[Review] HANSON The Enmore Theatre, Sydney – August 8, 2014

Posted by Troy Culpan

Just shy of two years ago I saw Hanson at this same venue and it was absolutely chock a block then, and from everything I’ve heard tonight will be no different. Here promoting their new album ‘Anthem’ the boys are back to perform, to entertain, and to once again hopefully shut those people up that may just still be a little stuck in 1997…

Adam Martin got the job of supporting tonight and although it’s always a tough job, he actually did quite well to engage the crowd in particular with his early cover of ‘Wonderwall’ that got people singing along. Throwing in smattering of originals in between the covers were crowd friendly enough to keep people interested for what is to come. Overall he had a good sound and good presence on stage for his short set.

Now, before the show even starts the atmosphere in here is electric, there’s a vibe and it’s amazing. Hanson means so much to those that have come out tonight and you can just tell that this night will be something special.

OK, I now officially can’t hear anything. The deafening screams I’m hearing right now are nothing short of astounding. This band is loved. I mean seriously loved by those here, it’s like nothing I’ve heard in a long time. As they grace the stage all dressed in black and waste absolutely no time in busting into the opener for the show and the first track from ‘Anthem’ we get ‘Fired Up’ and it is on. This is a show that tonight will not only surprise many but impress more and I’m not even joking when I say that the screams have been constant throughout this entire first song. What I love about Hanson as I’ve followed their career is watching them evolve into these absolutely astounding musicians and song writers, they have crafted their music to how they want and deliver it in a means that the ‘fansons’ that have been there since 1997 still have something to get excited over. Oh and I don’t just mean the women, I consider myself somewhat in that category too, yeah I’m not scared to admit I like Hanson.

‘I’ve Got Soul’ sums up what the band are all about these days as they dive straight into an old school favourite of ‘Where’s The Love?’ and the eruption was nothing short of staggering. Back to Anthem with ‘Scream and Be Free’ which got them going even more with some fun crowd participation, then into ‘Thinking of You’ which was a favourite but not as much as when the thumping drums of ‘You Can’t Stop Us’ happened and with Zac taking the lead on the vocals this song just raised the roof. Wow. As the entire stage is vacated to an audible interlude this early on I’m not sure what we’re in for here but let’s see as I’m sure it’ll be something cool. Oh here we go. Three acoustic guitars and three Hanson brothers take the stage as a sea of phones get lifted to capture this moment of fandom where they explain how they wrote some of these songs purely for their fan club which is amazing to hear as a fan of bands and music in general that a band takes the time to do something like this. Hearing a song like ‘On and On’ like this tonight is pretty amazing as not all those here would know it so it’s a nice live experience which will stick. As the acoustic guitars get put away and I get deafened purely by the fact that Zac took his hair out of its ponytail and I feel like Hanson can do absolutely no wrong tonight and I’m ok with that. Right now they’re playing ‘Weird’ and every single person here tonight knows it and is shouting the lyrics back to the stage, it’s seriously something to witness. Putting the guitars away they gather around one microphone to pay homage to the Bee Gees and sing the song ‘Too Much Heaven’ completely acapella and it’s nothing short of astounding. Two words. Vocal. Talent.

The band vacates the stage and leaves Isaac there with an acoustic guitar as the solos begin, he gives us a song called ‘Hand In Hand’ which was great, then taking it in turns, Zac gets his solo with a yet to be released song as he takes to the piano to give us a taste of ‘Get So Low’. Screams get louder as it’s time for Taylor’s solo… throwing in a big piano ballad ‘A Song to Sing’ which was as powerful as you’d want and expect. This part of the show to me just showed how each brother can hold their own and not have to ‘hide’ behind a band, but can play a song solo and it be flawless.

The entire band returns to the stage as Taylor jumps behind the drums and Zac takes lead vocals and piano for ‘Juliet’ from Anthem and watching the waving arms is testament to the fact that this is a new crowd favourite, then as ‘You Never Know’ gets a run along with ‘Tragic Symphony’ the mood subdued a little but not for long as Zac belts the cowbell signifying ‘Thinking’ bout Somethin’’ from previous album ‘Shout It Out’ and you can tell that this crowd knows their Hanson, they know the newer stuff, they aren’t stuck in a time warp and it’s something fun to be a part of, it continues with ‘Waiting For This’ from the same album… Whoa… The ground started shaking when ‘A Minute Without You’ happened… That was nuts. Actual nuts. What a song that is, and amazing to hear it tonight. Yes!!! ‘Penny & Me’ from my favourite Hanson album ‘Underneath’ which as you could imagine got a lot of love and sounded perfect as the harmonies these guys are known for shine through superbly and don’t miss even one bit, but now it’s finally a song for the five of us guys in the audience ‘Give a Little’ is up and is funky, plus any song with a key change is a winner in my books as you should all know by now.

My eardrums just completely punctured… Thanks for the warning guys… Yeah it’s ‘MMMbop’ and fuck you if you don’t like this song right now, this is awesome. This matured version of the song shows that with some age between the song and now that they can still play it and you know what? It’s actually a damn catchy song still. Hang on I just need to get into it for a minute. That. Was. Fun. Of course it was by far the biggest song of the night.

