New Kids on the Block
Nationwide Arena 
Columbus, Ohio April 3, 2009 

5* Meet and Greet
 
Around 3:45, My sister and I dropped her son off at her neighbor's house since her husband wasn't back from his job interview in Cleveland yet.  I can't remember when we made it to the arena. We found the lot to park in for the VIP parking and found the VIP groups. We got in line with our group. We had a group of 8 with 2 Jon girls, 2 Donnie girls, 2 Joe girls, 1 Danny, 1 Jordan. We were supposed to be there at 4:30. They finally opened the doors around 5. We got all checked in and went to the bathroom. Once we were done getting ready, we came out and people who worked at the arena pointed where to turn at every corner. We went down this one hallway and I saw a sign that said "New Kids dressing rooms" pointing the other direction. I told the others. My sister said she saw a sign that said something about catering for New Kids so that must have been where they ate. We walked down a couple of hallways where ever Nationwide staff would direct us to. We made it into the VIP room. It was a very nice room with benches and chairs at some of the tables. They had a bar and a buffet set up with food. We found a table for all of us. I was starting to get nervous. Somewhere close to 6 pm - New Kids came in the room and everyone started screaming. People were standing on chairs to see them over the short wall separating the walkway and the area we were in. If only we had sat at those tables on the other side of the small wall :) I don't recall if the wall was short enough to see over it and see New Kids walk through but there were tables right by it. After New Kids walked through, everyone was excited. I started to get more nervous. A girl in our group started yelling O-H. and everyone else in the room yelled I-O.Around 6 pm or so - They started calling letters. Before we checked in, our group was already near the front of the line. We were group C. When they called C, I got VERY nervous. My hand was trembling. My sister was like, "You will be fine." We were next. It turns out they added 2 to our group. A girl and a guy. She was a Jordan girl and had a guy with her. We walk through the curtained area. I saw them standing there and paused. I think I might have said, "omg" For some reason, I wasn't expecting them to be standing right in the next room off the vip area. Being that close they had to have heard us doing O-H I-O. The ILLA guy told me not to waste time and to go straight to my favorite. Danny had no one so I went to him. He was very tiny. I was surpised. I had always thought he was taller. He was very lean too. I hugged him. I don't remember who I went to next after that. The M&G was extremely fast. I didn't even get to Jon :( But 4/5 hugs are extremely lucky for how fast we were in and out. After I hugged Danny, they yelled picture. I made sure to put my hand on his stomach :P After the picture, I made a bee line for the others. I don't remember the order for anyone else. I paused to think about who to go to next when I look up and see Jordan looking at right at me me. When he saw me look back at him,  he smiled really big and said, "Hi!" then holds his arms out to me. I smiled and say, "Hello!" and give him a big hug. *swoons* He has been my favorite since I was 16. I am still swooning. I heard he was nervous doing these M&Gs but he didn't seem that way to me. I didn't want to let go. Joe looks at me and I said, "Hi." He reaches out for a hug and I hug him. Donnie was with someone so I waited. He saw me waiting and held out his arms to hug me. I said, "Hi." and hug him. He looked so tired and I don't recall him saying hi back. But it was very sweet of him to acknowledge that I was waiting for him. Unfortunately, they ushered us out so fast I didn't get to go to Jon. I didn't even see him in there we pushed in and out so fast. We picked up our purses off the table out side the curtained area. That is when I discovered I had missed Jon :(  I was like, "Was he even there?" My sister told me he was all the way on the end. 4 out of 5 are pretty good since the whole thing only lasted 90 seconds.We had to stay in the VIP area until everyone had met New Kids. When the guys exited the curtained area, everyone was screaming. Joe stopped to say something on the megaphone. Everyone kept screaming so he told them to, "Shut up!" It was funny. I still couldn't hear what he was saying. I think he started out by saying something like “Ladies and one guy.” or something like that. We finally left around 7:10. We went to the restroom. There was a girl in there saying how fast it was and that she needed a do over. It would be nice to do it again now that we now know what it is like. No reason to be nervous really. It is over way too fast to be nervous. My sister wanted to go out for a smoke.  We found 2 others from our group and joined them. We stayed outside talking to them until 7:20. Then we rushed in to find our seats. Showtime!5th row center. I went, "holy shit" when I noticed how close we were. I had never been this close before.  My sister was excited. She said she was going to send her sister in law a picture text once New Kids took the stage to show her where she was. Later that night, she got a text back saying, "omg I am so jealous."Jabbawockeez opened. They were really good. . I liked it when they danced to Single Ladies by Beyonce. After they were done, there was a bit of a wait for New Kids. I thought they were great. I want that Beyonce song now. I hope I can find them dancing to it on YouTube. My sister and I talked for a bit. I was like, "I wonder what they do with the ice." since this was a hockey arena afterall. We looked down at the flooring and I saw a crack. I put my finger down in the crack and it was ice cold. hehe So, that is where the ice went. (After the concert, my sister picked up her purse and it was ice cold from sitting on the floor.)New Kids on the Block!! They come onto the stage from underneath the stage. I love this! I got some amazing pictures of it. They opened with Call It What You Want. I didn't think my pictures were going to turn out so I didn't take very many. I also didn't want to miss anything. I kept changing the settings on the camera to get the perfect picture. I got some amazing pictures. I should have taken more or had my sister take them for me :)Set list:Call It What You Want (opening song)My Favorite GirlYou Got It (The Right Stuff)Didn't I Blow Your MindValentine GirlPlease Don't Go GirlGrown ManDirty dancingGamesIf You Go Away


