aimed for those. But until next time. I think it was definitely an experience worth waiting for, mixing the old with the new songs. Two encores hyped up the crowd. Ending of course with "Step By Step" and a tribute to all of the Boston sports teams with "Hangin' Tough." But hey, they will always be hangin' tough in my heart. Renatto what he thought about the concert: "Impressive, they were really good!" He didn't want to talk much, when I asked him to compare it to the Jay-Z concert. Well, J-Hova ain't got nothing on Joey Mac! He said the NKOTB fans were crazy! His only negative was that Lady Gaga didn't come out to sing "Big Girl Now." He likes a lot of the songs in the new album which were not played. But hey, we were definitely in TIME MACHINE last night. As a matter of fact, I think I'll be downloading and listening to the New Kids while regressing back to 10 years old for the rest of the week! I leave you now with one of my videos.