SO WHAT IF I SAW NKOTB IN CONCERT?!

I am embarrassed to admit it, but last week I went to see NKOTB in concert. Go ahead. Gasp. Laugh. Make fun, snicker behind my back. Whatever you need to do --just do it. I will take it. In fact, I probably deserve it. NKOTB is the last group I would have expected myself to see in concert, but for some strange reason it was already written that I, Wendel Jay Damaso Ladringan, would go to an NKOTB concert at least once in my life.

But my going was a total fluke.

Let's rewind. Back in 1989, I had just finished my last year at Oxon Hill Middle School (in Maryland), and was preparing for my freshman year at Oxon Hill High School. That Summer, while all of my friends were probably hanging out and doing fun things, I got to go to work with my mom. She, along with many of her close friends, worked the evening shift at a processing center just across the Potomac River in Alexandria, VA. I, along with some of the other kids of my mom's friends, went into work each night, doing whatever kind of stuff was legal enough for kids (as young as we were) to do. The lame thing was that while my friends would go into work like 2 or 3 nights out of the week, my mom decided that I would have to go 5 nights of the week. She wouldn't have it otherwise, and I couldn't throw a tantrum about it or else she'd shoot me "the look," and it would be all over. I hated every minute of it. I hated going into the office at 4PM, and not going home until midnight. It wasn't fair on so many levels, but it was absolutely fair in my mom's eyes. My only consolation was that I had complete control of the car radio on the quiet drive home. I remember one night, for the first time, I heard a song called "Please Don't Go Girl," which featured an almost baby-sounding kid on leads. The group, I later found out, was called New Kids On the Block, and the song sort of became my solace during that boring ass Summer that I had to go into work with my mom each night of the week.
NKOTB then...

NKOTB now...

Soon enough, the craze over this "boy band" started to pick-up, and more of their songs were hitting the airwaves. While I appreciated the songs (for the most part), there was something annoying about the New Kids. All of a sudden they were everywhere. Their songs played on loop on several radio stations all the time, and their images were plastered all over the malls. It was a bit much. For the most part, me and a few of my friends were not on board, choosing to instead follow the music and careers of Janet Jackson, Paula Abdul, or whoever else was "in" back in the day. The New Kids were more for my younger sister and brother's wave of friends. But for some strange reason, I knew their songs... sort of how I somehow know songs by Celine Dion, but find her completely annoying.

And I sort of knew the personas of each of the guys: Joey was the "baby" of the group, Jordan was the "star," Donnie was the "bad boy," Danny was the "muscle," and then there was Jon -- the "quiet/shy one." I mean even if you didn't follow them, you definitely knew who they were, and what they sang.

They were going strong for a good couple of years, then all of a sudden the madness just stopped. I, personally, didn't really know what happened. But by my freshman year in college, the New Kids were headed towards "extinction." Just as quickly as they had brushed onto the scene, they were out. After graduating college, I remember both Jordan and Joey Mac embarking on solo careers along with the teen pop boom (Backstreet Boys, N'Sync, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Mandy Moore, etc.). Donnie was already making movies and TV shows, with a memorable part in The Sixth Sense. But I had no idea what Danny or Jonathan were up to, nor did I actually care.

Then in 2001, I remember coming home from work and plopping in front of the TV to watch Oprah (something I did every day for a good few months straight), and she featured Jon and Jordan on a show about anxiety disorders. I remember the feeling I got when I saw that show: shock. I had no idea that Jon had been suffering from anxiety, and seeing him on the show really made me feel for the guy. It seemed somewhat painful to be him at that moment, and I instantaneously started to feel bad about thinking all those lame things I thought about the New Kids, or NKTOB.

But I got over it. I still felt bad for Jon, but I totally got over it. And again, they sort of slipped away from the limelight. In the years that followed, I would hear random things about Donnie being on Boomtown, which didn't last too long (but was a good show, to his credit); Joey played 'Fiyero' in Wicked, and was also on Dancing With the Stars; and Jordan had a quick stint on The Surreal Life. But again, all these things came and went so quickly that I just didn't get to pay them any mind.

