Wow! There are no words that I can use to adequately describe the 12 days that I spent travelling Australia, following NKOTB (New Kids on the Block) but somehow, I will find them and write my story down to share with you all.
Let me start at the start as I find that is always a great place to begin. When NKOTB came to Australia in 1992, I was 11 years old. The show was on a school night so needless to say, I was not allowed to go. I remember getting the standard parental response of "you can go next time, when you're older". Needless to say, I did go next time but who knew that it would be 20 years later? Certainly not my parents who recently admitted to me that they felt a little guilty that they didn't let me go and I had to wait so long.
When the 2009 tour was announced, I was beyond excited and bought a regular ticket to the Adelaide show. That was it. What was I thinking? Clearly I wasn't as there is no way I would have been satisfied with one GA (general admission) show. Looking back, I'm glad that that tour was cancelled. I hated it at the time but the extra 3 years gave me time to get to know all my Twitter BH's (Block Heads) and save for the 2012 tour.
I had a few thousand dollars saved by the time the 2012 NKOTBSB tour was announced so I decided to do as many shows as I could, preferably with Meet & Greets (M&G's). I knew that I wanted to go to opening night, closing night and the Adelaide show. At the time, only 4 shows were announced so I decided to go to them all. I wanted to get 1 ultimate and 5* for the others. In the BN (Block Nation) presale, I managed to get 4 5*'s and no Ultimate but that's where my Brisbane BH's come into it. I received a phonecall from a very excited Mumma Mac saying they had an extra Ultimate ticket to Adelaide, would I like it? I must have been rendered speechless as she tells me I was quiet before saying I'd love it. Thanks to everyone involved in scoring me that Ultimate ticket.
Now I was set. 5 * to 3 shows and the Ultimate in Adelaide so what do NKOTBSB do? They announce a 2nd Melbourne show, which changes opening night and a Perth show, which changes closing night. So I did the only thing a BH could do, I got tickets to the extra shows, a 4* for opening night and GA for closing night.
6 months later found me with flights and hotels booked, travelling buddies organised, personalised tshirts printed and suitcase packed.
Melbourne
I jumped on my first plane ride in 12 years and headed over to Melbourne. Nicole and Blanche met me at the airport and we spent a fun filled day seeing the sights of Melbourne. I discovered that Melbourne likes stairs! A random thing to notice but it made an impression on me.
Picking up my tickets and 4* bag at the gate was exciting. I was just hours away from my first ever NKOTB concert. Sure BSB were there to but at that point, I was focussed on NKOTB only. I'd been waiting for this moment since I was 7 and first discovered NKOTB on Video Hits (or whatever it was called back then). Nicole and I ended up in the 4th row along the shaft. Great seats. We discovered that a lot of our twitter BH's were also in this section. It was great meeting them all.
When the lights dimmed and the opening sequence began, I didn't know whether I should burst into tears or shout Hallelujah! It was finally time. I can remember being in awe and not really believing that it was real. By the end of the show, my throat hurt from squeeing and my feet hurt from standing but there was a huge grin on my face. It had been worth every minute of the wait for that experience.
The day of the 2nd concert, I had lunch with some BH's from my M&G group. It was nice to meet them before we got to the venue. We got to know each other without the pressure of knowing there were New Kids (NKs) in the next room.
Heading to the venue, I was quite relaxed and fine. I didn't freak out until I was in that line and our group was the next to go in. Walking into that room, I remember thinking, "crap, they're real" before pulling myself back into the present and getting on with the job at hand, hugging NK's! The girls in front of me must have freaked out as I had to go around them and missed hugging Donnie and Jon. I did get my very first Joe Mac hug though. I hugged Joe, Jordan and Danny and thanked them for coming to Australia. Photos were taken and we were ushered out. It was over so quickly but I was on cloud 9.
I ended up sitting front row along the shaft. Amazing seats. Joe and Jordan both paused so I could take their picture during the show. Not for long, it was just literally seconds but I was ready. Having no one between the guys and myself was amazing.
I met so many people from Twitter in Melbourne and I want to thank each and everyone of you who came up and introduced yourself to me.
Adelaide
Being my home town, I was pretty excited about seeing NKOTB here. After a very early flight out of Melbourne and then breakfast at the airport while we (Nicole, Blanche and I) waited for Mumma to fly in, we headed to my place where we watched Coming Home while sharing memories and stories. Eventually we all headed back to the Airport to pick up Phee and Jo and then drop them plus Mumma at their hotel.
A BH dinner was held in the city with many of us meeting each other for the first time. We were loud and I felt kind of sorry for the other diners.
Concert day dawned bright and early. It was also Ultimate day! Another BH meet up was held over lunch time and then we headed to the Entertainment Centre.
