String Theory: LA and Phoenix

Los Angeles
Confession: I enjoyed the String Theory show at The Greek Theater way more than I thought I would. I'm not a big fan of outdoor venues, our seats were good enough but not amazing, and it didn't seem like the show sold all that well. I feared that the show would be lacking in energy or that I wouldn't be able to see or hear or that I'd be freezing by the end of it. None of that happened (partly because I realized blankets were allowed inside with enough time to hit up Target beforehand). The sound was surprisingly good and it felt like the entire orchestra was being piped through the speakers for the first time. I don't know if it was due to my seat location or the bowl shape of the venue aiding the acoustics, but the sound seemed way better than it was at the outdoor venue they performed at in Vienna,VA back in August.

The crowd felt excited to be there, and what we lacked in numbers we made up for in respectful enthusiasm. I knew before it happened that this crowd would be a vocal "Something Going Round" crew. I pulled my phone out just in time to capture the moment, and I wasn't wrong. At the end during "Tonight," I noticed lights coming from somewhere behind me. I turned to look and saw a sea of cell phone lights swaying in time with a chorus of "Don't wait for tomorrow." No one asked us to do it; it was a weird piece of magic that happened on its own.

I remember being in awe at their voices at one point (Zac's in particular was absolutely flawless during "Battlecry") and feeling overwhelmingly happy sitting there next to one of my best friends wrapped in a cozy blanket and listening to the closest thing to musical perfection. I began to notice how nice the orchestra members looked and my mind wandered to Hanson's unexpected choice to wear relatively plain clothing, all in muted shades of gray. I've never been one to care about their fashion choices or their hairstyles, but it hit me in that moment that Hanson has never been flashy and has never needed to add sequins or smokescreens to detract from their talents in the way that so many seem to do to distract from a lack of the same. They are truly artists rather than showmen, and I think they'd prefer us to all leave chattering excitedly about "Did you see the way they played the drums in perfect unison on 'Siren Call'?!" than "Did you see that sequined jacket Isaac changed into during the second act?!" (don't worry, he didn't).

It was a beautiful show, possibly the best yet. I promise I'll try not to say that for every subsequent show, but I can't promise they won't keep getting better and better. I told Zac after Phoenix that the sound at these two shows seemed even better than the rest, and the girl next to me made a joking comment about it being insulting. I meant it as a compliment. Doesn't everyone strive to be better than before?

Phoenix
We had better seats in Phoenix and the sound was still great, but the crowd took something away from the experience and kept me distracted at times. The girl next to us showed up drunk, standing, and screaming from song #1, and there were others that were over the top, too. There's nothing wrong with drinking and having fun as long as your fun isn't encroaching on the enjoyment of others, and I think that line was crossed a few times in Phoenix. Let's just say my first draft of this was a little too snarky and needed to be watered down a good bit, much like many fans' drinks at this particular show.

It was still worth the trip, and Zac got to play on the most gorgeous turquoise drums I've ever seen. The crowd surprised me and kept singing at the end of "Something Going Round," but quieter. I can really only say how good Hanson sounds so many times, but I went home with "Dream it, Do It" and "Battlecry" on loop in my head. I can't wait to have them and the entire String Theory album on November 9th.

#Travelingfanproblems
My trip home was a nightmare. First, my 2pm flight out of Phoenix was delayed 25 minutes. No big deal; that would leave me with a layover just under an hour and still enough time to get to my connecting flight in Houston. We somehow landed in Houston another 10-15 minutes or so later than expected, even calculating in the 25 minute delay. My connection time was dwindling. Then we sat on the tarmac for longer than made sense, everyone crowded into the aisle waiting to deplane. "Sorry folks, there's a jet bridge malfunction." Another 15 minutes ticked by as they fixed the jet bridge, and I hit that critical point of if I run, I *might* make it. I checked my phone while we waited and was relieved to see that my connecting flight had been delayed an hour. I was safe after all.

