Hanson – Page 15 – Concert Katie

Hanson in Boston MA

Katie October 13, 2011 0 Comments

Sunday night it was time for the second show of Hanson’s Musical Ride tour that I’d be attending. The winning album for this show was the band’s 2nd album – This Time Around. Siobhan Magnus from American Idol was also in attendance. I was hoping maybe the guys would pull her on stage for a song, but they didn’t.

We opted to take the T in to Boston rather than driving in and parking near the venue. This meant that we had to catch a train before the last train at 12:35 so “I’m a pumpkin!” was often mentioned throughout the evening.

When we arrived, we asked about ADA seating and were told just to let them know when we got through the line. Since that made me a bit nervous, my friend Maribeth called and got us on an “ADA List” and we were told we needed to be back at 6:45 for doors. We were some of the first people in to the venue and we quickly realized that the ADA section they had roped off had a really bad view – mainly because there were HUGE speakers hanging down that would completely block everything. We were told that we couldn’t move a chair outside the roped section and I was kind of panicking, but then we were moved up to the balcony. All by ourselves! By the time the show started we had 6 others up there with us, but it was really cool to be in an area and not need to worry about balancing (we had seats), people’s heads or hands being in the way of photos or anything like that!

Charlie Mars was once again the opener. I will give him credit for not playing his set in the same order as the previous night, but his stories were all pretty much the same as the night before.

Then finally Hanson took the stage. They did all the songs of This Time Around (which you’d think would be expected since they said theyd be playing each of the winning albums in their entirety, but they have been skipping a song or two here and there) as well as their singles and some other album songs. When it came time for the encore, I wasn’t sure what they would be doing since they had played all of the album in the regular set. However, I was pleasantly surprised when they came out and did a cover of Weezer’s “Troublemaker”! I love getting to hear new songs live from Hanson and with 5 of 5 last year I am pretty much at a standstill with album songs – but covers are always welcome!

Boston was marked as my 50th time hearing “MMMBop” live (they play it at every tour stop but they don’t do it at every radio performance which is why there is the 13 shows I have not heard it at) and Troublemaker became my 150th different Hanson song I had heard live. (I think I’ve heard over 1,000 songs from them total – but obviously that is many repeats!)

Boston’s limited poster featured a picture of all 3 guys, so I opted to buy another one. Then I left in in the restroom. As I realized it and went back to the stall, a girl was coming out with it and gave it to me. Thank goodness she was honest and didn’t try to pass it off as her own! (Although I would have known it was mine by the hairband I used as the rubberband) Nice to know that there are still nice people out there 🙂

Hanson Toad’s Place

Katie October 11, 2011 0 Comments

On Saturday, Hanson brought their Musical Ride tour to New Haven, CT to Toad’s Place. Each date was posted up on the band’s official website, hanson.net, along with a poll. Each poll included 3 albums and the winner of the vote would be played in its entirety at the show. For New Haven, the band’s debut album, Middle of Nowhere won (by a narrow margin). This show ended up being my 250th concert (overall) and 62nd Hanson show.

Before the show, we went to get something to eat and as we walked by we heard Zac soundchecking “Lucy” which is his lead vocal song from Middle of Nowhere and I completely freaked out. Turned 12 years old again freakout, I don’t know what came over me!

Each night, the band also has 25 limited edition posters available. I had been looking through images of some of the past shows and the only one I didn’t particularly like was the one with a Buffalo on it from Phoenix. Wouldn’t you know that New Haven’s was a Buffalo? But I had to get it since this was my “hometown show”

Doors were relatively early, at 6pm, because after the show Toad’s would be having a dance party! Hanson would need to be off stage by about 9:45. We got inside and went straight to merch for the buffalo poster. Then we snagged a spot near the soundboard for the evening and waited some more.

Charlie Mars was on first, at 7pm. I really had a hard time getting in to him. He played everything acoustic and I think that was why. It really didn’t get my pumped and he even commented that Hanson shows might have been better if he brought his whole band to back him.

Hanson took the stage at 8pm and started with the tour namesake song, Musical Ride. 6 songs in they started with Middle of Nowhere and the songs were mixed in, they didn’t do the album in order or anything like that. (But in between songs I kept counting out what songs they did and what were still to come because 14 years later I still have that tracklisting memorized!)