I found I was suprisingly calm waiting for my turn in the room with the guys. I think it helped that Jordan and Donnie kept coming out and waving to us. The only thing I would complain about is the wait staff service. Seriously people, I'm in line to meet the NKOTB by myself, I dont want any of your food. Leave me alone!
Donnie was coming out to take the Ultimates in so I knew what to expect at the very start. What I didn't expect was for him to just stand there and stare at me, very unnerving. Then, although I didn't pick up on it at the time, he rubbed my hand across his marshmallow. I'm sure a Donnie girl would have noticed but I was focused on getting to Joe by then. Anyway, Donnie pulled me into the room and I had to run to keep up with him. So what you say? I was wearing 12cm heels in an attempt to not look like a midget. I said, "I can't run, I'm wearing heels" and Jordan said, "Yeah, she's wearing heels". I guess his wife has complained a time or two about having to move quickly in them! Anyway, I had a small kangaroo figurine in my pocket for Jon, after his tweets the day before about seeing a dead one. I told him I was going to run it over with the car but I'd just bought it. He laughed which I hope means he might keep it.
Then it was Joe! I had a few books for his kids which he loved. He said, "Thank you, that's so sweet. You Aussie ladies are always so thoughtful and kind to my kids". He loved the books. I explained how some of them were song books and had cd's so he could sing along to the songs with the kids. He seemed to love that idea. Here's hoping for a bubble tweet or twitvid!
Then it was time for the photos. Donnie wrapped his arm around my neck and I remember noticing that Joe was on the other side of the room. I think I said something like, "not yet, I'm a Joe girl" and us waiting for him to join in the photo. I'm glad I announced it as my pic with Joe is so sweet. Anyway, back to the 1st group pic. Right after it was taken, Donnie yelled, "What the hell?" and I went "Crap, have I trodden on his toe with my heels or something?" Turns out that Jon had nipple crippled him during the photo. Next thing I know, Donnie's nipple is right in front of my face and he's telling Jon to suck it better. Umm, how exactly does one respond to that?
(BTW, for those non BH's that are reading this, you may recognise Donnie from the hit show Blue Bloods or a variety of movies. He was most recently in Zoo Keeper, he's also starred in Band of Brothers, the Saw movies, Annapolis, Ransom and The Sixth Sense and there he is with his arm around my neck!)
Then I got my individual photo's with each guy. Don't asked me what order we did those in, the photographer was telling me who to stand with. Then the next person was being brought in and I hugged Joe one last time and left. It was worth every cent.
Adelaide was perhaps my favourite show of the tour. I'm not sure if it was because of my seats location, awesome, allowing lots of interaction with the guys, or if it was because I was sitting with the Perthies or just the atmosphere in general but I had an amazing time at the show.
Brisbane
After picking up Jo, Phee and Mumma, we (Blanche and I) were dropped off at the Adelaide airport by my brother and sister in law. We had hours to wait but it was worth it. Sitting at our gate, minding our own business, Jon and Harley came up and sat at the gate, a few rows away. While we hoped they would be on our flight, this confirmed it for me. Eventually the other guys, BSB included, made their way to the gate and we boarded the plane. It was cool walking through business class going, "Hi Joe", "Hi Jordan", "Hi Jon".
Landing in Brisbane, we bumped into Jon outside, thank God for his smoking habit, and he posed for family pictures with some of the girls but those are their special stories, not mine.
I had 5* again for Brisbane and, after walking into that room, I will forever be grateful for my impulse buy of crazy tall heels and Donnie making me run in them. I walked in and Joe goes, "Hey, its you! Betty Boop with the shoes!" I cant remember what I said to him but I know I was thinking, "Wow, he remembers me". (That is how I became Betty Boop, you may see me using it on Twitter in tweets to Joe).
Brisbane show was also amazing but really, do the boys ever do anything less than amazing? I was once again front row along the shaft, right where Donnie pops up from under the stage. So, its dark and next thing there he is, saying "Hey, enjoying the show?" Just another amazing memory from the tour.
Brisbane was also my first taste of the famous Donnie Wahlberg After Parties. Have to say, the Donnie Wahlberg part was lacking but the party part was fun. I enjoyed a night out with the girls. I did get to have another picture with Jordan, complete with squinty eyes!
After climbing into bed about 4:30am, I rolled out again at 7am to go hotel stalking with Mumma and Lisa. It was worth it though. Sitting in the lobby, trying to be inconspicuous, Jon walked by. We said Hi, he said hi and kept walking, then turned around and did a double take. Pretty cool. Danny came by and we all said Hi. Then we saw Jordan coming. He kept looking at us but we kept talking amongst ourselves. Clearly we weren't paying him enough attention as he kept making eyes at us and even slowed down as he drew nearer to us. Eventually we put him out of his misery and engaged with him, saying "Hi Jordan", to which he replied, "Hi, see you in Sydney?" Once it was agreed that yes, we would indeed see him there, he moved on. Then Donnie came over and did his weird fingertip thing with us. What is that about? Told us he had been averaging an hours sleep on this leg of the tour. Crazy.
