Hanson Members Only Event
Katie Sunday night, Hanson had their (now) annual Members Only Event in Tulsa, OK. Fans from all over the world came for the show. There were 2 sessions and I was in Session 2, which was at 9pm.
Unfortunately, since the event was being recorded there were times when I could not see all 3 guys over the camera men’s heads, but hopefully the recordings will end up being streamed so I’ll be able to see what I was missing at those times 😉
This Members Only Event (MOE) was special because the guys have been a band for 20 years (hard to believe, I know, since Zac is only 26) and it has been 15 years since the release of their debut single MMMBop and debut album Middle of Nowhere. (released in 1997)
They started out by showing us their very first audition from 20 years ago. They were auditioning to perform at Mayfest, a Tulsa event that happens every year in you guessed it, May. The video was absolutely adorable, but at times I had more fun watching the guys reactions as they watched the audition.
They started off by singing the song “Rain” acapella, which I believe was one of the first songs that they had written together. (My brain is fuzzy because I am so sleepy, and you’ll find out why probably next week when I re-cap the non concert portions of the trip)
Then they went in to the song “Think” (originally by Aretha) to show us one of the songs that they grew up listening to and singing when they were kids. Next up was Thinking Bout Somethin which you can tell definitely has a lot of inspiration from Think and other similar songs they grew up on.
Next up was Lonely Again – a rare B side that was performed on their 2000 tour, but one that I hadn’t heard live before. And then they talked about how they gave us a lot of songs on members only CDs through the years but we often have to put up with a lot of “crap” that Zac adds to the cd. They performed “All This Love Crap” which was a song Zac wrote for Valentine’s Day a few years back and they made a music video for it. It was great to hear such rare songs live! Then they went in to Every Word I Say, which isn’t as rare but definitely a fan favorite and B side to the Penny and Me single.
Then they played the new members only cd in its entirety – Up All night, My Own, No Sleep for Banditos, Heartbreaker and Chasing Down My Dreams along with a video that talked a bit about each of the songs.
They also premiered part of a song called “Tonight” which is set to be on the new album. Taylor announced that they intended to do another members only event in the fall to let us hear the new music they are working on first.
For the encore they did Lost Without Each Other, Give a Little and This Time Around. Unfortunately this year since the crowd was SO big (600+ people in each session, if everyone who RSVPed showed up) we were unable to get group photos with the guys, but that’s ok as I am kind of “over” those group photos and would prefer one on one pics.
Look for lots more details on the trip next week! (I was intending to only do 1 post, but considering all the drama that went down on the flight home, that may end up getting its own post)