During the acoustic set, Taylor forgot the second verse to Kiss me When You Come Home and Isaac and Zac were teasing him and asked us to sing it but then Taylor said “I just remembered it!” But we helped him out a bit. It always amazes me when a band forgets the words to their own song… but I guess they do have a lot of songs to remember!

They ended the night with an encore of With You In Your Dreams which was bit of a downer, but what are you gonna do.

After the show, I wanted to find a seat but as we walked by one of the doors, Zac walked out! A few minutes later Taylor and Isaac walked out with a gang of security.

We hung around hoping one of the guys would come out to sign, but one of the venue guys walked by and said the guys wouldn’t be coming out. This is when I announced “They said that before I got my first picture with Zac. He came out!” Turns out, history repeated itself and Zac was out by the buses. There was no barricade and I don’t do well in pushing crowds so I sent my friends up with my poster. They met him but weren’t able to get it signed. So we waited a bit and Maribeth and I ventured into the now crowd which had thinned out a bit. I was able to get my Buffalo signed and we each got a photo with Zac. By the time I got back to my car I couldn’t feel my feet, but it was worth it!

Hanson at Gaylord National June 18, 2011

Katie June 23, 2011 0 Comments

Saturday evening I went to see Hanson at the Gaylord National in National Harbor, MD. (My 100th concert in a state other than my home state of CT!) Before leaving we found out that National Harbor is actually Oxon Hill, MD! Luckily we figured that out because I don’t think the GPS would have gotten us there otherwise.

We were able to purchase a packaged deal which included a one night stay at the hotel, tickets to see Hanson and a M&G pass for after the show. It seemed pretty reasonably priced (only and extra $10 per person for the M&G!) so we went for the full VIP treatment.

Fresh 94.7 was hosting the event, and I have to say they were completely organized and everyone that I had met working for them was incredibly nice as well. The staff at the hotel was also really nice too!

Justin Trawick (http://www.justintrawick.com/) was the opener and did about 8 songs. I enjoyed him, however the majority of the crowd made it fairly obvious that they were there to see Hanson by rudely talking through most of his set.

Next up it was time for Hanson. They came out really quickly after Justin’s set and I think they were not prepared to be hitting the stage so soon! They did a 10 song set and chatted a little bit with the crowd. The airline had ruined one of Isaac’s guitar on their trip and they talked a bit about that and dedicated “Strong Enough To Break” to the lost guitar, Pablo. On the line “play like broken records..” Isaac sang “Play like broken guitars”

After the set we waited a bit for the M&G to start. My friend had a picture of a billboard that is in PA that says “Even though her favorite band is still Hanson” which is part of their ad campaign that features a bunch of billboards on why you should still propose to your girlfriend “even though”. Isaac and Taylor didn’t seem to understand what was going on so I tried to explain “You still propose.. even though her favorite band is still Hanson” and they still didn’t quite get it. Zac, however, seemed to understand more after my explanation so we talked a bit about how is it a bad thing to like Hanson (no) and he wasn’t offended by the billboard but wasn’t exactly sure how to take it either. At least now I can joke that Zac and I talked about getting engaged! (Though.. not to each other. He is happily married and I’m… happily single?)

The radio station took photos of us while we were talking to the guys, we weren’t allowed anything posed. I am (not so) patiently awaiting for those to be added to the station’s website!

Setlist under the cut!

Hanson Members Only Event May 14, 2011

Katie May 18, 2011 0 Comments

Saturday night was Hanson’s Members Only Event in Tulsa, OK. It was being held at Cain’s Ballroom, but it was seated and a small crowd to keep things intimate. Rather than playing on the stage, the band was playing on the floor and there were several rows of chairs and then some risers in the back.

