The Hanson Experience ‘03

             It started with my friends Stephanie and Amy who live in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Boulder, Colorado telling me they were going to the Denver and LasVegas shows and that I HAD to come out and go with them.  It was Amy’s first Hanson show ever.  How could I miss that?

            I flew into Denver and they met me at the airport—we chit chatted and piddled around for hours, unable to go to sleep until like, 2 am (that’s 5 am my time, mind you).  At around 7 am, we got up, got breakfast, packed the car and went to the venue to park it. It was probably about ten in the morning when we got to downtown Denver.  We shopped a little, ogled at the cheesecake factory (what an evil, evil place!) bought a pair of shoes, got coffee at Starbucks, then decided to just walk past the venue and see if anyone was there yet.  Well, guess what?  There were lots of people there, including a huge blue bus!  I’m not a teenager, but seeing that bus there, parked in front, made me feel like one for a minute.  I have no idea why I would even WANT to actually meet Hanson, I know what I’d do—I’d clam up and probably cry or something stupid like that because their music really has affected my life.  It’s ridiculous.  Yet, the sight of that bus made me get all excited thinking maybe they’d come out or something.  Oh well.  Thank heavens for me, they didn’t ever come out, they must have gotten out as soon as it parked or something.  That inner teeny might not have been able to handle it, haha!  Anyway, we sat down under a little tree, just to watch the circus for a little while, thinking we would head back down to shop and eat and while away the hours doing something mature and intelligent.  Yeah right.  Hanson makes maturity and intelligence fly right out the window.  So, naturally, we ended up grabbing a spot in line—I have no idea why, we really had NO intention of trying to get up front in the “swoon pit”, I’m not that stupid (or tall).  To make a long story short, we ended up spending close to seven hours sitting on the hot assed sidewalk in Denver.  It was dirty, and crowded and just crazy.  I was certain that the crowd was going to misbehave in every way possible.  BUT—something wonderful happened:  the staff at the Soiled Dove decided to treat us like humans (which is more than I can say for the baseball fans and other passersby who thought it great fun to chastise and belittle the fans and Hanson themselves).  They went down the line and told people over and over that cameras would be taken away and to put them in their cars.  They kept the line in order and allowed those who needed to use the restroom to go into the club and do that.  They kept an opening in the line to allow crew and family to come and go from the bus easily.  That led to plenty of great Jessica, Natalie, and Ezra sightings; a little pre-show excitement.  The windows were opened so that we could hear the soundcheck, which caused the crowd to applaud after a “song” and Zac to yell “Thank you!” afterward.  A bit later, when the doors actually opened, people were allowed to come in after opening purses and such to be searched and tickets were taken one at a time—this kept the whole “herding instinct” (or should I say “stampede”) to a minimum.  People just trickled in and took their places.  We managed to get the first riser in the club and even had barstools to sit on!  Which was very nice after sitting, squatting, standing and sweating for seven hours!  Before the show even started, a girl passed out, and that began a very nice gesture from the club in which their staff, all night long, took out trays of water and gave them to anyone who wanted one, including us in the chairs who probably didn’t look like we were about to pass out in any way.  We were downright comfortable!  In any event, the crowd was very very respectful of each other (as far as I could tell) and they were very loving and respectful to Hanson.  Which was such a surprise after hearing a few horror stories from other shows. 

