Underneath: Experience Tour Los Angeles

 

My final adventure of the Underneath: Experience Tour began with a solo cross-country flight, an overpriced airport Lyft, and a Saturday night eating expensive ramen alone in my pajamas in a hotel in downtown Los Angeles. Between the Lyft and the ramen, I blew through $100 without actually going anywhere or doing anything. L.A. is magic like that. 

When I finally left the room and journeyed out into the city to get in line the day of the first show, I had one of the craziest sidewalk experiences I've ever had. There's no moral to this story, folks. It was just a crazy moment destined to become one of those "remember that time..." stories for years to come if you can get through it in one piece.

There's a Downtown Corner People Downtown Throw

Part of the reality of waiting in any Hanson line for an extended period of time is encountering a colorful variety of locals going about their day. If you sit on enough sidewalks around the world, you'll inevitably run into (and be judged by) everyone from businessmen to college students, celebrities, infinite dog owners on walks, and a healthy circulation of homeless individuals. The homeless population can be a wild card and one that is not always looked at fairly, but for all of the kind people I have encountered who were simply down on their luck, there have also been a few who were walking red flags exhibiting aggression, and common sense usually tells you when to exercise compassion or self preservation. Unfortunately, we encountered one of the latter on this trip.

He was shouting angrily to himself before he ever crossed the street to where around 20 of us were sitting in line. If you've been in that situation, you know the drill. You don't engage. You become incredibly invested in a conversation with the stranger beside you. You don't show fear or surprise or any reaction whatsoever, and you wait for him to move on because whatever internal conflict he's experiencing, you're not equipped to fix it. As he got closer to the line, he started screaming "B****, where's my money!" and then began shouting "B****!" "B****!" repeatedly at each individual fan going down the line at the opposite end from where I was sitting. Nobody moved or spoke while this happened; each person just waited for their turn to pass hoping he would leave without further conflict.

Things took a turn when he stopped to pick up some items fans had left behind on a blanket saving their spots, and someone said "that's not yours." At this point he was four or five people away from me, and all of a sudden I heard a loud BAM! sound of something hard slamming into metal with a lot of force. I looked over and saw a busted cell phone laying on the ground. At first I thought he had picked it up from the blanket and that it belonged to a fan, but apparently it was his own phone, and he had thrown it full force against the metal wall we were sitting against. The girls sitting under where it hit scattered, and he walked around the corner back towards the front of the line where I lost sight of him but immediately heard what sounded like a glass bottle smashing.

Moments later, he came back to the end of the line where I was sitting. I could see him draw his arm back to throw something, but I was sitting cross-legged on the ground which, btw, is a terrible position to be in when your fight-or-flight reflex kicks in. (Note to future self: stick to not engaging for as long as you can, but if you sense danger, staying folded in a pretzel is not it.) Anyway, he threw the cell phone with all of his strength in the general vicinity of my head but missed, thank God. When I finally bambied onto my legs, because screw staying seated and disengaged if I'm having projectiles thrown at my head, he started fake-out lunging at me without actually touching me. I was still solidly team "flight" since he hadn't actually made any physical contact, so my goal became to turn my body away from him so that we weren't squaring off--a difficult task considering I was backed against a wall.  

After a couple of lunges I managed to side-step away from him, at which point I turned to see venue staff running towards us with a baseball bat. I took the opportunity to get out of his path and missed seeing him throw his jacket at the girl next to me before finally running away. Writing it all out sounds like some lengthy traumatic ordeal, but in reality the whole thing from start to finish was probably no more than a couple of minutes--just long enough for someone on staff to spot him throwing things on camera, grab the bat, and run outside. For what it's worth, no one was hurt, and if this feels like some cautionary tale against camping out for shows, think again because it took place in broad daylight around 1pm. 

On a much lighter note, spending one day sitting on what might be the dirtiest sidewalk on earth inspired us to order cheap knockoffs of the tiny packable chairs other fans had in line. One day Amazon Prime delivery for the win. We had them delivered to our hotel early the next morning, I actually had room to take mine home in my carry-on, and it was one of the best impulse buys I've had in a very long time.

Acoustic Night One

To be completely honest, I wasn't thrilled to learn that these shows would be on a streaming platform. Maybe that sounds weird and you're thinking how great it would be to be able relive a show you were at, but I've had an experience or two years ago where it felt like the band was more invested in playing to the cameras than playing to the crowd in front of them, and in general it kind of changes the dynamic of the show. I prefer more off-the-cuff, anything might happen banter and surprise songs vs. scripted for replay quality, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that this show did not feel too stuffy or scripted; it felt like most of the other acoustic night shows. I thought Hanson did a great job balancing being present for fans in the room while also staying aware that they were being recorded.

I think my favorite part of the night, silly as it may sound, was finally nailing the claps during "Cecilia," if "nailing" can be described as staring intently at Zac's hands with such concentration that I couldn't sing along, smile, or spare much attention for the melody or words. Probably not the best way to actually enjoy the song, but I felt accomplished after that first Church studio performance that had me eyeing all three of them going "What do I do with my hands?" We also managed to not completely butcher the "Thinking Bout Something" dance and at least mirrored our simultaneous wrongness into looking planned, so that was fun.

I also have to give a shoutout to John Calvin Abney, who I've seen play harmonica on "Dressed in Brown Eyes" with Hanson a few times before, but this time was even better. I feel like this tour managed to take that song from a generally liked fan-club song to having a stronger standing in the general list of Hanson songs that really come to life during a live performance.

(Un)Spoken Etiquette

Going back to the concept of being cognizant of fans in the room while also aware that things are being recorded for a moment...There was one issue on the first night that has me dusting off the old soapbox to say something I thought was super obvious and understood among fans, but clearly someone missed the memo. 

Here's the memo:

 

1. If you have something you need to yell at Hanson, no you don’t. 

If you feel driven to do it anyway, pick the one thing you can’t live without yelling, yell it at an at least semi-appropriate time during the show, and move on. You do not need to yell the same thing 10 times, yell 10 different things one time each, or loudly discuss variations of what you plan to yell next in between yelling.

2. If you find yourself telling a story that has a beginning, middle, and end at any point during the show, then you’ve come to the wrong place.

3. If you find yourself in attendance with someone who is trying to tell you a story that has a beginning, middle, and end, then it is your responsibility to take one for the team and deliver the message that your friend does not want to accept from angry strangers, i.e., kindly STFU.

4. If you don’t like a song, feel free to play quietly on your phone. Go to the bathroom. Get a drink. Take apart a dozen friendship bracelets and rearrange the letters into a haiku expressing your dislike. Do literally any silent thing that you wish, but let the rest of us listen and enjoy the show. BRB, requesting a new hansonstage feature to track songs I almost heard but can’t in good conscience count because there was too much talking.

And finally,
if you take nothing else away from this soapbox rant,

5. Yelling repeatedly and having loud, full conversations over multiple songs within the first few rows is not just disrespectful to the people around you, it's disrespectful to the band--especially on a night when they are recording and have an opportunity to potentially make a first impression on a much larger audience and gain new fans.

This concludes my Ted Talk, which I chose not to deliver in the middle of a live performance of "I've Got Soul" out of respect to others. Thank you.


(To be fair, things were significantly better on night two, so idk what changed, but I'd like to extend a strong thank you to whatever variables we have to thank for that.)

Electric Night Two

I can't talk about night two without first giving a verbal standing ovation to Phantom Planet, who somehow managed to make this last show on their home turf feel like I was attending a headlining Phantom Planet show. This show had OG band member Sam Farrar and a bonus saxophone player who I can only assume had Hanson and their love of horns feeling a little jealous. The energy was great, and they were filming it all for a documentary that I will definitely be watching if it means I can relive part of a great show. I don't think I've gone a single day since I've been back home without bits of "Do the Panic" popping into my head at random. I REALLY hope these guys make it Back to the Island with us at some point.

The electric show ended with the same crazy buildup of high energy songs that I was raving about in Atlanta, "If Only" into "In the City" into "Rock 'n' Roll Razorblade" into "Lost Without Each Other" featuring Phantom Planet. I don't care if we all got old enough that Taylor and the majority of the crowd are not into jumping during every "In the City" chorus anymore, I'm not ready to edit it down to just one jumping session yet, even though my legs will pay for it later. (Also, God bless venues like The Belasco that pass out free water at the barricade).

As we exited the lobby to leave for the night, I spotted a familiar male face leaving at the same time that had me staring for a moment trying to place who this fan was and what show I had met him at before. I finally spotted a second familiar face just behind him and realized I had been staring at Andy Lawrence, followed by his brother Joey, and not some fan I had met in passing. The last time I saw Hanson in L.A., we ended up bottlenecked at the tiny exit with Darren Criss, so maybe this a weird new tradition.

Another One Bites The Dust

I realize for a post that is supposed to be a recap of a couple of Hanson shows, I've managed to use a lot of words without saying much about the music this time. The truth is this tour was great for varying things from night one to night two, not so much for varying setlists between cities, so there's not much to add once I've discussed it all once. I would have liked a few more twists from city to city, but having roughly 45 unique songs in constant rotation on a tour is hardly a slacker move. I'm glad I got to see the start and the end and a few in between, and for the spread of friends I got to see along the way, some in one city, some in a few, and some I missed and will catch up with soon enough in the new year.

And speaking of the new year, I've got a few "resolutions" from this tour that I can think of for Hanson if they need inspiration for the next BTTI:

1. "The Luckiest."
2. "My Own Sweet Time," "I Almost Care," and "Let You Go."
3. "Pink Moon."
4. Phantom Planet.

*For accuracy purposes, if you would like to live vicariously through this blog and get a feel for what it was like to be there in person, try watching the Veeps stream and imagine that this post was delivered verbally beginning during "Strong Enough to Break" with every tenth sentence shouted.

