The Donnie Wahlberg Show came to town on Wednesday night.
Of course, that’s not what they’re officially calling it. Technically speaking, the entity is still known as New Kids on the Block (NKOTB). Yet, for all intent and purpose, they might as well change it and get Wahlberg’s name right out front on the marquee and list the rest of the crew as his backing band.
In keeping with the trajectory that has been going on at least since the band reunited in 2008, the 54-year-old Wahlberg utterly dominated the New Kids on the Block concert at Shoreline Amphitheatre at Mountain View.
And that’s far from being a bad thing, given that Wahlberg’s big personality — which towers over his actual singing and dancing talent — turned out to be by far the best part of the night. He did about 90 percent of the talking from the stage, utterly charming the roughly 9,000 fans who braved the heat and turned out to see a show that also featured fellow ’80s hitmakers Paula Abdul and DJ Jazzy Jeff.
Also, the cameras simply adore Wahlberg — especially when he’s flexing his biceps or showing off six-pack abs — and gave him the lion’s share of the screen time on the big video boards. The slant was so Wahlberg-centric that one would be forgiven for at times wondering whether some of the other New Kids — especially the little-utilized Jonathan Knight — had actually left the stage and were over grabbing some Double-Doubles at the nearby In-N-Out on Rengstroff.
Yet, who better than Wahlberg to lead fans on a highly nostalgic evening of boy-band pop music that gleefully evoked the days when these men — all now in their mid-50s — were indeed still boys?
“Tonight, we have arrived in the birthplace of New Kids mania — Northern California,” said Wahlberg, noting the Bay Area’s long-standing love for the group.
The five-piece vocal troupe — which also consists of Jordan Knight, Joey McIntyre and Danny Wood — delivered a generous 2-hour-plus set that featured some 30 songs from throughout the band’s blockbuster career. The setlist ranged from such classic hits as “Cover Girl” and “Hangin’ Tough” to a goodly number of selections from NKOTB’s latest full-length, the recently released “Still Kids.”
The New Kids showed their intent to showcase the new material right from the start, opening the set with a double shot of “Still Kids” tracks — “Magic” (the tune that provides the title for the band’s current Magic Summer Tour) and “Summer Love.” Both numbers sounded like vintage NKOTB, comfortably fitting in alongside the longtime favorites (“Favorite Girl,” “Cover Girl,” “You Got It (The Right Stuff),” etc.) that quickly followed.
There were a variety of stage effects being used, from lasers and video elements to fog and a ridiculous amount of confetti shot into the air, but none of that eclipsed the grand joy of just watching the guys interact onstage, recreating those vintage dance moves, passing smiles back and forth and joining in on harmonies that, in many cases, were crafted decades prior.
One of the highlights — especially for those people seated further back in the venue — came when the five New Kids ventured to small individual stages erected between the venue’s 100 and 200 sections and performed a fun version of “Block Party.” Wahlberg and Wood took the party once step further (and farther) by actually leaving their individual platforms and jumping into the audience, while the Knight brothers and McIntyre watched on.
“Bay Area, you never ever ever let us down,” Wahlberg said in reaction to the crowd’s exuberant response. “You were the best back then. And your are the best now.”
Almost all the vocal highlights, however, came courtesy of Jordan Knight, who looked like something off the cover of a romance novel as he let his high-flying high-flying falsetto soar — while a wind machine blew about his open shirt — on “Baby, I Believe in You.” Yet, McIntyre also impressed with his solo vocals-and-piano showcase on “Where Do I Go From Here?”
Opening act DJ Jazzy Jeff — yes, of DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince fame — returned to the stage and joined NKOTB for a lengthy segment that spun through the likes of “Get Down,” “Dance With You” and “A Love Like This.” The combo also thrilled the crowd as they turned from the New Kids songbook and splashed through the DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince smash “Summertime.”
The headliners closed the show in triumphant fashion, reigniting New Kids mania in the Bay Area once again as they turned to the big hits “I’ll Be Loving You (Forever),” “Step by Step” and “Hangin’ Tough” before ending with the new album’s “Better Days.”
Besides New Kids and DJ Jazzy Jeff, Paula Abdul also was on the bill and performed a disappointing, but thankfully quite short, set.
“Ready to have fun tonight? Ready to sing and dance your butts off?” she asked the audience. “You think I am kidding? This is 62.”
Having indeed just turned 62 last month, the former Los Angeles Lakers cheerleader and her six accompanying dancers pulled off some fun routines onstage. Abdul was definitely pushing herself, to the point where she had an oxygen tank brought out to the stage and spent an exorbitant amount of time talking about her drink container.
She was clearly winded after each number, but that may have had nothing to do with trying to sing and dance at the same time. Yes, you get what I’m alluding to. It’s clear that she was dancing, but I’m not so sure about the actual singing. Indeed, a number of crowd members were speculating that Abdul was lip-synching her way through much of the show.
Abdul also mismanaged her time onstage, turning to video elements that chomped up too much of the already slim 30-minute set, and said some really bizarre stuff to fans. Plus, the sound during her set — but not the NKOTB’s — was horrible.
Sure, it was cool to hear some of those old favorites, like “Cold Hearted” and “Forever Your Girl.” Yet, the overall performance was “Straight Up” disappointing.
New Kids on the Block setlist:
1. “Magic”
2. “Summer Love”
3. “My Favorite Girl”
4. “Cover Girl”
5. “Dirty Dancing”
6. “You Got It (The Right Stuff)”
7. “Block Party”
8. “Tonight”
9. “Where Do I Go From Here?”
10. “Treat Me Right”
11. “Call It What You Want”
12. “Popsicle”
13. “Games”
14. “Stay With Me Baby”
15. “Baby, I Believe in You”
16. “Never Gonna Fall in Love Again”
17. “Happy Birthday”
18. “Didn’t I (Blow Your Mind This Time)”
19. “Valentine Girl”
20. “Please Don’t Go Girl”
21. “Get Down”
22. “Dance With You”
23. “A Love Like This”
24. “In the Night”
25. “Long Time Coming”
26. “Summertime”
27. “Kids”
28. “I’ll Be Loving You (Forever)”
29. “Step by Step”
30. “Hangin’ Tough”
31. “Better Days”
