This past Thursday my buddy texted me asking if I wanted to go to a concert on Saturday in Hershey, PA (his daughter had scored some free tickets). The only catch: it was for New Kids on the Block, with Paula Abdul and DJ Jazzy Jeff. “What the heck” I thought, it’s a free show and while I never was a big NKOTB fan, I didn’t mind the other two artists. So I said “sure”!
Friday morning I was having some coffee and starting my day when I came across a video: Lead Foot by Billy Strings. I was really enjoying it and seemed to recall the same aforementioned friend had mentioned Billy Strings to me at one point in the past, so I sent over the link. A crazy hypothetical chat kicked off, and before I knew it we were making hotel reservations and heading to State College, PA that night to see Billy Strings! We figured we’d leave work a bit early, head out for the show, spend the night in State College, then head to Hershey to find some fun (like hanging out at Tröegs?), and then watch a cheesy 80’s/90’s show before heading home.
We didn’t quite get on the road as soon as we hoped, but pretty soon we were road trippin’ our way to State College.
Billy Strings
The show started at 7:30. We couldn’t find any info on an opening band but figured being a little late wouldn’t hurt too much. It the end, I don’t think there was an opening band since we got to the venue just after 8pm and Billy Strings was already on stage.
These guys were. in. sane. The songwriting, the musicality, the performance and skill. Absolutely amazing. They took one intermission and then continued on with the show, playing until 11pm! I was only familiar with one of their songs (the Lead Foot song I had heard for the first time earlier that morning) and yet I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.
ACAA Museum
On Saturday we took our time having breakfast and chatting over coffee in the hotel lobby, then left for Hershey. There’s a car museum in Hershey that had been recommended to us so we decided to check that out. We had a quick picnic lunch in the parking lot and then hopped in to the museum, just moments before an absolute downpour of a storm. Perfect timing!
I’m not a “car guy” but the history of cars, especially in America, is so classic it’s easy to get lost in the nostalgia. I am, however, a “museum guy” so having a whole new museum’s worth of signage and facts to read was perfect. The museum itself was quite impressive and well laid out.
Tröegs
We still had some time before the show was going to start (and we were in no rush to go stand in line or deal with crowds) so we camped out at Tröegs Brewery for some food and drink. There were a quite a few New Kids on the Block fans also pre-gaming at Tröegs which was entertaining to watch.
Magic Summer Tour
The time we had seen for the show start was 7pm, so we planned to show up around 7:30. Turns out it actually started at 8pm. We stood around chatting and re-enacting Double Rainbow Guy (perhaps a bit more subdued) and trying to figure out how long it’s been a long time since we’d seen so much neon.
Paula Abdul
The opening act was Paula Abdul. On one hand it’s quite impressive that she’s still out there performing like this at 62. The unfortunate part, is that she’s obviously lip syncing and trying to present it as a live performance. Her opening song sounded normal, but as soon as it stopped she tried to address the crowd and couldn’t because she was so out of breath. “Give me a second. [breathing heavy]. This is what 62 looks like!” The production of the performance felt a bit like a side stage at an amusement park (which I guess technically it was, but I’m referring more to the kind where amusement park employees do mini-shows between the rides).
I also didn’t care for the way her songs were remixed but that’s just personal preference. Overall, it was an enjoyable trip down memory lane.
New Kids on the Block
Up next was New Kids on the Block. The kickoff was quite a big deal and very reminiscent of the New Kids style I remember. But from there, it all fell apart.
Donny. Can’t. Sing. He was obsessed with his abs and pelvic thrusts which really came across like some older creeper trying to pick up on high school girls. A few songs in he sang more prominently in the song and it became painfully obvious that the previous songs were either pre-recorded tracks or heavily auto-tuned. The overall impression (and the way it sounded) was that ‘roids wrecked his voice.
They were mostly in-sync with each other (ha! pun intended), but the closer I watched the more I’d see someone forget a step or not quite stay up with the rest of the group. They made a big deal about how they’ve “been rehearsing for weeks and have traveled all over the country” making me feel like perhaps they rushed into the tour and needed to spend more time getting back into the groove.
And that’s when it all hit me. I noticed above the stage was their “Magic Summer” sign for the tour, but the light was out on the last R so it was just “Magic Summe”. The stadium had the back half of all seats blocked off to push the audience to the front and fill it up since it was 1/2 empty. The performance was rocky. It all came together to make me feel a little sad for them. I wonder how much they’re aware of how far they’ve fallen since the height of their career? The acts absolutely didn’t age well.
We ended up leaving part-way through the New Kids’ set. We had seen enough to be content (and remember it was a free show for us, after all). The entire experience was great. We had set our expectations appropriately, remembering the cost of the NKOTB tickets, and realized that without that catalyst we never would have considered adding Billy Strings to the trip, let alone see any of the other things.
We hung out, talked, enjoyed some music, visited a museum, and road-tripped across PA. All last minute, and all in a day and a half. Good times.
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