When NKOTB announced their reunion back in early 2008, I was exhilarated. Tickled absolutely pink! It was something I'd dreamed about for 14 years, but never thought I'd see happen. Instantly, I was transported back to a tearful concert experience in 1994 when the curtain rose to just four mics on stage...to the empty months afterward with no new music, no news whatsoever, actually...to those months that turned into years. Those were the days before the internet. We had to pore over magazines hoping for coverage about our guys...coverage that never came. As overdramatic as it may seem, those years following the Face the Music era were the darkest of my life. My love for NK and their music went deep, so when no new music was released and radio stations didn't play any of their old stuff, it was like cutting off contact with old friends. It was brutal!
And now, here they were on the Today show announcing a reunion tour. It was like a Nora Ephron movie had been plopped down in the middle of my life - our boys were back!! Two girlfriends and I immediately bought tickets for the Kansas City show (ironically the same city in which I'd said goodbye to them in 1994) and planned our trip. At the time, we hadn't even considered buying a ticket to more than one show on the tour. It hadn't even crossed our minds. We had our one show and we were thrilled with it.
We entered the arena that chilly November night and sat at the very top of the first balcony level and were so excited. The opening came up on the big screen and we cried with thousands of other Blockheads in that arena. We were there!! Breathing the same air, seeing the same faces, hearing the same voices. We. Were. There.
When an extension tour was announced for spring, we jumped on board again. We'd learned a little bit, though and remembered how much we wished we'd followed the guys to Omaha after our Kansas City show. So when tickets went on sale in January for the spring shows, we bought tickets for two concerts just days apart from one another. One was here in Des Moines, the other was 3 hours away in Moline, IL. The small road trip wasn't a big deal to us, not when it came to our boys. Besides, we didn't know how long this reunion would last and we wanted to take advantage of as much of it as we possibly could. And we did. April brought our first face-to-face (and VERY unexpected) meeting with Donnie Wahlberg (and an across-the-parking-lot conversation with Joe McIntyre). That interaction with Joe & Donnie was a dream come true. Although it would've been nice to have gotten to meet them all, the fact that we got ANY face time with some of them was incredible to us. Especially since we didn't have to pay for VIP tickets to make it happen.
May rolled around and I put my life on hold for five days and flew to NYC in a last minute decision to see them on the Today show. I met up with girls that I consider sisters now. I formed a bond with a fantastic group of women and through them got to experience more Face Time. Again: free. Again: unexpected. I was ecstatic!
I'd made a conscious decision to bypass the Cruise, although I would've loved to have gone. I realized it just wasn't in the budget for my family and accepted it. I knew several people going, however and I was excited that they got to go. Besides, lets face it, my snark + open seas = bitches overboard. That's just NOT the way I'd like NKOTB to remember me. LOL Instead of lamenting on the cruise that would leave without me, I refocused on summer tour. We'd decided back in November that we were totally on board for a week of "Chasing the Band" if they did another big tour.
And chase we did. It started out just being a trip to Denver for RiceChex and me, but as time went on (and killer tickets became available), we added two dates in another state to our summer road trip. We did 5* for our Denver show and had 3rd row for Dallas. We also did the after-party at Ghost Bar. And while we didn't have great seats for the Houston show, we were there...at the last show of the tour. It was incredible and I will forever be thankful that I was there.
In the fall, the cruise was announced, as were the ticket sale dates. I'd said early on that if they did another cruise, I wanted to go. Unfortunately, financially recovering from summer tour had taken its toll and when tickets went on sale, I wasn't in a spot to buy my spot on the cruise. I was disappointed. VERY disappointed. I grumbled quite a bit about the time frame for the sales. I didn't understand why they allowed for such a short time between announcing the cruise and selling the tickets. I mean, after all, didn't we sell out the May 2009 cruise in January? Frustrating. Next came the announcements for Donnie's "I Got It" parties, the MacPac 3000 and dates for the Joe Show. More things I couldn't do. The finances just weren't there for me to do any of them. I was supremely disappointed, but I dealt. I tried focusing on the hints of new music and 2010 tour dates that had been hinted at.
And sure enough, a few weeks ago, NKOTB announced an appearance at Radio City Music Hall. That's in New York City. Scroll up....you see where I am? Des Moines. That's right. Another show I wouldn't be at. Disappointment reigned, but I knew that many of my girls would be able to go and I was excited for them. As it turned out, I was able to get tickets for RCMH after all and I will be there. It's not without sacrifice, however. I've had to cancel two other vacations I'd been looking forward to in order to go. But I have a greater chance of seeing all the people I want to see by doing it this way, so it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make.
As this summer "non-tour" was announced a couple weeks ago, I wasn't anticipating my ability to attend any shows. Vegas? Indiana? Atlantic City? Canada? Yeah...uhhh. NOT in the cards. I thought I *might* be able to pull off Indiana, but upon talking with the hubby, he said "Well, you've got NYC so that'll be fun," which is code for "Hammond ain't happenin'." I broke the news to my friend Caca, who said "No Chicago?!" I said "Wait..what?? What do you mean 'Chicago?'" She pointed out that the Hammond show was pretty much in Chicago. (Clearly my geography wasn't up to par.) I brought this up to RiceChex who promptly started searching for hotels. Apparently "Hammond is happenin'" (sorry, Honey!). In fact, it's happening twice. Maybe even a third. We haven't decided yet.
So what's my point in all this rambling about what I've done the last two years in regards to seeing NKOTB? It's simple: I haven't done everything I've wanted to do in regards to NK, but I've done what I can. I've done what I'm comfortable doing. I'm fortunate to have a supportive husband who allows me many freedoms. I've seen a good number of shows and while I'd LOVE to see every group appearance, every club party, every cruise and each of their own individual tour dates, it's just not feasible for me. I have to create a balance between what I'd like to do and what's realistic. I do what I can do and I hope that my friends can do the things I can't. It's a choice I make.
I'm sure that some of you are saying "Well, that's easy for you to say, you've gotten to see them numerous times and you've even met them!" And in a sense, you're right, but let's face it. I'm greedy. We all are, to an extent. We all want more. Have I bitched about NK's? Sure. We all have. But at the end of the day, we have to remember that they didn't have to do this reunion.
They chose to do it.
We have choices, too:
A) Do the things we're able to do and be happy with what we get
B) Exit slowly down the ramp and walk away from NKOTB
You aren't required to be on this journey. If you don't like it, you don't have to stay. There's the door. Because honestly, your bitching is bumming me out. And if Donnie's tweets are any indication, you're bumming him out, too. I get that there are people who haven't gotten any shows whatsoever and those fans have every right to feel disappointed, but if you've had even ONE show during this reunion, you're a helluva lot farther ahead of some Blockheads. This is meant to serve as a gentle reminder to that fact.
Please stop.
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