I was lucky enough to get a front row spot – which at first I was excited about, but then I realized just how intimate the whole thing was and it was kind of awkward haha. But I enjoyed myself just the same. (Actually, I think the awkwardness came from the fact that it was being FILMED)

We were right in front of Zac’s drums, so I was pretty excited… and then they walked out and Taylor sat at the drums and Zac went to the piano. They tricked us like this once before too… they had some technical difficulties right at the start, the “robot” that goes “click, click, click” was not working and they said how usually to kill time they sing someone happy birthday – so they sang happy birthday to whoevers birthday it was. Then they sang the Stevie Wonder happy birthday song. Then Zac sang some of Jimmy Crack Corn and I kept asking my friend Keena “do these songs count for the setlist?” because I had a pad and paper on my lap to keep track of the songs since we were not supposed to use phones or cameras. (Although, that rule didn’t seem to be enforced)

Once they got all the technical glitches out of the way, they played for us songs from “Facing the Blank Page” which is the EP you receive for being a Hanson.net Fan Club member in 2011. The way this EP came together was interesting – they decided to live stream to the fans their writing/recording process and basically each song came together in a day!

They played Sonny Get Your Gun and then after the second song, Sunny Day, they went in to a cover of Cecelia. They also had us doing a LOT of clapping and then stomping and clapping at the same time which I could not really do. My hand eye coordination is lacking and then throwing in trying to do something with my legs too? Forget it! But I tried, and that is what matters! Then they did the rest of the EP – Time Baby Take It, Bittersweet and Get Out Of My Heart. Taylor was on the drums with Zac on the piano/guitar for 2 songs.

After the EP songs they said they went in to the vault and would play some rarer songs. Zac played guitar and they all came out around one mic to play Live Forever, which was a song on a previous Members Only CD. They took it back and did Next Train, another rare song to hear live and finished off the Members Only songs with Coming Back For More.

Then they played a few songs off their latest release – Shout it Out – Waiting For This, Thinking Bout Somethin and Give a Little. They finished out the set with The Ugly Truth from the Van Wilder 2 soundtrack and then left for a brief break before it was time for Q&A.

Nothing too interesting in the Q&A but they confirmed a US tour, South American Tour and European dates pretty much… they also said they are looking to do a 5 of 5 in Australia but would want to have Shout It Out released there around the same time and that the earliest opening they have would be January – but that would be summer in Australia so it might work out.

There was a lot of talk about what to do when you get flack for still liking Hanson and they basically said to “not give a sh*t” about it and “at least they’re not Lady GaGa!” (I cheered a lot when Zac said that) and a guy requested that they sing the National Anthem. They had mentioned they were out of practice and kind of skirted the request, but after the last question Taylor whispered something to Zac and Zac said “Taylor wants to sing the National Anthem” so they all huddled around a mic and did it. It was amazing. Their 3 part harmonies are perfect and to be that close was just… really really awesome!

After the show we went out to Denny’s to grab some dinner w/ some friends which was a lot of fun. I was being ridiculous though because I was SO tired!

Concert Hanson

Hanson WPST Music Lounge

Katie March 10, 2011 2 Comments

Yesterday Hanson performed for contest winners at WPST in Princeton, NJ. My friend Kim won her way in and invited me as her guest! We were expecting there to be 30 winners (therefore 30-60 people) but they only had 10 winners and a guest each for 20 people. Except that 3 winners didn’t even show up so there was only 14 of us! (And a couple extras got added in just before Hanson performed)

In usual Hanson fashion, they were late. We were put in a conference room for a bit and we assumed this meant that they only had one entrance to the station and they didn’t want us in the lobby when Hanson arrived. Then we were moved into the “lounge” which was just a small room with 3 rows of chairs (In the random draw, Kim drew 2nd row for our seats) and shortly after Hanson came in the room.

They did 4 songs – Thinking Bout Something, These Walls, Where’s The Love and Give a Little. Before These Walls, they were talking about jughandles. For those of you who don’t know, in New Jersey (I am not sure if it is all or just some areas) you can’t make left turns instead you turn right to go left. I believe it is done because it is safer and causes less accidents this way but if you are not used to this concept it can be VERY confusing. (Especially if your GPS says that the location is on the left and you are not prepared by being in the right lane!) Taylor ended up singing a bit about jughandles in the song, which led to him completely messing up the song a couple of times, but it was so funny no one seemed to mind.

