Blockheads were out in full force on Monday, July 31st, when Joey McIntyre, youngest member and the second lead vocalist of pop icons New Kids on The Block, performed at The Birchmere in Alexandria, VA. McIntyre previously had a successful Vegas Residency with Debbie Gibson, and following the success of his Carnegie Hall appearance earlier this year, Joe decided to take his show on the road.
The concert, known as “Solo Joe,” began on time at 7:40, with Joe appearing in a casual black ensemble. Guitarist Sean Thomas accompanied him. Joe started his performance with a rendition of “Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson & Bruno Mars, which he seamlessly merged into U2’s “Where the Streets Have No Name.” He then proceeded to perform “Here We Go Again” from his 2009 EP of the same name.
During the night, McIntyre interacted with the audience by sharing stories and acknowledging Blockheads who had attended his previous shows. I commend Joey for understanding his audience, which helped him choose the right songs for his set list. Although McIntyre has released five solo albums, they did not sell well. Therefore, his set list mainly consisted of covers from popular artists like Elton John, George Michael, and The Eagles.
McIntyre has always had a strong voice, allowing him to make the covers his own while keeping the vibes of the original song. McIntyre also took time to show off his piano skills which was a treat. Naturally, McIntyre found time to dip into the New Kids catalog, performing “Tonight,” “Where Do I Go From Here,” “Single,” an energetic take on “You Got It (The Right Stuff),” and, of course, the sentimental “Please Don’t Go Girl.”
For the most part, it was a great night out. However, I did have one minor gripe. The Blockhead nation is one of the strongest fandoms around, so I would’ve loved to hear Joe do snippets of the deep album cuts like “I’ll Still Be Loving You,” “Funny Feeling,” and “Close To You.” Given how many Blockheads were in attendance, those songs would’ve gone over like gangbusters.
Nevertheless, Solo Joe is a nostalgic trip down memory lane from a highly underrated vocalist. Dabbling in movies, music, and an active social media presence, McIntyre shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon, and I recommend seeing his show when it’s in your town.
Final Grade: B+
This week’s Second Listen Sunday pick takes us back to 2006 to revisit “So Amazin’,” the third album from Christina Milian. Arriving in stores on April 19 of that year, the project was produced largely by Cool & Dre, sans one song, and saw the singer earn writing credits on nine of the album’s songs.
For this week’s Slow Jam Saturday, I want to showcase love for Rahsaan Patterson and his album track “Can We Wait a Minute” from his self-titled debut album, released in 1997.
For this week’s Second Listen Sunday, I wanted to take a trip back to 2000 and show some love to the R&B duo K-Ci & JoJo and their third album, “X,” which was released in stores on December 5, just in time for a holiday stocking stuffer. Arguably, the group suffered from the sophomore slump with their second album, as only two singles were successful.