Jumping back from 1997 to 2014 and the first single from ‘Anthem’ with ‘Get The Girl Back’ as a sea of glow sticks are held aloft, which reminds me of a story when I saw Bon Jovi in 2001 in New Jersey and the glow stick plan during ‘Wanted Dead or Alive’ let’s just say I’ll tell you the story of my failed glow stick timing another time… but back to Hanson, and it’s funny putting this song directly after ‘MMMbop’ to see the contrast and what is interesting is there really isn’t much difference. Hanson have always delivered songs that are catchy, that are relatable and are just damn fun. I seriously love this band for what they do and continue to do.

‘Something Going Round’ keeps the vibe up as the band leaves the stage only to return very quickly for a well-deserved encore. Oh sweet, ‘This Time Around’ I wasn’t sure if we’d get this but here it is!! That’s such a big song and in this live environment is perfect, such a build, and such a fan favourite. Then to close the show we are ‘In The City’ and this is the perfect rocker this far into the set and to go out on a high. Instruments down, cheers and adulation that have to be heard to be believed, and the promise of a return soon, and why wouldn’t they?, they absolutely owned tonight and in fact owned the country as the Hanson love is deep and will be ongoing, mark my words.

In summary: I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again in no uncertain terms, throw away your preconceived notions of Hanson and just go to a show and witness one of the most entertaining and musically perfect live shows from ANY band you’ll ever see. I’m even more impressed than I was two years ago oh and also a little more deaf…

Essential Information

Venue: The Enmore Theatre – Sydney

Date: August 8, 2014

Supports: Adam Martin

Website: www.hanson.net

Photos by Peter Coates – Inside Edge photography – check out our full photo gallery HERE

Set List:Fired Up
I’ve Got Soul
Where’s the Love
Scream And Be Free
Thinking of You
You Can’t Stop Us
On and On (acoustic)
Weird (acoustic)
Too Much Heaven (Bee Gees cover) (acapella)
Hand in Hand (Isaac solo)
Get So Low (Zac solo)
A Song to Sing (Taylor solo)
Juliet
You Never Know
Tragic Symphony
Thinking ‘Bout Somethin’
Waiting for This
A Minute Without You
Penny & Me
Give a Little
MMMBop
Get the Girl Back
Something Going Round
This Time Around
In the City

Oh and if you missed it, check out our chat with Zac Hanson here…

My Memories of the Vancouver MOE

We were 3rd row center(ish) for the MOE, there were about 75 of us (give or take). When we first got into the venue, David Ryan Harris was finishing his sound check, so we got to watch that for a few minutes before the guys came out.

First off, I just have to say (and I’ve wanted to say this since Portland) that anyone calling Taylor fat or complaining about him cutting his hair is crazy, IMO. He has looked GORGEOUS at all the Pacific North West shows, his hair isn’t too short, it looks great. Yes, it’s beautiful a little longer, but it’s not the end of the damn world that he had a freaking trim.

If this is your idea of fat, or a bad haircut, then I guess we have very different ideas about what those things look like!

They played “On and On” first, which was beautiful, and at the very end Taylor suggested they do the campfire version, so they all stepped to the edge of the stage, crouched down in front of us and sang the last few lines of the song to us without mics. <3 After they were done, Taylor mentioned how the “can’t quit you” line at the end of the song seemed very Brokeback Mountain. That led to him clarifying that he “likes the ladies”, while Zac said something about dudes alone on a mountain with some sheep…

The next song was “No Sleep For Banditos”. Zac said that people tell him he sings the song with a Mexican accent… and then he proceeded to sing a few lines of it with a very deliberate Mexican accent. I think Taylor said something to him about it, I don’t remember what. I just know they were teasing each other, because when the song started, Zac turned to Tay (who was on drums) and was like “you were supposed to play the snare”, and Tay hit the snare. And then a second later Tay was like “that felt good!” and he hit it again really hard. My memory is a little fuzzy about exactly what happened next, but I think Zac was taking forever to start playing the guitar or something, or he was playing the intro repeatedly and Taylor was waiting for his cue to start playing drums. And when Zac turned around to look at him, Tay gave him this playful “anytime you’re ready, dude” look and nod, which cracked everyone up. Throughout the song, I noticed Zac kind of glance very briefly over his shoulder at Tay, or kind of smile and nod approvingly to himself over Tay’s drumming. It was cute.

Next they played “Best of Times”, and Ike messed up the very beginning of the first verse and started laughing. After the song he said that, in songs where he sings lead, the second verse always changes a little. He said he was so focused on getting the second verse right this time that it made him mess up the first verse instead.

They played “Get Out Of My Heart” after that, which was a VERY nice surprise. Tay sounded UH-mazing.

After that they played “Sound Of Light”, and they rocked it so hard that Ike broke a guitar string and Zac broke a drumstick. Then they offered the string and the broken drumstick to random fans after the song.