Fast forward to 2008. So I heard that NKOTB was coming back with a brand new album, and were going on tour. I didn't even think much about it at the time. One of my roommates, who was (is) an avid fan, sent a bunch of us an email asking who would be interested in seeing their concert at Staples Center in October. I was so not one of the people who bit; I was not the least bit interested. But soon enough, two of my roommate's friends had to back out at the last minute, and she was out two tickets. She asked me if I wanted to go, but I still wasn't interested. But since I was just coming down from a high after seeing Janet Jackson's concert at Staples, I decided to do her a favor and take one of the extra tickets. I remember the day the concert came, I was so not in the mood. I didn't want to go. But I kept my word, and went with the gang; five of us in all: Anna, Lesley, Maria, Alex (thank goodness there was another guy), and myself... symbolically (they pointed out; the fans that they are) "perfect" since there are five "new kids." Great. All I needed was alcohol to get me through the night.

So there I was... one of a few guys (actually, there were a lot more than I expected) amongst a sea of 30/40-something-year-old women who were still hard-core fans of NKOTB. I actually found them to be endearing, and I started to get feelings of nostalgia about "the good old days" when we were young, and life was simpler. I remembered those nights I'd go to work with my mom, and I'd listen to "Please Don't Go Girl" on the car radio. Once the lights dimmed, and the video-tron started to go off, the Staples Center became ablazed with screaming fans jumping up and down, clapping their hands, shouting from the top of their lungs... and then it started. The guys came out with the same old swagger, but with so much more maturity. Goosebumps actually started to form on my arms. I couldn't explain the phenomenon.

They started the show with their new single, ironically entitled "Single," which they actually do with Ne-Yo on their album. It was the perfect song to start the evening, and the moment Joey Mac started with the vocals, the crowd went wild. Like clockwork, Jordan and Donnie filled in the additional main vocals, with Danny and Jon doing their parts. The concert then took a life of its own from that point on, and the gang went through all of their old hits, with new songs performed in-between. They still had it. Their energy level was totally high, but not oozing with too much teeny-bopper annoyingness (which I remember from back in the day). To their credit, they were pretty awesome for guys who are in their mid to upper 30s. Aside from aging very well (the Knight brothers both aging extremely well actually), they were hittin' their dance steps, and singing their notes, and performing much to the delight of their devoted fans.

I couldn't help but feel sort of proud. The whole experience was a throw-back to my generation of youth. The whole time I kept thinking about how my generation had the best toys, the best TV shows, the not-so-best clothes and hairstyles, but definitely the best music. And I have to admit that NKOTB was definitely a part of that. I felt that the guys made their comeback at the right time; doing things on their own terms, and doing it out of their love for their craft - not so much for the fame.

As a guy who easily came to appreciate the Backstreet Boys and N'Sync, I couldn't help but realize that those boy bands that came later would be nothing without NKOTB. NKOTB came about at a time when my generation needed something like them most. They were (are) the Beatles of my generation, and that was evident that night at Staples Center.

I actually left the concert with a new-found respect for the guys, and a deeper appreciation for their contribution to pop culture. I also caught the VH1 Behind the Music special on them, and that's where I really got to figure out what the guys experienced during their hey-dey. To know that it wasn't cake-walk for them, and to see how much they've accomplished on their own (getting married, having kids, starting their own companies) only added to my new-found respect. I think this time around, NKOTB has actually "arrived." They definitely have nothing to lose.

While I still can't believe that I went to their concert, I'm glad that I did. I honestly feel like those who missed out, really missed out on something special. It was an opportunity to re-live those days when we could be absolutely care-free, and the memories that it brought about totally made me sit back and smile... a lot.

So there. I am now a fan. Admitting so is the first step (by step... HA.).