I mean really, too cute!
Now on to other things mentioned in the previous post. You know what I'm talking about. The New Kids on the Block (NKOTB) concert.
When these, now men, were actually kids I was about 10. Like every other girl of that age, was IN LOVE with them all. (Minus Danny because any girl from that era knows, Danny looked like a monkey. I mean a real monkey, not a cute Parker monkey.) This was an intense, real love that could only be understood by females who experienced Beatlemania.
The story really begins back in November of 2008, actually now that I think about it, the story truly begins when I was pregnant. One day I was at work when I got an email from one of the bestest of friends, Tina. She sent out an email to our friends Jenn and Aarti as well as. Tina informed us of an upcoming November NKOTB concert and was asking us to all indulge in this guilty (now VERY guilty) pleasure and purchase tickets to this concert.
Sadly, I declined because I was pregnant at the time of purchase and was not sure I would be able to attend the November concert. Looking back now, I SO could have gone. Pman was totally on formula at that point. But there you have it.
Aarti declined as well. Leaving Jenn and Tina to venture back into the world of NKOTB by themselves.
Note: I am writing so formally now, because as the story continues you are going to see a side of me that is a lot less formal and a lot more squealy school girl.
Moving on.
Preconcert they played it all Too Cool for School style to the extent that when a NKOTB song came on at the bar and the other ladies screamed and freaked out, Jenn and Tina mocked them. They now say that they even looked at each other and said, "We are so not going to do that."
Well, the inevitable happened and Jenn and Tina did scream and dance at the concert in November. Thus kicking off the obsession. The day after the concert they both (at work) stalked NKOTB via You Tube videos.
Flash to sometime in January-ish. We found out that the Kids were going to be in Baltimore. Jenn and Tina COULD NOT miss it. I was sucked in by their enthusiasm and told Jenn to put me down for a ticket. Aarti once again ducked reliving the school girl obsession because she just had a baby and had new mommy things to do. I have to say, I was a bit scared by Jenn and Tina's overwhelming energy regarding the concert. For about a month before The Event, I would get emails from one or both of them counting down the days (and yes eventually hours) until the concert. They would send me You Tube clips of concerts past. Any time I spoke to either one of these ladies the concert was referenced in one way or another.
It was my turn to play Too Cool for School and their turn to scream in high pitched tones at the mere mention of anything related to Jordan Knight or Donnie Walbergh (spelling?). One of these ladies was/is so into on Jordan, that her husband has a very real fear that she may run off with him, given the chance.
On the night of March 19 I had a sitter from the day care at the gym come over and watch Pman for the hour or so of cross over time from when I needed to leave and before Josh got home. This is the first time we have left a non-family member alone with Pmoney in our house. I was scared, but he knows her and seems to like her and it was only going to be for an hour or so. When it was all said and done everything- sitterwise went well minus one incident. Apparently this nice girl put his diaper on backwards. But he was still alive and not screaming his head off when Josh got home. No worries...
The night of the concert we planned to eat dinner at Aarti's house, which is located close to the arena. On my way there I went to Starbucks to make sure I was all caffined-up (which is odd because I drank wine at Aarti's and beer ar the concert, whatev). The nice artsy kid with dark rimmed glasses and shaggy jet black dyed hair made me the wrong drink. When I told him of the mistake we had the following conversation.:
Artsy kid: Oops, my bad. Do you want to give this one to a friend?
Me: Oh I would, but I'm driving to Baltimore and I doubt it will still be warm when I get there.
AK: Oh! What are you going to B'more for?
Me: I'm afraid to tell you because I think you will loose respect for me. (I said this and still I'm not sure how much respect he had for me in the first place...curious)
AK: Where are you going?
(I have to say, I wish I had thought quick enough to say something like pole dancing or stripping. Instead I said...)
Me: Um the New Kids on the Block concert.
AK: Oh. You were right.
He then grabbed the incorrect drink away from my reach handed me the correct drink and walked away.
After my- what I now refer to as the Starbucks incident- I made my way to Aarti's. We ate dinner, drank some wine, hung out with her new baby and then a squealing Jen, a giddy Tina and I got into a taxi and headed to the concert. Jenn works for Comcast and has some great connections so we had amazing seats. We were maybe 20 feet from the stage. If Joey McIntyre's (my favorite) zipper was down I would have been able to see it. And if it had been down, I could not be held responsible for my actions. Luckily for everyone involved the zipper stayed up.
At one point they ran past us and while I only touched the shoulder of the dreaded (as in he had dreadlocks) bodyguard, I was close enough to my crush that if I were either a little drunker or just plain crazy, I could have fairly easily thrown myself at him successfully. I have been told that at this portion of the concert a girl across the aisle from me was taking video of the New Kids running by. I am on that video. How do I know this? It's posted on You Tube.
The whole night was a blur in the way prom or your wedding or some other memorable unrepeatable event is. I know I had an amazing time. Throughout the days that followed, bits and pieces of the amazingness flash through my head like snapshots. I was screaming, dancing, singing and generally swooning over these guys. I kept stretching my arms into the arm and doing spirit fingers and I was never even a cheerleader. At some point in my fits of excitment and sheer joy I dropped my camera. Frankly, I'm not sure exactly when this happened. But I did drop it shattering the display screen. I ended up having to buy a new one on Saturday. After the concert we kind of attempted to make it a mission to meet the guys. I even chatted up a toothless lad named Brian who worked at the arena, but he was no help.
I know I want...no NEED to do see them again.
I know you are judging me, but I also know that if you went, whether you were a fan or not way back when, you would have a great time at this concert. They put on a great show and I mean the crowd is made up of 30 year old slightly intoxicated women trying to capture and enjoy a piece of their youth. We are all on the same page. We all love NKOTB and only those of us who have been to the concert, understand the obsession. And yes, you will become OBSESSED with these guys and their music postconcert. Embrace it.
