Pittsburgh Review
Hanson's showmanship MMMgood
By Lynne Margolis
Pittsburgh TRIBUNE-REVIEW
"I've never, ever, ever seen anything like this." That's all Civic Arena
operations manager Andy Gorchov could say after facing the wildest mob of screaming
females he's ever encountered in his career.
Girls were moaning, girls were panting, girls were propositioning arena staff members in
futile attempts to get closer to the objects of their young-groupie fantasies. And that
was even before the trio of brothers causing all the furor had even taken the Uptown
auditorium's stage Thursday
night.
When they finally did, the serious pandemonium began. Zachary, Taylor and Isaac Hanson did
their best to play valiantly through it all, but the nearly non-stop screeching even
caused one of them to comment, "You guys really know how to make some noise!" So
does Hanson, it turns out.
Take away the zillions of specks of glitter covering a multitude of homemade declarations
of love, take away the fan-club laminates and sea of bodies covered in Hanson T-shirts,
and you've got a band of enthusiastic, accomplished musicians - who happen to know how to
write the heck out of a hook - and deliver it with credibility.
Whether they were faithfully rendering covers of some of rock's greatest tunes - the
Rascals' "Good Lovin'," Spencer Davis Group's "Gimme Some Lovin'," the
Beatles' "Money," Cream's "Sunshine of Your Love" - or their own
originals, they consistently sounded, if not astonishingly outstanding,
at least really good. A few misplaced notes here and there, if anything, gave the
hour-and-45-minute set more warmth and authenticity.
And except for a little prerecorded percussion boost on "MMMBop," they weren't
faking any of it. While the boys were aided by a backing guitarist, bassist and
keyboardist, they sang all the vocals, frequently took solos, and delivered an acoustic
segment (in a living room setting) that was
strictly on their own.
The whole time, they performed with more heart and soul than bands twice their ages (did
someone say Pearl Jam?), and in between, they shook hands with the fans in front, spritzed
them with Super Soakers or bottled water
and generally had a bunch of fun.
While they tend to fill a lot of their songs with the same plaintive "whoooah"
delivery, as on "Look at You," or "MMMBop" or "Madeline,"
it's never less than melodic and often really infectious. And Hanson certainly doesn't
stint on paying homage to the early tutelage of those Time-Life Classics, either via the
covers or within their own
songcraft.
Particularly impressive were the a cappella harmonies of "Stories"; the soulful,
heartfelt delivery of "With You In Your Dreams," dedicated to their late
grandmother; the pretty "Soldier" and "Where's the Love"; and Ike's
gorgeous solo piano and vocal rendition of "More Than Anything" (included on a
live disc to be released in November). They're certainly not the Beatles, but Hanson is a
great next-generation
follow-up. And it's not inconceivable that, if they keep it up - as they swear they always
will - they'll one day write another "Yesterday."
Opening was Hanson's Tulsa, Okla., buddies Admiral Twin, another pop group that owes its
roots to Motown and the British Invasion. They even performed a decent version of the
Hollies' "Bus Stop," and had their own share of fans in the crowd - no doubt
those girls who'd seen them earlier on the tour.
This generation clearly has been trained in rock 'n' roll groupiedom by their parents, the
generation that helped invent it.
Email: mmmtay@ilovechocolate.com