DO GO BE: Let's Get Fired Up

I may not have fully embraced the concept of "I Was Born" at first, but I still love the motivation to get out and do something fun. We picked up the challenge in a (slightly) safer, less adrenaline-inducing way and decided to fly in a hot air balloon over the mountains of Asheville, North Carolina during a day off from following the MOE tour.

I'm a little weird about heights. I'll ride the tallest, fastest ride at any theme park as long as I'm strapped in securely, but I won't climb the 10 foot ladder at work. I'm naturally clumsy and generally uncomfortable in any situation where I might be responsible for my own safety, so I wasn't really sure how I'd fare in a hot air balloon. It actually ended up being an extremely relaxing ride that didn't scare me at all. It was quiet, peaceful, and gorgeous, and I'd recommend it to anyone in good enough physical shape to climb into the basket. (What I don't recommend is forgetting not to use hairspray when it specifically says not to in the waiver and having to frantically wash it out in a rest stop sink 30 minutes before the flight so your hair doesn't catch on fire.)

Our pilot asked us where we were from, which always leads to how did you meet, and then leaves us at the inevitable "Hanson? Like MMMBop Hanson?" He was intrigued and even ended up looking up "Fired Up" and playing it for us while we took off. It was a pretty cool moment. Cheers for going on a hot air balloon ride, doing something a little scary, and being fired up. Literally.

Asheville 7/30/2010 (a.k.a. I danced with Taylor Hanson and all I got was this stomach ulcer)

Before the Show

I was extremely excited when I found out Hanson was playing at the Orange Peel again. The concert there in 2008 was hands-down the best Hanson show I've ever been to, so a few friends and I decided to go all out for this show and get there early enough to be up front.

The camping part was actually pretty fun. One of my all-time favorite camping moments has to be when I woke up to hear a pedestrian telling someone "Tell them they don't have to camp to see Jesus!" in a very serious voice. I considered getting up and telling her not to worry, that I was totally capable of seeing both Hanson and Jesus one day.

There was this neat little locally owned organic grocery store across the street and their ice cream freezer had broken down. It was horrible for them, but they started selling all of their ice cream for $1 regardless of size/price/brand before it was all melted. We picked up several and sat around sampling them. I have to say the chai vanilla was my favorite.


There was a pretty big turnout for the walk, but it was also the shortest walk I've ever witnessed. Not counting the beginning or ending speeches, the walkers were gone for a total of 20 minutes! I hear it was pretty blistering, so maybe that's why.

The line was intense closer to the show because there were a lot of M&Gers and the will call tickets weren't released until 30 min. before doors, meaning there were tons of people milling around the front of the line. Thankfully, everything turned out okay for us. My friends and I all ended up in the front row, and I was just a little to the left of the center. I didn't have high hopes for Delta Rae because I had listened to their demo while voting for the opener, and I just didn't like it. I'm SO glad they won, though, because they were pretty amazing. They had very strong voices that blended well together. I've loved Rooney for years, so I was excited to see them too. They rocked, but it felt so short. I guess I got used to a long wait for Hanson during the Use Your Sole Tour.

It was so hot waiting for Hanson to come on. The staff kept spraying the crowd with water bottles to cool us down, and it was much appreciated. I didn't even care that I got sprayed directly in the face at one point. The show itself was amazing and has definitely replaced the last Asheville show as my favorite show of all time.

The setlist was awesome. We got to hear Dancing in the Street for the first time, and I was really excited to finally hear Man from Milwaukee. The crowd was pretty energetic and the guys seemed really on as well.

Give a Little

At the beginning of Give a Little, Taylor walked off the stairs on the side of the stage and came back with a guy dressed as one of the Blues Brothers. The guy proceeded to dance to the whole song. It was so fun and unexpected; a nice surprise to throw in that none of us saw coming. After the verses ended, the guys kept playing in the background while Taylor talked. He said something to the effect of guys needing a little encouragement, and he moved around and mimicked how one should dance for the right effect. Then he pointed at me and motioned for me to join him on stage, and at that point, I knew it was going to be my favorite show forever. This could never be topped for me, and I'm okay with that.

For some strange reason, it didn't occur to me to turn him down. When Taylor Hanson is asking you to get on stage with him, you don't stop to weigh the pros and cons (or at least my adrenaline rush prohibited me from doing just that). I used my arms to boost myself up on the barricade (which came up to just a few inches below my shoulders--I'm 5'2" as is evident in the giant gap between our heights), and with a combination of my arms, my friends around me shoving me upwards, a security guard spotting me, and Taylor pulling me from the stage, I managed to get up there without falling and breaking anything.