B-Stage

Single - b stage2 in the morning - b stageTonight - b stage


Main Stage

TwistedBaby I Believe in You/Give it to you - JordanJoe Medley - I Remember When/Where Do I Go From HereCover girl - DonnieI'll Be Loving You ForeverClick, Click, ClickSummertimeStep by StepHangin ToughHere are a few highlights:We were so close. 5th row center. Being that close is SO awesome. You can feel the energy. The fans in that section were singing along so very loudly. It was awesome. I heard singing in St. Louis but it was a lot louder at 5th row center :)I could have sworn several times they looked right at me. My sister leaned over and said, "I think they can see us." "I think so tooo." I replied. Eye contact is an awesome thing :)Donnie did the who is the loudest city thing again to get everyone fired up. Columbus knows how to bring it :)Twisted was way better at 5th row center than where I was in St. Louis. I loved the part where Joe crawled across the stage during Twisted. It was amazing to share this with my sister! We had tried to see them at the Ohio State Fair when we were little but I was hurt in all that mayhem and we didn't stay. Now, our dream finally came true.Baby I Believe in You is wayyyy better in Columbus than St. Louis probably because I was so close. I forgot to take pictures of it though :P I must have been distracted. Donnie did Cover Girl in a OSU pull over, hat, and buckeye necklace. Danny won the  Click, Click, Click pose off for standing on his head. Jon did the OH IO with the fans. Donnie and Jon did OH IO in the pose off. Jordan was in the air.After getting back from the b-stage, Joe and Jon danced. It was cuteee.Jon filmed the audience while Just Dance by Lady GaGa played. It was fun to see fans notice they were on the screen. They showed a guy dancing. Everyone was laughing because he was dancing really goofy.  Danny goes, "wow there is a dude." It was so funny.We were a lot closer to the b stage than I was in St. Louis. Thanks to half house seating :) I took some pictures of it. I did a couple of videos too. Very short clips b/c I didn't want to get caught. My sister wondered how they got there. On the b-stage, Danny was wearing a shirt that said, “I support your breasts.”For Hangin Tough, they came out in Columbus Blue Jackets jerseys. My seat was covered with confetti. I was covered with confetti. I kept catching it and stuffing it in my pocket :P They stayed onstage a long time after the last song. I didn't want them to goo. We kept waving and jumping in hopes of getting their attention. Joe grabbed someone's "Let's Get This." sign. It was amazing. It was so great to see them in my hometown. I had been waiting for 20 years. I hope they come back someday but if they don't it will be a day to remember forever.