Underneath: Experience Tour Nashville

 

While Hanson are no strangers to Nashville, this was their first time playing Cannery Hall. With any luck, I hope it's their last. I don't regret going and I had a good enough time, but I truly do not recommend visiting this venue unless you are 1. Over 6 feet tall, or 2. Cool with standing in line to get a close up view of other people who are over 6 feet tall (and no, I don't mean Taylor). I was lucky enough to get a good spot both nights, but the venue space in general was just weirdly small and not right for a Hanson show in my opinion. The staff was also strangely territorial about their property and you could pay to park on it, but the line wasn't allowed on the premises. Consider this the second venue on my “not going back there if I can help it” list.
 

P.S. Dear Tall People, I don't blame you. Stages should be better.

Night One

Our first sign that the venue was not what we're used to came when we walked in to find a moving wave backdrop behind the stage that felt like we were in an aquarium. It wasn't bad, just totally foreign from your standard House of Blues setup and a little distracting. When John Calvin Abney took the stage, the waves changed to a galaxy scene. He told us that the staff asked if he had a logo to display on their digital background, and his response was something to the effect of "nah, but I think it'd be cool to be in space." I totally would have asked for a Windows 2000 screensaver with some popping bubbles or a brick wall maze, because that's basically what this felt like.

When Hanson came out for the first show, Zac was wearing his glasses with the built in camera. I never noticed the light on and am not sure if he recorded anything during the show, but he kept them on all night and was giving off extreme Clark Kent vibes. Wrong night, sir, but not a bad look. Someone should've found him a Superman tee for the easiest costume ever on night two.

The acoustic setlist was mostly a textbook replica of all the other acoustic nights with the exception of no "Annalie" and the addition of one very unexpected Taylor solo. The moment I had my phone out ready to record just in case he finally broke out "The Luckiest" and felt my heart sink when I recognized the first notes of "Lost Without You" was the moment I knew that Hanson completely ruined me by leaking that setlist. There is absolutely no reason I should ever feel disappointment over "Lost Without You," but here we are. This is what happens when you leak epic setlist spoilers and then don't follow through. Please, please play "The Luckiest" at BTTI so I can relax and move on, most likely after writing seven paragraphs about how amazing it was to finally hear it. In all seriousness, though, round of applause for switching things up with "Lost Without You" because yes, that was still greatly appreciated!

The "Me and Julio/Cecelia" mashup continues to be a favorite for me, and I had a great time attempting to follow Zac's clapping rhythm but mostly butchering it immediately after three-second increments of getting it right. (As far as I can tell, the pattern is knees, one clap, knees, two claps, knees, one clap, sudden onset rhythm amnesia, hand flailing, repeat).

Night Two

The Pre-Show Gag Reel

Before I get into Halloween and the specifics of the second show, I want to share with you a new fear that was unlocked for me on this night. Imagine being at a crummy venue with approximately negative five spots you can actually see from. You wait in line ALLLL day (*cough*andnight) to secure one of them, you spend eight hours in a very involved, not entirely comfortable Halloween costume, and you get rained on for a good portion of that time. You've somehow crammed a wig and fake ears under an uncomfortably tight poncho hood that isn't built for elves, and you're prepared to sacrifice your favorite Hanson symbol umbrella at the door in hopes of retaining some dry space on your body. You deal with all the normal pre-show chaos and uncertainty of what line is going where and who is actually going to be let in first. You finally make it to the front row where you can stow your umbrella and breathe a breath of relief that you actually made it to a decent spot and your hard work, anxiety, and exhaustion have all paid off. The crowd fills in. The show is about to start.

AND THEN THE FREAKING FIRE ALARM GOES OFF.

The panic that I felt thinking I might have to evacuate that spot was probably on par with the panic I would have felt if I'd seen actual flames. The whole front of the room was exchanging "Guess we're going to die in this spot" looks of solidarity, and I honest to God think a police officer would have had to walk in and threaten to arrest me to get me to leave that barricade. Thankfully, it only lasted for a minute or two before it got shut off and we didn't actually have to evacuate. But like I said, new fear forever unlocked.


The Show

I know I’ve skipped mentioning them in my tour posts so far, but I’d like to take a moment to say how much I’ve loved having Phantom Planet on tour with Hanson. I’m not a hardcore fan, but they’re a band I genuinely liked prior to Hanson bringing them out. I actually saw them live for the first time way back in 2008 when they played a show at my college on Valentine’s Day and I helped sell their merch. I took home an EP that day and fell in love with every song on it. “Leader” became my favorite, and I finally got to hear it before the show in Nashville. 

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Shoutout to their matching skeleton attire and my pal Charizard making a cameo up front. I really hope these guys make a reappearance as special guests at BTTI.