It was completely unplanned (on my end, at least), and I had no clue what he was wanting me to do. I assumed he was about to teach the crowd a dance or something and use me to help lead. I thought that was doable since I did live through the TBS video shoot. Once on stage, I couldn't hear a word he was saying into the microphone. I can't tell you how nerve wracking it was to be standing up there, watching Taylor talk and point at me, and having no clue what he was saying. I got really worried that he was somehow explaining what I was supposed to be doing and was completely unaware that I couldn't hear him. I got even more nervous as I heard the crowd respond to whatever he was saying. They would intermittently erupt with cheers and screams in response to something he said, which was both exciting and worrisome. I knew SOMETHING exciting was happening, but had no clue what, and it suddenly seemed like I was the only one in almost a thousand people left clueless. I was shocked when he came over and started dancing with me. It was just so sudden--no explanation, no time to react--and there was no easing into it.
If you've seen the videos, you'll know I can't dance. My apologies for any awkward second-hand embarrassment. Had I known what was going to happen or had enough common sense to outweigh the adrenaline rush of the invitation, I might have just declined. It was the first time they pulled a fan on stage for "Give a Little," so I just had no idea what was going on; there was no precedent set for what I was doing. But as awkward as it was, I'm glad it happened.

Speaking of awkward, have I mentioned what a bad dancer I am? I'm talking sat-glued-to-a-chair-to-avoiding-dancing-at-prom bad. Or maybe it's not that I'm so terrible, but more of a mixture of moderate terribleness and severe lack of self confidence in that department. I'm going to blame part of the awkwardness from this particular occasion though on the whole taboo of getting into a Hanson's personal bubble (that and, you know, being in front of 900 or so people). Why else would people get so excited over having him shake their hands, or put a hand on their shoulder in a picture? He's off-limits. Even with him clearly trying to dance with me, it felt wrong or dangerous to get too close, like I might be misinterpreting his actions and do something wrong. I remember pulling back at one point when he spun me and tried to pull me into him again because my brain was still shouting at me that I was getting in his personal bubble.

So Taylor tried his best to lead me, and I tried my best to follow. I'm not sure if anyone could tell, but I forgot to change shoes before the show and was wearing Rainbow flip flops. How I managed to step on the slick barricade and not fall on my head is something I can't explain. Seriously--one wrong step would have been the difference between becoming "that girl that Taylor pulled on stage" and being dubbed "that girl that pulled Taylor off the stage." Let's not even think about how badly that could have gone. Anyway, I actually lost one of my shoes while we were dancing and had a fleeting thought about how this was taking the whole barefoot thing a little too far. I debated trying to retrieve it, but thankfully realized how awkward it would be to stop dancing to get my shoe.

I was more comfortable with "Elwood" because he wasn't trying to do anything too complicated, thankfully (maybe wisely learning from my ineptness with Taylor?). There was an awkward moment where I tried to twist down (during the "oh oh oh" part), only I didn't realize we were so close that his knee was directly underneath me. So instead of doing a cute twist, I created a pretty awkward PG-13 grinding motion down onto him by accident. Oops! When it was over, there was lots of hugging and general happiness on stage. I was directed to the stairs to leave because it would have been too difficult to get back in my spot over the barricade. On my way, I was congratulated and high fived by a few women standing off to the side near the stage, and no one gave me a hard time about getting back in my spot up front.

The whole "what the heck did I just do?" mentality didn't set in until way later, and I went through the rest of the show kind of dazed. I'm generally a calm person, so I can honestly say there was no crying or screaming on my part (thankfully, right? Just how awkward would it have been if he pulled a screamer up there?). Instead, I couldn't stop thinking about it, and I still can't. About halfway through Dancing in the Street I realized I had been replaying the whole thing in my head and not enjoying the awesome new cover, so I snapped back into it a little and was able to enjoy the show in front of me again.

I've also got to say that as shy and nervous as I usually am (I used to literally shake when I had to give a presentation in front of a class of 20), I wasn't nearly as nervous as I should have been up there in front of so many people. I think knowing that the crowd was just as shocked as I was made it a little easier. I also knew most of the people in the front row, so when I looked out into the crowd, really all I was seeing was my friends being excited for me (side note: the handful of goofy faces I made were in response to people in the front row giving me that "can you believe this is really happening right now?" face. I should have saved my "no, I really can't" faces for later, but what's done is done).

The day ended with my friends and I sitting in a parking lot taking pictures with each other, and a horrible moment where I borrowed one of their SD cards to upload to my laptop and in a rush of excitement, stuck it in my disc drive. With some tweezers and a hairclip, we were able to retrieve it. It's kind of a miracle that I was able to operate a car after that, but none of us lasted too long and we had to stop to sleep after hitting up a Waffle House.

Catching Up: The Walk Tour

Though this blog began in Nov. 2008, I started writing down notes about the shows I went to after my very first show in 2007.  Myspace hosted my first show reviews, and though my Myspace page is long gone, I saved those blog entries.  Instead of writing a new post for this site, I'd like to simply share the original, excitable, marginally embarrassing first responses. Below are two excerpts from Myspace in October 2007 and May 2008. These blog posts cover my first six Hanson shows: Charlotte, Atlanta, and Savannah on The Walk Tour in fall 2007, and Asheville, Myrtle Beach, and Durham on the spring leg of the Walk Tour in 2008.

Excerpt from an old Myspace blog, posted on October 21, 2007 after going to my first 3 Hanson shows:

Clearly I had an awesome week because I saw Hanson in Charlotte, Atlanta, and Savannah. It's a good thing I can't afford to follow them more places because I'd totally do it.

