It finally arrived, the date I have been looking forward to since last May, the New Kids on the Block concert!
I started officially planning on Monday. I sent the girls to school with the note to excuse them from school on Wednesday and Thursday. Overbrook has a policy that all absences must be "excused" or else all zeros will be given for both in-class and homework given on the days missed. Harsh! Although the girls both made the honor roll the first quarter, I did not want them to rack up a bunch of zeros for two days! So, I simply said we were going out of town for a small reunion with some long-time family friends. Not exactly a lie, but certainly not "I am pulling my kids out of school so they can come to a concert while their mom relives her pre-teen obsession with New Kids on the Block!" At any rate, the principal approved - step one complete!
Step two: gather all the old memorabilia from 1989 and 1990. The girls and I had already gotten the t-shirts, buttons, boxers, nightshirt, suglasses, and hairbows out of my mom's attic. (And don't think it ends there. Items left in storage: telephone, cassette player, too many posters to count, backpack, all five NKOTB "barbie" dolls - complete with stage and props - 3' x 5' glued puzzle poster, trading cards, and framed concert tickets with a piece of Donnie Wahlberg's shirt. What, had you forgotten how much these dudes meant to me?) So we started picking out what we were going to wear to the show. Actually, we brought all the shirts, buttons, bows, sunglasses, and even my really cool 1980's NKOTB jacket!
Step three: arrive late at mom's for departure. I guess it is a personal rule that I cannot make it to my mom's on time for anything. I seriously don't have a problem arriving on time most other places, but I guess it gets mom so worked up that I just can't seem to do it!
Step four: Placate mom and insist on stopping at Starbucks even though we are "late." Ok - some perspective here - we were supposed to leave at 8:00 to meet at Amanda's by 8:30. We decided to leave at 7:45 so we could stop at Starbucks first. Actual departure time: 7:55. Actual arrival time at Amanada's: 8:30. So, we weren't even late.
And we're off! The concert was in Atlanta, 4 hours from Nashville. We all stayed with Malinda and Mindy flew in from New Orleans. We got to Malinda's in enough time to tour her house (very, very beautiful with lots of character) and tour her NKOTB memorabilia proudly displayed on her dining room table. We visited for a short time, and then we "got ready" for the concert. Brief synopsis: Mindy bought the gaudiest NKOTB tshirt she could find off ebay. Yes, it did include every neon color ever worn in the 80's. Mom opted not to wear a tshirt, but proudly displayed two VERY LARGE buttons on her shirt. The girls, me, Analise, and Anna all wore our shirts from the old days. Morgan wore the jacket, I had pins,but the winner was definitely Malinda. She had this shirt with a picture of her (at 12 years old) superimposed to look like she was leaning on Joe's shoulder. It was a riot. I don't even remember that shirt, but clearly she got it when I wasn't around. How do I know that? 1) I certainly would have had to have one, also, and 2) I never would have let her pick Joe, as he was "my" boy! Anyways, it was hysterical - and she had these buttons all around it. She said that's how it was when she pulled it out of the box, so that must have been how she wore it! (See the pictures to truly appreciate this!)
So now we're on our way to the show. We had left super-early since Atlanta's traffic is always such a nightmare, plus we wanted to have time to eat dinner before the concert. Malinda, Analise, Mrs. Potter, and I were in the front car with the rest of the gang following behind in Anna's car. We were only about 20 minutes away when Malinda says, "I don't see them behind us anymore. They were just there. Were did they go?" At which point my phone starts ringing and mom informs me that they have a flat tire and have pulled over on the side of the interstate. The 6 lane Atlanta rush-hour interstate! I was steeming mad when I found out that not one person in our whole caravan (me excluded) knew how to change a tire! Of course, after reviewing the situation, we deemed it wouldn't be prudent for me to change the tire, either, since it was on the side of the car closest to all the interstate traffic. So, a call was placed to AAA and to Atlanta's heroes to help us out. We were good sports, but let me assure you, if it had taken too long, I would have hitchiked to the show!
We arrived to the concert in plenty of time. We ate at a quick food place since we were behind schedule and the sit down places were all packed (with other 30-something women decked out in NKOTB gear!). The girls each bought a tshirt and I bought a program. Mindy and Anna bought beers. Malinda bought nothing, but did make several trips to the bathroom. Finally, she confessed that she was just so nervous! As we were finding our seats (ground level, but pretty far back) the security guard told us we were lucky because for 3 songs the "kids" would be performing on a mini stage RIGHT NEXT TO OUR SEATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! At this point, I am not ashamed to say, Malinda and I elbow butted Mindy, Anna, and the girls to the inner part of our row so we could have the aisle next to the mini stage. The "old ladies" were directly across the way from us.
Skip the opening acts (Natasha Beddingfield and Lady Gaga, both current pop artists. Good, but we were way anxious for the show to start.). And then it starts. I swear I cried as they entered the stage! Words cannot even express how I felt. I was 13 again. Who knew that I still had the passion and obsession for them almost 20 years later?!?! About halfway through the show, tons of people started moving toward the mini stage. I was pissed! I couldn't see the main stage very well with them standing in front of me. And that also meant that I couldn't get to the front of the throng to the mini stage. So I ordered my row to stand on our seats! And they were there. Seriously, less than 20 feet away. And since the stage actually rose up, we were eye-level with them. All of us made eye contact with at least one of the "kids" (and no, Malinda did not cry this time!). We were taking pictures like crazy. It was surreal - having them that close!!! Later, we found out that mom actually had full hand to hand contact with Donnie since the "kids" entered and exited the stage from their side. Although we have determined now which 3 songs they sang from there, at the time, I couldn't have told you even one! It was the most exciting thing (next to our 2nd row, dead center seats for the Step by Step concert in 1990, of course).
The show was amazing. They looked great - even better than back in the day! They danced unbelievably, and sounded incredible. I was impressed. I mean, Malinda and I couldn't even do the Hangin' Tough arm wave the whole time! When we left, I really did want to cry. It felt the way I felt when I was 13: wanting more than anything in the world to meet (ok and marry) one of the boys and knowing I probably never would! Everyone kept talking aobut how awesome it was. Even the girls were super-excited. Mom kept bragging about touching Donnie. A good time was had by all.
I am totally sad to have to return to 32 and responsibilities. As I told my boss, she was lucky I showed up at work on Friday because if I could, I swear I would leave it all and become a NKOTB groupie right now!
Here are some of the pictures - both of us in our gear, and the boys:
