NKOTB at Fenway Park: From Now On, Home Again

The New Kids On The Block performed on Fenway Park on August 6th; after having announced it on January 2020 and having had to postpone it for over a year, they made it to the green monster for the third freaking time, ladies and gents.

They performed songs from the good old days wearing Nynuk t-shirts; among the special guests – besides BBD – they received D-Nice, and Griffin McIntyre joined them on the piano for “This One’s for The Children.” They played their hits and opened the show with a mash up of “From Now On” and “We Were Here” in what it seemed a closing act more than an opening act… Mind-blowing…

As many BHs who are stuck in different parts of the world due to the Pandemic, I couldn’t make it; I wasn’t there… So, besides creating an archive for this blog (with the set list, the videos BHs are sharing and all that jazz) what could I possibly say about it?

Well, could start by telling you a story…

Once upon a time, there was man playing with his two daughters on their rooftop; he was lacking of something, a meaningful purpose in his life, until the girls showed him that every time they’d go to bed, the brightest colors would fill their heads; a million dreams were keeping them awake…

So an idea pop up! He brought together people that had been feeling outcasts; he saw in them nothing but rare jewels; these people were “unique;” and together, they put up the greatest show.

Overtime they all became a family, and their self-esteem grew bigger and bigger as he kept telling them, “believe in yourself.”

But then, their venue, their home, got burned down to the ground… and he lost his way, his hope. This family he had built didn’t give up though, and with their strength he found his way back to rebuild what had been lost. And as they did, he sang, “from now on, home again.”

Ok. That didn’t happen; it’s simply a very short version of the plot of the musical “The Greatest Showman.” But…, didn’t it happen? Donnie Wahlberg built a family with the New Kids On the Block and with us Blockheads; he made us believe in ourselves, guided us to love ourselves just the way we are. But in 2020, our dream world collapsed as the real one did.

But Donnie, even though he was watching the life of his mother fade away, didn’t stop dreaming nor believing; and not only that, he also made sure that we’d believe too.

The opening act of the New Kids On The Block at Fenway Park on August 6th, with a mashup of “From Now On” and “We Were Here”, was about this: a family reunion, together again at home; and it was the fruit of a great team of talented dreamers who wanted us to turn the butterflies in our stomachs into fireworks in the sky.

I can’t write a review of the show; I wasn’t there… But as I watch the clips and videos our BH family shares on YouTube, I feel the blast of energy and love of that opening act echoing and making it all the way to the end of world where I am.

And I’m grateful…

I too, like Donnie, listened to the soundtrack of the Greatest Showman throughout the quarantine; I have a couple of its songs in my workout playlist, which I listen to everyday at 330 am sharp. (And no, I’m not super awesome like Mark Wahlberg; I need to do that so I can drain some of my brain’s hyperactivity and avoid the Ritalin exploding in my head)

And as I’m pedaling on my stationary bike, I daydream… People told me throughout my life that I used to live in the clouds; it brought me down more than a couple times, but I knew my brain needed to do that. Now I know I was “mind-wondering;” daydreams are thoughts, and thoughts are energy; so, the more we daydream, the more we shape our brain for good; literally; it’s called neuroplasticity and it’s “science.”

Thus…, I’m gonna confess something that might sound silly, “very silly.” You know how I dream about going on tour with NKOTB to blog about it? Well, if you don’t, now you do. The thing is that one day, probably last July (2020), I started daydreaming, on that bike, that I was: at the Hollywood Bowl (why not the MSG in NYC? I miss the city so much it hurts!), with professional dancers (which I’m not!) singing (when I sing like a dog) one of the musical’s songs, “Come Alive.”

When the world becomes a fantasy
And you’re more than you could ever be
‘Cause you’re dreaming with your eyes wide open
And you know you can’t go back again
To the world that you were living in
‘Cause you’re dreaming with your eyes wide open
So, come alive!
“Come Alive”, from The Greatest Showman

So, when I saw NKOTB’s opening act, two things happened: I started crying like a total Blockhead, and I realized I haven’t been daydreaming about touring with them: I had been visualizing – putting out to universe! – the ultimate Block Party… and I’d get so pumped!

Where am I going with this? I’m simply telling you something you know: we are connected beyond the oceans and what this world on fire may put in our way; and we ever will.

If you didn’t make it to Fenway Park this time, there is only thing you need to do: daydream, big time! And above all, #Believe. Now more than ever, when we’re home again.