Once in a Lifetime

That's how NKOTBSB billed their show...I have the bracelet to prove it.

I've been a New Kids on the Block fan for 25 years...you name it, I had it, growing up. My walls were peppered with photos from Bop & 16 magazine. I had the sheets/comforter, t-shirts, dolls, comic books, tapes, etc.

But for one reason or another, I never made it to a concert. Then, they went away.

A new generation of boy bands hit the music scene in the late 1990's. The Backstreet Boys were my choice. I did see them 3 times. I actually won a contest back in 1999 that Brian Littrell's charity was holding. I had no idea there was a contest. I got a random phone call from Brian's mom telling me what had happened and that my "prize" was 2 round trip tickets to see the Boys  in Tampa, which was their last stop on the tour.

Like the New Kids, the Boys eventually stopped touring and went their own ways.

Fast forward to late 2010 and rumors are flying...the New Kids on the Block and the Backstreet Boys are going to tour, TOGETHER, in 2011. The proof, the American Music Awards...their performance took me back to my childhood. I was sweating and almost fell off my bed I was so excited.

I made a promise to myself..."all you people can't you see, can't you see...I'm GOING to see NKOTBSB...". I checked the website a few days later and to my delight saw "Nashville -- 6/21/11". Boom, it was meant to be.

By the time this concert rolled around, I had already seen Kenny Chesney, Zac Brown Band 2x, Dierks Bentley, and Jimmy Buffett. I thought I hit my limit. Then it hit me...I've been waiting too long for this show and I had the perfect outfit....a vintage New Kids on the Block t-shirt from 1989. How I still fit in it, I'll never know, but it did!

It was a rainy and muggy on concert day. I didn't even care what I looked like, since my seats were in the 300 level. Bad idea, I actually met Nick Carter and looked like crap in the photo. Oh well, it's not like he was my favorite.

The gang hit the stage at 8:30PM and didn't stop till 11:00PM. It was like going to Mass. You know, you haven't been in a while and you think you forget what you're suppose to do, but give it a few seconds and you're right in the middle of it all. I think I enjoyed the New Kids more than the BSB. It was so high energy, you couldn't help but have a good time.

I wouldn't travel out of state to see many artists, but I'd fly to see these guys again. I've already checked the schedule. They're in Vegas a week before me in July...why didn't they check my schedule first? How rude!