New Kids next to 30 Rock

Talk about going out with a bang!!!
As if meeting my favorite group of all-time wasn't cool enough, I was lucky enough to be in the audience for the New Kids On The Block's final two shows of their "Casi-No Tour" at Radio City Music Hall last weekend.

Unable to attend the first of their final three shows, I made sure to snag tickets for the last two.

Originally scheduled back in January as the New Kids' lone Radio City Music Hall show — this was their first time at the famed theater, btw — Friday's show turned out to be the penultimate show of their brief tour, one of only 16 concerts that Joe McIntyre, Jonathan Knight, Danny Wood, Donnie Wahlberg and Jordan Knight performed in all of 2010. With so few dates, and a few so close to home, I had to be there. As a fan of the guys' since 1988, I was glad I was there!

The music was amazing (as always). The ambiance of seeing them in the 78-year theater was great. And each night was an event, not simply a concert.
During Friday's show, for example, the guys even presented the Komen Foundation with a check for $110,000, which they raised from all their work supporting breast cancer research since they got back together.

From the opening lyrics of "Single" straight through to the final bows after "Hangin' Tough," you could tell the New Kids appreciated the Big Apple crowd, even getting visibly emotional when talking about what it meant to play Radio City some 20-plus years after they first hit it big. You could tell the moment meant even more since it was the culmination of their comeback. As a fan for more than two decades, it was great to see them enjoy the moment and share it with all of us.

As big of an event as Friday was, Saturday's tour finale was even more eventful.
As memorialized in this publicity shot released by the New Kids, the guys welcomed the Backstreet Boys to the stage for two songs. Though never a BSB fan — and there were many fans sitting around me — I liked hearing the guests thank the New Kids for paving the way for groups like them.
Between the famous venue, the historic nature of the shows and (oh, yeah!) the music, it was a great weekend in the Big Apple, well worth the train rides via Metro-North.