This is where I’m going to veer into unusually whiny territory, and I’m sorry in advance. Nashville was the tour stop I was most looking forward to since the second show fell on Halloween. I try to have realistic expectations when it comes to Hanson, and while mine were probably a bit higher than what I expect from an average show, I thought they were still realistic based on years of already established Halloween memories. The Make It Out Alive Halloween MOE in Tulsa in 2010 was one of my favorite trips. There was a costume contest, Hanson dressed as the three musketeers (two carrying swords, one wearing a giant candy bar wrapper), and they ended the show with the Ghostbusters song. I wasn’t there, but I know in 2009 they dressed up and performed “Thriller.” My other Halloween experience was at Epcot in 2011, which is arguably too short to play a special song, but they dressed as storm troopers and Dimitrius and Taylor swapped places until they pulled off their masks for a funny reveal.

I know they’ve tapered off on doing much for Halloween the past few years at Disney, but Nashville was the first actual tour stop on Halloween in years, so I still held out hope for something festive. A costume, a cover song, idk, throw some candy into the crowd? Just any little extra nod that says thanks for joining us on this particular night when you probably had a lot of other social options and/or skipped trick-or-treating with your kids to be here. As I answered someone on the hnet forums who asked what Hanson ended up wearing for Halloween: This year they went as three tired members of a band on show seven in a row.


I went about 700x more festive than that, and I have no regrets.

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I still had a good time dressing up with my friends and seeing other fun costumes in the crowd, but something felt a little bit lackluster about this one even beyond the band ignoring Halloween. It felt like they were powering through song after song without stopping, and maybe in an alternate universe where I had more sleep and less rain and half a dozen other improved variables, I’d be spinning that as an energized band who never slowed down and kept up an electric pace. In reality, it felt more to me like they were rushing through each one desperately trying to get to the end. To quote the title track of this tour, the phrase that comes to mind is “There is nothing gone, but there’s something missing,” and I suspect the thing that’s missing is sleep. 

I can’t blame Hanson for being tired/sick humans after seven shows in seven days including 12 Disney sets and a random RT flight to NYC. I’m cranky if I have to work seven days in a row in my own hometown with 8 hours of sleep in my own bed each night, so I know we're lucky we even got a show and I can’t imagine how they’re feeling. But somewhere along the line, someone approved that many shows in a row, and I’d like to mom them just a little bit and remind them that that pace isn’t sustainable, self care is important, we're all older and more tired, and whoever planned that string of exhaustion should probably make better choices next time. At least I hope it's a case of being too tired to do bonus content and not that we're getting too old for all the childish bits of tours past like cake smashing, costumes, and finale show pranks. I vote we keep embracing some of that child-like joy in whatever format we can, maybe starting with naps.

Underneath: Experience Tour Atlanta

Atlanta is always a complicated tour stop for me. On one hand, it's always one of my closest show options (a ~6 hr drive depending on traffic) and feels like a no-brainer for someone who likes to do multiple shows. On the other hand, there is a long list of things I'd rather do than drive in Atlanta traffic, and on occasion, skipping a Hanson concert is one of them. Under different circumstances I might have just chosen another city, but with a small tour where my closest stop fell on a Hanson’s birthday, I knew this wasn’t a “skip Atlanta” year for me.


I entertained the idea of driving alone at first, but I’m a little embarrassed to admit that this trip ended up breaking my 10-year self-imposed rule of hoarding air miles for international use only. I couldn't bring myself to pay $400 for a flight to a place I could drive on $50 of gas, so throwing away air miles was the compromise. I’ve now cashed in my miles on three exotic locations: Australia, Brazil, and Atlanta 😂. 

Acoustic Night One

The crowd at the acoustic show was weirdly rowdy and had me a little concerned about what things would be like on electric night. There was a lot of talking during quiet parts, but it wasn’t just bored people talking to their neighbors; they were actively involved and trying to take the conversation to the stage with lots of randomly shouted “Happy Birthday!” moments and “I love you (insert brother here)!” Then there was the one guy close behind me who just kept shouting “39!!” throughout the show like the universe glitched and dropped some angry football fan shouting at a player on the sidelines directly into acoustic “MMMBop” instead. It’s fortunate he was there to remind us all what we were celebrating, though. Just imagine how disappointing the show might have been without his dedication to spreading the awareness of Zac's new age.

But the rowdiness wasn’t all bad. The crowd participation during the singalong parts was top-notch. We nailed “Madeline.” We had Isaac grinning during his solo of “River.” We practically became a 4th member of the band during “A Song To Sing” whether they wanted us to or not, and I always love when the crowd has that sort of electric vibe of all being connected in the same moment. 

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As for it being Zac's birthday, I feel like there's always this expectation among fans for something epic to happen at a birthday show. It's true that there's something a little bit special about it, but I think we're past the years of cakes being smashed or thrown into the audience. I got the feeling Zac appreciates the well wishes but also wants us to focus on the music and quit screaming bonus content at him every five seconds. This show had me trying to remember the last time I saw an actual cake smash, which had me questioning how many of his birthday shows I've been to, and here's what I found:

Apparently I've been to every one of Zac's birthday shows since the first one I attended in 2009, there have been a grand total of six since then, two of them had smashed cakes, and the last time that happened was 2015. Also pro-tip: If you see the cake being brought out mid-show, it's not going in anyone's face. That's a finale move. You don't cover the drummer in icing if you expect him to sit back down and play more songs. Here's a throwback to them all, because why not? 

