Las Vegas Strip headliner is backing the Patriots, again and always

A conversation about concert productions on the Strip suddenly turns to the Super Bowl.

This boy-bander and hardcore Patriots fan does not dance around the topic.

“Drake Maye is the real deal, he puts it in the bucket every time. It’s crazy the way he knows how to place the ball,” Joey McIntyre of New Kids on the Block says, his voice rising. “The Patriots have got a great, exciting defense. They’re coached up, they’ve got more than a decent running game. They’re not the greatest offensive line ever, but they hang in there.”

McIntyre is calling out Seattle’s signal-caller.

“Sam Darnold, he hasn’t killed,” McIntyre said, though Darnold had a career game against the Rams in the NFC Championship Game. “He hasn’t been amazing against a really good defense, and he hasn’t played against a great defense, not like the Patriots.”

NKOTB returns to its hit residency at Dolby Live at Park MGM on Valentine’s Day, kicking off eight shows this month. Lineup of McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, Danny Wood and Jonathan and Jordan Knight return in June and July, extending into October.

But before the big show, there is the big game. McIntyre, a big, New Kid at age 53, is from Boston. You can feel the passion, so it’s expected he’s attending the Super Bowl, along with his oldest son, Griffin McIntyre.

“I took a second mortgage out on the house and bought a couple of tickets,” McIntyre says. “(Griffin) is a massive fan, and we’ve been lucky. I mean, being a Boston fan when I grew up, we were long-suffering Patriots fans. But now, my son has grown up in an era of championships.”

McIntyre says the Pats’ fans are a step (by step) ahead of the Seahawks’ 12th Man.

“I’m sure Seattle and their fan base, they’re very confident,” McIntyre says. “But we, we love this team in a very special way. They got great energy, great aura. They have aura coming out of the wazoo. It’s gonna be a great game.” As we say, save some for the stage.

The little show goes big

The Composers Showcase of Las Vegas is moving to the big room, Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center, for its 20th anniversary on April 29th. The show has played Myron’s (originally Cabaret Jazz) since The Smith Center opened in 2012. But its opened at the since-closed Suede Restaurant, near Double Down Saloon.

I met series TCS co-founder Keith Thompson at the series’ second performance in May 2006. At that time, the idea of moving the mic-and-piano party into a 2,050-seat venue would have been preposterous. But here we are. This event will showcase all-original music, with Thompson leading an all-star cast. It’s an adventurous, ambitious and expensive undertaking. If you’ve never been, April 29 is the time to be indoctrinated.

Music, birthday, charity, party

Save this date: March 2, for our annual St. Baldrick’s birthday bash, returning to The Composers Room at Historic Commercial Center. A couple dozen singers, a live band headed up by Kenny Davidsen, a head-shaving, and also cake are on the bill. As we are Pisces, the music is themed for water/aquatic effects (Beach Boys; Little River Band; Billy Ocean; rain, tears, maybe even Emerson, Lake & Palmer all in play). This is all to preview the campaign in Las Vegas in March, with the event at the Brooklyn Bridge at New York-New York from noon to 4 p.m. March 14. More to come, on all of it.

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.