Twenty years ago, I would have spent the night before the concert sleeping over at my friend Tammy's house with a posse of hardcore NKOTB fans. My homies, if you will. We would have laid out our best NKOTB paraphernalia (tour jackets, t-shirts, the whole nine yards!). The binoculars would be packed (not for watching the concert, but for stalking Danny, Donnie, Joe, John, and Jordan), we were our own personal paparrazzi -- unsuccessful as we were, we tried our best, we didn't have tmz.com back then!. The day would start very early as we'd stake out our spot around the concert venue, hoping to catch a glimpse of our idols outside of the show (we never did, I assume they had better things to do than mingle with their worshippers). Inside the actual show, I can't remember specifically what we did, but I think it involved swaying, screaming, and quite possibly biting nails. Not really sure, to be quite honest, it's all a blur. I do recall the sensation of ringing ears that I left every show with, it's a wonder we all didn't end up deaf.
Of course, today, I won't be lollygagging about like I used to pre-concert, I simply can't. I have to make the kids' lunch, get them up, get them dressed, make them breakfast, take them to daycare, go to work, pick them up from daycare and bring them home, do some laundry, tidy the house somewhat for the ladies who are coming over tonight, order some pizza, and make margaritas. Pre-concert rituals aside, I wonder what will happen inside the actual concert venue. What kind of crowd will be there? Young people (God, no! The horror, the horror!)? Will we all just sit there, and kind of sway a bit? Will it be awkward? Far from making me feel young again, tonight's concert has really just served to remind me of how different my life is now as opposed to twenty years ago. It doesn't help that the members of NKOTB have hardly changed, like Peter Pan, they all seem to be frozen in time, the years have certainly been kinder to them than I.
On Twitter last night, Jordan Knight tweeted (I hate saying that, it's such a ridiculous expression!) that there will be an afterparty in Ottawa tonight. Basically, it's a chance to pay to mingle with Jordan Knight and Donnie Wahlberg at a local bar after the show. Tickets range in price from $40 to $150 for 'unlimited access' (I'm guessing the promoter's idea of 'unlimited access' would vary from my idea of 'unlimited access'). I entertained the idea of buying a ticket to the aftershow for an entire millisecond, but quickly decided against it for a number of reasons:
- it requires driving down to the market, parking my mini van, and going to a club after 11pm at night. The insanity!
- the bar advertises a 'stylish and sophisticated' dress code, whatever the hell that means. Specifically, they advertise a policy that (among other things), bans loose clothing, which pretty much bans my entire wardrobe.
- the idea of paying to be in someone's presence kind of horrifies me. Given how my one and only experience of meeting a celebrity went, I'd be wasting my money, clearly.
Today has already started like any other day starts, and it will likely end as any other day ends (with the exception that my husband is in charge of bedtime, that alone is reason enough to celebrate). I am looking forward to spending time with a group of lovely ladies this evening, while the 18 year old in me still harbors a tiny bit of hope that one day my path will cross with Danny, Donnie, Joe, John or Jordan, the 37 year old in me recognizes tonight for what it is -- a sweet trip down memory lane.
