The beginning was June 23, 1998. I was making my weekly call to the Hanson Hotlne. On this message, Isaac said the tour was being extended. The new tour dates were posted on the internet. DANG IT!! I wouldn't be able to go on the net for a week, or maybe weeks!! ( I won't even get into why.) I just crossed my fingers and hope that Hanson will do a concert in Wisconsin. I frequently called Ticketmaster hoping they would mention Hanson on a recorded message. No such luck. I also frequently checked the Entertainment section of the Milwaukee newspaper. Nothing was ever mentioned. I thought I was out of luck.
July 4th came along. My stepmom was picking me up for me to visit her and my dad for the weekend. The first words out of her mouth were,"So..do you have your tickets ready?" I then replied,"For what?" My stepmom said back,"The Hanson concert." I quickly remarked,"They're not coming anywhere near here." My stepmom then stated,"Yes they are. They're coming to Milwaukee at the end of this month." I was in shock!! I was just hoping that the tickets weren't sold out!
As soon as I arrived to my dad's house (it was a torturous 1 hour drive) I had to call my mom to order some tickets. (Don't you hate these dumb custody arrangements?) She said she would get some. I was going to see Hanson in 21 Days!! I also was in MOE, so there was a possbility of me meeting them! My mom couldn't remember where our seats were, but she knew they were Stage Left which meant by Tay. Darn. I'm an Ike kind of girl. :o)
July 17th came around and my tickets to the Milwaukee concert and my 2nd issue of MOE came the same day. COOL! Anway, my seats were in Section 5. From a print off of the theater, I knew I was certainly not too close, but I was not too far away either. I was pleased.
A whole week and day eventually came. I swear, it was the longest day in the history of mankind. I woke up at 5:45 AM that day. (I would only get up that early for Hanson!) The day was July 25, 1998. The day I saw Hanson in concert for the first time. I got ready and my mom and I were on the road around 7:30 AM. It was about a 3 hour drive, and I was really anticipating the end of the day. I had my sign, camera, and binoculars prepared.
I clutched the Hanson tickets as we pulled up to the Amphitheater. We drove through the parking, and found a spot right next to the fence. I grabbed my sign and backpack, and we headed towards the front gate.
I then noticed 3 girls, and a woman waiting at the back entrance. We walked over to them to see what was up. They thought Hanson was going to come through. I looked at the gate, and saw 3 purple and silver buses being washed. I knew they had to be Hanson's buses, so I snapped a picture.
Now the most INCREDIBLE nicest woman in the world, Cathy,offered me to switch tickets with her. The ticket was in Section 2, (basically the best section in the amphitheater)right in front of Ike. She had been planning to sell it, until she saw me and she new I would enjoy the seat. So, she would sit with my mom...while I would enjoy the concert with her daughter,Erin, and her daughter's friends, Sheila and Michaela. I agreed. Who would say no? When I was handed the ticket, I held it like it was gold. I had a great seat now!!!
Sheila, Erin, Michaela, and Cathy were from Cleveland, Ohio. They had rode 14 hours on a Greyhound bus just to see Hanson. Very dedicated fans in my opinion.
We got to taling, and all of us were the same age, 14. However, they were all Zac luvers. As I mentioned before, I'm an Ike kind of gal! :o)
We eventually got EXTREMELY bored. We tried to think of ways to get backstage, or to just talk with security into letting us meet Hanson or something. (Hey, I know...like it could happen, but dreams do come true!!) We all painted "VIP" on our hands. Actually, that came in handy for scaring away a few fans!!! We eventually got sooo incredibly bored that we decided to squeeze info about when Hanson was coming from security. We met two security guards named Andrew and Bob who told us Hanson did the soundcheck yesterday, so Hanson wouldn't get there as early as we had hoped. Other security guards just blew us off. Actually...Erin, Michaela, and Sheila bribed a guard 15 bucks to keep girls away, so if Hanson pulls up and saw only 6 people they might greet us. IT WORKED!! The security guy kept roughly 80 girls away over the course of an hour!!
Then we saw a big white hotel van that had blue manuscript on it. We realized it was the opening band Admiral Twin. We waved, and they kind of ignored us, but that's okay.
By now a security woman came by and let the other girls stay. There was a whole line about 75 feet long, and we were at the beginning!!
I then left my spot in the line (my mom saved my spot) to buy some merchandise. I bought the program, souvenir pass, and the Albertane T-Shirt. My arms were loaded with Hanson things as I walked back. I was also swarmed by Hanson fans on the way, because they thought the souvenir pass was a backstage pass.
I got back to my spot, and read the tour program. Just as I finished reading it, 2 of the 3 buses left to pick up Hanson!!
We waited, and waited, and waited. We could tell Hanson was getting close, because the security guards kept talking on their (not yellow) walkie-talkies to eachother. They kept making sure no hanson fans were in the path of the driveway.