No cake in 2012 because it was at Epcot, and I guess you don't waste 5 min. of a 30 min. set on cake

On a more serious note, this show in particular was a better reminder than usual that we all perceive things differently and it can be hard to get at the "truth" of a situation even when you're all taking in the same details at the same time. Someone shared a video of Taylor during "A Song To Sing" after the shows were over and there were comments about how he was in tears. I didn't notice it at all in person despite Taylor giving a self-proclaimed "ooey gooey speech" to introduce the song. But there were several concerned comments and people that said they noticed him crying, and his face is definitely glistening with a drip or two in some of the videos shared. Then someone presented perspective number two, which was Taylor was just sweating profusely and it was dripping into his eyes. Is anyone lying? No. Are any of us equipped to know the real answer? Also no, and I think the same thing applies to so many fan disagreements where nobody is making anything up, we just all took in the same incomplete information and processed it differently. 

Electric Night Two

While waiting in line for the second show, a local comedian showed up around noon to record some promo footage in front of the venue and said he was shocked to find a line there. We talked to him for a little while and he ended up going down the line and getting us to help him film some content which was a fun twist to the usual characters we meet on sidewalks. I'm definitely no actor and the footage may never see the light of day, but it was fun talking to him, and if nothing else he got a crash course in the dedication of Hanson fans. Maybe our insanity will be a bit in his routine one day.

Oddly, the crowd seemed almost calmer to me during the electric show. I don't know if people were more invested in trying MMMHops and Pink Moonlight on night one and had a few extra drinks out of fear that it would sell out (it didn't), but I didn't notice any heckling or catcalling on the second night. What I did notice was it felt like there was a lot of energy on the stage, and the band seemed really into it. It was one of those shows that felt so interactive that I took like six garbage photos the whole night and never bothered to do better because I was having too much fun to care. Isaac made a post after the show saying he was sick, but I absolutely could not tell it during the show. The last few songs were just insane back to back. We got "If Only" into "In the City" into "Rock 'n' Roll Razorblade" with a "Lost Without Each Other" encore featuring Phantom Planet. As I joked later, the only thing screaming louder than the crowd after that line up of songs was my shins the day after. 

Accidental Existential Thoughts

Sometimes I catch myself raving about how awesome a show was, and I can't help but wonder if my perception of any show is ever truly accurate or in any way comparable to what someone on the "outside" walking in would think. Does it ever actually sound as good as I think it does? Did the bartender hear what I heard? Am I involuntarily applying a mental filter to everything because I know every word and every note by heart and my brain is equipped to fill in the blanks for missed lyrics or flubbed chords? The adrenaline rush of a high-energy show is practically a drug, and it's so easy to get wrapped up in living out a feeling and a moment that I'm never really sure if my experience was what actually happened or if I'm always smoothing out the edges without even knowing it. Honestly, does it even matter? If perception is reality, I'll choose mine every time over the girl texting in the back.

Underneath: Experience Tour Minneapolis

I don't know what it is that makes me hate spoilers more and more the older I get, but there is nothing I love more than walking into a Hanson show with no idea what's going to happen. Don't get me wrong, I will go to 17 String Theory shows with identical setlists and I will like it, but my truest happy place is an open-ended Hanson Show with a setlist full of blanks. I'm not sure how it took me this long to figure out that the obvious hack to avoiding spoilers is to just go to the first show of the tour. Problem solved. That being said, this post is going to be full of them, so please don't keep reading if you prefer to go into the shows blind as well.

An opportunity to skip out on spoilers and visit local friends was all I needed to include the Minneapolis shows in my plans for this tour. I didn't get to attend any of the original Underneath tours, so I think my expectations for what it means to have an acoustic night and an electric night were probably a little more simplified than they should have been. In my mind, acoustic = mellow, electric = upbeat/tire me out jumping, and I think the reality was somewhere in the middle for both. Apart from the stage setup mirroring the original Underneath Acoustic setup with Zac's drums pulled forward and off to the side, the two nights mostly just felt like a continuation of each other. There were several ballads on night two that I would have mentally placed in night one, and a few more upbeat songs during night one that I would have expected on night two. I think the best way to approach this tour is just embrace the fact that it's an "experience," and enjoy the variety without getting hung up on what each night should be. Both setlists were phenomenal and totally different from anything you might describe as their usual.

