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Lisa's Dallas Review
September 30, 1998
Picture provided by Brittany, Tiffany, Wanda and Patrick
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Where to start? I suppose I'll pick up where the "meet and greet" story ended...
Mandy and I made our way into the actual arena and found Becka. Our seats were a lot better than we had expected. We were row 21 in the center on the floor and had a great view of the stage. Mandy turned to me and told me that at no point during the concert were we to pull out our cameras. We weren't taking the risk of having them snatched away by security -- not with those precious "meet and greet" photos in them.
Already the sound in the arena was deafening. Between the Aerosmith music blasting and all the chitter-chatter we could hardly hear what each other was saying. That was when I decided to head over to find Susan and Laura from AFH. On my way I saw a bunch of girls waving at me. It turned out to be Brittany, Tiffany and Tiffany who we had met at Planet Hollywood for the press conference the Monday before. I related to them our story of meeting Hanson... but I'm not sure how much they heard because I had to yell over the din.
After 10 minutes of fruitless searching for Susan I almost gave up. That is until I saw somebody from the way front jumping up and down waving. We knew it must have been her. It was strange and exciting really, we ran to each other in the aisle and hugged -- like out of a movie where two long-lost friends meet up again. We chatted. Once again it was so good to meet somebody that you've known for so long yet have never seen in person. She gave me her binoculars, which came in handy for those moments when I wanted to see Hanson's facial expressions. After being a Hanson fan for so long... you get to know the points where they make those special expressions.
Mandy and I returned to our seats in time for AdmiralTwin to take the stage. I looked over at Becka who seemed just as thrilled to be there, even if it was her third concert. LOL. AdmiralTwin was excellent. It amazes me that they took so long to be signed. They are signed now... to MOJO Records and are due to record a new CD for next year. Way to go guys! I especially enjoyed when they played "I Don't Know All I Know" which they had only played a few times before in concert. That, my dearies, is my favorite AdmiralTwin song. They played it right down to the Irish jig at the end where Mark did a little dance while Brad played this flute-like instrument. It seemed that their part of the concert was too short... but I must say that the Dallas crowd was cheering for them as if they were Hanson. We were really getting into it. Most everybody in that arena knew who they were... and I think even those that didn't got into their act. Right down to their witty banter. I loved how each song "goes almost like this." Almost Jarrod? At the end of their set they mentioned that it was their last concert and gave a special thanks to Hanson -- "3 of the greatest guys." Aw, that's sweet. Can't wait for your own full-fledged tour, AdmiralTwin. I'll be in line for tickets!
After they left the stage it was time to run to the bathroom. I only mention this because there was no way we were leaving the stage area after Hanson got on. Security was tight. We had to have our ticket stubs ready at all time and that blue Kerropi stamp on our hand (which didn't wash off for a week and a half). They checked our stub all the way up to the front section.
After we returned to our seats we had time to ponder a bit and look around. We all happened to turn around at one moment and notice Mr. Hanson standing in the sound booth. Becka, Mandy and I started waving and jumping up and down. I'm sure the people behind us thought we were nuts. But it did get Mr. Hanson's attention. He smiled and waved back and then gave us the motion to turn around because in a matter of moments his sons would take the stage.
Good thing we heeded Mr. Hanson's warning or we would have missed the opening beats to "Gimme Some Lovin'". A chill ran up my spine. I couldn't believe I was actually there. It was almost the same feeling as when I saw them in person just inches away... but the music carried me to a far more exciting place. I know that seems strange but when Hanson says it's all about the music I'm inclined to agree. I was swept away.
The curtain fell. A spectacular sight to see. And there they were playing their hearts out. Taylor on the right side wearing a black overshirt and black pants with his classic white tee underneath. Isaac had on reddish leather pants, an overshirt (can't remember the color) and his classic black tee underneath. I have no clue to this day what Zac was wearing because he was hidden for most of the concert. And when he was visible I didn't really pay much attention to his attire. I was too busy rocking out.