Taylor also explained that he got a new, smaller keyboard instead of his professional best recording interface and keyboard, for when they travel and it has a TON of buttons on it, so he was hitting a few and Zac started dancing. I swear, Taylor hits a button by accident on his keyboard all the time – and it always leads to Zac either dancing or making up a ridiculous song.

They took a few requests, but unfortunately most of them were not songs they were able to do acoustically so they had to turn them down (Georgia, Dying To Be Alive, Runaway Run) and they ended up doing Where’s The Love. Their last song was their latest single, Give a Little.

After they performed, we were taken out of the room an walked around the studio in a loop (jughandle?) and lined up to meet the guys. We were able to get something signed and a photo of just us with them which is a VERY rare thing and very awesome 🙂

Zac ended up taking my CD from my to sign first… and then dropped it on the floor. Isaac had it and was ready to sign but was talking to Kim about Boomerang (their first album which she was having them sign) and then Taylor went to grab it from him to sign but Isaac grabbed it back because he hadn’t yet signed it. Then Taylor got it and asked my name and added a “To Katie ROCK ON” to it!

We went down in to the lobby and chatted a bit with some other fans who were there, and a few minutes later food went by so we assumed Hanson would be staying to eat at the station. But instead, they came downstairs a few minutes later and said hi/bye and went out to their car. We followed them and they all walked past my car – Zac had parked their van just a few spots over from my car so he had to drive right by me to leave. I am not sure why that was so exciting to me, maybe because I did not have much sleep – waking up at 6:15 to get ready to go after falling asleep at who knows when! (After 1am, for sure)

Overall it was a really fun day and I am glad that Kim invited me as her guest 🙂 Even if being stuck in ridiculous traffic for 45 minutes when you are super, super tired can be considered a form of torture – it was worth it!

Concert Hanson

Hanson @ WXLO’s Music Lounge

Katie March 5, 2011 0 Comments

Hanson is embarking on a radio promo tour now that they have released their 2nd single from Shout It Out, “Give A Little” Since it looks like they will not be touring the USA in 2011, I decided I should try to check out some of their appearances if I could. (The perks of being unemployed! ha)

Yesterday they were scheduled to appear at Boston’s Children Hospital in the early afternoon and WXLO’s Music Lounge at Wachussetts Mountain in Princeton, MA in the evening. Since I figured Boston would be too difficult for my to navigate on my own, I opted to only attend the latter event.

I got there around 2:30pm, figuring most people would be trying to hit up both events. There were a couple of guys setting up the “stage” when I got there, and a few rows of people were already there as well. A couple of girls had gotten there at 7am! (We were told it was open to the public, but space would be limited) It turned out that the Boston event had NOT been open to the public (though a few fans did manage to get in) so I was proud of myself for not making yet another poor life decision! Hooray! Maybe since it is March now my luck has turned around.

As the hours went by, the crowd got bigger and bigger. Hanson was supposed to perform at 5:30, but they don’t say they run on Hanson Standard Time for nothing! The performance didn’t start until 6, or maybe even later. For a second after the performance started, everyone remained sitting, which was nice. But then all hell broke loose. Everyone jumped up, I had 2 girls with me in the spot where my chair once was. Fortunately I was able to keep my balance and see most of the performance. There were a decent number of kids in the crowd as well so everyone getting rowdy like that was not the smartest idea. But I believe MOST of these “fans” were girls who loved them way back when and then heard they would be playing a free show and decided to check it out. The fans I recognized from multiple shows did not seem to be acting like fools.

Taylor asked, I believe, if anyone wanted to go Naked Skiing. LOL What? We were at a ski resort, but still! The performance was in the lodge, so there were windows to the side of Taylor. There were some kids outside who were dancing around by the windows and watching, and Zac ran up to the window and smashed against it at one point, when they thought they were done performing. But then a few girls started begging for them to play MMMBop, so they did.

Unfortunately, the tweet I attempted to send with the setlist got lost somewhere in cyber space due to the issues I was having with service. (The more people that showed up, the more issues I was having connecting) This setlist is from memory – but I will confirm it with the video I took later this weekend and make modifications if needed. I am not sure if any video is post worthy, but I’ll see if maybe I can make a compilation video of some clips that came out ok. That is – if I can figure out how to work iMovie. It is about time I taught myself how to work the program though!