For the last song, they asked us if there was anything we wanted to here. A few people immediately yelled “Cried”, and the guys were like “why is it always ‘Cried’?!” Then someone said “Ever Lonely”, and they debated for a moment if they even remembered how to play that. Someone yelled “Down”, and they said they’d never performed that one together live and wouldn’t know where to start. They ended up playing the chorus of “Cried” and then playing all of “Ever Lonely” for us, and both were awesome.

Once the performance part of the MOE was done, they did a Q&A. Tay came back to the front of the stage and crouched down in front of us and said he was being creepy. Then Ike and Zac came over and sat down. Zac said he was going to sit “criss-cross applesauce”, and Tay was like “why can’t you just say Indian style?” and Zac said it wasn’t “P.C.” Then he said something about scalping, and Tay just dropped his head into his hands. He and Ike told Tay he should sit down rather than squatting, but Tay said he preferred to squat because it made him feel “more in control”…

I don’t remember EVERY question/answer we heard. But I know someone asked Ike if he’d ever considered doing a blues album or more blues songs, and he said yes. Tay said Ike thinks about doing that kind of thing all the time, but then he can’t be bothered to practice and so it never actually happens, and Ike agreed that his lack of drive to work on it is the reason it hasn’t happened. But he did say “You Can’t Stop Us” started out MUCH more bluesy. Then he got up and got a guitar and started playing the slower, bluesy version for us, and Zac got up and started singing/making noises along with him. Then Zac started doing his stripper dance and hiking his t-shirt up a little so we saw his tummy for a second. Tay watched them, and afterwards he said that he had a whole new perspective on what it’s like to be in our position (in the audience while they’re up on stage).

"That’s a whole lot of crotch."

They were asked if they ever disagree over who sings lead, but they said it’s usually pretty obvious. They said Zac had a hard time letting go of singing all of “You Can’t Stop Us”, because he loved every verse, but the song was more powerful with each other them taking the lead on a verse because it was “You Can’t Stop US”. They also said that Ike originally sang a verse on “Thinking ‘Bout Somethin’”, but again it didn’t work with the message of the song, because it was from one person’s perspective. They said that when they took out Tay’s vocal track, the sound of the drums totally changed and it wasn’t as good (at least, I think it was TBS they were talking about. Not 100% on that one).

Someone asked if they would tour Australia soon, and they said hopefully next year. Because of the exchange rate between the USA and Australia, they can’t afford to tour there right now, they wouldn’t get paid enough. They were like “You’re gonna pay us HOW much? Who’s gonna have to stay behind?” lol Then I think Zac said “Ike”, and Ike totally cracked up and said that was fine by him.

They were asked if they were still doing Fools Banquet, and they said they hadn’t for a few years because of touring and putting the new studio together, but they are trying to organize something for next year. They said they are into the idea of trying to put together a project with other artists that they will actually release in some form. They love the idea of doing a cover album where they record with the artists whose songs they are covering.

I think Zac said something at this point that was unintentionally insulting to transgender people. I can’t remember what was being said, but he was joking around about something and mentioned the fact that transgender people can use whichever bathroom they prefer in California. It was one of those word vomit moments where he wasn’t putting a lot of thought into what he was saying. Tay once again just shook his head in amazement and then pretty much face-palmed, then he turned to us and was like “Is there anyone else, any group that he hasn’t offended yet? Any race, sex, religion?” Zac joked that he was just trying to get on TMZ again.

On the subject of beer, they said that hopefully next month you should be able to mail order MMMHops if you live in a state that allows you to have beer mailed to you. They’re working on other options, but because of stupid laws in every state, they are having trouble with it. They compared it to the music industry. They said imagine if music had been outlawed at one time, and now there are a bunch of laws left over from that period.

Someone asked them what they would be if they weren’t musicians. Tay said Zac would have gone into the military, and Zac agreed. Then Tay said he wouldn’t have gone any higher than Drill Sergeant, though, and Zac agreed again. He said he just wants to yell at people and tell them what to do, and that his tour pass says “Serg” on it instead of his name. Someone in the audience said he’d have to cut his hair to be in the military, and he was like “not in special forces”. He said he’d just sit around with his buddies playing video games and getting a tan, and then sometimes he’s snap people’s necks. Tay also said that Zac would have been an incredible artist as well as a Drill Sergeant.

Ike said he would have been a motivational speaker, and Tay agreed and said that he would get up every morning and look in the mirror and start with himself. Then he (or maybe it was Zac, I forget) said that Ike would actually have been a therapist, because he loves to sit and listen to people talk and analyze their problems. Tay said that creativity was in the blood and he loves to cook and take photos, so maybe he would have done something in those fields.

Once they were done with questions, they did group pictures. Each group had about 8 fans in it, and we all got to go over and say hi to them, shake hands (and ask for a hug if you had the guts, which I didn’t), and then we got pictures taken. They let us stay in the venue after the MOE, so we were 2nd/3rd row for the show, which was AMAZING. Best of the 3 I was lucky enough to see this week!

I don’t have the time (or brain power) to go into the shows right now, I’m running on very little sleep and I have to get to work. But I wanted to write the MOE memories down before they started to fade. <3

ETA

Sorry for all the spelling mistakes in the original post. I obviously shouldn’t post on barely any sleep. :p

source: http://bloodflowsred.tumblr.com