            Hanson actually just walked through the crowd to take the stage.  No one grabbed them or screamed in their faces, just hands held out which they gladly touched or shook on their way past.  They took their places on the stage and began an absolutely amazing set of songs and a good dose of silliness just to keep things unpredictable.  Zac was on.  Nowhere was the surly, bored looking guy who graced the stage on both the Albertane and TTA tours.  In his place was a bright-eyed, boisterous, excited, smiling, laughing person.  He joked and flirted with the audience all night, all while playing his drums with enough passion to “lose a wingnut” (prompting him to tell us “that sounds a little perverted, doesn’t it?”) and to break the foot pedal.  Isaac broke four strings (including the “manly” one).  Isaac by the way is just stunning in person.  For a Taylor girl to say that, you gotta know it’s true.  His hair was just soft looking and his skin is all sun kissed and tan and he has that marvelous white smile that just jumps off his face.  We decided cameras don’t do him justice at all.  And, we also decided CD’s don’t either.  His voice is amazing, powerful and mellow and sensual.  Maybe a live setting just gets these guys going in a way that a studio can’t, I don’t know.  I just know that Hanson is so amazing on stage…I keep using that word “amazing”, but I don’t know what else to say.  They amaze me.  Just as much now, as they did when they were a novelty of kids that could sing, write and play.  That was no trick of studio mastery or passing thing.  But you know that, you’re a fan, or you wouldn’t be reading this.  Taylor was in fine form in Denver.  He looked great, he sounded great, he just….was Taylor.  He’s all shy and beautiful and fragile, yet surprisingly sturdy looking.  He’s an enigma, really.  He’s sort of mysterious to me.  I think that’s what fascinates me with these guys—on the one hand, they are just goofy boys, making little dirty jokes, or tripping up the stairs, or knocking over their water bottles—but then, they sing a song that just tears you up.  When they sang “Teach Your Children Well” tears ran down my cheeks.  They would smack me for saying this, but Hanson harmonizes better than CSN.  It’s smoother and softer and fuller.  I’m sorry, but it’s true.  And they felt that song to their core, I know they did.  They may not have written it, but they lived it, and I hope they continue to.  They did songs that we’ve known for years, but they did them in a completely new way that just blew us away.  In the three years they’ve been gone, we’ve all speculated about what they’ve been doing, but one thing is for certain, they’ve been practicing and playing and writing.  They are better songwriters and musicians now than they were three years ago.  If you don’t see them play “Rip It Up”……….damn.  You just have to, that’s all there is to it.  I can’t even explain the joy that song brought them and the audience.  The Denver show was just flawless.  Well, to everyone but the equipment guy, I guess he was working overtime! 

            Vegas—well, the staff at the House of Blues was not quite as smart as the folks at the Soiled Dove.  The crowd had formed a nice line, against the wall and it had started to get a little long.  So, for some reason, they decide we should all be pushed up together, closer to the front.  The ropes made the area for the line about ten feet wide, so they took this single file line and made everyone all push up together in a big blob.  Needless to say, those in the front weren’t too happy about that.  Ah well.  So, they left us that way for a little while.  Then, they told us to back up.  Wtf???  So, we backed up.  Then, they start to go through the big blob of fans they’d created, checking ID’s and tearing tickets.  Wtf???  Then a couple more “move up”s and another “back up” or two. Wtf???  This creates a sort of grumpy, on edge crowd.  And, there was no longer a line really, just a mass of people who’d been in line for hours and were getting antsy as show time approached.  With no tickets to tear or anything of that nature to sort of…slow down the going-in process, once the “gate” opened, there was just a massive press to get inside.  Then, the staff had the nerve to yell at people for running.  I admit I was moving pretty fast, but it was just to keep those behind me from running over my 5’2” self.  We’d already scoped the club and knew where we were headed, which worked out perfect.  Not close enough to get sweat on us (oh darn) but close enough to see the looks on their faces as they sang.  Damn, these guys are passionate about their music, and it just rubs off on their fans.  It really is a unique situation I think in pop culture and I just wish SOMEONE in the media would take notice.  What a fabulous article a publication like RollingStone could do on the whole situation.  Not holding my breath or anything.  Perhaps Spin will do another great one.  Well, I’ll stop now, because I could go on and on about this subject.  Let’s just say the Vegas show was different from the Denver one.  If I hadn’t seen Denver first, I would have thought the Vegas show was simply fantastic.  And really, it was—it was just compared to the power of that first one, it had a few flaws.  One of which was the incredibly STUPID lighting at the House of Blues.  There’s a big tree in the club and it made shadows across the stage.  Like, right across their faces.  Zac was in shadow all night.  They also used some fancy, psychedelic light, spinny, colorwheel kind of thing that was just annoying.  When Taylor sings, I don’t want to see purple diamonds swirling across his face, I want to see his face and the look on it.  When Isaac sings “Deeper” I don’t want to see blue and white swirls, I want to see Isaac.  Pffft.  Oh well.  I’ll always have Denver.

            In closing, let me just say “Hanson rocks”.  They do.  In a way, I want everyone in the world to know it, but in that other selfish part of me, I hope they stay the dirty little pop music secret that they are.  I want to continue to see them in the way I got to last weekend.  I don’t want to need binoculars to see what quirky belt Taylor decided to wear or to see the glint in Zac’s eyes as he checks out the pretty girl two rows back.  I like seeing Natalie in the back, holding Ezra and dancing while Taylor sings “Crazy Beautiful”.  Thank you Hanson for continuing to do what you do, despite the shit you’ve had to go through to do it.  I’ve wanted this music for three years and have voiced my opinion about it.  I have no guilt.  The reason I wanted it is because I knew how good it would be.  And they did not disappoint.  Hanson fans are crazy, but Hanson is the reason why.  We just can’t help it.  Keep doing it, guys, and we’ll be here waiting.  It’s what we do.                                                           

 krystal