Setlist and pics under the cut:

Waiting For This
Kiss Me When You Come Home
Where’s The Love
Thinking Bout Somethin’
Penny & Me
Give a Little
MMMBop

Concert Hanson

Hanson at the Dome at Oakdale 11/20

Katie November 22, 2010 0 Comments

Saturday night, Hanson took their Shout It Out tour to the Dome at the Oakdale Theater. The Dome is the lobby of the theater and was general admission. The stage was near the stairs to the balcony. Capacity for the lobby is something like 2,000 and I’d say that it was about 50% full!

Once again, Jarrod Gorbel was the opener. Although he did minimal talking to the crowd, I think the only time he talked was to say his name. I don’t know if he got backlash from people for picking on people in the crowd or if since there was a curfew in place they told him to cut back on his talking. Either way, he still did not go over very well with the crowd as I was getting messages asking me how many more songs he had to go. (I think he does about 9, which is about 8 too many)

Rather quickly after Jarrod left the stage set lists were taped down and Hanson took the stage shortly after. As usual, they started off with the Waiting For This Medley, but they then went in to Where’s The Love. At this point I thought they were cutting songs and we’d get a short set due to the curfew, but after a few more songs I realized that they were just really mixing things up for us! They threw in Been There Before and Save Me, which are rare occurrences on this tour. They also did Song To Sing during the acoustic set (which had Christine and I placing bets on whether it was Song to Sing or Me Myself and I. I lost the bet lol) Unfortunately though they did not do the extra verse that they used to throw in when they did it live.

When they went back to electric they started with Penny and Me, which they had done acoustically the night before. It is nice how a good majority of their songs can sound great both electric and acoustic and they have a lot of options for their short acoustic set. Crazy Beautiful also snuck its way into the set which I hadn’t heard in a while and they added Let’s Get It On during the break in If Only. I think this is the first time they’ve done that at a show I was at this tour – it is nice that it is not something they do every night because it makes it that much more special when they do.

For the encore, we got 2 christmas songs – Merry Christmas Baby and Run Rudolph Run. I was hoping for an Everybody Knows the Claus – which they had done live before but never at a show I was at. (Darn)

Taylor also had a camera with him on stage – he took some photos of the crowd when they first came out and then went all paparazzi on Zac when he was singing And I Waited!

We also thought we would be free from Taylor telling us to jump, but during In The City he came around to our side of the stage and of course, pointed and motioned for us to jump…

With the curfew and the show ending before 11, we were able to head over to Sonic for a late dinner. The orange creamslush I got was really good – once it melted enough for me to be able to drink it through the straw!

I am now covered in bruises from the barricades and feel like I’ve been hit by a truck – but it was certainly all worth it!

Waiting For This Medley
Where’s The Love
And I Waited
Speechless
Been There Before
Save Me
Carry You There
Strong Enough To Break
This Time Around
Song To Sing
Penny and Me
Voice In The Chorus
Minute Without You
Thinking Bout Something
Crazy Beautiful
Oh Darling
MMMBop
Give A Little
If Only / Let’s Get It On
Merry Christmas Baby
Run Rudolph Run

Concert Hanson

Hanson Acoustic Cafe

Katie November 22, 2010 0 Comments

I had won my way into the 96.5TIC Acoustic Cafe with Hanson which was on Saturday morning. It took doing trivia every day and the finally getting enough points to win the auction at 12:13am on November 17th! It was incredibly stressful but I am so glad that I ended up winning!

We were told to get there at 10:30, but ended up getting there at 10am instead, just to be on the safe side. While we were in line it was mentioned that it was my 56th show, and TWICE it was mentioned by people that they didn’t even know Hanson has performed that many shows. HELLO? They have toured almost non stop for the past 13 years. What ROCK have you been living under Mr Promotions Man at TIC!? (Oh, I know, one where they let you cut people in Jonas Brothers M&G; lines…) This got me curious to see just how many shows Hanson has done. Counting official tours only – not radio promotions or anything like that – they’ve done: ~457. (count is give or take a couple because I am not a perfect counter when it comes to scrolling down websites)

We weren’t let in until after 10:30 and were told not to go to the stage because they were still setting it up. The mics were all set up and it looked like the guys would be standing, so I was pretty excited because the stage was only a few inches high and no way would I be able to stand in front of it, so I would be in the back. I had figured I’d be able to see over everyone’s heads.