If I went to another concert I think I would remember "Gimme Some Lovin'" a little better. I know the song by heart, but I would have payed more attention at the time they were actually singing it. But at that moment I was too amazed to be there that I think I kinda missed the first song -- in a way. It was over so fast! Next it was on to "Thinking of You." I remember more of this. My initial awe was starting to fade and it was time to start groovin'.
I was starting to get annoyed with the people in front of me. A mother decided it would be great to hold up her daughter over her head so that she could see, but I couldn't. It was then that I took the opportunity to jump over the seats and stand next to the woman rather than behind her. NOW I had the perfect view -- with Mandy behind me and to the right screaming her head off (between songs now). Tehe.
"Welcome to the Albertane Tour!" Taylor yelled. "Are you ready to rock?" And we were... we were definitely ready to rock. "Where's the Love" was next. You know, during concerts like "Live from the 10 Spot" and Beacon I did get a bit annoyed when they played the 10 minute version of that song. I always thought when Taylor yelled, "It's not over, yet!" that it really should have been. Blame that on a short attention span. But in this case I didn't mind at all. Taylor didn't yell that it wasn't over, instead Isaac broke into one of the most amazing guitar rifts. That boy (or man) can play.
They played "River" next which was awesome. As others have mentioned before, this was an Isaac crowd. They ate up everything he did. Then it was time for "Weird." Isaac seemed a bit distracted in the beginning of the song. He had to go chat with the keyboardist and tune his guitar. But he was back in place in front of his mic for his cue. But Isaac had ants in his pants the entire concert. All that "free Ike from his mic" campaigning must have gotten to him because he was all over the place. Grooving with Jason (backup guitarist) or rockin' out by Taylor or Zac. He was very interesting to watch. I suppose he was the only one free to move with his instrument. Maybe they should hook up Taylor with a portable keyboard or something. LOL.
"You guys having fun?" yelled Zac. Ah... yeah!! Next up it was the ode to the crew. Taylor announced that it was the last show of the Albertane tour (the audience went wild). Tay then instructed the audience to scream whenever he or Ike pointed as they named off each of the crew. LOL. They both needed cheat sheets (hey, I probably would have too). After each group of names Taylor or Isaac would yell "Give it up!" And then we would indeed "give it up." Then they dedicated "Magic Carpet Ride" to the crew. That song is amazing -- they do it wonderfully. I love that song.
"This next song is a another song of 3 Car Garage. It's a song called Sometiiiiimes." I swear that's how Taylor said it. I enjoyed the live version of this, especially Zac's extra drums. Taylor's piano part in this was very impressive as well. And I was glad that I remembered all the words. I wasn't sure I would be able to do that for the 3CG songs because I don't listen to that as much as MON. But I knew every Sha-na-na-na. Phew!
After "Sometimes" Hanson left the stage and the orange jumpsuit people came out to set up their living room setup. We had a few moments to catch our breath. But soon Hanson was back out and Taylor announced that their next song was to be "Stories." May I say that Mandy freaked at this moment. So did I. Maybe I screamed a little... but you can't prove anything! Tehe. I love that song, especially live.
The next song was "With You In Your Dreams" which they had been "playing for quite a long time." They, of course, dedicated it to their late grandmother. Luckily for us, the crowd died down a little once Taylor started to sing and we could hear him. Truly beautiful. I didn't cry (I hardly ever do at songs) but I was touched.
The next song was "one we haven't played in awhile," according to Isaac. To our delight it was "Madeline." We felt special that they played it, especially since they played both that song and "Money (That's What I Want)". Now, I think it's time to mention that during this portion of the concert I really didn't know how to dance to the songs. Sounds weird, huh. But it was so "broken down," as Taylor put it that none of the songs were rock-out type songs. Since I'm not the greatest dancer I resorted to swaying through this entire set. I noticed that a little girl next to me was glaring up at me with a strange look on her face. Oh, well. I was having fun swaying.
