The Main Event (2015 concert tour)

The Main Event was a co-headlining concert tour from American boy band New Kids on the Block with special guests TLC, and Nelly. The tour began on May 1, 2015, in Las Vegas, and finished on July 2, 2015, in Buffalo, New York. It included close to fifty dates across North America. It was the thirty-eighth ranked North American tour of 2015, grossing $26.1 million.^[1]

The Main Event

Tour by New Kids on the Block
Promotional poster for the tour
Location	North America
Start date	May 1, 2015 (2015-05-01)
End date	July 2, 2015 (2015-07-02)
Legs	1
No. of shows	47
Box office	$26.1 million
New Kids on the Block tour chronology The Package Tour (2013) The Main Event (2015) Total Package Tour (2017)

Background

In January 2015, New Kids on the Block appeared on Good Morning America to announce the tour.^[2] It had been hinted that the band might collaborate with TLC and Nelly while on the road. For the show's production there would be "new and top notch production elements", and a 360 degree stage.^[3] TLC was excited about the tour and said, "We are thrilled to be able to join pop icons NKOTB and Nelly on tour. We are equally excited to back on the road connecting with our fans in such huge arenas."^[3]

Concert synopsis

The concert began with Nelly performing a few of his songs, followed by TLC's set, which was approximately 40 minutes long. Then there was a ten-minute break before New Kids on the Block took the stage. Going with the theme of the tour, the band dramatically entered the stage looking "like prizefighters entering a ring," "wearing modern leather ensembles" and opening their set with a new song. "1989" would appear in a wedding-invitation style font on the screen whenever a classic New Kids song was performed. Fans could see the band during the costume changes that were captured on the "Quick Change Cam."^[4]

The show was filled with production and choreography for every song, including streamer cannons, confetti shooting high into the air, and heart-shaped balloons. The band started the show with two new songs. Other songs performed were "Block Party", "10", "Crash", "Step by Step" and "My Favorite Girl". There were solo sections during the show, such as Jordan Knight on his solo hit "Give It to You", Joey McIntyre on "Twisted", and Donnie Wahlberg on "I Need You".^[5]

Setlists

^[5]

Nelly

1. "E.I."
2. "Air Force Ones"
3. "Country Grammar (Hot Shit)"
4. "Just A Dream"
5. "Ride wit Me"
6. "Hot in Herre"

TLC

1. "What About Your Friends"
2. "Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg"
3. "Baby-Baby-Baby"
4. "Creep"
5. "Diggin' on You"
6. "Unpretty"
7. "Red Light Special"
8. "No Scrubs"
9. "Meant To Be"
10. "Waterfalls"

New Kids on the Block

1. "Block Party"
2. "Crash"
3. "My Favorite Girl"
4. "You Got It (The Right Stuff)"
5. "The Whisper"/"Single"/"Shout"
6. "Let's Try It Again"
7. "We Own Tonight"
8. "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)"/"Valentine Girl"/"If You Go Away"/"Never Can Say Goodbye" /"Please Don't Go Girl"
9. "Remix (I Like The)"
10. "Summertime"
11. "Dirty Dancing"
12. "One Song"
13. "Tonight"
14. "Baby, I Believe in You"/"Give It to You" (Jordan Solo)
15. "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)/"Twisted" (Eurythmics cover)(Joey solo)
16. "I Need You"/"Lean on Me" (Bill Withers cover) / "Cover Girl" (Donnie Solo)"`
17. "Games"
18. "Step by Step"
19. "I'll Be Loving You (Forever)"
20. "Hangin' Tough" / "We Will Rock You" (Queen) cover

Source:^[6][7]