WRONG. Once Hanson’s bus arrived, they brought in stools for everyone and all the mics were lowered. Then there was a bit of a rush towards the stage. My friend Christine got right up in front and I realized pretty quickly I wasn’t going to be able to see a damn thing. Every once in a while I’d catch a glimpse of one of the guys, though. But I could hear them loud and clear and they sounded great 🙂

They played 4 songs – Waiting For This, Thinking Bout Something, Give A Little and Penny and Me. Then they said they’d be right back to take pictures with us.

At the other acoustic cafes I went to, we were always in the groups we came in (2) so we assumed the same thing would happen. Except, TIC let in all the fans who showed up and hadn’t won (which was nice) but then allowed them to be in on the pictures too – so we had to have *6* people in our photos which I was not too pleased with – but I guess a group photo is better than no photo.

We ended up by Zac for the photo, which was a good thing because I might have thrown a fit if not 😉 We won’t get them for another couple of weeks though because they were taken by a professional photographer. It took Hanson about all of 5 minutes to take photos with everyone (so it would have been what, 15 if everyone got pics in pairs? Cmon.)

We waited outside for them to leave and waved to them and then had to cross right by their bus to get to the doors to go back to where we had parked. When we pulled out of the parking lot, there came their bus down the street so we got to follow it for a little bit which was incredibly exciting!

I had to opt out of heading to Oakdale for the walk because I was running on about 4 hours sleep and desperately needed to take a nap or there was NO way I’d be able to make it through the entire show that night!

Concert Hanson Kicking Daisies

Hanson Sherman Theater 11/19

Katie November 21, 2010 0 Comments

Friday afternoon I made the trek down to Stroudsburg, PA to see Hanson at the Sherman Theater. This would be an extra special show because not only was it seated, my friends had managed to score us front row center tickets!

My GPS said it would take two and a half hours to get there, which was a pleasant surprise because all this time I had been thinking it would be 3 hours. Unfortunately, I ran into 2 accidents in NJ, one of which looked really, really nasty and all the traffic from the crews cleaning them up and rubber necking, etc. added another hour.

When I got there, I had the wrong address in the GPS, so I ended up nowhere near a theater. But I found a McDonalds, grabbed a bite to eat and then reprogrammed the GPS. As I drove by the Sherman Theater, Taylor was standing on a table with a megaphone – I had just missed the walk. (I wasn’t intending on going on it anyway though, so it was fine!)

At this point it was about 4pm, so I hung out in my car (in a handicapped spot I had found on the street – so lucky!) until about 6:30 because doors were at 7 and I wasn’t sure how long it would take me to walk down to the theater. (Turns out, only like 2 minutes lol)

Once 7pm rolled around, everyone loaded in the doors, but it didn’t look like anything was going on. Then more and more people kept coming in. I happened to turn around and saw Maribeth’s sister and her friend so I went outside to wait with them, but then they left to get Maribeth so I ended up going inside on my own.

Once I got inside, I couldn’t find my seat. I had ORCH A, seat 11, but the seats up front were ORCH 1 and ORCH 2, with seats starting with 101. I asked an usher for help and she said “Oh you’re front row!” and brought me to the regular row A, which was numbered 1,3,5,7. Then she looked and saw ORCH 1 and 2 and had to go ask where our seats were. By this point my friends had showed up and were like “what is going on!?” but it all ended up working out and ORCH A was labeled ORCH 1.

The first opening act was Kicking Daisies. They were actually really good and at the end of their set, one of the guys breaking down the stage threw their setlists down to us so I grabbed one. A few of the songs are blacked out (and the page STILL smells like marker) but the ones that aren’t blacked out (and therefore the ones I assumed they played) are: Masquerade, Breathing, Shut Up, Keeping Secrets, Alive. After their “last song” we could see someone come on the side of the stage and hold up one finger and they realized they had time for one more song so they did Video Killed the Radio Star. There is also notes in red stating “Talk Carly” and “Talk Duran” signaling when the band members should talk to the crowd. I wasn’t sure what to expect from them going into it, but I was very into their set, they are very energetic and very talented and maybe I’ll see them around town at some point 😉 I think that they went over really well with the crowd as well based on tweets I was seeing.

