Yes I went to a New Kids on the Block concert in Atlanta. I ain't scared to say. Fortunately, an opportunity came about where I could purchase VIP tickets for the concert. This guaranteed a meet and greet and photo op with the group. Yes, you read correctly. I got to meet and *ahem* greet my childhood idols. Donnie was always my favorite because he, like me, was an aspiring rapper. Too bad it didn't work out well for either of us.
So, here's what happened. My friend Sara and I are rock stars now.
Our trip to Atlanta consisted of NSYNC "Bye Bye Bye" dancing and some great harmonizing on "Please Don't Go Girl". Sara and I should have prepared to audition for the group but we didn't realized how well we sang until we started the drive. Darn.
We went to the pre-show party at a local pub and met several fans. I busted out some old-school NK moves and realized I was being filmed. I didn't care. I enjoyed meeting people from all over! Stephanie, Aayana (sorry for the misspelling), Mandy....everyone who tolerated me, the crazy dancing girl. One girl in particular, whom I'll refer to as Special Edna, ended up haunting us the entire night. She seemed nice and sane until we got ready for the concert. Sara and I were excited to see all of the skanky women at the meet and greet because we were going to rock t-shirts and jeans. This would give us some great material for our story. Little did we know Special Edna was going to be one of these people! How lucky were we?
Special Edna tells us a tale of how she purchased the new cd when it came out in Mobile (where she teaches Special Ed Math...hence her name). The day the cd came out, the local Wal-Mart was closed due to the hurricane. The next day, she goes to purchase the cd. Of course the cd was not out on the shelves yet, what with all the people buying water, bread, batteries and other hurricane necessities. She wanted that cd. She got it alright.
In the pub's bathroom, we all changed clothes into our "concert" gear. Sara and I had shirts that lit up to music. They were equalizer shirts that we had personalized. We had a plan to get noticed during the meeting and during the show as our shirts were awesome! Special Edna donned a disco ball shirt/dress number with some tall boots. Wow.
We head over to the arena for our M&G (I have the lingo down now). We were blown away with all of the different folks there. One lady behind me had no eyebrows (or rather a couple of hairs) and she reminded me of Bart Simpson. Another had tapered jeans and white tennis shoes. One by one, the VIPs came in and one by one, I couldn't wait to tell the stories. One girl, who was armless, had on a tank top. I knew she was cold. Maybe she could have worn a puffy vest or something.Not trying to be mean, but she needed warmth. There was lots of 80s bangs and some straight hoochies. It was awesome!
We met some fabulous ladies in line (Group C & D Rocks!!!) and had a blast talking to everyone. Special Edna was getting sloshed as there was liquor there. She's come over every once in a while to our table and mumble something. Turns out she was in my group for the M&G. Yay! I couldn't eat anything so we waited for the guys to come out. They called out groups A, B, and C (us) to line up against the wall.
Music was playing and our shirts were lighting up. All of a sudden, the guys walk in and everyone screams (keep it classy ATL!). They all go behind the curtain except Jon. He notices our shirts comes over to us in line and says "Where did you get those shirts?" in the best Boston accent. We told him the website and how they worked. He kept talking to us for a bit, then walked into the curtain area. HOLY COW....JON JUST WALKED UP TO US OUT OF NOWHERE TO TALK ABOUT OUR SHIRTS! Cool and collected again. I also had a shirt to give Donnie. It's an electronic drumkit t-shirt. You push the different drums and it makes the sounds. Finally it was our time to go in. My friend and I walked in and Joe is amazed by our shirts. He was so sweet. He saw the drumkit t-shirt and said "Let me guess, it's for Donnie." How did he know? Then I go to Danny who was alone, texting someone. I asked for a hug and he apologized for texting. He said he had some friends coming to the show. He was short but awesome. Then I realized I was in a time crunch and really needed to talk to Donnie. Special Edna was all over him but I was sober and not wearing a disco ball (sure my shirt lit up but it was cool). He saw me coming and asked about my shirt (he put his finger on my shirt people!) I explained it to him and gave him my gift. He told me he loved it and gave me a great hug. Ah...then I saw Jordan by himself. Like a dork I asked "How are you? Are you ready for the picture?" Of course he was ready for the picture..what was I thinking. I got my Jon hug too. Then I got down on my knee, with my buddy Sara and Jon. Donnie was behind me...I should have bit his leg. Two pictures later, we were out of the area.
During the concert, our shirts continued to light up. Every once in a while, one of the guys had the inquisitive look on their faces while looking at our shirts. We caught Donnie, Jordan and Joe gave me the wave while were in the 8th row. It was too fun!
The concert was great. I was breaking out some dance moves and Sara activated her dancing ability that had been dormant for years. During Hangin' Tough, I jumped up on the chairs and did the New Kids dance. I almost busted to the floor but luckily I saved it.
After the show, we saw Special Edna in the parking lot, disco-balling it up and carrying her hooker boots in hand.
