Yes, There Was an Actual Live Rickroll at New Kids on the Block, Salt-N-Pepa, Rick Astley and En Vogue’s Tour Kickoff: Watch
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The post Yes, There Was an Actual Live Rickroll at New Kids on the Block, Salt-N-Pepa, Rick Astley and En Vogue’s Tour Kickoff: Watch appeared first on Consequence.
Nothing says low-stakes rollout like launching a tour on a Tuesday night in Cincinnati, when and where the lights aren’t necessarily the brightest.
But, as it turns out, New Kids on the Block did not need a practice run in a smaller market. Save the inconsequential opening-night hiccup, the New Kids’ “Mixtape Tour 2022” looked and sounded ready for the Staples Center in Los Angeles, which it will hit later this month, as well as the 50-plus other rooms where it is scheduled to stop this summer (get tickets here).
Along for the ride with the Boston boy band on the turn-back-the-clock-styled package tour are Salt-N-Pepa, Rick Astley and En Vogue. The run of the show was not in a typical hierarchical order, where the smallest act goes first and the headliner last. Instead, it was NKOTB who kicked it off, and the supporting cast weaved in and out of the New Kids’ set in what was a start-to-finish two-and-a-half-hour performance — so, about two mixtapes long.
It came off like a variety show, with acts coming, going, and coming back again on the main stage and a smaller one at the opposite end of the floor of the arena.
Heritage Bank Center was not at capacity, though a blindfolded visitor would not have known. The crowd, which wholly fired up whenever it was the New Kids’ turn, started loud and stayed loud. Donnie Wahlberg was the most effective provocateur among the quintet.
Singing lead on “Cover Girl,” one of the performances in the early part of the set, Wahlberg paused to address the crowd. “Cincinnati, we ain’t wasting no time tonight,” he began. “Don’t you know I love you, Cincinnati? I think I’d rather call you Cincinnasty.”
New Kids on the Block, photo by Marcello Ambriz
If his words didn’t work — and they didn’t not work — he then went to the abs, lifting his shirt to varying heights, sometimes revealing a bit of stomach, other times completely removing it. Like a musician playing an instrument (and, as far as that’s concerned, all of the backing music coming out of the PA was on pre-recorded tracks), Wahlberg played his shirt.
With Walhberg taking a lead role in audience engagement, the rest of the group — Jonathan Knight, Jordan Knight, Joey McIntyre and Danny Wood — was largely content to stick to brass tacks: dance moves and vocal performances in various combinations, singing a string of hits that dated back to the ‘80s, such as the ballad “Please Don’t Go Girl” and their first true banger, “You Got It (the Right Stuff).”
They sounded good, moved well and did nothing to embarrass themselves in terms of delivering a show at advanced ages, relative to what one thinks of as boy-band age. Not only that, they gave off an attitude suggesting they were excited to be back at it.
“We did not know if we would ever be back together again with you,” Walhberg said during the only time he put horny aside while addressing the crowd. “And you never gave up. And guess what? We ain’t going nowhere. It’s fun going down memory lane, but it’s gonna be even more fun growing old together.”
Meanwhile, En Vogue was the first support act to appear. The trio opened with its 1992 hit “My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It),” providing the audience the opportunity for a female-empowering singalong, after it had spent the first half-hour screaming at five men.
“New Kids On The Block: The Mixtape Tour 2022,” photo by Marcello Ambriz
Astley was next up, doing “Together Forever” on the small stage. He was good, but performing alone with no band is a tough gig and the stage looked a little empty and lonely, compared to what En Vogue and the New Kids were bringing. His second appearance took place on the big stage and was stronger, thanks to a performance of his signature tune, “Never Gonna Give You Up.”
Salt-N-Pepa were the best of the support acts, on the strength of their material and their performances, augmented by three dancers. It’s hard to top the trio of “Push It,” “Let’s Talk About Sex” and “Shoop,” while they pulled two other nuggets from their catalog in “None of Your Business” and “Whatta Man” (a collaboration with En Vogue).
“New Kids On The Block: The Mixtape Tour 2022,” photo by Marcello Ambriz
At the end of the night, all four acts were on at once. It was the inevitable conclusion to a package show such as this, getting everyone together for the finale, and in this case it seemingly had to be done, considering that the latest New Kids single, “Bring Back The Time,” features Salt-N-Pepa, Rick Astley and En Vogue. Although it was an OK song, one that the crowd knew would have been a better sendoff.
But, surprise, it wasn’t the sendoff after all. Instead, the crowd got…
Wait for it…
Rickrolled.
After the four acts took a big group bow and waved goodbye, Astley and the gang reprised “Never Gonna Give You Up.”
Some folks had had enough by that point. Nostalgia can fill an arena, but, when misused, it can also start to empty one, too.
“New Kids On The Block: The Mixtape Tour 2022,” photo by Marcello Ambriz
The “MixTape Tour 2022” next hits Indianapolis, IN at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Thursday, May 12th. Tickets for that show, and for the rest of the tour, are available via Ticketmaster.
Watch the arena-sized Rickroll moment at the 4:52 mark below.
Yes, There Was an Actual Live Rickroll at New Kids on the Block, Salt-N-Pepa, Rick Astley and En Vogue’s Tour Kickoff: Watch
Chris Varias
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