New Kids on the Block Return for The Main Event

Get ready for this summer's biggest block party as the New Kids on the Block return to The Q tonight. This time they're backed by the crazy, cool pop stars of the '90s TLC and Nelly for The Main Event, where each artist will perform their biggest career hits. A 360-degree, arena-spanning stage will bring the audience up close with the boy band as they perform old-school songs such as "Step by Step" and "My Favorite Girl" alongside newer hits including "Crash" and "10." Joey McIntyre and Jordan Knight will also be performing solo hits as they venture out on catwalks. With cannons of confetti and a quick change cam that reveals a sneak-peek between costume changes, this show is sure to heat things up. So we talked to Danny Wood about being back on the road and what keeps him motivated.

Q: What can guests expect?
A: It’s definitely a unique tour with a lot of nostalgia. It’s a girls’ night out basically. You can get together with your friends and get the babysitters and leave the husbands and the boyfriends behind and have a good time.

Q: Will there be any onstage collaborations?
A: It’s very difficult when you’re putting a tour together this size, and everyone’s rehearsing in different parts of the country. We were only in the same spot in Vegas right before the first show. Everyone’s got families, and Nelly goes on way before we do, so it’s not an easy thing to put together.

Q: What do you enjoy most about these shows and how is it different than performing back in the '80s and '90s?
A: For me, personally, it’s being able to share it with my family. I have my daughters out here on the road with me. They’re 16 and 17 and they’re enjoying the road and going to the shows. My dad’s out on the road with me too, and he’s 73 years old. He’s having a blast. That’s the part that’s most enjoyable for me. You definitely have a great appreciation for being able to have a second chance at doing this again and to be able to be playing all these arenas.

Mo' Mojo to radiate positivity at Hessler Street Fair

The Hessler Street Fair kicks off in University Circle this Saturday and Sunday. The fair, founded in 1969, has attracted body artists, drum circlers and positive vibes since its revival in 1995. Nineteen bands are expected to play this year, including the zydeco-cajun-blues outfit Mo’ Mojo. Frontwoman Jen Maurer spoke to us about how, on Sunday at 6:30, the band will jam in front of the sea of long hair and dresses for the first time in a few years. “I think we’re going to be the full eight band,” she says. “Eight members and quite a variety of instruments with fiddle and horns and rubboard and triangle and accordions and whatnot.”

CM: How did you guys come together?

JM: Well the band’s been together since ’95 in one formation or another, and everybody’s come differently. One of the guitar players, his dad was in the band, and now he’s in the band. And another guy caught my eye because he was dancing at one of our shows with my mother, and I thought that was really sweet so he ended up in the band. And another girl—her husband was in the band, and when they got divorced she stayed with the band when he left the band.

CM: You played the Hessler Street Fair before. What was that experience like?

JM: Oh, it was fun. Hessler’s a party. No doubt about it. Crazy party. It’s awesome.

CM: Do you know Carlos Jones? [Jones and his P.L.U.S. Band headline Sunday night at 7:30.]

JM: Yeah. I subbed in his band on bass. His guitar player, Dan, has been a sub for us before. Now we actually share a drummer. If there’s one frontman in all of Cleveland I think that I admire the most, it’s probably Carlos.

CM: So you released an album in 2010 and another one in 2012?

JM: We actually have one—I would say it’s about 70 percent done—that we’re hoping to do sometime this summer. Possibly we’re going to call it We All Got The Same. We like to have positive and fun songs, and so “We All Got The Same” kind of encapsulates the same sort of spirit as “Together In Love We Drown,” which is our second album—just that “we’re all connected” kind of thing.