evthekiller

On Sunday November 16, 2008 I attended only my third Hanson concert (I've been a fan since the beginning). But this one was like no other. It was the final stop of the tour as well as the night before Isaac's 28th birthday. I'll get to more details about that in just a bit though.

For those of you who have not been following the band through the years, they have come quite a long way since MMMBop. All 3 members are now married with children. They have released a total of 4 studio albums as well as a "Best of" album which is actually a live album. You can listen to some of their new music on their Myspace. They are also very active in charitable causes such as combating poverty and AIDS in Africa. Last year they partnered with TOMS shoes, a company which for every pair of shoes sold, donates a pair of shoes to a child in need.

Starting with their tour last year, Hanson have been doing mile long walks before each concert. They encourage those taking the Walk with them to do it barefoot, but it's not a requirement. The purpose of these walks are not only raise awareness for the fight against poverty and AIDS in Africa, but also to show that there is something our generation can do to help out. They also donate $1 for every mile walked by everyone that shows up, each person even gets to choose the cause their dollar goes towards.

Which brings me to the start of my day on Sunday. Now, I did the Walk with Hanson last year up in Los Angeles, but I did not do it barefoot. So this time I thought that I would be more true to the cause and walk the streets of downtown San Diego barefoot. Being that this was the end of the tour, Hanson thought they should make it even more special by doing 2 miles instead of just one. So for every person that walked $2 were donated on their behalf. The turnout was really something

Usually about halfway through the Walk, the group will stop and the guys in the band will give another speech before heading back. So on the way to our turning point, I got to talk to Isaac a bit, which was a great thrill. And on the way back I spent most of the time walking with/talking to Zac. Last year in L.A. I got to briefly talk to Taylor, so it worked out nicely. They all seem like genuinely good guys. After the Walk we had a few hours to kill before doors opened for the concert. I've never been to a show where it was that insane outside the venue so far ahead of doors opening...

After we got inside, and I purchased my copy of the Middle of Nowhere Acoustic 10th Anniversary Live DVD/CD , we all waited for the first band to come out which was Everybody Else. I saw them open for Hanson last year, as well as seeing them play with We Shot the Moon earlier this year, so I knew I was in for a good show....but I had no idea how good.

Because it was the last show of the tour, Hanson and their crew decided to play a prank on Everybody Else. First one of the guys came out and took one of the drummer's cymbals. But it didn't stop there. Then they took another cymbal...and well...just look.

So after that was over, Matt Wertz came out and said that he lost his voice the previous night and was going to play his stuff acoustic and mellow, so that he'd be able to sing it. Then during his set....

But then after those shenanigans Hanson came on and played one hell of a set. I made plenty of videos which can be found on Youtube. During one part of the show they said something about how they have a lot of songs and I yelled out "PLAY THEM ALL!" and Zac responded with, "But we can't play them all" and Isaac said "We don't remember how to play a lot of them" and then they all laughed lol.

The pranks were not over yet though...before MMMBop, near the end of the show, Everybody Else and Matt Wertz pushed their way through the crowd wearing Hanson shirts and holding Hanson signs. They jumped over the barricade and onto the stage. The drummer for EBE lifted his shirt and gave Taylor a pen to sign his chest, while the other guys tried to get autographs from Zac and Isaac. They stayed onstage during the song, and hilarity ensued.


The last song they played was Watch Over Me, but the antics were not over, as seen in this video...


After that, the House of Blues people closed the curtain...cutting the show even shorter (Hanson had to cut out 5 or 6 songs from the set list already). I talked to Zac about it after the show and he said it pissed him off to walk back out for an encore and see the back of a curtain. As he put it "That's not the way to end a tour", he said he would have accepted any penalty or fine just so he could have said good bye and thank the fans, even if they couldn't play another song. Isaac expressed these same sentiments. I was lucky enough to get Zac and Isaac to sign the cover of my DVD as well as my ticket and the set list I scored from the lighting guy. Unfortunately I was not able to get Taylor's autograph this time, which is ironic because last time he was the only one that I did get an autograph from.

I said Neverender was the best 4 days of my life, but this was probably one of the greatest single days of my life. It was definitely the most fun I've ever had at a show, thanks to the pranks and antics, but also to some amazing music and great people. Next year you can bet that I'll be attending at least 2 of the SoCal Hanson shows, if not all 3. Hopefully they'll end the tour here again so we can have some more fun like that, but maybe up in L.A. so the show doesn't get cut short again.

All in all there is no way I can give that experience any less than 5 out of 5 stars, I might even have to give it 6 stars. It was just that much fun. Next time Hanson tours, I want all of you to go check them out, you will not be disappointed.



P.S. Yes, I did get blisters on my feet...6 to be exact. And it was SOOOOOOOOOOOO worth it. I'll be doing the Walk barefoot again next year.