When Zac began "Money" with his first line I could swear Mandy just about died. Zac is her favorite and she had forgotten that he was to start this song. A smile spread across her face and I was just thankful that she composed herself so that she could listen to the rest of the song.
It was at this point in the concert that a couple of attackers decided to throw a quarter at Zac. Stunned and confused (I was looking at him through the binocs) he warned the audience not to throw things on the stage. Ah, poor Zac. He then put the quarter in his pocket, much to the delight of the throwers.
Next up was "Soldier." It's not generally my favorite song off of 3CG but I loved the beginning "wooah"'s that Isaac and Taylor added. And the harmonies are amazing. Then Taylor and Zac left the stage and Isaac was left alone. He fiddled around with the keyboards for a few moments before stretching out his fingers to play "More Than Anything." Just amazing. I never knew how beautiful of a voice Isaac had. My mother's favorite is Isaac and keeps insisting to me that he has the best voice. While I can't make any distinctions about whose voice is the best, I can say that Isaac is severely underrated by the critics. I tried to soak up every moment of this song and I'm so happy that it will be on the live album.
After "More Than Anything" it was time for break number 2. Isaac left and the orange jumpsuit people came back out again. One funny moment was when they couldn't get one of the Albertane banners to lower correctly. They raised it... and then lowered it again... and then raised it again... and finally it was in place. Hanson came out and asked us once again if we were ready to rock. Goodness, fellas, shouldn't you know the answer to that by now?
They broke into "Speechless." I like that song better each time I hear it. Now it was the time to thank the backup band. And they really thanked them profusely. This was the first of 3 times they thanked them during the concert (probably because it was their last show on this tour). Matt Rogan (sp?) on the keyboards, Jason Taylor on guitar, and Scott Hogan on bass. After each name was called somebody from backstage silly stringed each one. Although it didn't look as if the guys really found the string to be a benifit in their playing. The guys grooved out for a bit (Isaac strolling the stage) before settling down to play "Ever Lonely." It was so awesome to hear this song finally. Zac pulled out his glowy sticks and Taylor and Isaac motioned for everybody to pull out their glowy string things. They even noticed a quite awesome glowing "Hanson" way up in the balcony. It was pretty darn cool.
"Ever Lonely" is a fabulous song and I'm wondering what took so long for them to record it. I wonder what earlier versions of this song sounded like -- when they played it in Tulsa. Just curious!
And then came "I Will Come To You." Although Taylor didn't do his "won't have to reach out for me-e-e-e," I did really enjoy the song. Tehe. I know, I have my favorite vocal fills. It is worthy to mention that Taylor made the same mistake at this concert that he did at "Live From the 10 Spot". "When the nadolight to guide you." It's kind of a combo between, "When the night is dark and stormy" and "When you have no light to guide you." LOL. At the end of the song, they did a bit of a teaser. They stopped playing before it was done, stared at the audience, smiled, and then finally continued with "...you, oh, i will come to you..."
The next song was "Minute Without You," probably one of the greatest rockin'-out songs of all time. The amount of energy it must take to play that song is amazing. I just jumped up and down the entire song. Everybody did. My arms were waving around with abandon. I'm sure I came close to knocking that little girl next to me in the face. She was, by the way, still staring at me like I was a freak. Apparently I was a better show for her than Hanson.
It was now time for Taylor and Zac to give us clapping lessons. And it was a good thing because "Good Lovin'" takes a lot of energy to clap to. My arms were tired, but I tried to keep up that over-the-head clap the entire time.
May I mention now that Taylor was very smiley throughout the entire performance. I must admit that I spent most of my binocular time on him, mostly because I could see him he best. He was laughing and smiling, a lot of the times at what his brothers were doing.
Warning... MOE advertisement ahead. And it's Ike's job to do it. But it takes Isaac probably twice as long to explain MOE as it would have if, say, Zac explained it. LOL.
