Believe what you see: That's actually Boyz II Men making it rain rose petals.
Sorry, Kanye West. You may be the son of God (unofficially), but you're just one man, and any lady born before 1990 can tell you that this summer's hottest music ticket belongs to not just one man but a 12-man-strong lineup of the hottest dudes of the '80s, '90s, '00s and today. I'm talking about the Package Tour. New Kids On The Block, 98 Degrees and Boyz II Men are still hanging tough, and I know that for a fact because I saw all 12 of them at Mohegan Sun (thanks, Mohegan, for the trip and for the shirtless dudes!) in Connecticut on Friday, May 31. I and a little more than 10,000 of my closest lady friends piled into the Mohegan Sun Arena, sour margaritas in hands, hand-painted "Joey Mac 4-ever" tees on our backs and teenage dreams in our hearts to party like it's anywhere from 1987 - 2004-ish all over again.
The Package, featuring almost four hours of enough testosterone on stage to match the hurricane-force estrogen showers happening in the seats, came with many highlights (again, 12 of them, to be precise), including 98 Degrees opening their set with "Give Me Just One Night (Una Noche)," which I thought was bold. But I've captured two of the biggest highlights to share with you here in photos, the first being Boyz II Men MAKING IT RAIN ROSES WHILE SINGING "I'LL MAKE LOVE TO YOU."
Sorry ladies, but CAN YOUR BOYFRIEND DO THAT? (I feel like that's a little piece of how it must feel to be Mariah Carey.) I didn't get to touch Shawn Stockman, but it's all good. We'll always have Mohegan and thousands of synthetic rose petals.
The second biggest Package highlight: two-fifths of New Kids On The Block not-so-carefully removing their shirts. Without a shirt, it became clear that Danny Wood probably spends about the same amount of time working out as I do not working out, which is really quite remarkable. Also, when you're 44, which he is, and can still pull off the breakdance headspin without breaking your head, you can do that, too. Donnie Wahlberg followed suit in the unofficial shirtless competition, disrobing with a lack of shame that comes with a dude who clearly hasn't let his gym membership lapse. Good on you. Sadly, of all of the Kids, Jon Knight stayed the most dressed, which was disappointing considering he's always been my fave, but someone's gotta be the responsible one when it comes to not disrobing. Still, when it comes time for that "Magic Mike" sequel, I'm hoping Steven Soderbergh gives a Danny and Donnie a shout.
Two out of five New Kids got shirtless at Mohegan, and I definitely like the remix.
Ladies, leave your man at home and get your hands on this Package... TOUR! I meant, like get your hands on a TICKET to see the Package! Ew, what'd you think I meant?
Stay tuned for more "It's All Good" summer music moments with Fruttare.
Photo credit: Tamar Anitai/ MTV
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