Blockheads United In Neon For The ‘Summer Magic Tour’ at Hollywood Casino Amphitheater

It’s the summer of 1990 … no, it’s 2024. It’s NKOTB’s Summer Magic tour at the outdoor Hollywood Casino Amphitheater in STL!

Thousands of gen X and millennials radically dressed in neon and braved a hot summer night for the kewl music of their childhood.  NKOTB, along with DJ Jazzy Jeff and Paula Abdul, totally did their thing Saturday night.

DJ Jazzy Jeff opened the show with a mix sure to get the crowd warmed up for the former American Idol judge (a reference for the young people out there), Paula Abdul. Forever our girl, this two-time Emmy Award winner, Grammy Award winner, American Music Award winner, and multi-platinum recording artist still has it. Her setlist was short and packed with her infamous choreography, including this years winner of So You Think You Can Dance, Anthony Curley. Her music may have been pre-recorded, but her dancing was the real deal. Criticize her if you will, but this 62 year old icon did her damn thing.

The lights dimmed, the screens buzzed, and every woman screamed like a banshee.  Jon, Jordyn, Joey, Danny and Donnie emerge as a silhouettes against the glowing patterns of the 90’s on screen.  The nostalgia!  The crowd got louder and BOOM, the boys opened with “Magic,” literally.  This show opened with all the bells and whistles…  laser lights, confetti, streamers, pyro,outfits, lots of movement (more so than choreographed dancing), polished vocal harmonies, and abs.

Between Danny and Donnie’s chiseled abs, these grown ass women were obviously dehydrated and thirsty as hell. The crowd roared at random decibels throughout the night whenever their fave Kid was in rotation of being highlighted. I can’t spend the time breaking down everything in this show because being in that moment, was something that can’t be put in words. The segment I was most impressed by was when the boys were on mini stages in the middle of the crowd. This brought them into the audience and they spent two songs mostly walking the crowd and granting selfies. (Got me one with Joey – my inner 9 year old self died).

The chaos transitioned back to the stage for a few intimate songs including “Happy Birthday,” a personal favorite because it featured Jon’s solo (my childhood crush). We all have our fave New Kid, and I didn’t know as a young woman, my fave would never like me back.

DJ Jazzy Jeff came back for a few songs including a remix of “Summertime” in which Donnie handed a mic off to a fan in the audience and she SANG that song. Nailed it!

The three song encore was no surprise. “Step by Step” was the first encore and obviously a fan favorite. The fact the show didn’t close with “Hangin’ Tough” really blew my mind, and didn’t expect it to be mashed up with “We Will Rock You.”  Our time travel experiences concluded with, “Better Days,” a new release.

August 26, 1990 at Busch Stadium. That’s the date when this group first touched my life. I’ve been along for the ride ever since. This perfectly curated hand picked boy band from Boston really did create pandemonium once they were unleashed to the world. For three decades, they’ve been riding the wave of success and really paved the way for so many choreographed groups. The blockheads now have adult money and these boys appreciate it. The summer magic tour really did stand up to its name and kept us up past our bedtimes. For one night we were all reliving an unforgettable youth, and the aching back and feet were worth it because we’ll be loving them forever.