NKOTB Adventures - Part 2 (Donnie's Party in Columbus & the Joe Show in Detroit)

After meeting Jordan Knight in Nashville in late October, I delved further into the NKOTB world. I was working part-time at a store and doing freelance attorney work, so I had plenty of time to spend listening to my favorite group and following all of the happenings on Twitter. So, when Donnie announced right after my Jordan Idol experience that he had come out with some solo songs and was doing a CD release party, I decided it would be fun to go to. He announced a party in Columbus, Ohio in mid-November on a Tuesday or Wednesday night, so I decided I would make another 4-hour trek. Luckily, one of my closest friends, Kristin and her husband, Colin, live in Columbus, so I had a place to stay overnight and didn't have to drive back in one day (like I had done on my trip to Nashville). Kristin was ecstatic I was coming to visit, even just for a random weeknight, and was willing to go to the party with me even though she isn't a NK fan and hadn't heard either of Donnie's solo songs, or any of "The Block" for that matter.

So, Colin dropped the two of us off at this really fun club in downtown Columbus (I really wish I remembered the name because I'd really like to go back there) around 9 or 10pm. We found a spot on the second level on a little balcony overlooking the main floor and waited with our drinks dancing a little to the music in the club. We also met some interesting people...one girl who was drop dead gorgeous who claimed she knew Donnie (I think she was drunk and just making it up though because I don't know why she was standing with us and not in the VIP area), a group of girls that were all friends, I think, that kept vying for the spots at the front of the balcony, and another girl that was really friendly but so wasted she could barely stand. All in all, it was an interesting collection of girls. No NKOTB or Donnie shirts in sight. A lot of girls dressed to the nines with cleavage galore though. I later did see some Donnie buttons, but it definitely wasn't the same crowd as I had seen at the Indianapolis NKOTB concert. There were also a lot of guys there. Donnie seems to be the NK that the guys are ok with being a fan of, probably the movie career, or the fact that he is the rapper of the group.

So, a few drinks down and things got rolling...Roscoe Umali did at least one song on his own and then he and Donnie sang "Rise 'n Grind". Donnie then sang "Single" and did a mini version of the "DDub's R'n'B Backrub" on stage with a white couch and a few lucky ladies. Kristin definitely got a kick out of the backrub after I explained it to her. Then Donnie sang "I Got It" and Aubrey O'Day came on stage to sing with him. It was a lot of fun and Aubrey is absolutely stunning but she did not sound very good. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't pay to see her perform ever again...oh well.

So...after the short "show" Donnie went off stage and said he'd be back. Kristin decided to go to the bathroom and while she was gone, some security guys came up to all of us on the little balcony and said we had to get down from there. I was one of the first people he talked to, so being the super smart chica that I am, I figured Donnie was probably going to get up on there to perform again, so I got down from the balcony and stood directly behind it while the other girls on there were arguing with the security guy. I'm sure they ended up not too far behind me, but I was right up against the "mini stage". Kristin came back from the bathroom and realized what was going on. Instead of fighting to stand right next to me, she hung back a little but was close enough to catch all the action.

Well, my prediction was correct...Donnie came out and sang a few songs on the "mini stage". I recorded him singing "Full Service" and "Dirty Dancing" where you actually see him grab my hand twice during the song. I know, I know...I'm not 9 years old, but it was still pretty exciting having him touch my hand. I don't care how old you are, a rock star is a rock star and when they are in rock star mode (i.e. performing) you get caught up in that kind of stuff. Donnie also reached out and touched Kristin's hand too so we giggled about that afterward. I wouldn't call her an NK fan yet, but I know if they go to Columbus, I have someone to go to the show with me. :)

After Donnie's second performance he said he'd be back out again, so a lot of people stuck around...including us. Apparently he made a brief appearance at the other end of the club and then went to a Waffle House, so Kristin and I stuck around for nothing. But we still had fun dancing, etc. We also met Flossy the Boss, Donnie's music promoter (I think) who actually came up to me, gave me a hug and asked if I was having fun. So, it was a fun night...it would have been cool to meet Donnie and talk to him like I had with Jordan, but Kristin & I weren't willing to pay for VIP tickets or anything, so we left the club satisfied. And the next day, I drove back home.

The next NK traveling experience was a few months later, on a frigid day in January. I had had so much fun traveling to Tennessee and Ohio, I figured it was worth taking one more trip to Detroit, Michigan. This time it was to see Joey McIntyre, my first love, in a solo show. A few weeks before Christmas Joey released an EP with 7 songs, all of which I was absolutely in love with. He had announced the mini-tour for the EP a few weeks earlier and I had missed out on getting tickets to his Chicago show (it sold out immediately). I felt like it just wasn't meant to be to see him without Jenny (who hadn't been able to go to the Chicago show anyway) but luckily after the CD was released convinced Jenny and Gary to drive the 5 1/2 hours to Detroit (and back in the same night) when Joe announced the additional show.

We left in the mid-afternoon after Jenny got out of class and made it up to Detroit a couple of hours before the show started. There had been a line outside of the club since early that morning, but we got in while the club was about halfway full. There was definitely some drama though because Raven and Jolanda (my friends from Jordan Idol) had been waiting pretty much all day at the front of the line (in below freezing temperatures) and lost their spot in line. They ended up finding the people they had been standing by once they were inside, so they were able to get up near the front. We thought our spot for the show was pretty good, so we didn't try to work our way up to the front since we hadn't been waiting all day.

The show was more than I had expected. Joe did all the songs from the EP (except "The Difference"), a Michael Jackson cover song, a few NK hits (including "Twisted" and "Please Don't Go Girl") as well as a few songs from his first solo album. The highlights for me were his version of "Cover Girl"...so beautiful...AND "I'm Waiting". This song is already one of the sexiest songs I've ever heard and watching it live, complete with a striptease down to just his pants...good God, I still run that through my head every once in a while as a refresher. If you haven't seen it on YouTube, check it out because even if you're not into Joey or the New Kids...whew! That's all I can say!

So, after the show, despite the cold weather, Jenny, Gary and I hung out for a bit behind the club with Raven and Jolanda (they were parked back there). We took a picture in front of Joey's bus and finally decided we needed to get on our way back to Indianapolis (Jenny had class at 8am the next morning). After we had been driving for about an hour or so, I got a call from Raven. About 10 minutes after we had left Joey came out of the club and took pictures with everyone who had stuck around after the show on his bus in groups of two. Raven and Jolanda got to meet him and get their pictures with him.

I was pretty bummed that we had missed out on meeting him but we had no idea that he would do that, so there really wasn't anything we could have done about it. Since I had another four hours of driving back to Indy, I decided, after some thinking,that the it just wasn't meant to be for me to meet and get my picture with him yet. As you'll read in the next part (Cruise 2010), a picture with Joey McIntyre is harder to come by than I had ever imagined.