NKOTB: Then & Now (Or, How I Spent my Friday Night)

Last night, a group of us relived our youth and went to the NKOTB concert. (For those of you who’ve blocked those memories, that’s NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK!) The boys have reunited for a tour and should really be called the Back-Again Middle-Aged Men on the Block. Then again, BAMAMOTB just doesn’t have the same ring to it.)


As I drove to meet up with Ashley, Heather and Monica, I started to think about those five (yes, five!) NKOTB concerts I saw years (years!) ago and how things have changed.

Then: Taco Bell or a Happy Meal before the show.
Now: Fancy salad, soup and sandwiches at Panera.

Then: Listened to a NKOTB tape the whole way there.
Now: Listened to a NKOTB CD the whole way there. (Though, I had it tuned up on my iPhone, but Monica sprung for the CDs.)

Then: Went to concert in back seat of Shelbi Maxwell’s mom’s Mercury Cougar.
Now: Went to concert in back seat of Monica’s Acura (with Monica driving, of course! We didn’t need an adult chaperone.)

Then: Side ponytail, smiley face t-shirt, spandex shorts and Keds. + NKOTB button – probably a huge one! (Come on, that was in style!)
Now: Sassy short ’do, black tank, trouser jeans and leopard print horse hair flats. + NKOTB flair – the small one! (Come on, I was in style!)

Then: Excited about almost being old enough to babysit.
Now: Excited about almost holding Baby Jude – Ashley’s due at the end of the month, and Jude danced along all night long!

Then: Probably hadn’t kissed a boy.
Now: Have given birth to two boys.

Then: Sat on the lawn at the outdoor theatre at Astroworld.
Now: Sat in corporate box seats at AT&T Center. We had rafter seats and arrived to be upgraded to better seats. Then, Heather's friend called and said they had four seats in her husband's company box. So, we sat in awesome seats!

Then: Dr. Pepper.
Now: Sonoma Cutrer Chardonnay. (Gotta love the fancy seats – they have good food and a full bar instead of hot dogs and beer!)

Then: $10-$20 spending money
Now: Debit or credit.

Then: No t-shirt – probably ran out of money on Dr. Peppers.
Now: Bought t-shirt after the show from guy in parking lot. (Also, slipped parking lot attendant a tip and got an up-front, reserved spot by the door. How grown-up am I?)

Then: NKOTB Rulz!
Now: NKOTB Rocks!

We agreed that the guys were way better now than they were then. They sang mostly the older stuff, as they looked at their middle-aged mommy audience and realized we were there for “Step by Step” and “Please Don’t Go Girl” (but, we all sang along to “Summertime” as well.)

Back then, the morning after the show, we probably slept in super late, ate something like donuts for breakfast and gabbed about how cute Donny was.

Today, I’m up early with kids, sucking down a cup of coffee, probably will have toast with peanut butter and a banana for breakfast and am blogging about how hot Jordan was! (I have a whole new lust respect for Jordan!