Finally, a bus pulled up. We waved, and a lot of girls screamed, and of course snapped pictures. As we saw 3 guys climb out, we quickly realized it wasn't Hanson. It was Scott, Matt, and Jason!! It was awesome to see them, and we waved with our big grins. But, just like Admiral Twin, they sort of ignored us.
About 40 minutes or so later, after waiting for almost 6 hours, Hanson came by on their bus. They were pressed up against the window. Ike and Tay had their hair back, and Zac's was down. They had HUGE grins, and they bus pulled through the back. We were chanting,"HANSON! HANSON!" and snapping pics at the same time. They got off the bus. First Isaac, then Taylor, and then Zac. Isaac and Taylor waved, and I really didn't get a good look at Zac because he walked in the theater right away. Ike and Tay were then quickly shuffled into the back, while tears were rolling down some of the girl's faces. Some girls couldn't see because of the huge crowd, but I lucked out.
As Hanson got into the Amphitheater, the security made us leave to the front entrance. So, we gathered up our stuff and hauled it over to the front. Cathy and my mom left to get drinks, and food. Erin, Sheila, Michaela, and I just stood there and talked with some fans. We talked with a girl from Oklahoma who had been to Hanson's house about 5 times. The Amphitheater was really packed. Partly do to the fact there was a Germanfest happening on the same grounds as the hanson concert. It was quite a mixture of people!
After Cathy and my mom got back, we decided to find a picnic table and sit down. We chilled for about an hour, and then we heard a LOT of screams! We ran to the gate and the girls kept screaming. They said Hanson was standing inside. I got out my binoculars, and there wre 3 guys there alright. All with black hair!! So, unless Hanson dyed their hair...it wasn't them.
We waited at the gate for about an hour, until finally security opened the gate. I got my ticket ripped, and I moved down by the ramp. They were making us wait another 15 minutes!! After that time, all the fans were getting extremely impatient. They let us go up the ramp, and made us wait even more. This time it was right in front of the entrance to the actual theater. So, we could see the seats. FINALLY, they let us break loose, and we FREAKED when we saw our seats. We seemed SSSSSOOOOOOO close.
It was about a 30 minute wait wait before Admiral Twin would come out, so I decided to go chat with my friend, Stephani. I knew she was in Section 8, Row C...so I headed on over there. The security wouldn't let me into the section, so I had to stand by the section. I told hear about my experience that morning, and how I was in Section 2 instead of Section 5. She and her cousins and her stepsis all said they were going to kill me. After talking for a few minutes, I went back to my seat.
Sheila, Erin, Michaela, and I decided we were going to try to get the crowd to sing "MMMBop" like the crowd in Canada did on TT&MON. Well, it didn't work.
Very soon after that, Admiral Twin came out and played. They ROCKED!!! I loved their sound!! I only remember 2 names of their songs-"Down" and "Dancin On The Sun". I was disappointed that they only sang for about half an hour, but what could I do?!
After Admiral Twin left, the only thing us fans could do was watch the roadies fix the stage. B-O-R-I-N-G. There was, however, oldies music playing like Jackson 5's "ABC" song. To entertain us, somewhat, the Ampthitheater posted upcoming concerts on the 4 big screens. The crowd booed The Spice Girls, and cheered for Backstreet Boys, Lilith Fair, and Aerosmith. After they showed the appearances, the cameramen began to film different fans and/or signs that were then put up on the 4 big screens. I quickly realized there was a cameraguy to my left. I gripped my sign that said WISCONSIN LOVES HANSON and shoved it by the camera. My sign got up on the monitors!! So 17,000+ people saw it, not to mention possibly HANSON!! That kept me content.:o) I tried to get the other side of the sign that had IKE on it up there, but the cameraguy didn't tape me again.
Anyway, soon the roadies had the Hanson logo shown on the stage. That got a lot of us screaming! Then, they got everything set up, and they draped the curtain over the front of the stage. Next, you could tell Hanson was standing right there! You could see their bodies through the curtain. All of sudden, I heard the bass guitar playing and I knew the concert was starting.
The curtain fell, and then the best band in the world was telling me to give them some lovin. Hanson is so much better looking in person. Isaac was wearing a black shirt under a long-sleeve blue shirt with silver leather pants. Tay was wearing brown pants, and a black t-shirt. I've heard a bunch of different things about what Zac was wearing, but I honestly remember him wearing a blue t-shirt and orange pants. They performed "Gimme Some Lovin" almost PERFECTLY, and then they rolled right into "Thinking Of You". That song was great too!!!
After "Thinking Of You", Ike pulled his hair back. :o( His hair looked soooo great down; it was complete curls.
Anyway, at that point Tay was greeting us. He said something like,"It's great to be here. In the home of Man From Milwaukee." Those 2 sentences made all the girls go nuts!!!!!
They broke into "Where's The Love", and I instantly started jumping up and down with Taylor. It was almost like a reflex! Isaac did extra special on his guitar! Geez, he's good!!!
Next, "River" was being played. Let me just say, I loved the lights on this song. They were kind of bluish-green and completely awesome.
