Oct. 12, 2000 review

            Hmmm, where to begin?  I’ve seen Hanson 5 times in concert.  I was never disappointed by the band, ever.  Maybe in the quality of my seats, or the fact that a dance recital for a very special person caused me to miss all but two songs…but never by the band.  And all that love and money and energy that I have put into my Hanson hobby, willingly, I might add, all paid off for me in the wonderful culmination of front row seats, “Taylor side”, something only another Hanson fan would understand.  It all began when the tour dates for the “This Time Around” tour were announced.  I sat on pins and needles day after day, watching the monitor of my computer, hoping to see when and where and how it would all go off.  After seeing them twice on the Albertane tour and loving every moment, I was determined to see them at least twice for this tour, and so, when they announced all sorts of dates around me, I got very excited.  In fact, I believe I actually jumped up and down when the town I live in was one of the lucky ones.  Then came the next bit of waiting (which can be a long time in Hanson world.  Say anything you want about Hanson fans, but, dang—we’ve got patience.  We have to.)  waiting to see WHERE they would be.  Because my beloved boss is one of those premiere, very special, gold reserve, hoity toity guys at the Palace, a not too big, but very lovely venue here--  Do I have to admit to you that I was actually praying that they would come there?  No, I don’t.  I know you understand.   Well, sometimes my fellow Hanson heads, prayers get answered.  Not only were they scheduled to come to the Palace, but when I went to work and begged and schmoozed and etc etc, my friend called the Palace and asked what kind of information they had about the show.  His contact there was very surprised that he even knew of it and told him they actually knew next to nothing, but that as soon as she would be able to pre-sell the tickets to him, he would be first on the list of calls.  Ok, let me just tell you---that was probably three months before the actual date of the concert and I was downright giddy for the next 90 days!  Plus, once the time actually came to order the tickets, since we were the only hoity toitys wanting Hanson tickets, she asked the question, “Where do you want your seats?”  Can you imagine?  Not, well you are in row blah blah, seat so and so---it was, “Where do you want your seats?”      A loaded question if there ever was one!!!  So, with about 10 seconds to decide, I said, “Front row!!!  A little to the right!”  After a few moments figuring out if that was right from the stage looking out or right when looking at the stage, he was able to order front row for me, and my friends for $25 each.   The best bargain ever in my days as a consumer.

            Then came the countdown, literally.  Everyday at work, we would say, “42 days!”  or “12 days!”  and then one day came along and the countdown was over.  “It’s tonight.  6 hours!” 

            When I got there, it was packed.  It is a very old, ornate theatre and the lobby is actually fairly large, but, the line to buy merchandise was just…insane.  There’s no other way to describe it.  I saw Kiss from the front row, general admission once, and it was almost as tight a squeeze as the merchandise table for a Hanson concert.  Almost.  After parting with $120 (you’re welcome Hanson.)  we made our way up front to our seats.  There were seats and then the stage.  No little bar or anything, just about six inches of nothing.  In fact, it actually crossed my mind, “This is too close.”  I know, it sounds kooky, but you’d have to be there.  Let me just say that Taylor has big feet and my fingers were threatened over and over.  I can tell you that he is about 6 and a half inches wide at his waist, hips maybe a teeny bit wider, maybe.  He had paint smeared on his jeans and a lovely peace sign patch on the knee.  And the most incredible eyes you’ve ever seen.  I’m not going to describe them, because we’ve all read those descriptions over and over, but I will say, it’s all true.  And when he actually made eye contact, I had to look away—it’s intense.  Zac on the other hand, has these sparkly, laughing eyes that would just cause you to smile and he would smile back.  Zac may get grouchy now and then, and frankly who could blame him, but in general, he is just a sweetie.  He gave his drum sticks to my friend’s little boy and gave a look to the girl behind him who looked like she might try to snag one.  And, I think he, for all his posturing and silliness, is very shy.  When he came out front to sing “I Want You to Want Me”, I could barely hear him and he just looked….embarrassed.  For all the comments people make about Taylor trying to sing over him, or whatever kind of anti-Zac conspiracies people have come up with, I think Zac needs the other two or he wouldn’t have the guts or ambition or whatever you want to call it, to get up there and sing.  He did go down the row and shake hands, but very cautiously.  He would back up at the mere hint that someone might grab him or get too nutty.  And he has big hands.  Hmmm, Isaac was very into the rock ‘n roll thing.  Very professional, all the snarls and licks, but at the end he came by and shook our hands and actually said, “Thanks for coming to the show.”  Again, lovely hands.  If only I could sit him down and talk to him about those old man clothes he wears!  Oh well, that is part of his charm.  Well, that and that incredible smile.  And in his fashion defense, half the time he wears those awful grandpa clothes, but the other half, it is those masculine, earthy ones that make women go weak in the knees.

            Hmmm, am I forgetting anything?  Oh yeah, the music.  Well, first of all, we all know, it’s all about the music, right?  Right!  That said, I won’t go into a set list or anything of that nature, but I will tell you it was incredible and that Hanson gained some respect and some new fans from my friends that night, including my boss.  And I work in a music/comic store—these are not just any old music fans.  Yay for Hanson, a job well done!  They did all sorts of b-sides, which I adore, and some covers.  Love those too.  The thing that I love about Hanson’s music is, it’s fun.  And if they are tired of performing MMMBop, or their audience is tired of hearing it, well, you certainly couldn’t tell it!  The place was literally…bouncing.  The security guard was swaying and going up and down, not because he was having fun—believe me, he wasn’t—but because the floor was moving.  It was actually a little frightening.  But a blast all the same!  And when Taylor would come to the edge of the stage, the crowd would go nuts and he would smile and jump and run and prance and generally egg them on.  He would lean out over us.  Taylor is very…long.  I mean, you look up and my hands would be just right at his feet and then you’d just go up and up.  He has a wonderful smile and that lip thing and etc etc.  And very cold hands even though he was sweating.  A lot.  Taylor, keep drinking that water!  You obviously need it!  Speaking of water, he dropped the cap to his water bottle then managed to kick it and it came flying towards me.  Well, with a little luck and some help from my bud, I came up with it and now, it has been made into a very bizarre piece of jewelry for me by someone who loves me.  Enough to make me a necklace from some guy’s bottle cap.  Whoa.

            I’d love to say the night was perfect, but alas, there were a few selfish idiots that had to mess it up right there at the end.  Not only did a girl come from somewhere behind us and smash that aforementioned $120 worth of stuff, programs and posters included, but she was so determined to get on stage, that even though I had my fingers in her beltloops and then my hands around her ankles, she still made it up there.  She ran right up to Zac and to my delight, he literally pushed her away from him.  Go Zac!!!  But then, of course, she then went for Taylor and when she reached for him, he hugged her.  Yep, she got rewarded for that---hmmm, maybe I need to send Taylor a bill for my stuff.  Along with a motherly note telling him why you don’t reward stupid people for doing stupid things—it only encourages them.  AND, once she got hers, then others did it too.  Why not?  Heck, you might get a hug from Taylor—or the concert could be over right there as Isaac pulls his brothers off to the relative safety of backstage—no acapella and a very quick half bow.  Thanks girls!  Please, email me, I’d love to hear from you. And so, on that note, I will close this little (yeah right) note and let you all reminisce about your own Hanson experiences—hope yours were as wonderful as mine, and if not, don’t give up—it’ll happen.  They’ve got years and years ahead of them and we will all be there, God willing.  Just DON’T get up on stage………grrr.