NKOTB perform together again
New Kids on the Block, the late 1980s-early ’90s pop juggernaut that sold more than 70 million albums, performed its first concert in more than 15 years this morning on the “Today” show.
I was a faithful NKOTB fan during my middle school years, and the thought of the godfather of the boys bands reunited was cause for worry for me. Surviving junior high is bad enough: Who wants to get through it and then risk being told 15 years later that one of the bright spots – the music you loved – actually reeked?
But I pleased to discover this morning that NKOTB’s music was and is perfectly listenable in a perky pop kind of way. Their songs aren’t exactly Lennon-McCartney, but they certainly hold their own against any of the current pop hits capping the Top 40.
The fab five – Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, Danny Wood and Jordan and Jonathan Knight – started out with a medley of their hits from their boy band past, which I’m pleased to report wasn’t in the least embarrassing. They got “Step by Step,” “Please Don’t Go Girl,” “Hangin’ Tough” and “You Got It (The Right Stuff)” in the mix, and their harmonizing was still really solid. They even got in some low-key versions of their famed dance moves. Sure, it was a bit odd to hear them sing those songs and do those dances when they are now in their late 30s, but it’s not like you can expect them to come out rapping with Kanye, can you?
They also performed the frothy “Tonight,” from 1990′s “Step by Step,” and their new single, the effervescent tale of lost love “Summertime,” now available on iTunes.
You definitely had to give the guys credit. It was pouring rain and obviously freezing cold in New York City this morning, and they soldiered on like champs.
Of course, there might have been a riot if they hadn’t performed. The outdoor stage was crowded with hundreds of screaming fans, mostly women in their late 20s-early 30s, some apparently accompanied by their daughters. Matt Lauer said some fans had been camping out for 48 hours before the show, and the crowd shrieked so loudly and enthusiastically that it was hard to hear the guys’ interview.
“We absolutely have the greatest fans. … I think the story is the fans more than us,” Joey Mc said.
Donnie added that the incredible fan response was humbling.
“Anybody who thinks they deserve this doesn’t have their head screwed on straight,” he said.
According to a recent story in Billboard.com, the band, which broke up in 1994, hopes to have its new album out in the fall.
NKOTB also is planning a fall tour, but they are getting an early start with a pair of East Coast shows, including one Sunday in their hometown of Boston.
Their first show, Saturday in East Rutherford, N.J., represents some ridiculously ingenious planning on behalf of someone. Among others, NKOTB will be sharing the bill with Miley “Hannah Montana” Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers.
As I’ve said before, switch out my 13-year-old son’s Y chromosome with a second X, and I would be fully immersed in the adolescent female hysteria that has turned Cyrus and the Jonas sibs into super-megastars. What could be better than giving the moms of the hysterical tween girls their old boy band all grown up and dressed in slick suits to fawn over? It’s diabolically clever.
I’m not sure if I’ll check out the NKOTB in concert if they happen to stop nearby – I saw them at Tulsa’s Skelly Stadium as a preteen – and I know for sure I wouldn’t sleep outside in the overnight in the rain in NYC to watch them play live. But the songs “Summertime” and “Tonight” have been stuck in head all day, and it hasn’t been a bad experience. Maybe I’ll get the album when it comes out and enjoy a pleasant-sounding – and thankfully, embarrassment-free – slice of nostalgia.
-BAM
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