Night 1

I'll start by dropping a link to the setlist here so you can peruse the awesomeness without me raving about every single song choice and parrotting some of the comments I already made on my post about the Church Studio show. Apart from just loving the overall variety, the first significant comment I want to make is a major shoutout to "Hand in Hand." I have to admit, it's not a contender for my favorites list, and there was a time where it felt overplayed. But in all fairness, Isaac always gives it 100%, so it usually slays and I'm happy enough to hear it. In Minneapolis, though, Isaac dug deep, channeled 2003 Isaac, and found a way to give 1,000%. I feel pretty confident in saying it was the strongest performance I have ever seen him give of "Hand in Hand," period, and according to Hansonstage, I've got 35 other performances to compare it to (that's a smaller number than I was expecting for someone who was just complaining that it's overplayed). I can remember raving about how epic his performance of "Being Me" was in Albuquerque on the Anthem Tour, and this was a similar vibe of just all in, totally present and giving his absolute best in the moment. Standing ovation material if I wasn't already standing, sir!

"Teach Your Children" did a great job showcasing their harmonies and was the one part of the show I decided to record and post to Instagram. I'm so internet illiterate that other Holly had to tell me that Hanson shared it to their stories the next day and that's why I kept getting notifications that it had a bunch of views.

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"Thinking 'Bout Somethin'" definitely qualifies as one of the "how did this wind up on an acoustic Underneath set?" songs of the night, but then throw in a guest appearance of Cory Wong and we truly reached "what is going on?" status. (He hosted some event Hanson played at Bonnaroo last year and apparently is a musician & Minneapolis native). Like I said, I love random blanks on a setlist that I can't predict, and this one qualified. 

Night 2

The second night setlist was no less impressive and had a few fun surprises of its own. But before we get into that, let me introduce you to the luckiest fan at the show that had the best seat in the house: 

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I got a kick out of it at first, the puns freely flowing, but when Hanson took the stage and the thing was still just sitting there front and center and plugged into absolutely nothing, it continued to stick out to me like a sore thumb. No, it wasn't in my way or blocking anyone's view, but it was just one of those things like spotting a crooked tile in a floor that's probably been there for years without you noticing, but the moment someone points it out, it's all you can see. That stupid fan was right in my line of sight all night long, which, of course, beats an actual living, breathing fan blocking my view. ("It doesn't even go here!" "How did that fan get on stage?" "That's the luckiest fan in the room!" "Do you think it's up there because it's a member of the 'fan' club??" "Maybe it's a guest performer for Dancing In the Wind.") In the end, no one on stage ever acknowledged it, "Dancing in the Wind" had a fully missed opportunity, and I'm as confused as ever.

The main standout at the second show, rogue fans excluded, was a medley I never expected. Maybe "medley" is the wrong word since the full songs were played, but regardless, it was three connected songs that I never in a million years would have connected. It started with "Crazy Beautiful," one of my all time favorites. I was excited and ready to do the sped up clapping bit at the end, but when the time came to do that, the song ended abruptly and morphed into, of all things, a cover of "Everybody Wants to Rule the World." Like, what? And then the final notes of "Everybody Wants to Rule The World" morphed into the opening notes of "World's on Fire" which was even more "WHAT?" inducing than the last one. I might not have known what was going on, but I loved every moment of it.

I did manage to tell Isaac after the show that I really enjoyed "the medley with World's On Fire." He mentioned that it had a lot to do with the unique 6/8 time signature of each song and that "Crazy Beautiful" was inspired by "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" (again I say, WHAT?) He didn't elaborate and I can only assume he meant rhythmically and not thematically, but that was entirely new information to me!

All in all, it's a five star show review here. Truthfully, I can only be so excited for a re-released album where I already own almost all of the songs (though happy to purchase it to support the band), so my true excitement this time was reserved more for the tour. It didn't disappoint. I do hope some of the rarer b-sides that got released with Underneath:Complete (and the SETB DVD) will make their way onto future setlists, but I'm not going to dock any points for not playing a 40 song set to squeeze it all in. The mix so far was great, and time will tell if the vault will be opened to songs like "Let You Go" and "My Own Sweet Time." Thankfully, I've got the hack for that down pretty well; just keep going to shows.

Five stars, love the mix of songs, get yourself to a pair of shows if you can!

Underneath Complete: Church Studio

It feels a little strange to be writing about traveling for fun during a time when so many people in my home state and neighboring areas are dealing with devastating loss in the wake of Hurricane Helene. Remember my blog post about dancing on stage with Taylor in Asheville, NC a million years ago? That entire city is practically under water right now, completely cut off from roads, electricity, and even cell service. My heart goes out to the countless people who have survived the worst but are still a long way from anything being fixed or normal. I'm not sure how fully this is being covered nationally, but it's all I can see in my local news, and it's heartbreaking. If you would like to consider making a donation or sharing a link, this news article has a great list of places accepting donations, including verified gofundme pages if you want to see your dollars go directly to affected individual families.

Seeing all of this news while on my trip to Tulsa went a long way towards giving me a fresh perspective on my own struggles over the last few days. Sure, I might have had to change my flights literally four times and spent five hours at my home airport before calling it done and trying again the next day (ironically a technical difficulty unrelated to weather), but in the end I made it to Tulsa in time and I'm safely back home, and that's really all I can ask for.  P.S. Shoutout to Jocelyn, a random AA chat representative for whom I would like to start a fan club. She listened to me when I asked for a flight change that wasn't strictly necessary by their standards, and she is the reason I am writing this calm post from home right now and not raging in the CLT airport overnight composing an angry letter in my head.

