NKOTB at the Tacoma Dome

Hummana hummana hummana. I have to confess to being a HUGE NKOTB fan in my childhood. I remember watching the Wonderful World of Disney one Saturday night and live from Epcot my fist crush rushed onto the stage. It was New Kids on the Block rocking out "Hangin' Tough" and I instantly fell in love with Joey. Sigh. He was sooo pretty....

One of my friends (who had way nicer parents than mine) had everything. Cassette tapes, the comforter, dolls, sleeping bag and all the walls in her room were covered with posters. I loved playing at her house. The only thing I had that she didn't was their Christmas album (which is still one of my favorites) because they were Jewish. I let her borrow it on the sly but don't tell her parents!

Since I had mean parents who wouldn't let me go to the concert I had to wait for their reunion to live out my childhood fantasy. And let me tell you it was worth the wait!!!!

I sent out a mass email to all my friends to see who wanted to go with me and everyone turned me down...this is what happens when your friends are either younger or older and are just out of my generation. I am smack dab in the middle of the NKOTB fan base being 2 weeks shy of my 30th birthday. Most of the time its fine, but at moments like these I wish my old buddy wasn't in California now. So my sweet husband came with.

Before the show started people could text message to the big boards to win front row "face time" for 3 songs. Some of the messages were so fun! I wasn't the only one with mean parents that didn't let me go as a kid. There were moms who'd brought their kids who they'd indoctrinated into the NKOTB love. The PA was playing a great selection of classic 80s music so the crowd was getting in the groove before anyone hit the stage. The 80s wear was in full swing including mini skirts paired with leg warmers. The people watching was prime.

The show opened just before 8pm with Lady Gaga who we'd never heard of. At first she was a little off putting, it was like Madonna meets Britney. But she actually was really awesome, very pop/techno. We wondered how many arobic classes she has taught to keep that kind of energy going! Ryan is going to look for her videos.

Next up was Natasha Beddingfield who I had orinally been really excited about but her set was much mellower and the crowd settled down. She got us riled up again at the end mainly by mentioning NKOTB. Her voice was amazing, but I think she would be a better fit for smaller more intimate venues.

Just after 9:30 NKOTB finally came onstage and the Tacoma Dome exploded. I have never been at a show where the audience cheered so loud for so long. I could barely hear them singing the cheering was so loud. They did a great job keeping the crowd revved up and I was amazed at how sharp their coreography was. They really did set the standard for the modern boy band. At one point they started taping the crowd dancing so they could watch it later on the bus, I think we gave them a great show!

The men had aged very nicely and Donnie has no problem playing up his hotness. Ryan was a little put off by the butt and crotch grabbing (and Jordan had this awesome unbuttoned shirt ballad) but the female audience was very enthusiastic. Donnie toyed with the audience by starting to take his belt off and then gave us a "no-no" finger wag.

We had floor seats again (farther back then for Celine) but when they moved to Stage B (I heart Stage B) they were literally 15-20 feet away. Damn me for not bringing the camera! They sang two songs on the mini revolving stage and I got to look at their prettiness nice and close. This was when the panties flew...the guys were awesome and were taking fans cameras and taking pictures of each other before they handed them back. By the time the finale hit bras were flying! Saucy!

My fantasy felt complete, they had sung Hangin' Tough, You've Got the Right Stuff and Step by Step. The only thing that would have made it better was if they'd sung something off their Christmas albumn!

My only negative comment is that they used a projector for their screens and it was pretty crappy compared to whatever Celine Dion used. Hers were crystal crisp! Hopefully they can upgrade for their next tour :)

Wikipedia has a great article on the history of the group, and I totally loved this article from the Seattle Times about her own NKOTB love, and lastly, Spew did a great write up of the show (with pictures!) that is more unbiased than mine!