The Total Package Tour: 20 Reasons Why It Was Not Just a Summer Tour

Yesterday morning I woke up thinking about last November 15; it was pouring rain in NYC and I took the metro at 530am, just to get in time to get a good spot to see the New Kids On The Block announcing that they were going on tour with: Boyz II Men and Paula Abdul! … Actually, NKOTB minus one, one who was in some pool somewhere… It went something like this:

Anyway, I woke up thinking,  “Where did the time go?” We say we are thankful for this wonderful summer, but it all started eight months ago… Eight! Can you recall everything that has happened since then?

November 15, 2016. Think about it for a moment. To this date, that makes eight whole months that these guys and their families were devoted to us, their loyal fans… What has happened in your life these months? If you had a baby on November, he or she already knows how to sit, how to keep his head balanced, and the cute little one is probably crawling while you’re still trying to childproof your home (Give up, the cruise is coming; just leave the hospital phone number on the fridge for daddy)

Eight whole months…. I don’t have to tell you how much can happen in someone’s life during the period of eight months, but I can tell you what happened with the New Kids; I can try to sum up what they did, for you and me:

1) Nov 16, 16. The pre-sale for Total Package Tour began, and Jordan, Joey and Danny went to Fenway Park to start dreaming about one of the most amazing concerts…

twitter/nkotb, Nov 16, 16

2) Dec 5, 16. They said like, “Hey, let’s do one more”, and – besides other three dates – they added the last one of the tour for July 16.

3) Dec 9, 16. New Kids on Fuller House!

twitter/nkotb, dec 9, 16

4) Jan 6, 17. Fenway Park was SOLD OUT! (ok, WE did that… I just had to put it on the list)

5) Jan 28, 17. NKOTB performed at the iHeart80s Party in San Jose, California

twitter/nkotb, Jan 28, 17

6) Feb 20, 17. Again they said, “Hey, just one more”…. And just like that, they announced a one night only up close and personal, at the House of Blues

7) Mar 6, 17. The New Kids premiered their single, “One More Night”, on the Late Late Show;  the song was out the next day, plus the chance to pre-order the new album!! #Thankful

8) Mar 7, 17. A Facebook live from NKOTB, for them to answer our awesome and “oh-so-original” questions… (This is when we learned that Jordan would like to get pregnant #DontAsk)

9) Mar 8, 17… Let’s just make an, “Awww….”

10) Mar 14, 17. New video for “One More Night” was out and featured in Billboard; and… the next day it was the #1 music video on iTunes. Wanna watch it?

11) Apr 12, 17. Joey premiered his tv show, “Return of the Mac”

12) Apr 20, 17. The rehearsals began, and a whole edition about the “New Kids on the Prairie” #priceless (Check out this playlist on youtube)

13) May 2, 17. NKOTB asked us to make our ideal set list for the Total Package Tour… I mean… Come on!

14) May 4, 17. Hey, hey, hey! Ricky Bell from New Edition stopped by NKOTB’s rehearsal! (Ok, THEY didn’t drag this man to the rehearsal, but – again – I HAD to put it on the list)

twitter/nkotb, May 4, 17

 

By May 9, the stage was set, and long way from the prairie, the guys were already in Ohio

https://youtu.be/cpQW7Nu4T0Q

 

15) May 12, 17. The new EP #Thankful was out, and the Total Package Tour began

16) May 15, 17. NKOTB performed at the Citi Concert Series Summer 2017; they were also live on facebook/Billboard, and they gave many other interviews where they kept being asked about the meaning behind “Thankful” … (Like… Really? Professional journalists? with all due respect…) And…! Jon and Harley set a wedding date! (Kind of! 😛 )

17) Jun 13, 17. OMG! Like…O-M-G… NKOTB began to share the cruise themes! (The 9th cruise, #btw) Like… Like four months in advance! I’m still in shock.

18) Jun 19, 17. Another evening with Donnie Wahlberg and special guests, for Generation Rescue!

19) Jun 23, 17. Thankful “The Video”, was released… (Yeah… Let’s watch it again, over and over again…)

20) And, ladies and gents…

… Yes, on July 8, 2017, 35.000 people were part of the Total Package Tour experience at Fenway Park in Boston (MA)

For NKOTB, the tour didn’t start on May 12; it began on November 15, 2016. According to Jonathan, they became mushrooms; from the buses to the arenas, from the arenas to the buses, planes, even the metro! Don’t forget that Joey took a metro ride for the performance in Brooklyn. 😉

Jordan gave us tons of Facebook Lives (or as we like to call them, the “#TotalKnightChronicles“), showing us what was happening behind the scenes and teaching us about them, the crew, even about how the stage was set; for all that fun, JK, we thank you; that was priceless. Joey meditated on almost every city he stepped on (ok, sometimes he tried 😛 #namaste), Danny gave us  – with his daily tweets –  a routine to work out and be as healthy as he is, and Donnie…, I guess Donnie is now dealing with a PTSS (Post Traumatic Selfie Stress)

They gave it all; their families, the band, the crew, the drivers and pilots who kept them safe, the Bolsheviks! Marcello and his shots!… They all gave their best.

Can we ask for more? Yes:

“NKOTB, Boyz II Men, our dear Paula, and everybody who were behind this incredible experience, get this printed in your hearts:

Thanks to you, that word that is so overrated in these times we are living in, got a whole new meaning. Thankful is about love and devotion, is about giving from one end and giving back from the other one; Thankful is about faith; if you dream about something, if you work hard for it, it will come to you; so now we know for sure that we must be Thankful for what we had, for what we have, and for what we are going to have.”

So yes; we are Thankful.

… We are so Thankful… ♥

And that’s a rap!

#BHlove
@I_am_Blockhead

PS: Is someone yelling “ahoy” already? Shsh! We just put the kids to bed!… Except for one, who is now playing to fight crime in the streets of New York … That one is something else…

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