I made it to my connection without having to run. The flight was never officially delayed longer, but we boarded another 20 minutes past the hour delay time. We boarded the plane and proceeded to taxi for a full hour around the airport behind an infinite line of planes. And then they made an announcement that there was a crew shortage issue and that we'd be returning back to the gate. It turns out we had taxied for so long that it would no longer be legal for our pilot to fly us by FAA regulations; he had maxed out his hours. We traded pilots fairly quickly, but at that point, they told us, we'd burned through too much fuel taxiing and would need to refuel as well. We finally took off again, but apparently taxiing for an hour, having to replace your pilot, and needing to refuel does not give you line cutting privileges at IAH. We went to the back of the line and taxied for another 45 minutes. I literally spent 2 hours driving in circles around the Houston airport before taking off for my 2 hour flight. I landed at 2am, where I then had to drive another two hours home. I made it home at 4am, which in the grand scheme of things was only a three hour delay overall. It was just a very odd, very annoying sequence of events one after another. Still beats being stranded overnight in Miami, and I have to give United credit for being so transparent about the reasons for the delays. I even received detailed text updates from them explaining and apologizing about the pilot.

And though I tweeted it about five issues before I knew just how bad my night would be, I still stand by what I said during the whole ordeal:

Flight delay ✔
Broken jet bridge delay✔
Last minute gate change✔
Amazing @hansonmusic shows to make it all worth it ✔✔

— Holly (@_hollywouldnt) October 16, 2018

MOE Tour: Los Angeles

I always try to write my posts within a few days of a trip if at all possible, but here we are halfway through December, and I’m just now slowing down enough to write about Zac’s birthday show. I’m not sure if that means you’re going to get a more honest account after the rainbows and glitter have fallen off and I’ve come down from the usual tour high, or if it’s going to be a lot more boring because I’ve forgotten half of the fun details. In any case—my bad. Unfortunately car shopping and medical bills and the busiest time of the year at work can get in the way of writing for fun.

I do remember having trouble finding a place to shower and eventually Pricelining a hotel in Chinatown. I made my first Jimmy John's order directly to the line (“deliver to the second blue chair from the door”), and the delivery guy accidentally left his cell phone in my box of sandwiches and had to come back for it. And unfortunately, I also remember feeling super sick at doors to the point that I just knew this was going to be the blog post about “that time I threw up in the front row on Zac’s birthday.” Thankfully the feeling passed and that’s not the case.

There were two particularly special things about this show. One was the guest appearance of Danny Hutton of Three Dog Night to perform “Never Been to Spain” with Hanson. It was a complete surprise and a treat to experience. He gushed about how talented the guys are and talked about his own kid(s?) liking them and being forever impressed at how talented they were as children. Hansons’ faces lit up at the stream of compliments coming from someone they all obviously admire. It was fun for us fans to watch, but I think Hanson enjoyed it most of all.

The second special thing was the random appearance of a giant disco ball. I guess technically there were five large disco balls nestled into the ceiling, but during “Where’s the Love,” the largest one descended to just a few feet above Zac’s head and I’ve never seen anything quite like it at a Hanson show. It felt hilariously appropriate spinning our arms around to “it makes the world go ‘round and ‘round” when there was something the size of a giant globe spinning above the stage at the same time. I think the few other times I’ve mentioned disco balls at Hanson shows I’ve likened them to middle school dances in gyms, but this one felt more like standing inside the night light scene in the movie Mermaids with the spinning fish and waves projected on the walls. It was definitely more magical than a school gym and way more over the top in an awesomely ridiculous sort of way.

Isaac eclipse.

They brought out a cake and let everyone sing happy birthday to Zac, but at the ripe old age of 32, he decided not to go for the traditional Hanson cake smash. They had previously canceled the afterparty for that night, so maybe they had somewhere important to be later where icing might be an inappropriate hair accessory. Who knows. The show ended, I vaguely recognized that I was exiting the building next to Darren Criss, and that was that, the end of another tour.

