Hanson at the Indigo2
The year was 1997 and three brothers from Tulsa, Oklahoma were making waves in the music industry all over the globe and their name was Hanson. Having been playing music throughout their childhood, as adults they continued to write, produce and record music, gaining much more experience along the way. It has now been over twenty years since they found music to be their passion and dream in life and with countless albums in their collective and the most recent Anthem topping it off, they returned to the UK this winter to share with their fans a night of music and another opportunity to feel like a teenager again!
The minute Isaac, Taylor and Zac Hanson burst onto the stage and began belting out their tunes, such as Waiting for This, which the Hanson fans have been doing for some time and Fired Up which they certainly were – the Hanson lads had the entire crowd in the palm of their hands. Although they will always be known for Mmmbop, they have come a long way since the sixteen years of its release. The lads played tracks from across their discography, from Where's the Love, A Minute Without You and With You In Your Dreams to In The City, Lost Without Each Other and Penny and Me as well as some more recent material such as Thinkin' 'Bout Somethin' and Get The Girl Back. Although musically the Hanson lads don't make anything that sounds too massive and ear piercingly loud, what they do create is easy on the ears, passionate and from the heart. It is music you can move to, can sing along with and more importantly never get tired of hearing.
One thing that has increased throughout every performance Hanson has shared with the British public is their enthusiasm throughout their set. Isaac remained on guitar throughout the evening's performance; Taylor gave guitar and drums a go at times while Zac also took to guitar and keys on several songs. Taylor also made the most of the fairly empty stage bounding back and forth, jumping and smashing the tambourine along to the music. Like always, each also had their opportunity for a solo performance, Taylor of Weird, Isaac belted out For Your Love and Zac sang a new tune – each went down with a roar of screams and appreciation from the crowd.
There were two segments of the set that made for the most memorable moments. The first, a cover of the Bee Gees song Heaven and for those who have never heard Hanson harmonising you would be left with an open jaw as it was astounding! The second came in the encore, when Hanson became all Festive and gave us a few tracks from their Christmas album Snowed In which made the crowd scream louder than ever.
Overall, Hanson gave an amazing evening of tunes from throughout the years that just seem to get better with time!