Skip to main content

New Kids On The Block Bring "The Right Stuff" To MGM Grand

By THOMAS KINTNER The Hartford Courant
Good news for anyone sweating the gender imbalance certain to have reared its head Friday night at local dance clubs and watering holes frequented by the 30-plus crowd: the state's ladies have not evaporated. As it turns out, the fair sex was safe, sound and mightily enthused as it packed into the Foxwoods casino's MGM Grand Theater in Mashantucket for the first of a two-night stand by New Kids on the Block and cheered the group's every synchronized move.
New Kids on the Block's Friday set list
Still very much the boy band that had a massive heyday in the late 1980s and early '90s, the five-man from Boston that reunited after 13 years in 2008 offered new material with the same balance of throbbing pop and pose-heavy dancing as tunes from its past, opening with the thoroughly somnambulant hook of "Lights, Camera, Action." Much of its material required little finesse, as "You've got It (The Right Stuff)" rolled out at volume sufficient to drown out anything else in the room, though if the band could have heard a phone ring as it danced, it might well have been Morris Day calling to say he wanted his steps back.
The hierarchy of the group's members was obvious when it forayed into the audience to bark "Tonight"  primary leads Jordan Knight, Donnie Wahlberg and Joey McIntyre were swamped as they climbed atop seats to sing, while Jonathan Knight and Danny Wood, whose vocal contributions amounted to little more than completing the set, roamed the aisles relatively unmolested. Jordan Knight spooned falsetto polish atop an acoustic offering of "I'll be Loving You (Forever)," but it was McIntyre's occasional showcases that were the most dynamic displays, particularly during a curious, shirtless solo turn when he threw his voice hard at melding "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" and "Twisted."
Wahlberg is for all intents the group's vocal enforcer, a font of rough cadences and dreary raps who bludgeoned verbiage while diving into "I got It." The group was good-natured in its come-ons to the screaming, female-dominated audience, showing in the blowout repetition of "Full Service" how one applies meter to a slice of obnoxious, pseudo-sexual bravado.

Its four-piece backing band wasn't asked to do much but hit cues (and occasionally bolster live vocals with canned ones), which was generally fine in a show that was about bursts of light, thick sonic swatches and choreography. The booming electronic pop of "Summertime" came from the same well as the equally sizable shouter "Step by Step," merging paint by numbers pop with almost quaint heartthrob politicking. The closer in the encore-free show was the 1989 chart-topper "Hangin' Tough," whose nostalgia quotient had far more to do with its energy than anything notable in its bargain basement pop construction.

New Kids on the Block's Friday set list: "Lights, Camera, Action," "One Song," "Looking Like Danger," "My Favorite Girl," "You've got It (The Right Stuff)," "Click Click Click," "Dirty Dancing," "Tonight," "I'll be Loving You (Forever)," "If you go Away," "Single," "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)/Twisted," "Never let you Go," "I got It," "Full Service," "Summertime," "Close to You," "Step by Step," "Hangin' Tough."

New Kids on the Block perform Saturday at 8 p.m. at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket. Tickets are $75 and $55. For more information, call 800-200-2882.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Step by step: The childhood home of the Knight brothers

It's not listed in any tourist guide, but NKOTB fans flock to the house where the Knight brothers grew up By Johnny Diaz Globe Staff / November 15, 2008 When Kari Lusso and her trio of girlfriends flew from Seattle to Boston for the New Kids on the Block concert, they had to make a quick detour. On a rainy Saturday night, the friends drove their rental car to 10 Melville Ave. As they stood in front of the Victorian house, they shrieked and giggled like little girls. The commotion? They were at the former home of the band's brothers Jonathan and Jordan Knight. When they rang the bell, they got a quick tour. "It was going from 31 to 13," Lusso said. "We took pictures of their stove. We took pictures of their floor. We took pictures of the banister, the living room, and their bedrooms. What a dream come true to see such an...

NKOTB's Joey McIntyre Gives Update on BSB A.J. McLean in Rehab

New Kids on the Block singer Joey McIntyre has been in the music business for over 24 years and has seen some friends battle with addiction in the limelight, including Backstreet Boy A.J. McLean who recently made the decision to enter rehab. "A.J. is a sweet kid, good kid and extremely talented, so we're all there for him," said Joey. AJ admitted himself earlier this month before heading on the huge NKOTB/BSB tour. Young star Aaron Carter is reportedly seeking professional help as well to deal with some unknown "emotional and spiritual issues," and Joey commended Aaron for making that step. "To me it's usually a good thing when someone can take some time and retreat from it all and, you know, just get a little bit more centered," Joey said, encouragingly. Justin Bieber has managed to stay clean in his career thus far and Joey gave some advice to the star for staying on the right track. "Hopefully, kids like Justin… there...

NKOTB Step By Step 35th Anniversary Reissue!

Blockheads! We're excited to announce a special 35th anniversary edition of STEP BY STEP featuring bonus material, unreleased tracks and remixes! Out June 13th! PRE-ORDER available now in multiple formats including Digital, CD and Vinyl. 🤖♥️ Pre-save and pre-order today.… pic.twitter.com/M9ZBUOglDP — New Kids on the Block (@NKOTB) April 24, 2025   New Kids On The Block | Step By Step 35th Anniversary Web Exclusive Step By Step Picture Disc:   https://nkotb.store/products/web-exclusive-step-by-step-picture-disc Step By Step LP:   https://nkotb.store/products/step-by-step-lp Step By Step CD:  https://nkotb.store/products/step-by-step-cd