Weather and travel issues aside, I don't have to tell you that being able to go to this show was a privilege, and I'm grateful that I was able to get a ticket and jump through all the right travel hoops. I know for Hanson and for plenty of their fans, being at this show was a special opportunity to celebrate the 20th anniversary of an album, an era, and the Underneath Acoustic recording. Since I showed up on the Hanson scene in 2006/2007, I think it was a little different for me. I don't have the same memories that others have attached to the Church Studio or even to the Underneath era of shows, but sitting there in such an intimate setting definitely brought back memories of my first time seeing Hanson at the Middle of Nowhere Acoustic recording and the general feeling of awe and gratitude at being allowed to be a part of that moment. 

I think for special shows like this, I'm always looking for some sort of wow factor. It's usually a rare or unexpected song; sometimes it's a special guest or a Hanson deciding to go swimming in the ocean in the middle of a set. In this case, I think the wow factor was simply the setting and the sound quality. Don't get me wrong, they gave some great song performances, but there was no single "wow" song so much as an overall "wow" quality to listening to good music straight from the source in a recording studio with a rich musical history and excellent sound.

There were two sessions, 1pm and 4:30 pm. I was at the 1pm show, but the setlists were identical. Here is the setlist courtesy of Hansonstage.com:

Strong Enough To Break

Stories

When You're Gone

Annalie

Deeper

Runaway Run

Believe

Teach Your Children

MMMBop

Penny and Me Moonlight Version

Underneath

Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard / Cecilia

Out Of My Head

With You In Your Dreams

Optimistic

Dancing In The Wind

Dream Girl

Love Somebody To Know

The first song that got me excited was "Stories," which was always my favorite 3CG song as a kid. We all know there are a few old school songs that might be cringy coming from grown men ("bing bang, you hit me like a boomerang," etc.), but I think "Stories" comes off as a nostalgic folk-y sounding song that if possible sounds even better from grown-up Hanson. It aged well, and I'd be happy to see this one as a tour staple. 

"Annalie" felt a little bit like it got lost on its way to a different setlist and wandered into the wrong show at first, because I wasn't expecting to hear anything outside of the Underneath era. But you know, it's kind of like the time I got us lost on the way to Joshua Tree and accidentally drove us to to Lake Tahoe instead. I didn't mean to be there and it wasn't what I expected, but it was still beautiful. I could see "Annalie" fitting in well with the full acoustic set on tour, but I am a little surprised it made the cut for an abbreviated preview. Still, it was probably the best performance of it that I've ever heard, and I loved the drums.

"Runaway Run" was the same amazing slowed down version they played at HDay a few years ago that we feared might go into the vault forever, and I felt like Taylor poured his whole soul into his performance of "Believe." 

I also have to give Isaac props for successfully pranking us with "MMMBop" this time. I know I'm always joking about how he will intro a song with "We've never played this live before" and my instant reaction is to wonder which song he's lying about now. But this time when he said it, he followed it with "MMMBop," and okay, he got me. I was fully expecting to hear something semi-rare that he forgot playing approximately 10 times instead of "MMMBop." He's just ensuring that I never trust his song intros again at this point.

At the risk of saying something slightly offensive, I think my favorite part was the "Me and Julio"/"Cecelia" mashup, and the reason that feels offensive is who in their right mind gets to go to a special show like this with rare original songs and comes out loving a cover song the most? I can't help it, though. The vibe was absolutely perfect and everything I've ever wanted out of an acoustic performance--solid vocals and an upbeat rhythm that forces me to tap my feet. Honestly, it was perfection, and "Annalie" felt like a distant cousin with a similar vibe. I'm definitely going to need a tutorial on those claps on tour, though. 

I probably need to stop gushing about each and every song before I've gone on for 19 paragraphs, but it's hard not to when so much of it was memorable. It's funny, in person, the overall feeling of the show felt very mellow, maybe even excessively so at times, and there were moments when I was hoping things would speed up and wishing that I could have been standing and dancing around a little more. In retrospect, looking at the setlist, it's kind of hard to find fault with anything. It's so vastly different from your typical "festival" setlist full of singles and setlist staples, and I really can't wait to see what the extended version with two separate nights looks like.

The only thing I would change at all would have been to leave off "With You In Your Dreams." I realize I say this too often, but I stand by the fact that if I'm saying it too often, then they must be playing it too often. When Taylor said "Can I get a 'whoah whoah'?" to the crowd referring to the crowd participation part, I really wanted to sarcastically respond "whoah, whoah" in an entirely different tone, Peter Griffin style. It's a beautiful song and a prime example of the power of music when you have a sobbing mass of fans every single time you play it, and kudos to Hanson for having harnessed that power, but to reference another Peter (Parker), with great power comes great responsibility, and I think the responsible thing to do would be giving us a solid break from this song on occasion. I realize I'm being a total drama queen and all sarcasm aside, I'm not actually mad. I also don't expect them to cater to me when for every person who is tired of crying over it, there's probably another one feeling some epic healing catharsis. Still, can we get a once a year rule or something? I might even settle for a "not at three shows in a row" rule. Or what about a "not at BTTI" clause? Just think about it, guys.

