Back in 1988, they were high on sugary bubble gum and wore oversize, homemade T-shirts with slogans like "Jordan, you got the Right Stuff!" On Tuesday night, they were buzzing on Bacardi rum coolers and wore slinky, designer T-shirts that boasted messages such as "MILF."

Oh, how the times have changed for New Kids on the Block fans, who finally got to see a reunion by the former teen idol quintet at St. Paul's Xcel Energy Center -- and this time they got to drive themselves. Some of them hopefully sought a ride home, though.

Half the fun of Tuesday's concert was the crowd-watching. The Boston-reared boy band's first tour in 14 years drew a surprisingly large audience of 13,000. Not surprisingly, about 95 percent were women in their 30s, many of whom treated it like a chance to revisit their youth without the watchful eye of Mom and Dad.

They screamed at the top of their lungs for every wardrobe change or all the vaguely sexier dance moves. They danced/grinded in the aisles like they were at a sweaty nightclub instead of a chilly hockey arena. And, yep, they drank.

"This is your night, so enjoy it," instructed opening singer Natasha Bedingfield, 26, who is too young to have been in on the NKOTB craze but clearly knew what it was all about.

The New Kids themselves, now in their late 30s, definitely still understand it.

They strutted out in zig-zagging unison before a glitzy backdrop dancing to the opening tune, "Single," from their new album, "The Block." Where the record tries too hard to update their sound with Ne-Yo-style vocal effects and Rated PG-13 lyrics (gasp!), the two-hour concert was more the classic NKOTB. Same b-boy-meets-Fred Astaire dancing. Same hand-waving "uh-oh-oh-oh" singalongs. Even the same side-tilted hats. The higher hairlines under the caps was about all that has changed.

One of the giddiest moments came when the still-babyfaced Joey McIntire -- last seen on "Dancing With the Stars" -- took the lead on "Please Don't Go Girl" under a video clip from the group's heyday. One of the stupidest bits came when the forever goofy-faced Danny Wood -- last seen on, well, the last NKOTB tour -- breakdanced while Donnie Wahlberg got his rap mojo working in the forgotten oldie "Games." Watch out for groin pulls, Danny.

Jordan Knight, on the other hand, need only beware of wind tunnels. He seemed to be stuck in one while singing "Baby, I Believe in You," during which his shirt blew open and whipped about like a flag hanging off Pecks Peak.

The hits were scattered through the two-hour show, with the parenthetical favorites "You Got It (The Right Stuff)" and "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)" early on and "Hangin' Tough" and "Step by Step" during the encore. Fans kept screaming and dancing through it all, unrepentant of all the guilty pleasure till the end -- or at least until they got into the women's restroom lines afterward.

Chris Riemenschneider • 612-673-4658