The next song they didn't need to introduce. The crowd went wild as the opening cords to "Mmmbop" started to play. I went wild when Taylor sang "only one or two will last" the same way he did on that short clip of Good Morning America. I told you I have my favorite vocal fills. What can I say? "Mmmbop" will be a classic.
"Man, when you guys said you were ready to rock you were really serious, weren't you?" Well, yes, Taylor... didn't we discuss this before?
The next song they announced as the "last" song of the night. Uh, huh... yeah, sure... Funny thing is, some people believed it. I guess those aren't the internet fans. Soon they were in the midst of "Man From Milwaukee." A valient effort but I'm glad they didn't end it on that note. It was a fabulous performance of the song up until the end when it kinda died off. Sorry, guys.. I speak the truth! It was a bit off. But, it was the only song of the concert that I felt was lacking. Zac, however, did an excellent job on his solos. He's really growing into that voice and his range is improving.
Then they left the stage... and for some reason a lot of other people started to leave too. Gosh, they're HANSON... they wouldn't leave without saying a proper goodbye. It was when they came out that the water fight occured. They came out along with their backup players, who were dressed like aliens. Zac said, "oh, no we have aliens playing for us." Isaac was the one who initiated the water fight. He started by yelling to Zac. "Oh, Zac!" he called. Then Isaac chased Zac around with a water gun. Taylor helped Zac by defending him and pouring a bottle full of water over Isaac's head. Isaac got Taylor, Taylor got Isaac and I think Zac got everybody.
That was when the strip show occured. Both Isaac and Taylor took part. Isaac quickly removed his soaked overshirt and stayed in his black tee. Taylor dragged his shirt-removing out. He slowly unbuttoned his overshirt, paused, smiled, looked around (probably checking out if there was any heart attacks in the front row), and then removed the shirt. Oh, Taylor.
They then broke into "Look At You," which, although it's my least favorite off of MoN, was great live. A very jumpable song. At the end of the song during the "look at you, look at you, baby" Taylor and Isaac pointed frantically at the audience, sending shreiks into the air.
"This is the last, last, last song," said Zac as they started their very last song, "Summertime Blues." I couldn't believe it was almost over. But, woah, what a way to end a show. Possibly one of my favorite moments of the show, this song absolutely rocked. And Isaac's funny voices not only charmed the audience but sent Taylor giggling each time. Somehow I don't think Isaac tells them what voices he's gonna use each time. This time around he chose the very low voice, an Elvis impersonation and... this one is so funny and Taylor was really laughing at it... a girly voice. I couldn't believe it was actually Isaac singing it. I had to turn around and ask Mandy if she heard what I heard. And she did! Hi-lar-i-ous.
And then it was over. The guys stayed out on stage for quite awhile. Taylor sprayed the audience and shook hands. Isaac threw out guitar picks. Zac stood in the middle of the stage complaining that he would do something but nobody would give him anything to do! I think he wanted to help throw the picks. He had apparently run out of water in his gun. Maybe it was all used up when he gave the gun to a crew member on the side of the stage who proceeded to let Zac have it. At the end of their shmoozing with the audience they gathered to the edge of the stage and sang "Weird" a capella. They shook a few more hands, said thanks again to the backup band and finally left the stage.
The lights came up and they were almost blinding. My ears were to numb to even ring and my back hurt like heck, but I was ecstatic. We met Susan and Laura and we all left the arena together. For the rest of the night we "talked Hanson" while chowing down at Denny's -- the only place open at 1:00am in the morning in Dallas besides bars.
I can't fully put into words how much fun I had -- meeting Becka, Susan and Laura, seeing Hanson right there in front of me, dancing to live music instead of a CD. Very surreal if I think hard enough about it. Or, if I think hard enough about it, very real. There you have it. Just one concert for me during this Albertane tour, but I don't think I could have had more fun if I had been to a million. And this one memory will be all the more sweet.
