New Kids on the Block make summer magic with Paula Abdul and DJ Jazzy Jeff in Star Lake concert

Despite sweltering temperatures, fans still flocked to The Pavilion at Star Lake on Wednesday night. On the eve of the official start of summer, the Magic Summer Tour, featuring DJ Jazzy Jeff, Paula Abdul and New Kids on the Block was a perfect party to start the season.

In the days leading up to the show, the venue let fans know that they should dress in neon colors, and they obliged — shirts in bright yellows, oranges, pinks and greens were everywhere as the crowd filtered into Star Lake.

At 7 p.m., DJ Jazzy Jeff came onstage to spin a half-hour of terrific tunes to get the party started. The Philadelphia-born DJ is best known for his collaboration with Will Smith (as “DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince”) on a number of hits in the 1980s, like “Parents Just Don’t Understand” and “Nightmare on My Street.”

But Wednesday night found him mostly playing other people’s music, starting out with “O.P.P.” by Naughty by Nature. He mixed in hits from several decades, including “Crazy in Love” and “Single Ladies” by Beyonce, “Jump” by Kriss Kross and even “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana. But naturally, the crowd went craziest for one particular hit — the theme song from sitcom “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” in which he and Will Smith starred.

The crowd was hyped up after that set, and they were ready to dance when Paula Abdul took the stage shortly after. Abdul turned 62 on Wednesday, and the crowd was excited to celebrate her birthday with her. She started out with her chart-topping hit “Straight Up.”

Abdul began her career as a Los Angeles Lakers cheerleader and has had a legendary career as a choreographer. It was clear from her half-hour segment that performing is her greatest strength. She might not be able to do all the moves that made her huge in the ’80s and ’90s, but she still has a natural grace that makes for an amazing show, and she surrounded herself with props, sets and a stage full of talented dancers.

For “Cold-Hearted,” she had the stage set like a dance studio and pretended to teach a class to her backup dancers. During “Vibeology,” she tried on different pieces from racks of clothes to different genres of dance hits, including Michael Jackson’s “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’.”

Naturally, MC Scat Cat made an appearance for “Opposites Attract.” The music video, which has Abdul dancing with the suave cartoon kitty, is legendary.

At one point, Abdul’s dancers were spotlighted with solos as images of them as kids showed on the big screen behind them. The final two dancers performed a beautifully choreographed sequence around Abdul as she sang “Rush, Rush.”

After a quick medley of songs, she finished her time with an energetic performance of “Forever Your Girl.” Before leaving the stage, she took a selfie with the crowd. “I want to remember this night for the rest of my life,” she said.

At about quarter to nine, the pavilion’s lights dimmed and the main event began. Originally from Boston — a fact that would definitely come up later — New Kids on the Block was a generation’s biggest boy band. The five members still like to describe themselves as “kids,” even though they’re all in their 50s now, and it’s easy to understand why: They still have a lot of youthful energy.

In color-coded clothes, the New Kids launched their set with “Magic” on a stage of stairs and rainbow-lit screens, all while making liberal use of their confetti cannons.

Joey, Jordan, Donnie, Jonathan and Danny can all still put on an amazing show. All five can still sing and dance, and all of the screaming fans sure thought they looked good. During “My Favorite Girl,” with each of them pointing into the audience, the cannons shot out heart-shaped confetti.

After the big, bouncy summer jam “Cover Girl,” they sang their megahit “The Right Stuff,” still managing some of the music video’s iconic moves.

They’re great showmen too, assuring the crowd that “there’s no crowd like a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, crowd!” and then dividing the pavilion into sections to sing the various parts of “Remix (I Like The).” At the song’s end, the five members pushed their way through the crowd to five individual mini-stages at the back, lit up in their personalized neon colors, to perform “Block Party.” They even had their own confetti guns, which they took turns setting off into the jubilant audience.

Making their way back to the main stage during “Tonight” they stopped to interact with their adoring fans, then went backstage for a “quick change.”

The first of several solos had Joey McIntyre performing “Where Do I Go From Here?,” accompanying himself on the piano. His performance was the best of the solos and set a great tone for the next segment of the set.

After some fun songs in quick succession, Donnie Wahlberg performed the reggae-inspired “Stay With Me Baby,” and Jordan Knight did a sultry “Baby, I Believe in You.” Then they brought up one lucky lady to sing “Happy Birthday” to —she looked thrilled — and then the group thanked the crowd for showing up for them for almost 40 years.

After “Please Don’t Go, Girl,” they brought DJ Jazzy Jeff back out to play a run of songs from their newest album, “Still Kids,” released in May. New Kids on the Block has always had a close relationship with R&B, and you can see modern stars of that genre like The Weeknd in these new songs.

DJ Jazzy Jeff also spun a verse of his hit with the Fresh Prince, “Summertime,” and it was perfect for the hot evening.

The best songs from the new New Kids album medley were the sensual “In The Night,” which included flashlight choreography, and the fun, celebratory song “Kids.” They ended the album spotlight with “I’ll Be Loving You,” featuring some mind-blowing falsettos.

A duo of their most memorable hits followed: “Step By Step” and “Hangin’ Tough.” Before the latter, the group donned Boston Celtics jerseys and the stage lights all shone bright green in celebration of the NBA team’s recent championship. At the end, they interpolated in some of Queen’s “We Will Rock You.”

They finished the night off with “Better Days,” a nostalgic and hopeful track off their new album. It was accompanied by an absolute blizzard of confetti so thick it was nearly impossible to see the stage.

The evening was a dream of a summer party for any ’80s and ’90s kid, with some of pop music’s most prolific hitmakers from the past four decades.

It was just the right stuff to make summer magical.