The Automatik

AM Glory/The Pat McGee Band/Hanson
Kool Haus
November 10, 2005

It’s been about five years since the first time I saw Hanson perform live. Since then, they’ve left their major label and started an independent one (3CG), watched their fan base enter high school (and even college), cut their hair, removed their braces, and even gotten married and started a family (well, just Taylor). They’ve obviously grown up, so it’s too bad that some of their fans haven’t.

I expected a little screaming, a bit of girly hysteria. But I didn’t expect to see one girl, holding up photos of her and the brothers for the entirety of their 90-minute set. It was downright scary. This sort of behavior even hampered my enjoyment of the show, especially when Taylor had to shush the audience twice during an otherwise flawless a capella performance.

The opening bands were pretty unimpressive – AM Glory were trying too hard to be cool with their alterna-sound and excessive profanity. The Pat McGee Band were obviously the older, more seasoned musicians, but they were still slow and boring. The teens ate it up, even though the music sounded like something Medicare-aged parents would listen to and think they were “rocking.” They did an embarrassing cover of U2′s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” during which the singer turned his head away from the microphone to mask his inability to hit the high notes, trying to make it look like he was lost in the moment instead.

Hanson finally came on around 10:00 p.m., just in time to distract me from the maddening crowd. They started off with a new song I didn’t recognize, one with Zac (whose voice just keeps getting more incredible with the passing years) on vocals and Tay on drums. They went on to perform mostly songs from Middle of Nowhere and the unbelievably underrated This Time Around (from 2000) with only a few from 2004′s Underneath. I suppose this is because they’re supporting their new “Greatest Hits – Live and Electric” album. It reminded me of how damn infectious their music is – not catchy or sugary but just – good. I rarely dance and sing along at shows but here I was, unable to stop myself.

Another bonus of their performances from their supersmashhitalbum Middle of Nowhere (or MON, to those of us in the know), was getting to hear them sing such great songs with their more grown-up voices. “Weird” in particular moved me, so much so that I just closed my eyes and let Taylor’s amazing voice just wash right over me. It was followed by the gorgeous “Believe” (from TTA) and for the second time in two weeks I had to hold back the tears at a show. (I swear I don’t know where this is all coming from.)

Not to be outdone with the U2 covers, they performed “Desire” and there was simply no contest for whose was the better performance. As usual, they broke out a few classic rock tunes, this time The Doobie Brothers’ “Long Train Runnin” and “Feelin’ Alright” (which Ike pointed out was originally performed by Dave Mason and later, Joe Cocker).

On this tour, the brothers have brought two additional musicians with them – a bassist and a seriously hot-shot guitarist (who also plays keyboards). It was a little odd to see a non-sibling taking center stage at times, but it helped to flesh out their performance into a real rawk show.

It amazes me that several years after becoming a Hanson fan (as an adult, no less), I still feel that I have to justify my love for them, especially when so many of my peers are listening to so-called indie music that is just calculated hipster crap. Music history is not dead to the Hanson brothers and that’s more than you can say for most new bands, who are just riding the coattails of better bands that today’s audiences are too young to have even heard of, much less heard. And they’re profiting from the ignorance of the masses.

Hanson may not be avant garde or edgy or rehashing something that was done better 20 years ago, but they are talented and dedicated and quite frankly, better than a lot of bands out there. But if you don’t believe me, then you can just go ahead and listen to your next big things that will fade away in a few years. And I’ll keep listening to Hanson. Proudly.