"Block" Cheese: Don't Knock It 'Til You've Tried It.

Like most women born in the 80's, The New Kids on the Block was my favorite band from about the age of 6 to 10. When I was 7, my Dad surprised me and took me to see them - my first concert. I had a home-made, puffy paint T-shirt sporting "New Kids on the Block" in florescent pink paint surrounded my equally florescent yellow stars (a true work of art)! It's a night I still remember clearly to this day, from the limo, to the 7th row seats, to being forced to leave before the encore to skip the crowds. Well, Friday night, I got my second chance to hear that encore at the New Kids on the Block Reunion Tour.

I know what most of your are thinking - oh LORD. Believe me, I got my share of comments at the office on Friday. However, regardless of your musical tastes, there's no denying that the New Kids revolutionized the music industry and ushered in an enormously successful period - the era of the Boy Band. It was a very profitable, golden age for many people in the industry! Sadly, those days are over - so how were NKOTB going to pull off a reunion tour that focused on an age gone by? I was anxious to find out.

The whole situation was quite surreal - my friends and I met up at a bar close to TD Bank North Garden, which, unbeknownst to us, had been transformed into a sort-of NKOTB HAVEN. Every single one of the 30+ TVs on four floors was simultaneously broadcasting a medley of old NKOTB videos and live performances. There were four guys in the bar - FOUR. I brought a collegue (er, dragged, once he saw the scene inside), and I'm pretty sure the other three weren't looking to pick up chicks. Leg warmers, neon colors, and HUGE pins were everywhere (you remember those huge pins with the guys' faces on them?? Yeah.)! I was completely uprepared for such zealots!! But the atmosphere was intoxicating - it was like a scene out of that Jennifer Garner moving, 13 Going on 30; a bunch of girls in grown women's bodies. I don't mean that rudely, either - it was really genuine and fun. After a quick drink, we made our way to the Garden.

The line for beers was already really long, so we planned to each grab two to avoid the lines again. However, there was only one beer per ID because, according to a TD employee "of all the kids." Um, apparently no one informed TD this was a REUNION tour; no one there was under 25. I was visibly displeased.

Never the less, we made our way to our seats - surprisingly good ones considering we were in the top balcony. Natasha Bedingfield opened, and WOWIE does she have a set of pipes! Someone needs to talk to her producer, because I really think the tracks cover up her awesome voice - I had no idea. Great stage presence, just fabulous.

By the time NKOTB came on, there was not ONE open seat in the house. Now, I know it's Boston (they came from here, FYI), but I know for a fact they sold out the entire tour. That's a seriously amazing feat after dropping off the map 15 years ago! But that absence was the key to their success this time around, and they used it to their advantage. It was like deja vu - it was like before, but a little bit off, a little bit different. Costume changes, choreography - all the things that got us drooling as young girls came back in a flash. But that's what we wanted, and that's what made the show great. Performers and musicians need to recognize their audience and what they're looking for in a show, and capitalize on it. Don't be fake - theoretically, you and your audience should be looking for the same thing! These guys aren't 17 anymore, nor are their fans. We wanted to relive the glory days, and they gave it to us. The show was peppered with new material (a smart move, since those units need to sell to keep the dream alive!), but they opened and closed with old material (Hangin' Tough was the last encore - the crowd was so loud I thought my ears drums would explode!). Truly, a show that was fun and perfectly demonstrated that if you understand your audience, any tour (reunion or otherwise), can be a phenomenal success.