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.