I'm sure I've skipped over several other great moments because this post is starting to get longer than the show itself, but if you're a fan club member, the good news is you can currently still stream it for free directly on hanson.net and get all the fun and none of the flight delays. It will probably be removed shortly, so go ahead and give it a watch if you want to check it out! 

Special thanks to Hanson for creating such a cool show opportunity, to their team for facilitating ticket sales and for great organization the day of the event, and shoutout to all my fellow fans that kept all unsolicited "whoah, whoahs" to themselves and made the whole experience fun and enjoyable. See you all soon on the road!

Six Reasons You Need to Buy These Toronto Seats!

Up for grabs Sold: Two pairs of Two Day Passes at the Danforth Music Hall + Two Afterparty Tickets. These are assigned seats located in the front row of the mezzanine indicated by the red dots on the map below. I'm selling all of the above as a bundle for the face value of $234 USD (which was the discounted fan club presale price).

When I originally bought these tickets, I had hoped to check out a new city and use the freedom of great balcony seats to play worry-free tourist for a couple of days. I've since decided that the role I should be playing on these dates instead is someone who occasionally rests and goes to work in between Hanson shows. Boring, I know, but my impulse buy can now be your impulse buy. Here are six reasons why I chose these seats and why you should, too!

1. It's good for your mental health.

Think about all of the stress you've felt waiting in lines, the hours you've put into getting the best spot possible all culminating in a peak level of anxiety when people start lurking at the front of the line just before doors. Will they run faster than you? Will you trip on the way in the door? Will something you forgot you left in your pocket cause security to hold you aside while everyone runs freely past you to the barricade? With these tickets? Let them. You know exactly where you're headed, and no one can take it from you.

2. It's good for your physical health.

2A. (Your feet will thank you) 

Remember when you used to wear super cute wedges/sandals/flats to shows because you didn't have to worry that your feet would be ready to fall off by the final bow? No? Okay, well what about a time when you wore perfectly reasonable shoes to shows and weren't already cursing the fact that you had to stand on your feet for another three hours just barely 30 minutes after doors? Good news! With these tickets, you don't have to stand up while you wait for the show to start. You don't have to stand up while you listen to the openers. You don't even have to stand up for Hanson if you don't want to because you'll have a nicely cushioned seat and nobody standing in front of you.

2B. (Your bladder will thank you.)

Since these are front row aisle seats, you can make as many bathroom and bar trips as you like without the awkward sideways shuffle through the 3-inch gap between the seats ahead of you and approximately 15 strangers. AND your seat will still be there every time you return! Just don't get too cocky about all that extra space and step too close to the mezzanine wall. 

3. You'll have a clear view regardless of your height.

I started to pitch this one as a solution to short people problems because it's why I (at 5'2") wanted these seats, but with the capabilities of cell phones and the ever-present inconsiderate few, having your view blocked at a concert is now an everybody problem. Luckily, the first row location of these seats guarantees a great sightline free from obstruction no matter your height or obnoxious surroundings. There will be no tall people, selfie sticks, chronic live streamers, face timers, rogue puffy paint signs, or kids on shoulders to block your view. You can just sit back, relax, and play Statler & Waldorf to the mayhem below.

4. You can take your time buying merch. 

I don't know about you, but I usually skip the merch booth at GA shows unless it's after the show and the line looks abnormally short. Even if you luck out and find yourself in a quick line after the show, sizes are usually picked over by then and things will be sold out. Having a specific seat means you can go straight to the merch booth when you enter the venue without worrying about establishing a spot in the crowd or making sure you have a friend capable of saving it. It also means you can put your merch under your seat and not be stuck holding it all night long. Win-win!

5. You can enjoy being a tourist.

You can visit the CN Tower, the St. Lawrence Market, the Hockey Hall of Fame, an array of museum options, or take a day trip to Niagara Falls and still make it to your seat by show time without ever setting foot in the line. Sure, you could go back home and tell people you saw Hanson in Toronto, but wouldn't you rather go back home with memories of seeing a whole lot more?

6. They're the best seats you'll find and at the best price.

The entire mezzanine is currently sold out on Ticketmaster. Of course, you're welcome to purchase the only pair of mezz tickets currently available on Stubhub that are a few rows behind these and over double the price. If your happy place is 3rd row overpriced resale balcony tickets, I support you, but I also have questions.

All jokes aside, I wish I could make this one work, but I'd rather resell directly to a real fan at a fair price than use a resale site that will charge you way more while paying me less. If you're interested and don't already have me on social media, feel free to send me a message on instagram https://www.instagram.com/_hollywouldnt/. Have fun and eat some poutine for me!