"Weird" was the next song they performed. The red lights were also great on this song. Most of the girls stopped screaming, to sway to the very awesome lyrics.
Next, Hanson rocked into "Sometimes". I loved the revved up version they played. It was much cooler than the 3 Car Garage/MMMBop version I was so used to listening to. Most of the girls SCREECHED when Tay and Zac sang,"to judge, to juuddge."
After that song, they left the stage while the roadies set up the acoustic set. I was so excieted, and I couldn't get over the fact that I was seeing Hanson! It felt like I was watching TT&MON at home, but I wasn't. It was just really weird.
When Hanson came back out, Ike and Zac were wearing the same thing, but Tay switched to a blue shirt. Isaac said something like,"And here's our 3 Car Garage" while he extended his hand out to the set.
The first acoustic song was "Stories", which I love. And right after that song, Ike said,"Well this next song...we dedicate to our late grandmother." I knew,and everyone else knew, it was "With You In Your Dreams". I thought it was cool that they sang the old version of it, instead of the Middle Of Nowhere version.
"Madeline" was the next song performed. Zac looked really confused on this song. You see, every time he was put up on the monitors, the screaming would get LOUD. And I don't mean 140 decibel kind of loud, I mean,like, 250 decibel kind of loud!! He kept trying to figure out why they kept screaming, but he couldn't.
Next Ike said,"Well....we'd like to tell you a story now. A story about a tin soldier and a ballerina." Or he said something similar to that. "Soldier" sounded completely awesome live too. I noticed they really shortened it up.
Next was one of the best parts of the concert. Tay and Zac left the stage and then I knew it was coming. Isaac sang and played "More Than Anything" by himself. When he hit the first few notes on the keyboard, the tears began to fall. I admit it....he made me cry. He sang it BEAUTIFULLY. There weren't words to describe how happy I was when he sang it.
After "More Than Anything", the roadies set the regular set back up. It didn't seem to take so long that time.
Hanson then broke into "Speechless". I'm so glad they revved this song up...it sounds better now then it does on Middle Of Nowhere. You gotta love how Tay plays the keyboards on that song. Sometimes you just wanna tell him,"Tay...they're keyboards, not bongos."
At one point Tay said,"You guys are so loud it's painful." That got TONS of girls screaming. Next Hanson, jammed and introduced Scott, Matt, and Jason. His was when Tay played the drums. What he did was take 2 drumsticks, and held them up behind Zac. Then Zac moved, and Tay sat and started playing. So cooL! Then Zac went to the front of the stage, and handed out these big-circular-silver things into the audience. I couldn't figure out what they were.
The next song Hanson dedicated to us. It was none other than "Man From Milwaukee". This song was very special to everyone there cause, you know, we were in Milwaukee.
Then, Hanson played "I Will Come To You". One thing I noticed on this song was that Ike and Tay messed up. (oops!) They started singing the chorus when they were supposed to shing the "na" part. So, I heard Ike and Tay sing,"When you have no light to guide you..." and then all of a sudden, Zac breaks into the "na na na na na..." part. Then Ike and Tay corrected themselves. Honest mistake. :o)At the end, Tay put his finger in the audience, and of course it did get over by our section.
Next was Ike's song,"A Minute Without You". On this one, where the lyrics go, "there's got to be some way I can get through to you", I pointed out to Ike...and then all of a sudden his arm and finger extends out right to where I was standing. That was AWESOME!!!
Then, of course, Hanson broke into their biggest hit (what could it be?) "MMMBop". Everyone new this song-even some clueless parents.
Hanson "left" the stage after this song for about 40 seconds, and then they came right back out. Tay and Zac were wearing cheeseheads!! (It's kind of a Wisconsin thing.) They handed them out to 2 lucky people in the front row.
The first song was a majorly revved up version of "Look At You". It sure got a lot of people dancing!
Hanson then covered the song "Good Lovin". That ROCKED cause I absoloutely adore that song. They did it extremely well.
Then Hanson rocked into the romantic/friendship song "Ever Lonely". I didn't know the words, so I couldn't sing along. :o( But I sure clapped!!
And the last complete song Hanson played was "Summertime Blues". Ike sounded AWESOME on those low parts. :o)At one point, Tay put the mic into the audience so we could sing along.
Another great moment of the concert happened right now. It was so cool cause they said,"We're gonna leave you with this...." and then they sang the chorus of "Weird" a cappella. They're great harmonies blended so well, and it sounded so cool a cappella.
Then, hanson left. That's it...the end of the Hanson concert. It truly kicked butt, and there's no one who could ever describe any Hanson concert in words. You have to go to get the feel of it.
All the fans wre filing out of the rows, and walking outside. I met my mom at this big statue sets of drums. I was crying sooo hard, because I was soo happy I finally saw Hanson. Fireworks started to go off...I'm serious. In the sky, fireworks were going off. I don't know if it had to do with the Germanfest, or the Hanson concert, but it really wrapped up the best day of my entire life.