Next up was Jarrod Gorbel. I have to say that I enjoyed this set a lot better than his one in Northampton, maybe because he only pointed out one person in the crowd this time. But I still don’t think he was that great of a fit to get everyone hyped up for Hanson (especially sandwiched in between Kicking Daisies and Hanson). He lost his concentration a time or two and had to start a song completely over.. yelling out “FUCK!” and “OH SHIT!” which just made it seem like he was trying too hard. I think seeing him in a completely different setting – maybe in a coffee house or something like that – I would enjoy him. I think he is either incredibly awkward or incredibly nervous (or a combination of both) and that came out with his making fun of people and the like.

Finally it was time for the main event! We were bracing ourselves for people jumping over chairs to be behind us in the front row, but the Sherman had some HUGE (and scary!) security guys who did a great job at keeping everyone in their seats! Kudos to the security team.

The beginning of their set was very much the same as the other shows I had gone to, starting with the Waiting For this Medley – except this time I actually jumped during In the City. They then went in to Make it Out Alive, but surprised me by throwing in Thinking Of You. This one isn’t played all that often, plus since the setlist voting on Hanson.net had Middle of Nowhere in the lead for the encore, I was surprised that they would be throwing random tracks from it into the set. Another surprise was Runaway Run!

Then it was time to break it down for the acoustic set, when Zac was like, directly in front of me. They played Penny and Me and This Time Around which are a bit too over done for my taste (but were singles so I can see why they include them so often) and also threw in a Kiss Me When You Come Home.

Then it was back to electric, where there weren’t too many surprises, but Isaac came flying at me during Hand In Hand and I wasn’t paying attention (I was trying to take a picture) and then I noticed everyone on either side of me had jumped back and thought he was going to go flying over us. (Or fall on my head) During If Only, I jumped during the first part, but not the second. Since it was an old theater, the floor was shaking like CRAZY especially since everyone was jumping on the same beat. I must’ve looked something like this: =-O and then looked up at Zac and he mouthed “JUMP!” to me. I shook my head no, but ended up jumping the next couple of times anyway because it was too scary not to.

For the encore, we knew it would be Middle of Nowhere songs, but the guys had tweeted about possibly throwing in a surprise. They came out and did With You In Your Dreams and then we counted to track 21 and they played Man From Milwaukee. (on the CD, With You In Your Dreams is track #12, then everything is blank until 21) Then they really threw a curve ball by getting us ready for the holiday season by playing Merry Christmas Baby! It was a very pleasant surprise and also a song that I had never heard live before so I was doubly excited 🙂

The show ended shortly after midnight and I was completely exhausted. (Putting all the dance/jump songs of Give A Little / If Only / Lost Without Each Other back to back to back did me in) I bought myself a bottle of water and Iced Tea and went back to the car and hydrated. Then I made the two and a half hour trip back home. No traffic at all, and I got home just before 3am.

Definitely one of my favorite Hanson shows EVER (and it was my 55th so that is saying a lot) My camera LOVED Isaac and I got a few good ones of Zac too, but for some reason the lighting on Taylor wasn’t all that great. Will be making a picture post soon. (Actually, it’ll probably be more like 4 picture posts.. but that is ok!)

Setlist under the cut!

Waiting For This Medley

Make It Out Alive

Thinking of You

And I Waited

Speechless

Runaway Run

Carry You There

Penny and Me

Kiss Me When You Come Home

This Time Around

Where’s The Love

Voice In The Chorus

Can’t Stop

Minute Without You

Hand In Hand

Hey

Thinking Bout Something

Oh Darling

MMMBop

Give A Little

If Only

Lost Without Each Other

With You In Your Dreams

Man From Milwaukee

Merry Christmas Baby

Concert Hanson

Hanson at the Calvin Theater Northampton, MA 11/15/10

Katie November 16, 2010 0 Comments

Last night I went to the Calvin Theater to see Hanson perform. Unfortunately I bought tickets on “Taylor’s side” which meant for the 2nd show in a row I’d be unable to see Zac. Actually, at first I thought I would be able to if I stood to the side of my chair, but, well, I’ll explain why that didn’t work in a second.

