LIVE AND DANGEROUS: The New Kids are all grown up

They’re back! The New Kids On the Block, also known as NKOTB, came to Cox Arena last Tuesday night to share its late ‘80s boy band style and energy with San Diego.

NKOTB was back on stage to make the ladies scream as it performed a flawless concert. Nostalgia was in the air as “N.K.O.T.B” was repeatedly chanted and could also be seen written across T-shirts throughout the audience.

But before the audience could see the “kids,” Lady GaGa and Natasha Bedingfield warmed up the crowd with their opening performances.

These two artists elevated the intensity of the passionate crowd. First to take the stage was Lady GaGa, who gave a powerful electric-pop performance. Bedecked with a shimmered body suit and bold, blonde hair, her energy was contagious as the lights popped and flashed with the beats. Her oomph, coupled with her booty shaking and singing, was definitely entertaining to watch as she performed her hit single, “Just Dance,” which had everyone on their feet.
 
As she wrapped up her performance, she expressed her excitement for NKOTB and reassured the crowd that, despite its age, NKOTB is better than ever, by yelling, “The New Kids aren’t kids anymore!”

Next on stage was Bedingfield.

Bedingfield took control of the crowd with her unerring talent and casual style. She reminded the crowd that “a night like this is about letting go, having fun and being free.”  The Grammy-nominated performer hit her high notes with grace as she brought a more mellow energy than Lady GaGa.

Bedingfield performed some of her greatest hits such as “These Words,” “Unwritten” and “Pocket Full Of Sunshine.”

The optimistic lyrics of her songs correlated with her positive attitude, which she shared with the crowd, as she belted out the lyrics “live your life with arms wide open.”

Bedingfield and Lady GaGa were the perfect opening acts for the heart-throbbing men of NKOTB.

After a fifteen-minute intermission, the lights shut off, smoke emanated from the stage and suddenly there they were: Jordan and Jonathan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg and Danny Wood — The New Kids On The Block were back.

The band performed “Single” from its 2008 comeback album “The Block.”
Wahlberg, sporting a Boston Red Sox baseball cap, was pleased with the powerhouse chanting of the crowd and stood on stage in apparent awe at the amount of ladies the band still had screaming for them.

Finally he was able to speak. “What we had back in the day was for real!” he yelled.

This moment set the tone for the remainder of the night.

After the performance of its hit single “You Got It (The Right Stuff),” it was clear to see that the old-school dance moves were the “right stuff” for the women too. The responses to its old and new hits were promising and it’s for certain that this comeback will be successful.

There were handmade posters held by people screaming, “Face time,” and sure enough the band got the memo. The cameraman even came onstage, signaling the crowd to get up and dance, to be captured on the Jumbotron.

NKOTB did all it could to fulfill what its fans had anticipated. The band members spoke to the crowd directly, explaining they had already been to 48 cities, and San Diego was by far the rowdiest.

NKOTB had special details that set its tour apart from other music performers that simply take the stage by doing the same old thing by making special tribute to popular musicians, actors and family members who have passed away over the years.  A slideshow appeared on the screens, with faces such as Tupac Shakur, Notorious B.I.G., Left Eye, Heath Ledger and Betty Wood, Danny Wood’s mother.

Wood was coined one of “The New Moms On The Block.” She passed away in 1999 and because of her powerful influence as an incredible mother to Wood a tribute to the Betty Wood Breast Cancer Foundation ended the night. The Block told the story of her life and death and explained the NKOTB T-shirt fundraiser, which helps support her foundation.

The New Kids On the Block are the originators of the boy band genre that has led the way for more recent pop boy bands such as *NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys. Its tour has taken the audience back to the roots of this genre and also reminded everyone that even though life rolls on, there are some things that never change.