St. Louis turned back the clock last night for a nostalgic Mixtape Tour brought to town by New Kids On the Block with special guests, Salt-N-Pepa, En Vogue, and Rick Astley. The crowd at the Enterprise Center started loud and stayed loud through the entire night, proving that Blockheads only get better with age.
NKOTB kicked off the night with “Block Party” supported by a hefty amount of strobe lights and confetti. The crowd went wild as the band continued on with 1988 hits like “My Favorite Girl” and “You Got It (The Right Stuff).” The fun didn’t stop there, however. Adorned in a variety of costume changes throughout the night including a lot of glitter, leather pants, Boston Celtics jerseys, and even (to the crowd’s delight) shirtless at some points, the boys in the band whipped out hits like “Please Don’t Go Girl” and “Hangin Tough.” The members of the boyband may not be as young as they once were but you wouldn’t be able to tell by their ability to bust out their original choreography all these years later. They moved well, sounded great, and had the St. Louis crowd dancing with them all night long.
The supporting cast weaved in and out of NKOTB’s set throughout the night, starting with a fiery performance from En Vogue. The queens of R&B gave powerhouse vocals through “My Lovin (You’re Never Gonna Get It)” and “Free Your Mind.”
Of course we couldn’t have the queens of R&B without matching it with the queens of hip-hop. Salt-N-Pepa brought the sass and a few incredible backup dancers with them as they busted out “Shoop,” “Push It,” and “Let’s Talk About Sex.” As if that wasn’t enough, the duo still had more to bring the crowd, joining back with En Vogue to sing “Whatta Man.”
Of course, the night wouldn’t have been complete without hearing Rick Astley groove through “Together Forever” and “Never Gonna Give You Up.” He provided the perfect nostalgic support to guide the crowd through the night.
The Mixtape Tour created a perfect blend of girl power anthems and boyband fangirling and left the crowd smiling from ear to ear. The night ended with all four acts joining on stage for an inevitable conclusion of NKOTB’s newest single, “Bring Back the Time,” which happens to feature Salt-N-Pepa, En Vogue, and Rick Astley. It was a fun celebration of 80s nostalgia and the fun of music in general and felt like a good end to the night…
Until we got Rickrolled.
That’s right.
As the acts all waved goodbye and started to head off the stage, the classic start of “Never Gonna Give You Up” began to play once more. It was quite possibly the most perfect encore they could have planned, and TRULY left the crowd full of laughter and joy. After last night (and the past 38 years), I think it’s safe to say that “Nobody puts NKOTB in the corner.”
