New Thing #101 - You Got the Right Stuff, Baby

June - A Little Piece of my Youth

June 15, 2019 - New Kids on the Block concert

You guys. I'm almost 40 years old, and I've never seen NKOTB live in concert. I know, I know, did I even grow up in the 80s? It was never fiscally possible for me as a kid, nor did we live anywhere close to where they were playing, so it never happened for me. Fast forward about 30 years, and I'm finally going to see their Mix Tape tour with my BFF Meredith in Chicago.

What started as a joking suggestion from Meredith turned into a super fun weekend! She drove in from Indy, and I made the 5 hour trek from StL (5 hours because of the rain and stupid Chicago traffic). Meredith had hotel points to use, so we found a hotel ONE BLOCK from Allstate Arena. When I looked it up online, I knew it was close, but damn, we didn't realize we could walk to the concert. That was super handy.

In our matching tanks I got us for her bday earlier this year. :)

Typical shenanigans!

Love this girl right here!!!

After a quick dinner and a wardrobe change - into some slightly more era appropriate clothing - we walked the 5 minutes to the arena and managed to make it inside before we got drenched. Our seats were directly at the back of the theater, next to the aisle, and we had a great view of the entire stage. Could we have sat closer? Sure, but we had just as much fun in the cheap seats.

Loving the side pony, Mere!

Did I make my shirt? You bet your ass I did.

Not the closest, but they were still great seats for a last minute buy.

To warm up the crowd, one of the Naughty by Nature guys came out with a local DJ and played lots of 80s/90s hits. It was great!

Getting the crowd pumped up.

Fair warning: lots of the videos are pretty wobbly. Don't expect me to just stand there and not move while I take a video!

Let's get this party started!!!! (Sorry about the big pole in the way...we didn't really anticipate that being there when we bought the seats.)

Once the hype man was finished, the concert began with NKOTB coming out in classic fashion. This concert truly was like a mix tape with each artist interweaving into the next. There were no breaks or intermissions. Each of the four others acts - Tiffany, Debbie Gibson, Salt n Pepa, and Naughty by Nature - provided the breaks NKOTB needed. Let's be honest, they're not spring chickens anymore, so I'm sure they needed a little bit of downtime. Or perhaps that was just for all of their wardrobe changes. :)

There's not much more I can say, other than this was so much fun. Seeing all the people in the crowd be just as excited for them now as I imagine they were 30 years ago, plus all the women my age bringing their young daughters, was a blast. Enjoy the photos and the videos, though I realize the sound quality isn't the best. Just go out and see them to experience it for yourself!!

IT'S HAPPENING!

Thank God for the big ass screen.

The 10 year old inside of me is so happy right now.

Thoroughly enjoying the throw back nostalgia with the boombox graphics.

Gotta have that fancy NKOTB footwork! ;)

Still hitting those high notes!

I'm wondering how many different NKOTB graphics they're going to have...

Well hello, Mr. Wahlberg...you've grown up.

There is so much happening in this video, it just makes me laugh!

Oh oh o-o-oh..oh oh o-oh!

Dang, these New Kids are naughty! LOL

It's a party up in here!

This was fun! The CD stage raised and lowered.

There was also smoke. Naturally.

Danny still has some B-Boy moves in him!

Well, this takes me back...TIFFANY!!

AND DEBBIE GIBSON!!

Joey is getting serious now...

Please don't go girl....seriously, just don't do it. Don't break this poor boy's heart.

OMG!!! Okay, full disclosure, I'm loving the New Kids, but I was probably most excited for Salt n Pepa, and they DID NOT DISAPPOINT!

It's none o' yo business!

Because of course, the crowd would want a live stream of their changing room...

With all this dancing, it was getting hot in here...so naturally, I had to do a pony. Meredith wouldn't let me get away with a regular one, so a side ponytail it is! (BTW, how freaking cute are we right now?)

Well this was unexpected, but I suppose they know their crowd well!

Oh Lord...I didn't realize how easily you'd be able to hear me singing when I recorded these videos. Whoops.

I couldn't stop laughing...

Oh, Donnie, this seemed unnecessary...not unwanted, but unnecessary. Also, I did not like Donnie as a kid. Maybe because he was such a bad boy and I was such a good girl. But, damn, time has been good to this New Kid.

No worries, we were all down with O.P.P. that night.

It's been how many years, and I still have no idea what they say in between the "Heyy....Hoooo" breaks. I'm not even sure THEY know what the lyrics are.

Debbie's back!

...only in my dreams....

This song was definitely a staple of junior high dances! I remember a few awkward dances to this song.

Well this is adorable.

I make no apologies for the shakiness of this video...I HAD TO DANCE TO SHOOP!

Tiffany's back!

One final Salt N Pepa song!

Closing out the night in their final wardrobe change (Boston Bruins jerseys). I think someone needs to update this change for the rest of the tour, because the St. Louis Blues just beat the Boston Bruins to become STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS!!

Hangin' Tough!

Final song of the night with all the performers.

After about 3 hours, the show came to a close, and Meredith and I had big stupid grins on our faces. We had so much fun reliving our youths. But, now we're tired, and it's time to walk the 5 minutes back to our hotel and go to bed. We aren't teenagers anymore! :)