Reuniting with an old flame

Long blog post - and huge dork warning.

Travel back in time with me, if you will, to 1993. Picture in your mind a short, slightly overweight 12 year old girl with dark hair, a bad perm and a desperate need for braces. Yes, this pathetic image is me. Now imagine a scrawny 17 year old with long, stick-straight strawberry-blond hair, big, BIG bangs, and braces. This pathetic image is my sister, Joanna. Imagine those 2 young girls listening to New Kids on the Block albums so many times everyone we knew wanted to shoot us, and watching our NKOTB videos on VHS enough times that we had them memorized and we could do the dances at the drop of a hat. Our rooms were completely plastered with posters of our 5 favorite guys from Boston. My room featured a door poster with a life-sized picture of my boy, Danny Wood. Despite what Joanna posts on her blog, she was just as into it as I was. Believe me - I was there. And if you don't believe me, check out the comment from Nikki Howe - she remembers! It was a great time to be alive (you know, besides the bad hair). And then, tragedy struck. NKOTB broke up! Can you imagine the devastation?!?!

Fast forward to the spring of 2008. NKOTB makes an appearance on the Today Show announcing a new album - AND (be still my heart) and reunion tour!!!! I DVR'd them performing their new single, Summertime, on Today and I watched it repeatedly. I kept watching it with Audrey telling her all about the boys (do you call them boys when they're in their late 30's?). I felt like she understood the significance of this moment for me. I connected with my baby girl over NKOTB. It was really special. (I hope everyone can detect the heavy dose of sarcasm here - I'm not quite that weird).

Tickets to the Phoenix show went on sale in June. I purchased tickets 4 minutes after they went on sale. I downloaded their new album they day it dropped on September 22nd. I listened to it on my iPod every day at work. I was ready. The months slowly ticked by and Joanna got here on Monday morning at 9. Then I had to go back to work for the rest of a completely crazy day (2 days before the extension deadline). When I got home we got dressed, put on WAY too much makeup and left for the venue. The arena is way outside of my travelling bubble, but I made the exception and drove there. I didn't even get lost! We ate a Johnny Rockets. The entire place was filled with women in their late 20's and 30's who were also wearing too much makeup and some of them even with old school NKOTB gear and earrings. We had a really cute Australian waiter who was hitting on us. It's been a while since that's happened. We finished dinner and went to the arena.

We first made a stop in the restroom (we're not 12 and 17 anymore - we have both given birth and potty breaks are no longer optional) and as we were washing our hands I said to Joanna "I'm getting all giddy and excited" and she said "I know! Me too!" We stood in line for 45 minutes to buy t-shirts and then proceeded to our seats. We saw about half of Natasha Bettingfield's set (she was actually pretty good - dressed like a tramp, but the girl can sing). Then the dreaded lights up time between the opening act and the real show. The tension was building.

The lights went down, the music started, and tens of thousands of grown women reverted back to 1993 and were all screaming like teenagers - ourselves included. We didn't sit the entire time. We were screaming and singing and dancing and jumping up and down for the entire show. My throat hurt so bad about an hour into the show that I couldn't even scream anymore. I also had to wear flip flops to work on Tuesday because my feet hurt from jumping up and down for 3 hours. Step by step, the right stuff, hangin' tough, I'll be lovin you forever, tonight, cover girl ( we were doing the aforementioned dances we memorized 15 years ago in the stands - we're not proud and we weren't the only ones either). And they played all their new stuff too, which I love - their new album, The Block, is awesome! It was such an amazing show! Anyone who loved the New Kids HAS to go to this show! It's so totally worth it! Absolutely amazing!

It was fun to see this whole venue full of women (and a few select gay men), most of them married, a few even pregnant, swooning over these 5 guys and totally freaking out when Jordan Knight did his signature portion of the show where he rips open his white button-up shirt with the fan blowing for dramatic effect. See video below (stolen from YouTube). I especially like the girls in the background screaming "take it off".

Here's a video I stole off of You Tube from another show of my boy, Danny, break dancing. I have to say - not bad for a man in his late 30's.

Here's yet another video I stole of them singing my favorite song off their new album called "2 in the morning" The video kinda sucks, but I LOVE this song

Another fantastic video of them singing Dirty Dancing. I could honestly do without the 19 yr old chick with big hair gyrating herself on top of the piano. But the guys look good so just pretend she's not there.

I had to use vidoes that were from other concerts - not the one here in Phx. The videos I found from our concert were WAY too loud. All you can hear is women screaming. And I'm one of them! We actually do have our own pictures, but the videos do it more justice. And my sister took all the pics and is sending me a CD. So I'll post more pics of this blessed event when I get them.

One of my favorite things about their new album is some of the pop culture references in their lyrics. Like one song, aptly titled Dirty Dancing, says in the chorus "ooh, it's so crazy, she's like Baby, I'm like Swayze". My favorite song off their new album, called 2 in the Morning, has a part that goes "gotta know if you're mad at me before Grey's Anatomy". I don't know why, but I find stuff like that amusing.

Anywho, we made our way home after the concert at arrived home just before 1 am. Which is pretty late for old ladies like us. We turn into pumpkins at midnight. Then we had to get up at 5 for Joanna to go to the airport. It was a long day at work on Tuesday, but it was SO worth it! Seriously so much fun! Maybe they'll have another tour in 15 more years. Hmmm. What would that look like?

Please don't go New Kids - tell me you'll stay - never ever go away - I love you (I love you) I guess I always will - New Ki-i-i-ids

Step by step - ooh baby - gonna get to ya New Kids

I'll be lovin you forever - just as long as you want me to be - I'l be lovin you fore-ever - all this love's for you and me, yeah