Granted I've been known to stalk some folks in the past but I decided to keep it classy in ATL. Some folks decided to follow them to the Waffle House but we wanted some Krystal's. Sara is going to marry Jon now that they are dating (sorry Shannon) and I'm sure Donnie is writing some new rap lyrics using my drumkit t-shirt.
So, here's what happened. My friend Sara and I are rock stars now.
Our trip to Atlanta consisted of NSYNC "Bye Bye Bye" dancing and some great harmonizing on "Please Don't Go Girl". Sara and I should have prepared to audition for the group but we didn't realized how well we sang until we started the drive. Darn.
We went to the pre-show party at a local pub and met several fans. I busted out some old-school NK moves and realized I was being filmed. I didn't care. I enjoyed meeting people from all over! Stephanie, Aayana (sorry for the misspelling), Mandy....everyone who tolerated me, the crazy dancing girl. One girl in particular, whom I'll refer to as Special Edna, ended up haunting us the entire night. She seemed nice and sane until we got ready for the concert. Sara and I were excited to see all of the skanky women at the meet and greet because we were going to rock t-shirts and jeans. This would give us some great material for our story. Little did we know Special Edna was going to be one of these people! How lucky were we?
Special Edna tells us a tale of how she purchased the new cd when it came out in Mobile (where she teaches Special Ed Math...hence her name). The day the cd came out, the local Wal-Mart was closed due to the hurricane. The next day, she goes to purchase the cd. Of course the cd was not out on the shelves yet, what with all the people buying water, bread, batteries and other hurricane necessities. She wanted that cd. She got it alright.
In the pub's bathroom, we all changed clothes into our "concert" gear. Sara and I had shirts that lit up to music. They were equalizer shirts that we had personalized. We had a plan to get noticed during the meeting and during the show as our shirts were awesome! Special Edna donned a disco ball shirt/dress number with some tall boots. Wow.
We head over to the arena for our M&G (I have the lingo down now). We were blown away with all of the different folks there. One lady behind me had no eyebrows (or rather a couple of hairs) and she reminded me of Bart Simpson. Another had tapered jeans and white tennis shoes. One by one, the VIPs came in and one by one, I couldn't wait to tell the stories. One girl, who was armless, had on a tank top. I knew she was cold. Maybe she could have worn a puffy vest or something.Not trying to be mean, but she needed warmth. There was lots of 80s bangs and some straight hoochies. It was awesome!
We met some fabulous ladies in line (Group C & D Rocks!!!) and had a blast talking to everyone. Special Edna was getting sloshed as there was liquor there. She's come over every once in a while to our table and mumble something. Turns out she was in my group for the M&G. Yay! I couldn't eat anything so we waited for the guys to come out. They called out groups A, B, and C (us) to line up against the wall.
Music was playing and our shirts were lighting up. All of a sudden, the guys walk in and everyone screams (keep it classy ATL!). They all go behind the curtain except Jon. He notices our shirts comes over to us in line and says "Where did you get those shirts?" in the best Boston accent. We told him the website and how they worked. He kept talking to us for a bit, then walked into the curtain area. HOLY COW....JON JUST WALKED UP TO US OUT OF NOWHERE TO TALK ABOUT OUR SHIRTS! Cool and collected again. I also had a shirt to give Donnie. It's an electronic drumkit t-shirt. You push the different drums and it makes the sounds. Finally it was our time to go in. My friend and I walked in and Joe is amazed by our shirts. He was so sweet. He saw the drumkit t-shirt and said "Let me guess, it's for Donnie." How did he know? Then I go to Danny who was alone, texting someone. I asked for a hug and he apologized for texting. He said he had some friends coming to the show. He was short but awesome. Then I realized I was in a time crunch and really needed to talk to Donnie. Special Edna was all over him but I was sober and not wearing a disco ball (sure my shirt lit up but it was cool). He saw me coming and asked about my shirt (he put his finger on my shirt people!) I explained it to him and gave him my gift. He told me he loved it and gave me a great hug. Ah...then I saw Jordan by himself. Like a dork I asked "How are you? Are you ready for the picture?" Of course he was ready for the picture..what was I thinking. I got my Jon hug too. Then I got down on my knee, with my buddy Sara and Jon. Donnie was behind me...I should have bit his leg. Two pictures later, we were out of the area.
During the concert, our shirts continued to light up. Every once in a while, one of the guys had the inquisitive look on their faces while looking at our shirts. We caught Donnie, Jordan and Joe gave me the wave while were in the 8th row. It was too fun!
The concert was great. I was breaking out some dance moves and Sara activated her dancing ability that had been dormant for years. During Hangin' Tough, I jumped up on the chairs and did the New Kids dance. I almost busted to the floor but luckily I saved it.
After the show, we saw Special Edna in the parking lot, disco-balling it up and carrying her hooker boots in hand.
Granted I've been known to stalk some folks in the past but I decided to keep it classy in ATL. Some folks decided to follow them to the Waffle House but we wanted some Krystal's. Sara is going to marry Jon now that they are dating (sorry Shannon) and I'm sure Donnie is writing some new rap lyrics using my drumkit t-shirt.
