New Kids on the Block's Phoenix concert sizzled on a hot summer night

Donnie Wahlberg was playfully tugging at the bottom of his tank top, teasing the prospect of an early ab reveal, when he took a moment to address the fact that New Kids on the Block were in the early stages of an outdoor show in Phoenix, where the temperature had peaked at 115 degrees just a few hours earlier.

“It’s only 475 degrees,” he proclaimed in the middle of "Cover Girl," their fourth song of the night, before lifting his shirt as the crowd went wild.

It was Tuesday, July 9, and an excessive heat warning was in effect for Phoenix and surrounding areas as New Kids took the stage at Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre for the latest concert on their Magic Summer Tour with special guests Paula Abdul and DJ Jazzy Jeff.

They couldn't very well have just ignored the weather on a night like that.

New Kids on the Block setlist:Every song on the Magic Summer Tour in Phoenix

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'Thank you for braving the heat,' Donnie Wahlberg tells fans

After leading Jonathan, Joey, Jordan and Danny in the pelvic thrusts of “You Got It (The Right Stuff),” Wahlberg told the crowd, “We began this magical journey three weeks ago in the great state of Ohio and slowly began our journey out west. And each successive success night, it got louder and louder and louder and hotter and hotter and hotter.”

He mentioned a few of the places they’d played, then said, “And Phoenix, you already know it’s hotter up in this (expletive), but who’d have thought it would be the loudest crowd we’ve had?!”

Before the night was through, he thanked the fans for coming out in such extreme conditions to see them play.

“Thank you for braving the heat,” he said. “Listen, it’s a lot to come out here and do this. We’ve got a lot of people tonight saying, ‘Oh, be careful. Thank you.’ No. Thank you. You all are toughing it out, too. We’re all in this together.”

Extreme heat was no match for NKOTB in Phoenix

If the heat had any impact on the kind of show we got in Phoenix, you wouldn’t have known it from the energy and showmanship those five men brought to their performance as they sang and danced their way through all their biggest hits and several songs from their first album in 11 years, the endearingly titled “Still Kids.”

They even went into the audience, performing two songs on five individual stages, Wahlberg roaming deep into the crowd.

It didn’t feel like they were holding back at all.

The entire performance was as heavily choreographed as you’d expect from New Kids on the Block, whose moves have definitely gotten more suggestive as they’ve aged into the sort of heartthrobs who no longer have to worry about parents keeping kids home from their concerts.

All 5 members of New Kids on the Block had vocal spotlights

But it’s all very playful, even the backstage videos of Danny Wood and Wahlberg getting shirtless for the cameras at Club Quick Change or Jordan Knight ripping his shirt open on stage for “Baby, I Believe in You,” one of countless shows of vocal force by Knight and his seemingly ageless falsetto.

The concert’s most breathtaking vocal performance had to be those high notes Knight hit on the show-stopping climax of “I’ll Be Loving You (Forever),” dropping to one knee and holding that pose for dramatic effect like Elvis.

All five members had their chance to shine, from Joey McIntyre, who sang “Where Do I Go From Here?” alone at the piano, turned in a tortured rendition of “Please Don’t Go, Girl” and put his soulful upper register to brilliant use on “Didn’t I (Blow Your Mind)?,” to Jonathan Knight, Jordan’s brother, who sang a sweetly soulful “Happy Birthday” (not the one you sing at birthday parties) to a fan named Krista on her birthday.

It's been that way since New Kids first rolled out of Boston in the ‘80s with “Please Don’t Go Girl,” “You Got It (The Right Stuff),” “I’ll Be Loving You (Forever),” “Hangin’ Tough,” “Cover Girl” and their shockingly faithful rendition of “Didn’t I (Blow Your Mind)” by Philly soul greats the Delfonics.

New Kids remain the Tiger Beat pinups most likely to survive

They did all those hits and more in Phoenix, reasserting their resilience as the Tiger Beat pinups most likely to survive the slings and arrows of their harshest critics, hangin’ tough while managing to hold onto the fans who had their pictures taped inside their lockers in the days of “Hangin’ Tough.”

The show went heavy on nostalgia, as expected, but they opened with two songs from “New Kids,” singing “Magic,” the opening number, in front of a video representation of the individual boxes from their 1990 action figures.