Sydney
We stayed at the Wentworth Sofitel which we hoped the guys would also be at, but they were just down the road at the Sheraton. We got to know the walk between the hotels very well.
The Vivid light festival started on our first night so after a BH dinner, we headed down to check it out. Imagine our surprise when we saw people posing for a photo so stopped so we wouldn't ruin it and the flash lights up their faces and we realise that its Jon and Harley! We almost photo bombed them! And then, out of everything he could say, Jon asks us what we did today? I still can't wrap my head around the fact that Jon Knight wanted to know what we did.
Concert day dawned and we headed to the venue on the bus and train. Its scary using public transport in a strange city. Once again I had a Meet and Greet. I decided to wear my Thank You NKOTB shirt as I really wanted the guys to know how thankful I was that they were here. I could see they were reading it which was cool. Anyway, I go up to Joe for my hug, the biggest snuggliest one I'd gotten by far from him, thank you Shannon, and he looks at me and says, "Hello again, are you wearing the shoes Betty Boop?" That cemented for me that he knew who I am. He may not know my name but when he sees me there is recognition and I become Betty Boop. That's all I could ever ask for.
Sydney show was amazingly amazing. The highlight for me though, was when Joe brought Griffin up on stage. The Joe girl in me melted when I saw him in the role of Daddy Mac.
Perth
I headed to Perth with a heavy heart. I was excited to see the girls again but it also meant the tour was drawing to a close. Andrea met us at the airport and took us out for some amazing cake. There was another BH dinner that night, I realised we did a lot of those, followed by more cake and coffee.
Phee, who I had been travelling with, had in her possession a very special jacket that we had been put in charge of getting signed for Mumma so, when we got wind that some of the guys were due into Perth, we headed down to the airport to try and grab an autograph. Standing at the bottom of the stairs, I saw Joe and hoped we'd be successful in our mission. As he descended the stairs, Joe looked up and saw me. At this point, I was just standing still, making no indication I was there for him. He looked straight at me and broke out his trademark smile. It just about killed me. If I needed another indicator that he knew who I was, that was it. Of his own violation, he found me in a crowd and smiled. I love him! Anyway, he needed the little boys room so we waited and asked him to sign the jacket as he was leaving the terminal. He did and we became the best BH sisters ever.
Phee also had a gift for Jon so we spent the day of the concert hotel stalking as neither of us had Meet and Greets. Eventually it paid off as Jon came striding across the road with his coffee. She was able to give it to him which was a great moment to witness.
We had 4th row seats at the tip for this show. It was great to see it from a different point of view. We also made a sign, Phee's idea and my handiwork, that we held up at the end during Hangin' Tough.
Jordan saw it and mouthed, "no, thank you all of you" and blew kisses. Joe and Jon also read it. Joe blew kisses to and Jon pulled a sad face that broke Phee's heart. We posed with the sign at the afterparty. It was just so important to me that the guys know how thankful we were that they were in Australia again.
Obviously we attended the After Party. I enjoyed it much more than the Brisbane one. The guys were a lot more involved with the crowd. It was a great way to end the tour.
The last day in Perth was spent in the International Terminal with Phee and Andrea, hoping against hope for one last glimpse, hug, smile, anything from the guys. Unfortunately, they'd already left. We did see the BSB though. We left that terminal and headed to the Domestic one for our flights home. Saying goodbye to Phee was so hard, the hardest goodbye of the tour. Saying that one brought the tour to a close for me. Once we parted ways, I was on my own. I held it together until the plane took off and then I lost it. If by some chance, the woman sitting next to me on the plane reads this, I am so sorry. You must have thought I was crazy.
I want to say a huge thank you to all the Block Heads throughout Australia who made this trip as amazing as it was. Meeting you all was a big highlight and I want to visit you all again. I was serious when I suggested a once a year get together somewhere. You guys get me and our bond is special.
And to the 5 most amazing guys, you were everything I hoped and more. I really have no words to describe the emotions of the 12 days I spent 'on tour with you'. I would do it again in a heartbeat. Please don't let it be another 20 years before we see you on our shores again. Until they invent a word that is more than thank you, it is all I have so THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for the Aussie leg of the tour. You overwhelmed me, you amazed me and you brought me together with my sisters. THANK YOU!
#5brothersandamillionsisters.
I'll be loving you forever NKOTB!
