An NKOTB fan since the late 80's, it has been a bit of a dream come true to have the opportunity to attend the reunion shows over the past two years. My bff/fellow New Kid fanatic (Tina) have attended two shows on each leg of this tour -- typically the Bay Area & Vegas, but this time two shows in Vegas.
First let's talk about the Pearl Theater at the Palms -- while one of the box office ladies could use a workshop in friendly customer service, the rest of the staff is super cool, they get gruff when they need to, but good people. I'm a big believer in customer service making or breaking an experience overall, so this is huge to me. Then there's the theater itself -- incredibly well designed, not a bad seat in the house, and the sound was great.
Now onto the review -- this is for nights 1 & 2 :)
I'll admit to being a bit disappointed that the show was cut short at just 1 hour and a few minutes on night one (which they more than made up for on night two!), but the boys still brought down the house starting with a new years eve-esque crowd count down clear through every last performance... insane high energy with the classic Hangin' Tough, to an unexpected mellow acoustic set with Danny Wood playing guitar, to Joey McIntyre's show stealing rendition of Annie Lennox's "Sweet Dreams" - dripping with raw and twisted sex appeal.
For those who have been to reunion shows, you'll be happy to know that Jon Knight finally sang Step 5!! It took a few tries, but he did it and the crowd went ballistic for him.
Everyone's favorite falsetto, Jordan Knight, seemed to struggle a bit on his first night (it was the first show of this "non" tour after all), but handled it on night two with his own solo performances and continuous interactions with the crowd up front -- making silly faces and smiling to fans. It's a sweet touch any fan would appreciate.
Last, but never least, is my main man, Mr. Donnie Wahlberg -- wow! While this particular show featured him less than on previous tours, he still came with his sexiness, working the crowd the way only he can, and delivering a high energy solo performance of his song "I Got It" -- not my fave song, but I still got into it. So fun!
At the end of the day, I'm left wishing I was a baller and able to follow them around the country and onto the cruise. It's amazing to relive this part of my youth, but even more so with a group like New Kids on the Block, who deliver at every show be it 1989 or 2010.