Two generations of female fans screamed like the teenagers they once were at the smooth boy band hits of New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys with a little ‘Glee’ to begin the evening.
Posted Jul. 30, 2011
Donny Wahlberg
That is exactly what Donny Wahlberg, who co-stars with Tom Selleck in the hit CBS cop drama Bluebloods, is doing as one of the members of New Kids on the Block. NKOTB, who reigned on the charts from 1989 to the early-1990s, are joined by the Backstreet Boys, who first hit it big in 1999, in one of the biggest shows of the summer.
Opening the evening in the Atlantic City stop of the show was another actor on hiatus from a hit series, Matthew Morrison from Glee.
One of the numerous signs in the crowd summed up the crowd’s mindset perfectly: “Our Husbands Let Us Be Single Tonight.” Well, at least those husbands gave grown women (and a few daughters brought along for a bonding moment) a chance to squeal like teenagers all over again.
For a member of my generation it was like recalling the original Beatlemania at twice the decibel level, not just from the screaming and cheering, but from the shows’ warzone loud pyrotechnics that had me ducking for cover several times.
NKOTBSB certainly delivered the goods, beginning with both bands on stage together kicking off the evening with a mash-up of “Single/”The One” with a few bars of the Coldplay hit "Viva La Vida" tossed in for good measure.
The stage set-up features two main performance areas, the main stage and a stage in the center of the venue, with a runway between the two as the boy band hotties strutted back and forth. They also went deep into the audience during one portion of the show, putting their safety at risk watched over by some beefy security guards
At some moments in the show it was one NKOTB song followed by one Backstreet Boys tune; at other moments the bands strung together mini-sets. The songs covered all the highpoints – “The Right Stuff,” “Summertime,” “Please Don’t Go Girl,” “Step By Step” and “Hangin’ Tough” for New Kids; “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back),” “Bye Bye Love,” “I Want It That Way,” “Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely” and “Drowning” from the B-Boys.
The audience seemed more than satisfied.
Matthew Morrison, who was originally scheduled to go on tour as a solo artist on the strength of his debut album (including a stop in Atlantic City at Caesars), couldn’t pass up the opportunity to tour in select cities with NKOTBSB and the added exposure it would bring. He delivered all his Will Scheuster/Glee moves, both vocally and dance-wise on his two singles to date, “Summer Rain,” and “Still Got Tonight,” while opening his set in Michael Buble mode with a saucy “Sway.”
He ended his nine-song set with a tribute to his idols, Gene Kelly, Patrick Swayze and Michael Jackson with “Don’t Stop Dancing,” complete with signature moves from his trio of favorites.
The stage set-up features two main performance areas, the main stage and a stage in the center of the venue, with a runway between the two as the boy band hotties strutted back and forth. They also went deep into the audience during one portion of the show, putting their safety at risk watched over by some beefy security guards
At some moments in the show it was one NKOTB song followed by one Backstreet Boys tune; at other moments the bands strung together mini-sets. The songs covered all the highpoints – “The Right Stuff,” “Summertime,” “Please Don’t Go Girl,” “Step By Step” and “Hangin’ Tough” for New Kids; “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back),” “Bye Bye Love,” “I Want It That Way,” “Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely” and “Drowning” from the B-Boys.
The audience seemed more than satisfied.
Matthew Morrison, who was originally scheduled to go on tour as a solo artist on the strength of his debut album (including a stop in Atlantic City at Caesars), couldn’t pass up the opportunity to tour in select cities with NKOTBSB and the added exposure it would bring. He delivered all his Will Scheuster/Glee moves, both vocally and dance-wise on his two singles to date, “Summer Rain,” and “Still Got Tonight,” while opening his set in Michael Buble mode with a saucy “Sway.”He ended his nine-song set with a tribute to his idols, Gene Kelly, Patrick Swayze and Michael Jackson with “Don’t Stop Dancing,” complete with signature moves from his trio of favorites.
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