Tour dates

Date	City	Country	Venue
North America[8]
May 1, 2015	Las Vegas	United States	Mandalay Bay Events Center
May 2, 2015	Anaheim		Honda Center
May 3, 2015	San Jose		SAP Center
May 5, 2015	Vancouver	Canada	Rogers Arena
May 6, 2015	Tacoma	United States	Tacoma Dome
May 8, 2015	San Jose		SAP Center
May 9, 2015	Inglewood		The Forum
May 11, 2015	San Diego		Viejas Arena
May 12, 2015	Glendale		Gila River Arena
May 14, 2015	Dallas		American Airlines Center
May 15, 2015	New Orleans		Smoothie King Center
May 16, 2015	Houston		Toyota Center
May 18, 2015	Oklahoma City		Chesapeake Energy Arena
May 19, 2015	Kansas City		Sprint Center
May 20, 2015	Saint Paul		Xcel Energy Center
May 22, 2015	St. Louis		Scottrade Center
May 23, 2015	Rosemont		Allstate Arena
May 24, 2015
May 26, 2015	Cincinnati		U.S. Bank Arena
May 27, 2015	Nashville		Bridgestone Arena
May 29, 2015	Auburn Hills		The Palace of Auburn Hills
May 30, 2015	Grand Rapids		Van Andel Arena
May 31, 2015	Indianapolis		Bankers Life Fieldhouse
June 2, 2015	Charlotte		Time Warner Cable Arena
June 4, 2015	Sunrise		BB&T Center
June 5, 2015	Orlando		Amway Center
June 6, 2015	Atlanta		Philips Arena
June 7, 2015	Louisville		KFC Yum! Center
June 9, 2015	Norfolk		Norfolk Scope
June 10, 2015	Washington, D.C.		Verizon Center
June 11, 2015	Bethlehem		Sands Bethlehem Events Center
June 12, 2015	Uncasville		Mohegan Sun Arena
June 13, 2015	Bethlehem		Sands Bethlehem Events Center
June 14, 2015	Pittsburgh		Consol Energy Center
June 16, 2015	Columbus		Nationwide Arena
June 17, 2015	Cleveland		Quicken Loans Arena
June 19, 2015	Philadelphia		Wells Fargo Center
June 20, 2015	Uniondale		Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
June 21, 2015	New York City		Madison Square Garden
June 22, 2015
June 24, 2015	Boston		TD Garden
June 25, 2015
June 27, 2015	Hershey		Hershey Park Stadium
June 28, 2015	Toronto	Canada	Air Canada Centre
June 29, 2015
June 30, 2015	Montreal		Bell Centre
July 2, 2015	Buffalo	United States	First Niagara Center

Critical reception

Kelli Skye of the Orange County Register said that the show "was a grand spectacle done in the round so guests could get a 360-degree view of all of the on state action... [they] made sure that every section of the venue got a little love."^[5] Beth Spotswood from SF Gate stated that the New Kids "appeared older, more embarrassing in concert." Spotswood was ready to go home once McIntyre went out on stage wearing nothing but white jeans. On opening act Nelly, she said, "it was a bit sad to see the rapper hit the stage to perform for a bunch of moms at 7:20 p.m. on a Sunday evening." McIntyre would occasionally thank "the audience for sticking by NKOTB."^[4]

References

1. "2015 Pollstar Year End Top 200 North American Tours" (PDF). Pollstarpro.com. POLLSTAR. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
2. Nelson, Jeff (January 20, 2015). "Holy Flashback! New Kids on the Block to Tour with TLC and Nelly – See the Mashup!". people.com. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
3. "New Kids on the Block Announce The Main Event Tou". nkotb.com. January 20, 2015. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
4. Spotswood, Beth (May 4, 2015). "New Kids on the Block appear older, more embarrassing in concert". SF Gate. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
5. Skye, Kelli (May 3, 2015). "New Kids on the Block bring the right stuff to Anaheim". Orange County Register. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
6. "New Kids on the Block Setlist at Gila River Arena, Glendale, AZ, USA". setlist.fm. Retrieved May 19, 2015.
7. "New Kids on the Block Setlist at American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX, USA". setlist.fm. Retrieved May 19, 2015.
8. Herbert, Geoff (January 20, 2015). "New Kids on the Block announce 2015 tour dates, including Buffalo concert with Nelly, TLC". Syracuse.com. Adavance Local Media LLC. Retrieved December 25, 2018.