Charlotte highlights: *My first official Hanson Concert *Getting to go with 3 friends * Showing up an hour before doors and still being in the center *The whole setlist- esp. Every Word I Say, On the Rocks, Rock 'n' Roll Razorblade, and Joy to the World (3 Dog Night cover)

Atlanta highlights: *Meeting some cool people in line * Doing my first barefoot mile * Being in 3rd row * Hearing Zac's "Oh Darling" Beatles cover * Hearing a never-before heard Isaac solo * Hearing Taylor cover Elvis's "Love Me" * Almost getting in a fight with some drunk girl...more of a lowlight I guess

Savannah Highlights: * Driving around downtown Savannah for 45 minutes before finding parking * Hanging out with some more great people * Blistering my heel from barefoot walk #2 on hot pavement * Having Zac jump out from beside me and try to scare me (he didn't). *interviewing the band * Zac's random off-the-wall, made up on the spot poem* Getting front row against the stage about a foot in front of Isaac * Having the obnoxious drunk girl pried off of my back by security during MMMBop * Hanson & Locksley coming out to do the encore, "Long Way to the Top"* The awesome pictures I took * Leaving the parking garage after it closed and not having to pay * Getting a $180 speeding ticket on the way home...another lowlight. ...anyone care to join me for some similar awesomeness next time they come back?

Myspace Blog #2, posted on May 11, 2008:

Here's another installment. I just got back from seeing Hanson in 3 concerts in 3 days (Asheville, NC, Myrtle Beach, SC, and Durham, NC). It was all pretty special, because of course they're all within traveling distance, but the dates turned out perfect. Asheville was on May 5th, exactly 1 year since I saw them live for the first time. Myrtle Beach was on May 6th, which is a hometown show AND Hanson Day (I know you're all beyond laughing at this point, so just go with it). And Durham was the final show of the tour AND was on my 20th birthday. I couldn't have planned it any better myself.

Asheville (May 5, 2008)

Asheville was probably the best concert I've ever been to. The whole experience was wonderful. I camped out for the first time (along with 50 other people as crazy as myself), which was an experience in itself. I got front row, and the setlist was KILLER (Magic Carpet Ride, Never Let Go, With You in Your Dreams, Coming Back for More, Let's Get it On... I could keep going!). But aside from that, I met some awesome people. I was absolutely shocked when they showed up with my favorite kind of cupcakes for my birthday! Thank you SO much ladies! It's hard to keep faith in the fan base with so many crazy obnoxious people around, but these girls just proved that there are still some awesome people worth knowing out there. I also got to talk to Zac on the walk and tell him about our fundraiser, which was pretty exciting. The SC ST had been working together for a while to raise money for HIVSA in honor of Hanson playing our state on Hanson Day. Katie told him he should donate a dollar to us, so he pulled out his wallet and donated $20!

Myrtle Beach (May 6, 2008)

First of all the fundraiser went pretty well. Unfortunately the guys were running late and the walk had a HUGE crowd, so we weren't able to get their help again. But overall we still had lots of people donating and helping out, and it was a success.

I ended up being 3rd row on Isaac's side and could still see pretty well. It was another awesome show. Once again the setlist was one of the better ones I've seen/heard, and I was shocked and delighted when they played "Money". The guys looked like they were having a blast, especially Isaac. He came out during one of the SK6ers songs ("Start the Day Early"), and served up shots of "moonshine" to all of the 6ers and himself. I was having so much fun that it completely slipped my mind that it was my birthday at midnight until I got a few text messages with birthday wishes. I wish I had paid attention so I could remember what song they played at midnight. After the show I went out by the buses and got Isaac to autograph my ticket stub.

Durham (May 7, 2008)

It was yet another good show--with the added plus of being the final show of the tour as well as my birthday. It was a seated show and I had a front and center ticket (right behind 3 rows of pit seats, so I was row A but technically 4th row), so I had a perfect view. It was awesome. Zac played my favorite song from The Walk,"Fire on the Mountain," that he pretty much never plays live. For the Sk6ers final song, they played "Time of My Life" from Dirty Dancing, and all of Hanson and their crew (techs, backup players, tour managers...EVERYONE) came out. It was probably my favorite performance of the night. Some of them set up a table and pretended to play poker, some came out drinking beer, and the rest came out with air soft guns shooting each other. They kept throwing out cards from the "poker game", and I got one! It was one from the Hanson caricature deck, a King of Taylors. I guess I can say that technically Hanson gave me a birthday card lol! Taylor was even running around the stage with either a phone or a camera, repeatedly taking myspace style pictures with everyone. Hanson's final encore was a cover of "Feelin' Alright", and they brought out the Sk6ers and Kate Voegele and her band. It's not my favorite song, but I can't say I paid too much attention to it when everyone except Hanson and Kate came out in their underwear. It was a pretty awesome way to end a birthday and a tour.

And on top of it all, they filmed all 3 walks and shows professionally, so I really hope it will surface soon and I'll get to relive such an awesome week!