Blast from the Past

Back in September, my friend Emma and I embarked on a journey to the past for one night. We went downtown to the Air Canada Centre and saw the New Kids on the Block reunion tour. The tickets were free, and we weren't really sure if we were ready to go back 15 years or so, but we decided, "Why not?!?!" Sadly, I did not take my camera along for this concert, and I wish I would have, because we were like two feet away from my first heart-throb, Joey McIntyre on our way to dinner. When we got to the ACC, it was hilarious because there was this huge line up outside of ALL WOMEN, some wearing their NKOTB t-shirts from the first time around (and let me tell you, some of them had grown up way too much and to be way too big to wear those shirts, but they did it anyway). We're standing in this line, commenting on the outfits we're seeing, when all of a sudden, the high-pitched, crazy squealing of boy-crazy girls began and this stampede of women went flying into the main lobby of the ACC. Why, you ask? Because the New Kids were standing in a restaurant that overlooks the lobby, waving at the fans. It was so funny to hear grown women acting like they were 15. But that was just the beginning. When we got inside, there were groups of women who had been friends and had seen the concerts the first time they toured who were back again---some made t-shirts, some had their daughters with them, and all of them were overly excited. When the first song started, I literally couldn't hear because of all the screaming. Emma and I just laughed at how ridiculous the whole scenario was until they broke out in "The Right Stuff," and then we were screaming right along with them. It was amazing...we'd both forgotten a lot of the songs and hadn't even thought of the New Kids in years, but once they were performing right in front of us, we were so excited and all of the lyrics came right back. They did a great show...yes, some parts were cheesy, but I found it very commendable that they sold out every show and had the stamina to do a long tour. Kudos to the New Kids. They made many women (young and old alike) very happy when they decided to go back on tour.