The best way to put off PHCD is to do something fun after the last show, so we spent the next day at Universal Studios Hollywood despite the fact that it reached 102 degrees. We cooled down with Butterbeer, the Jurassic Park water ride, and frequent visits to air conditioned stores. I loved the Simpsons area and the backlot tour, and my favorite ride (that I probably shouldn't have ridden while still bruised) was The Mummy. I met some minions and wished I'd worn sunscreen and had a great time just being a kid for the day.

Roots & Rock 'n' Roll Tour: Los Angeles

One of my favorite parts of this trip had zero to do with Hanson and everything to do with my inner child visiting Disneyland covered in green body paint. With the LA show a day after Halloween and so close to Disneyland, we couldn't NOT come in a day early to do Mickey's Halloween Party. After much deliberation about an appropriate group costume for 3 girls, we finally settled on Wizard of Oz characters. Just not Dorothy and her usual companions.

We had a lot of fun and enjoyed several little girls including a miniature Dorothy stopping us for photos. I'm not normally a fan of repeating Halloween costumes when there are so many options out there, but I would totally do this one again. Halloween MOE 2016, anyone?

Beyond having a favorite band, I'm normally pretty terrible at assigning the term "favorite" to anything else involving Hanson. I can never pick a favorite song, brother, city, or show because my opinions always change and there's always something amazing about each individual option. I can say with a decent amount of confidence though that the LA shows were my favorite of the four cities I did this tour. The crowd energy was great, I loved the setlists (Oh Darling and Underneath the first night were both great surprises), and the second show in particular just felt right, even if a tall girl with hair to rival Andrew's stood in front of us about five minutes before the show started.

I've been loving Isaac's rambled intro to Hand in Hand at every city. I thought it was particularly great in Atlanta when he told us it's kind of an inside joke in the band to see how long Isaac talks when they leave him alone on stage (hate to break it to you, Isaac, but it's not just the band that jokes about this). After that it was obvious he was intentionally rambling just to see how much time he could kill, and he did a superb job with on-the-spot made up teen angst love songs. He took this a step further in Los Angeles and somehow wound up tying in an unexpected solo version of Rain in the middle of this speech. Dear Isaac, please always sneak in extra songs to mess with your brothers.

Before and after the shows there was a random guy on the street selling cheap bootleg t-shirts I can only describe as hideously great and necessary. He told us he had had them since Hanson played LA in 1998, and based on the state of the shirts, I believe it.

Lost Stories: American Idol

In 2013 I made the trek to Los Angeles. If you read my post from that show, then you know that I camped out. What I failed to include was the fact that we had to park in a parking garage a number of blocks away from the venue. The scenario goes like this: four of us arrive in L.A. We drop two of us off at the venue with our stuff, and the other two park the car. I'm with three California residents, yet somehow I'm in the half that gets to help navigate and park in a dark city I know nothing about. We check parking prices and finally settle for the 2nd or 3rd closest garage because it only requires approximately one month's pay vs. an entire year's salary.

The next morning, we go in pairs to return our sleeping bags to the car and put on normal clothes. Since only two of us parked the car and know where it is, I have the pleasure of trying to escort my friend back to wherever in the world we left it, and again, the navigation is on me. Everything looks different in daylight, but I'm finally proud to recognize the hill and slope of the garage that I'm positive we parked in. I'm also really proud to remember that we parked on level P2 because those are the little details I always forget to notice. We end up at the elevator at the same time as a man with a really nice car, and he's kind enough to hold the door for us.

In case you need the visual, we're in yoga pants, hoodies with the hoods up (bed head!), sunglasses we can't take off because our hands are full, and arms overladen with sleeping bags and pillows. We look like some undiscovered SNL sketch characters, but we smile and step on the elevator with the professional looking guy and hope he's not judging us too harshly. He presses a button and I'm about to ask him to press P2 when I realize there IS no P2. I assume I imagined the P and it was just level 2, so we ride to the 2nd floor with him.

