NKOTBSB

It was the summer of 1989 when I first saw The New Kids on the Block. I was 17 years old & it was the summer before my senior year. It was the first time they had toured & they were playing State Fairs all around the US that summer with Tiffany as their opening act. It was my very first concert that I had ever been to & I remember it like it was yesterday!
Fast forward 22 years.

(Ouch - it hurts to even write that!) This past spring they announced that New Kids on the Block (aka: NKOTB) were going on tour along with the Backstreet Boys (aka: BSB) this summer & I couldn't have been more excited! As soon as tickets went on sale I snatched up 4 of them & counted down the days until the concert. My girlfriend Jilly & two of my co-workers were going to the concert with me & they were equally excited. Then a few weeks later I find out that my neighbor Melissa wanted to go so she got two tickets & joined us.

So July 16th finally gets here & I could not wait for the evenings festivities. Me & Jilly picked up Melissa & her girlfriend Chrystal & we made our way downtown - of course listening to NKOTB & BSB all the way :) We met up with Sam & Nicole for drinks/dinner at The Cashew before the concert & had a great time.
L - R: Sam, Melissa, Chrystal, me, Jilly & Nicole

As we were sitting there eating, Melissa notices that they have a "bus" that will take you to the Sprint Center where the concert is & bring you back at no charge. We definitely took advantage of that seeing how we would have paid $15 for parking had we drove ourselves. Little did we know it was called "The Cashew Short Bus" (cue "short-bus" jokes here) & we all thought that was hilarious.

After a quick ride on the bus, we got to the concert safely & made our way inside. But not before stopping by the 99.7 van & playing a couple of rounds of "pin the rat tail on the New Kid"!

Our seats were in the upper level while Melissa & Chrystal's seats were a section over so we unfortunately parted ways & settled into our seats. While there, I was lucky enough to get to see my "blog" friend Cori before the concert got underway as she was in the suites below us. She was sweet enough to come on over to our section & we met up for a quick hug & some catching up. It was SO good to get to see her :)

Right after I got done visiting with Cori, I noticed a guy next to me that works at the Sprint Center with a bunch of tickets in his hands. He was giving away "upgraded" lower level seats to whoever wanted them so I asked if he had 6 together & he said all he had left was 4 together & 2 single tickets so I snatched up the 4 tickets & told the girls to grab their things - we were moving on down to the lower level. We ended up being SO lucky - those seats were 3 rows from the floor & the view of the stage was AWESOME!

Soon after we got settled into our new seats the lights went out & then 14,000+ girls started screaming....including us! Then they appeared:

NKOTBSB = New Kids on the Block + Backstreet Boys

I ain't gonna lie - I got goosebumps!

I instantly felt like I was 17 years old again. The boys opened up together singing "The One" & each group took turns singing/performing together & separately throughout the night. They opened the show together & they ended it together which I thought was way cool! They also had a four-piece band that played live for a show that rocked!

There was lots of dancing & choreography & high energy as the guys performed the "favorites" like Step by Step, The Right Stuff, I Want it That Way & Incomplete. They also brought it down a notch by singing their ballads' Please Don't Go Girl & I'll Never Break Your Heart.

Jordan Knight of NKOTB singing right in front of us! Still "hot" after all these years!

They sang for 3 hours & put on an awesome show! Back then Donnie Wahlberg was my favorite NK & I must say that hasn't changed. He & his abs didn't disappoint! Nick Carter is my favorite BSB & he has "grown-up" quite nicely also ;) They have all definitely gotten better with age!

::sigh::

For the encore the boys came out with NKOTB in Boston Celtics jersey's & BSB in Orlando Magic jersey's & sang Hangin' Tough & Everybody (Backstreet's Back). I hated to see it end :(

I also managed to get some video clips of a couple of my favorite songs:





See - I told you it was a GREAT concert :) If they ever come back to Kansas City I am SO there!!!