The Kids Are (Still) Having Fun

Two years ago today, they released their comeback single, “Summertime,” and last night, the reunited New Kids on the Block kicked off their 2010 touring season with a pre-cruise show in Miami Beach.

A lot of people I know mocked me for planning and looking forward to attend – but they so should wish they’d checked out the concert, too. It was a blast from the past and a blast and a half!

Donnie, Jordan, Joey, Jonathan, and Danny aren’t kids anymore, alright, but rather fully grown, naughtier-than-I-remember men, and when they kicked off things with a 15-minute section featuring three songs I couldn’t name to save my life (but enjoyed!) before finishing with “You Got It (The Right Stuff)” – complete with that iconic-ish little jig of theirs – I was transported back in time.

That’s because you know what: the Kids still have the right stuff. (Btw, I sooo get the Joey thing now.)

Yeah, they’re older, and because of that it’s been hard for a lot of people who left them behind years ago to embrace them in this latest chapter of their career. I mean, can you name the songs from their comeback album? Actually, can you name their comeback album?

I can’t. And I was a fan. Although, I have to say, it seems not a really good one.

I knew and remember the hits, the “I’ll Be Loving You (Forever)”s and “Step by Step”s. But I can’t sing ’em anymore.

Post-concert I can honestly say I want to rediscover the Kids – and I’m so picking up The Block ASAP...talk about underappreciated. Last night was a fun step in that direction, one that almost included a fan-niption when all five of them walked passed me and my friends as they sang “Tonight.” Touching distance, I tell ya.

This much I now know for sure: They can hang tough no matter what, and I enjoy their updated sound and older image. They may be artists of the last – gasp! – feakin’ century, but there’s something genuinely unique about them, and about their show, that makes them special and worthwhile still after all this time.

Once upon a time they were criticized for being a pre-fab quintet, but compared to the so-called acts of today, it’s easy to recognize their charm...their legacy. NKOTB were a seminal phenomenon. Last night, they put me in a trance with their funky song and made me believe in them again, they made have fun with them, and they made want to get down with them and like them.

And that’s what music is all about, alright.

Photo: BrowardPalmBeach.com.