At the second floor, two trendy musician looking guys get on. Behind them we can see what looks like an upscale office lobby, and a doorman reaches in to swipe a card and make a floor selection for them. Definitely not the level we parked on. It seems a little strange, but aside from verifying we're not in the right place, I don't think much of it. The guys are friendly and manage to start a polite conversation that feels like genuine interest rather than probing what kind of lunatics in hoods and sunglasses were let into their office building. We talk a little about Hanson and admit we camped out to see them, and the guys say they admire that kind of dedication. We tell them they should check out the show that night, and they leave us with a smile at the next floor and tell us to have fun.

They step off and are replaced with a few guys in business suits that thankfully select the ground floor, but not before we get a glimpse into the room they just left and the big shiny "American Idol" sign within. My friend and I exchange a silent glance and continue trying and failing to let our sleeping bag bundles blend in with the polished steel of the elevator as we realize we're standing in American Idol Headquarters in our pajamas.

The whole thing is pretty anti-climactic. We make it back down to the ground floor, get out, and finally find the correct elevator around a corner, wondering what American Idol contestants we just accidentally street teamed to. In my defense, it turns out we did, in fact, park on P2.

Anthem Tour: Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA, Sept. 26th, 2013

I don't know if you've ever camped out for a show before, but I'm sure you can imagine that the experience is not always pleasant. And truth be told, it's a subject I usually avoid bringing up because there's really no way to say "Hey! I slept on a sidewalk for Hanson" and not be judged for it.

Be that as it may: Hey! I slept on a sidewalk for Hanson. This is probably not new information, nor is it new ground for me (get it? puns). Whereas parents will tell their kids "Don't do anything I wouldn't do," I tend to live by the philosophy of "Don't do anything you wouldn't post on the internet."  So here I am, living up to that rule as well as the argument I'm constantly throwing out to people that judge me for camping out in person:  If I cared that much what everyone thought about it, I wouldn't do it in the first place.

The reason I'm bringing it up is because I only took two pictures in L.A., and they're both of sleeping bags. Why? Because I have plenty of pictures of Hanson and walks and friends. This, however, was my first time sleeping on a 30 degree incline down Sunset Blvd. in the heart of Hollywood. I suspect it doubles as my last:

                                              

                                              

Remember when you were a kid at the fair, and they had those long slippery slides that you went down on a burlap mat? You know, the ones where you raced your friends to the bottom and had to keep going one more time to break the tie?

This was kind of like that, only the end goal was to NOT beat your friends to the bottom. Let's just say it was a long night, and that the street sign pictured at the bottom of my sleeping bag served a functional purpose beyond communicating parking laws.

All that and we were still some of the very last people in the front row; it happens sometimes. We knew it was L.A. and that meant Hanson would have friends and some famous admirers in the audience. Nikki Reed performed with Paul again, and Joe Karnes of Fitz and the Tantrums joined Hanson for "Get the Girl Back." A few days later, I heard a rumor that Andrew McMahon was there, too, and whether or not this means anything to you, it meant total jealousy to me. (If you've somehow lived under an Andrew McMahon-less rock, go check out his music. NOW.) When I got back home a few weeks later, I found that he had instagrammed a photo from the show and captured me in a moment of looking completely bored. Hey, it was before anyone hit the stage, i.e. power nap time for anyone that slept on concrete the night before. If I ever see Andrew on stage with Hanson one day, I promise the reaction photo will look a lot different.
                                                 

Photo courtesy of Andrew McMahon: http://instagram.com/p/ewCBzpApTi/

On the topic of Anthems and Andrew McMahon, I'll leave you with reason #1025968 I love his music so much. My own personal anthem for travel, his song "I Woke Up in a Car":

Well I woke up in a car.

I traced away the fog

so I could see the Mississippi on her knees.

I've never been so lost; 

I've never felt so much at home.

Please write my folks and throw away my keys.

I woke up in a car.


(...or, as the case may be, on a sidewalk.)