While we were waiting for doors to open, Siobhan Magnus of American Idol walked by to get in line, I had wanted to get a picture with her but ended up not wanting to bother her and cause a “scene”, so I didn’t end up getting to meet her – but I did find it odd that the 2 concerts after I got my braces on, an American Idol contestant was at the show. (When I got my uppers on we met Chicken Little – Kevin Covais at the Honor Society show)

Our seats were front row and we sat there and waited for 8pm to roll around when Jarrod Gorbel would take the stage. The place was not filled at ALL so I was wondering if the other fans happened to know something I didn’t. I think they did. While Jarrod has a nice voice, his songs are not very up beat and do not really get you pumped for a Hanson show. He also took time to make fun of people in the crowd, which I didn’t think was cool. And his set seemed to go on forever. Whenever he would talk about going home, I thought that meant that his last song was up next, but then he’d play 2 or 3 more…I am really not looking forward to checking him out 2 more times on this tour and I don’t think I’ve ever felt this negatively about a Hanson opener in the past (with the exception of perhaps The Cringe who opened at Toads Place a few years back and lived up to their name)

Then it was time to wait for Hanson! It actually was a relatively short wait and they came out about 9:15. I was hoping I’d be able to sit for at least some of the show, but once the front row stood up, girls started filling in the aisles so I had to stand up to claim my spot in the front row on the side. I thought this was incredibly rude since it was a seated show and you should just deal with the seats that you have… and if these girls stayed where they were supposed to instead of knocking into me all night I’d have actually been able to see Zac.

Unfortunately there were no new songs for me to add to my “heard live” list, but I did hit over 1,000 songs heard performed live by Hanson a few songs into the set. (I think #1,000 was ‘And I Waited’, but I haven’t double checked that for sure) Oh Darling was a little bit different with Zac holding out an “Oh” for a ridiculously long amount of time. I also don’t recall having heard Madeline electric in a while (not counting 5 of 5, of course)

Taylor also was not too pleased I wasn’t dancing or jumping around – but unfortunately I can’t. Sometimes it is hard enough just to remain standing and any shifting of myself could end up with me falling over. In my head I was dancing and jumping though! At one point he walked all the way over to where we were and said “You need to move!” And then tripped on some wires on the way back to the piano. Don’t mess with me Taylor… 😉

One of the highlights was that they played Lost Without Each Other just before the encore which is one of my all time favorite songs. I tried to get into it a little bit more, but at that point I was tired and had forgotten how to even jump, so I’m not sure I could have if I tried.

The other highlight was when Taylor started talking about how they had some friends with them at the show and I looked over to the side of the stage and saw Stephen Kellogg and Goose! I was like “ITS STEPHEN KELLOGG” and was sooooo excited because I haven’t seen them in what seems like forever. SK and Goose joined Hanson on the encore of Long Way To The Top (Lyrics were printed out and put at the piano and on the ground near the extra mic – I was hoping it would be something new since they put the lyrics down but no such luck. Of course SK and Goose made up for that!)

A lowlight was when one of the girls who pushed her way up front (who started out next to me and being annoying and ended up in front or me and blocking Zac almost entirely from me for the acoustic set) ended up getting on stage to dance with Taylor. It frustrates me when they reward misbehaving.

Setlist under the cut – photos coming soon!

1. Waiting For This Medley
2. Make It Out Alive
3. Where’s The Love
4. And I Waited
5. Speechless
6. Carry You There

7. Underneath
8. This Time Around
9. Penny and Me
10. Use Me Up (Zac solo)

11. Great Divide
12. Voice In The Chorus
13. Can’t Stop
14. Minute Without You
15. Madeline
16. Thinking Bout Somethin
17. Oh Darlin
18. MMMBop
19. Give A Little
20. If Only
21. Lost Without Each Other

22. Long Way To The Top w/ Stephen Kellogg and Goose