Back on the Block

O-O-O-O-O

O-O-O-O

O-O-O-O-O

THE RIGHT STUFF!!!

The year was 1990. I was 13, my brother was 9. Big hair, french rolled jeans, colored socks, and tube belts were IT! So were the New Kids on the Block. My parents, bless their hearts (and earplugged ears) took me, my brother, and two of my friends from OMS (that would be Owasso Middle School) to see the boys LIVE at Skelly Stadium. I think my aunt, uncle and cousins met us there...not sure why we don't have any pictures together.Check out the bangs and check out the neon! My brother is wearing neon socks and shoelaces to match his shorts! (what can I say, I'm sure I had fluorescent pink rubber bands on my braces) AND, I am wearing my NKOTB shirt TO the concert (accessorized with Jordan Knight buttons and NKOTB earrings). I'm cracking up!
This is the jam packed, sold out Skelly Stadium. You can almost smell the hairspray, can't you?
Let's fast forward 18 years...(I can't believe 1990 was 18 years ago!) Last night, in Houston, TX, the BLOCK was BACK!! I had SO...MUCH...FUN!!! My ears are STILL ringing and my cheeks still hurt from smiling.

When I heard on the Today Show that "The Boys" were planning a comeback tour, I knew I HAD to go. Two friends from church shared my excitement at the idea. One has a two month old baby and the other is 6.5 months pregnant! But, that was the typical demographic at the concert last night. Me and the girls:We got stuck in a huge traffic mess and were stressed that we were going to miss The Right Stuff. Luckily, the opening-opening act and Natasha Bedingfield sang long enough that we didn't miss a thing. AND to top it all off, our seats got UPGRADED!! I guess they didn't sell enough of the expensive seats, so they closed off the top level and moved us down 8 rows off the floor beside the stage. We had SWEET seats.
The show was awesome! The crowd of 25-35 year old women was crazy-fun! (I did count about 10 unfortunate men who accompanied their significant others to the show for whatever reason.)
The boys changed "outfits" so many times and took longer breaks in between songs. They also sang more slow songs and took turns singing solos or trios to give each other a break (I'm sure they needed to rest and rehydrate more than they did 18 years ago). They performed for over two hours so I can't complain. They sang all their old favorites, The Right Stuff, Please Don't Go Girl, Step by Step, Cover Girl, Tonight, Hangin' Tough, etc. I should've had my parents mail me my tapes so I could've brushed up on the lyrics. :) They also sang several of their new songs.I need to get some sleep, but I had to write this down so my 49 year old self can look back at this is 18 more years and laugh. (Holy cow! I'll be 49 in 18 years?!?) Check out the short videos below.
The Right Stuff. The video blurs out at the end, but couldn't figure out how to edit it.


Tonight! Somehow they got us distracted and snuck out to the middle of the floor on this spinning piano. So fun!

The grand finale, Hangin' Tough!