My sister and I had a mini-crisis two days before her wedding, and it was all because of five guys I've loved since I was a little kolehiyala girl.  She left the TV on while we were packing some of her wedding paraphernalia, and by chance, we caught Jordan, Joe, Jon, Donnie and Danny on Regis and Kelly.  I was transfixed, and for a good five minutes, I completely forgot that they weren't supposed to be my #1 reason for going to the States.  

Sure, all the members of the New Kids on the Block are pushing forty now, but here they are again, making my heart flutter.  They were an unlikely source of inspiration to me not too long ago, when door after door slammed shut on my face and it seemed impossible that I could ever go back to the kind of writing I truly enjoyed.  Then I started reading about a rumored reunion of the five guys; soon after that, they had an album which became #1 in the U.S.  And I thought: kung sila nga, nakabalik, ako pa kaya?  And true enough...

Back in 1992, NKOTB came to the Philippines to do a concert at the Rizal Stadium.  Andrea and I were in our fourth year in high school then.  I convinced her to buy the second most expensive tickets (P750) because I was uncomfortable plunking down too much money, even if it was for our favorite guys.

For this concert which was part of the Full Service tour, my sister was only able to get lawn tickets (and it was her treat, thanks sis mwah!) because the good seats were already sold out by the time I was able to purchase my plane ticket.  I didn’t mind… I was still so psyched.  The night before the concert, I watched videos of their recent concerts until my left eye started twitching.   We started the day of the concert with “brunch” at a popular diner where a lady with a plastic flower in her hair waited on us.  But my 2 pieces of Southern fried chicken and pecan pie just became a very very heavy breakfast because my sister ended up making baked salmon and couscous when we got home!  I blame my excitement for that day’s huge appetite!

When we got to the venue after missing our exit (Tomtom was acting up again) and stopping at Toyo Sushi for some yummy fried sushi, I saw right away that my if there was a competition of best fan outfit, I wouldn’t stand a chance.  There were a lot of girls wearing homemade shirts declaring their love for their favorite New Kid.  Others were in all their ‘90s finery (oversized shirt, vest, leggings).  My favorite by far though was this girl who put a wedding veil on her head with 2” x 2” pictures of NKOTB dotting the fabric.

 The two opening acts, Jabawockeez and Jesse McCarthy had already finished performing, but the concert couldn’t begin because they had to wait for it to get dark or else we wouldn’t be able to fully enjoy the lights and images from the giant screens onstage.  This being California, it was around 9:00 in the evening when they could finally start.

But as soon as the five guys came out, that promise went out the window.  For three or four straight songs, I danced, screamed and sang along to the songs.  But after a while, I realized that I absolutely needed to take some videos of the guys so I whipped out my trusty cellphone and used it as my videocam.  My sister, on the other hand, had done nothing but taken pictures almost nonstop since the show started.  I told her several times to stop and try to enjoy it a little bit, but she was determined to take as many pictures of Jordan as she could for me.  Now that’s sisterhood at its finest!

I loved seeing the guys perform the old songs with the original choreography.  I loved seeing them do the new songs.  Wasn’t too crazy about the new expanded (and more explicit) hip thrusts though… wanted to tell them, hey guys, you don’t have to do in-your-face reminders that you’re still desirable.  Hello, we’re just one step from getting into convulsions, so excited are we to see you…