Published writer, compulsive reader, Old School Whovian, Match Game enthusiast, NKOTB fan, data hoarder, and - surprisingly, given that list - married with four kids.
Welcome to my take on life, fatherhood, entertainment, and whatever strikes my fancy.
Enjoy!
Lisa wouldn't let me take our camera into the venue for fear of it being taken away. I was pretty sure in this day of camera phones that the 'NO CAMERAS' warning on the ticket was gobbledygook. But to be fair at our entrance they did actually stop and search some purses, so let's give the idea the benefit of the doubt.
Here's what our view looked like. It isn't as bad as pictured, not by a long shot; the camera phone is just low quality and seems to accentuate the distance.
Here's one of the girls that left because of the Farter, playing with a New Kids doll.
Anyway, after the show I put feelers out on craigslist for pictures/video of the show and I'm glad to see the comraderie among Blockheads is still intact. Aside from a very sweet reply from a fan who refused to accept anything in trade, I also obtained photos from a cousin of one of the managers at work.
After they returned to the main stage they sang 'Twisted'. When I reviewed the album I didn't care for this song, but it's grown on me to the point where it's now among my favorites on the record. Joey did a dance to the song that I feel was strongly influenced by his time on Dancing with the Stars, but while I listened to the song something or another was going on - perhaps the girls in front of me left at that point - and I missed most of the dance. I did note enough of it to shake my head at Joe's shirt, which seemed to be emblazoned with a shiny gold eagle across the chest and shoulder.
One of the neat things about being introduced to the group via Lisa was the absolute immersion in live NKOTB (at last count Lisa owned 26 tapes of NKOTB performances/concerts). Because of that I assumed everyone would recognize what happened next, as it was a big part of the concert repertoire back in the day. Not so. My sister, despite her obsession with NKOTB as a kid, never made it to a concert and had no clue what I was talking about.
When he took the stage alone to sing 'Baby I believe in You' Jordan appeared in a unbuttoned, billowing white shirt, his bare chest and abs exposed to the audience. This, I'm afraid, bordered on uncomfortable for me, but I gotta admit the guy looked good. The last time I saw him was at a club in Milwaukee four or five (?) years ago. I was no further than six feet from the guy and he looked easily ten or fifteen pound overweight. Obviously Jordan's turned things around since then.
He follwed this by breaking into his Platinum solo hit 'Give it to You'.
Joe followed this up by singing his Gold solo hit 'Stay the Same'. I've heard this live multiple times, but THIS WAS FAR AND AWAY THE BEST PERFORMANCE OF IT I've heard. He started out accopala (sp?) and just kept it tight and strong the entire way. I was blown away and he left me with the impression that, in retrospect, that song is much better than I once realized. Damn right that was an audience singalong!
Next up was Donnie's signature 'Cover Girl'. I thought it was campy, but who cares? I love Donnie. Lord knows if wasn't a New Kid he'd have beat the sh*t out of anyone who said they like 'em, but he remains the most dedicated and loyal of the guys. I don't think anyone can question his leadership role in the group, and props to him for that.
After I'll be Lovin' You (Forever)' and 'Click Click Click' (the song that allegedly brought them back together) they finished the concert with their Top 20 hit 'Summertime'. A definite sing-along, Pure New Kids and pure Pop magic.
Ah, you knew there'd be an encore didn't you? They quickly returned for 'Step by Step', then exited again. Chris motioned for me to exit the aisle but I rather disgustingly waved her off. "Wonder what song is next?," I jokingly asked Lisa and she replied with the cutest 'i don't know' shrug and a laugh.
Moments later, they emerged in Celtics jerseys for a version of 'Hangin' Tough' that morphed briefly into 'We Will Rock You'.
Was I waving my hands in the air? Was I waving them like I just don't care?
F yeah.
Look, I said to myself before the song started, 'this might be the one and only chance to hear this song live. Gotsta do it man' and so booyah, there I went. There was a SEA of arms going back and forth - hell, even Farter was doing it - and it was just plain kick ass.
And that was that. We went back to the hotel room and Chris wanted to hang out, but Lisa and I decided to go out. We visted a nearby bar for a second and then hit Steak 'n Shake, loaded to the brim with New Kids fans.
[I overheard one say this was the first time she understood what 'give you some grown man' meant in the song Grown Man. My word woman, tell me you've actually been on a date in your adult life. What the heck did she think it meant? The same woman went on about how she couldn't look at 'sweet Joey' the same after Twisted.
Once again folks, they are thirty-something men, men who have been married/divorced, have kids, etc. They are no longer - as if they ever were - pristine sixteen year old virgins. Get over it.]
A great time and a great concert - my favorite concert to date, beating out Prince for the title.
Once more, for the record. I am a fan of the New Kids on the Block. I am not gay, nor am I trolling for ladies (although that'd be a heck of a plan, come to think of it). I do not profess my fandom to draw attention to myself, to be 'different', or to secretly ridicule the group.