As New Kids were nearing the end of their performance, they were joined by DJ Jazzy Jeff, who rose up from beneath the stage on a hydraulic lift to get the crowd pumped up for several more songs from that new release before bringing a fan named Shelly up to take the spotlight on a crowd-pleasing version of “Summertime” by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince.

Shelly definitely rocked that mic.

And New Kids were clearly enjoying the moment, especially Wahlberg.

It's kind of wild to think that even Joey McIntyre, the youngest New Kid on the Block, is in his 50s now — and wilder still to think that there was nothing in that concert to suggest that these guys couldn't just keep doing what they're doing well into their 60s.

They still got it (the right stuff).

DJ Jazzy Jeff opened for NKOTB in Phoenix

Hours earlier, while the sun was still blazing, DJ Jazzy Jeff got the party started with a hit-filled set of hip-hop, R&B and rock songs, from Naughty By Nature and the Jackson 5 to Beyonce and the Monkees.

After dusting off “Apache,” the legendary DJ and his MC brought the set to a crowd-pleasing finish with “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana, “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey and “Livin’ on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi.

The highlight of their set, though, was undoubtedly the theme song to "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air," which inspired a spirited singalong.

Paula Abdul's set was straight up theatrical and wildly entertaining

Paula Abdul could not have been more entertaining, opening her show with the elaborate choreography of “Straight Up” and joking about the heat before taking a hit from an oxygen mask.

“Are you kidding?" she told the crowd. "This is 62, folks.”

She's still got the moves at 62.

Abdul proceeded through her greatest hits in highly theatrical fashion, illustrating different aspects of what goes into this type of show in a brilliantly choreographed performance that felt more like a Broadway production than an opening slot on a New Kids tour.

There were racks of wardrobe choices to go through on “Vibeology,” dancer auditions to hold on “Cold Hearted," an animated appearance by her old pal MC Skat Kat during “Opposites Attract" and so on.

There were also two video interludes reflecting on her life in dance and music along the way to a crowd-pleasing medley of “The Promise of a New Day,” “Knocked Out,” “I’m Just Here for the Music,” “Dance Like There’s No Tomorrow” and “Ain’t Never Gonna Give You Up” before she brought her 30-minute portion of the concert to a rousing close with “Forever Your Girl.”

New Kids on the Block setlist 2024: Every song they played in Phoenix

Here are all the songs New Kids on the Block played when the Magic Summer Tour hit Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre in Phoenix on Tuesday, July 9.

• “Magic”
• “Summer Love”
• “My Favorite Girl”
• “Cover Girl”
• “Dirty Dancing”
• “Summertime”
• “You Got It (The Right Stuff)”
• “Remix (I Like the)”
• “Block Party” (on B stage)
• “Tonight” (on B stage with walk back to a stage)
• “Where Do I Go From Here?”
• “Treat Me Right”
• “Call It What You Want”
• “Popsicle”
• “Games”
• “Stay With Me Baby”
• “Baby, I Believe in You”
• “Never Gonna Fall in Love Again” / “Paradise City”
• “Happy Birthday”
• “Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)” / “Valentine Girl”
• “Please Don't Go Girl”
• “Get Down” (with DJ Jazzy Jeff)
• “Dance With You” / “A Love Like This” / “In the Night” / “Long Time Coming” (with DJ Jazzy Jeff)
• “Summertime” (DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince cover)
• “Kids”
• “I'll Be Loving You (Forever)”
• “Step by Step”
• “Hangin' Tough”/ "We Will Rock You" (snippet of Queen cover)
• “Better Days”

Paula Abdul setlist 2024: Every song she did in Phoenix

Here's every song Paul Adbul did on the Magic Summer Tour with New Kids on the Block in Phoenix:

• “Straight Up”
• “Vibeology”
• “Cold Hearted”
• “Opposites Attract”
• “(It's Just) The Way That You Love Me”
• “Rush Rush”
• “The Promise of a New Day” / “Knocked Out” / “I’m Just Here for the Music” / “Dance Like There’s No Tomorrow” / “Ain’t Never Gonna Give You Up”
• “Forever Your Girl”