By Mike McKenney, Rock At Night
Live Review: New Kids On The Block with Special Guests: En Vogue, Rick Astley, Salt-N-Pepa
Opener: Illtown Sluggaz
Mohegan Sun Arena-Uncasville, Connecticut–July 1-2, 2022
The New Kids On The Block packed the Mohegan Sun Arena for two straight nights as their fans, the “Blockheads”, came out on this holiday weekend to celebrate the return of the Bostonian quintet of Donnie Wahlberg, Joey McIntyre, Danny Wood and brothers Jordan and Jonathan Knight.
In a unique format that provided a frantic pace, NKOTB and special guests En Vogue, Rick Astley, and Salt-N-Pepa mixed it up all night, taking turns on multiple stages and even performing together for a few songs.
As the crowd poured into the arena, opener Illtown Sluggaz set the tone for the evening with snippets and mashups of popular hits ranging mostly from the 80’s and 90’s.
Illtown Sluggaz, features Vin Rock & DJ KayGee from the Grammy Award winning group Naughty by Nature and DJ Slugga the Mascot. They brought their brand of super high energy that features a strong DJ hype/live show. The audience roared when Griffin McIntyre, (Joey’s son) joined Illtown Sluggaz to play guitar and dance.
After a couple of short promo videos, NKOTB took to the main stage “A”, and were greeted with a thunderous applause as seemingly every Blockhead in New England came get in on the party. NKOTB started with hits “Block Party”, “Favorite Girl”, “Covergirl”, and fan favorite, “Right Stuff”, and by the time they ended their first set with “Whisper/Shout” on stage “B”, squealing fans had already been treated to Donnie Wahlberg’s abs at least 3 times.
NKOTB knows exactly what their fans came to see and they made sure every fan went home satisfied. Confetti cannons, pyrotechnics, and lasers, were featured throughout the night.
As Wahlberg was busy lifting his shirt, grabbing his crotch, and shaking his ass, the rest of the group was flexing and posing throughout the set.
With all the movement throughout the concert, members of NKOTB took the opportunity to climb into the stands to acknowledge fans, take selfies, and sign autographs.
En Vogue one of the world’s best-selling girl groups of all time, sounded great with a short but mighty set of “Never Gonna Get It” and “Free Your Mind”.
Rick Astley became an Internet phenomenon in 2007 when the music video for his song “Never Gonna Give You Up” became part of a meme, and he has sold over 40 million records. Astley’s fun charismatic style played well on the smaller stage B, singing his hit song “Never Gonna Give You Up” , a song that has reached 1 billion views.
NKOTB came out for another set, most notably featuring Coldplay’s “Viva la Vida,” and “Deee-Lite’s “Groove is in the Heart” and the crowd really got into “Remix” and “I Want Your Love”.
The concert was already in full swing by the time Salt-N-Pepa finally made it to the stage. Playing a five song set, highlighted by “Let’s Talk About Sex”, SNP was joined onstage by En Vogue for “What Man”.
The alternating sets continued for about 2 1/2 hours, with each group showcasing their famous hits. Donnie Wahlberg couldn’t resist another chance to strut while joining Salt-N-Pepa for “Shoop”, and SNP reciprocated by joining NKOTB for a mash up of “Step By Step” and “Push It”.
The Friday and Saturday nights shows were virtually identical and both nights were sold out . All in all, it was a fun weekend to relive some of the most iconic songs of the 80’s.
PHOTO GALLERY
I grew up in a household full of rock music, studied journalism in college, and then became a scientist.Although my science career has served me well, music has always played a major role in my life. I grew up reading "Creem" magazine; I play several musical instruments as a "hobby";and it seems a camera has always been in my hand. Now, I am combining what I love the most--music and photography--serving as editor of Rock At Night. I travel between the US and UK seeking my dream! My motto: life is short...no regrets. Chyrisse
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