In the '80's I was ashamed to like them, calling them 'New Fa*s on the Block' while secretly borrowing my sister's Hanging Tough cassette. By the early '90's, when 'Call it What U Want' and 'No More Games' hit the radio I admitted 'some' of their stuff was 'ok'. According to Billboard I was one of only 100,000 or so people to consider buying a copy of 'Face the Music'(I didn't).
When I married a diehard New Kids fan and was exposed to many, many hours of their work my respect for them increased. When Joe and Jordan went solo I was exposed to the intense love their fans still hold for them and I found myself openly rooting for their success.
Now, I just plain dig their music and wish them well.
As for the criticism of their predisposition for dancing, well, I feel no need to apologize for it here. I enjoy the hell out of watching someone dance well and my only regret is I can't do it myself.
Anyway, back to the concert on October 4th -
At 9 o'clock the lights went out for NKOTB to take the stage. There was a noticeable shift of energy in the air, a different 'karma' to the room. As the video played to introduce them the screaming and cheering increased in scale, seeming to peak as the opening lines of 'Single' were performed offstage. Not so. When the guys finally appeared, rising from below the stage on a platform Donnie, (as always) in the lead, the screams reached a point where they had a definable weight, slamming against you like a shockwave.
I turned towards a misty-eyed Lisa and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I'm happy for you," I said.
As I noted, the band opened with 'Single' [love the 'let us sing it in a harmony' line] followed by 'My Favorite Girl' and 'Right Stuff'. No surprises there, it was identical to what had been broadcast from Boston on VH1.
Here's the whole set list, memorized by yours truly as the concert went on and verified online afterwards.
Single” “My Favorite Girl” “(You Got It) The Right Stuff” “Didn’t I (Blow Your Mind This Time)” “Valentine Girl” “Please Don’t Go Girl” “Grown Man” (With Nicole Scherzinger) “No More Games” “If You Go Away” “2 In the Morning” “Dirty Dancing” “Tonight” “Twisted” “Baby I Believe in You” “Give It To You” (Jordan solo) “Stay the Same” (Joey solo) “Cover Girl” “I’ll Be Lovin’ You (Forever)” “Click, Click, Click” “Summertime” Encore “Step By Step” “Hangin’ Tough/We Will Rock You”
'Didnt' I (Blow Your Mind this Time)' and 'Valentine Girl' were odd but pleasant choices, and 'Please Don't Go Girl' was of course a mandatory staple. I don't think 'Grown Man' adapted well for the stage, even with Nicole Scherzinger appearing in a pre-recorded video. It just didn't work.
Then a surprise. Donnie and Company performed 'No More Games'!
Best believe I rapped along, and did it a HELL of a lot better than anyone in the vids I've seen from the show.
They followed that up with 'If You Go Away', and at the end ran a video montage of everyone they cared about that's passed away since their breakup. Among the faces were Donnie's father and Danny's Mom (it's been nine years since she passed. My God time flies)and manager Dick Scott. Also included was Tupac and Biggie (on the same screen. All hell broke loose in Hell with that one) and then . .
Kurt Cobain!
Here I let out a roar, as did a guy in the same section wearing, of all things, a Nirvana t-shirt. For the record, Kurt got a good round of applause from the crowd.
AFter this the guys took to a circular platform near the rear of the floor seats. They performed 'Two in the Morning', which has become a favorite of Lisa's because she say's the lyrics sound identical to what I say to her, and then 'Dirty Dancing', with some playful roughhousing between Jon and Donnie at the beginning of the song.
The crowd, as a whole, did not seem to know the words to the song but oddly reacted feverishly to it, screaming and waving their arms and enjoying the hell out of the tune. I'd say it ranked as one of the more crowd pleasing songs of the night. The concluded their time on the smaller stage with the Beatle-esque 'Tonight'.
[sidenote: two rows down sat a man and his wife. The guy was a no-good sap who refused to move or even try to have a good time, but that's beside the point. The dude couldn't stop farting, nasty wretched bubbles of dead cow or pig or whatever. It wasn't too bad where we were - we only got the one whiff - but the poor girls in front of us had to literally leave their seats because of it. 'Hey,' I told Lisa. 'As long as they know it's not me I'm cool with it.']
[sidenote 2: during one song, I forget which, Lisa leaned over and pointed out that she couldn't see Jon on stage. 'Maybe he fell off a horse,' I said, referencing the infamous cover story used when he was asked to leave the group. As Jon was/is her favorite, this was met with an icy glare]
After this was 'Twisted'. When I reviewed the album I didn't care for this song, but it's grown on me to the point where it's now among my favorites on the record. Joey did a dance to the song that I feel was strongly influenced by his time on Dancing with the Stars, but while I listened to the song something or another was going on - perhaps the girls in front of me left at that point - and I missed most of the dance. I did note enough of it to shake my head at Joe's shirt, which seemed to be emblazoned with a shiny gold eagle across the chest and shoulder.
