Someone once said that as long as there are teenage girls, so will there be boy bands.
And, as long as there are 30-something women nostalgic for their youth, so will there be boy band reunions.
Nearly 15 years after they called it quits, the members of New Kids on the Block rocked the past Thursday night, playing to a two-thirds capacity crowd at Arco Arena.
There were fireworks and screaming fans. A woman fainted, bras were thrown, and wandering through the crowd, one poor guy sported a "My Wife Made Me Go See NKOTB" shirt.
Through it all, Donnie Wahlberg, Joey McIntyre, Danny Wood and brothers Jordan and Jon Knight sang and danced their way through a set that clocked in at just over two hours.
At its best, the show was brisk, fun and filled with cheeky nods to yesterday. At its worst, however, the night felt overly rehearsed and, at times, downright silly.
Really, is it appropriate for men in their late 30s to perform the same choreographed dance numbers they were working at the dawn of '90s?
Not that anyone seemed to mind. From the first opening notes of "Single" as the members of NKOTB emerged from a purple haze of smoke, the crowd went crazy.
And that was just a track from their latest CD, "The Block." The hysteria shot off the charts when they launched into "(You Got It) The Right Stuff," complete with those famous shuffling dance slide steps.
Ah, the right stuff indeed.
Running down hits such as "I'll Be Lovin' You (Forever)," "Cover Girl" and "Baby I Believe in You," the group moved neatly in sync and sounded just as good as it did back when stonewashed denim was still acceptable and we'd never even heard of the Internet.
Never mind that these boys-to-men felt a little too slick at times. As the group worked its way through meticulously practiced moves and trite stage banter, there were very few moments that seemed genuinely spontaneous. Seriously, how many cities do you think Donnie Wahlberg has praised as "the best"?
Be honest with yourselves now, ladies.
And never mind that the group went through almost as many costume changes as it did songs or that at one point, Wahlberg slung a white electric guitar around his waist but never once touched it.
Never mind that when they busted out the new song "Grown Man," the Pussycat Dolls' Nicole Scherzinger joined them in song -- from a video screen.
Tacky? Sure. Throw in a perilously long mix of ballads that seemed to pull the set down into a yawn-fest and there's serious potential for trouble.
But, lucky for the New Kids, their classic blend of neo-soul and funk still holds up well. And, lucky for everyone, they didn't try to dress up that sound with too much modernity. Even the new tracks, tricked out with fresh Timbaland-styled beats didn't make it feel as though the group was trying to be anything other than what it always was: fun, sweet and ready to be adored.
Or, as Donnie, Joey, Danny, Jordan and Jon put it best: "Who gives a damn about what critics say / said we wouldn't last / said our time will pass / said it was a flash / but we're still kicking ass."
Word.
Call Bee pop music writer Rachel Leibrock, (916) 321-1176