As a last hurrah to finish the summer we decided to visit a zoo in the neighboring county of Racine. Despite its proximity to us we'd never been there, no doubt because the Milwaukee zoo dwarfs it in size and publicity.
Mind you, there was almost nothing to blog about because the first five minutes in the zoo were absolute HELL. The kids were fighting with each other, throwing tantrums, crying, talking back, etc. I specifically remember LuLu planting herself on the ground and refusing to move.
Enough was enough. We packed them all up and began the drive home. We made it about 10 minutes before the kids regrouped, apologized en masse, and asked to have a second chance. They didn't deserve one, but frankly I was miffed at the idea of my money having gone to waste so we gave it one more go (we'd been stamped out when we left, so readmission was free)
Racine's zoo is much smaller than Milwaukee's but much prettier; less industrial, with more attention to hardscaping and plantings. It's quite beautiful.
There was a definite shortage of animals when we went, as several exhibits were closed for remodeling, but the ol' favorites were there: giraffes, monkeys, etc.
We strolled along the lakefront
and we visited the petting zoo.
Along the way we got some cute pictures of the kids. They were very well behaved in round 2, probably because we sprung for a three seat stroller.
and a cute pic of yours truly
I said the kids were well behaved the second time around, and they were. But at the lion cage Smiley intentionally tossed his empty soda bottle past the fencing and into the 'no man's land', then tried climbing out to it. Crazy kid.
In Made of Honor Patrick Dempsey plays Tom, a rich Casanova who enjoys a long-term and (surprisingly) platonic relationship with his best friend Hannah, played by Michelle Monaghan. When Hannah returns from a trip to Scotland with a fiance in hand Tom realizes what he's always known - that his feelings for Hannah go far beyond mere friendship. Despite being chosen as her Maid of Honor he sets out to win the woman of his dreams before its too late.
I thought this was a charming movie and an absolute pleasure to watch.
It's a rare treat to see a romantic comedy where the cinematography make you say 'I wish I'd seen it on the big screen' but Made of Honor fits the bill. Grand views of the Scottish countryside are a treat on the eyes, as is the New York presented on screen. It's bright, carefree, and devoid of any trace of despair, a fantasy world where you can not only drive your own car in Manhattan but find a parking spot whenever you like.
Fairy Tale Big Apple aside, the actors bring a sense of honest and complex emotion to their roles. You never get the feeling they are just reciting lines, and at times, watching Dempsey do a fine update of the Carey/Hugh Grant persona you wonder why McDreamy was absent from the screen for so long.
[check out the late great Sydney Pollack in his role as Tom's Dad. He delivers a great line when encouraging his son to pursue Hannah:
Tom: (quoting)If you love something, set it free.
Dad: Said by a pu**y and repeated by pu**ies ever since. Go after her! ]
Drawbacks? I think the Highland Games and picture perfect fiance were a bit over the top, and the finale was certainly a chiched staple of the genre.
But who cares? Easily the best romantic comedy I've seen in awhile.
After the gift shop the kids and Lisa toured the gardens on the grounds.
Then Lisa wanted the kids to 'pan for gold' outside the cave. I'd seen the - what would be the word? - panning area/sluice on the way in
but I thought it was a stupid waste of time. $5 or $10 for a bag of sand? So they could find one ten cent arrowhead or a rock or two? Fugetabouit.
But Lisa said 'go' and I said 'yes'um' and I'm glad I did.
Those bags turned up a wealth of objects for the kids to find.
I'm not kidding, the discoveries kept coming and coming. Arrowheads, brightly colored stones, bits of fool's gold, you name it. I was a little peeved, to tell the truth. Inside the gift shop I'd spent $5 each for a rock, while here in the panning area they got a handful of stones for roughtly the same price. Woulda/shoulda/coulda listened to Lisa in the first place, but why establish a precedent?
Heck, it was so successful and such a good time that I sprung for an extra round of bags to continue the fun.
On the way home we stopped at the Johnson Creek Outlet Mall, where a half hour venture into the Children's Place store was less than enjoyable. Even so YaYa walked out with a kickin' hat.
Ten years from now this will sound like a guy in 1980 awkwardly describing the Internet, but here goes:
On our way out to see the Cave of the Mounds we stopped and ate at a McDonald's. No big deal, right?
Sure. Except the bathrooms (!) featured TV screens that were part of the mirrors. Not a separate built-in, or a TV screen that had a reflective surface. The images appeared to be floating in the mirror itself, Magic Mirror style. HGTV in the ladies room, ESPN in the men's.
I'm telling you, we could have had a flat tire at that point and scrapped the trip and it STILL would have been worth the time.
