Hanson took the stage at the House of Blues in Anaheim this past Saturday for one of the final stops on The Walk Around The World tour. The venue was sold out, evident by the wall stretching crowd who were primed for the show.
Let's not get to the main act just yet. Attention must be paid to the two opening acts for this stop of the tour. Hanson seems to be a band who take careful consideration in picking their supporting acts because they're always good. To name a few: Michelle Branch, The Veronicas, and Neve. Last night, I had the pleasure of seeing the two latest acts Hanson has chosen to support them Everybody Else and Matt Wertz.
Everybody Else started the show with an absolutely infectious set of songs. I hadn't heard of them before but I was instantly captivated by their songs. Lead singer, Carrick Moore Gerety has a great voice and an extremely high energy. He clearly was loving what he was doing on stage and the crowd felt the same. Everybody Else kicked off a great night of music with an extremely enjoyable set and made a fan out of me pretty much instantly. They have an album in stores now so definitely check it out.
Matt Wertz took the stage after Everybody Else and it was quite a difference. Where Everybody Else is fast and fun pop rock, Matt Wertz is laid back acoustic, almost folk rock. That's not to say he wasn't good, quite the opposite in fact. He was great. He is sort of like a cross between John Mayer (with a smoother voice) and Jason Mraz. He has a bluesy quality that mixes with a bit of country soul and with pop tendencies. I really enjoyed his entire set. There was a tense moment when someone (I would guess rather drunk) screamed for him to stop playing and bring out Hanson (Not something I'd have expected to be honest) but he just laughed it off and continued his set. He finished off a short time later to well deserved cheers. I really loved all his songs and would suggest giving his albums a try. Especially, if you like acoustic music.
I'd say both Everybody Else and Matt Wertz have much success coming in the near future.
On to the main event. After a rather long intermission, Hanson took to the stage with a thunderous roar from the jam packed room. They immediately launched into a fantastic set that included a lot of tunes from their brilliant album The Walk as well as some old favorites. There is no denying the out right talent this band has. I've said before that they don't get near enough respect as artists and last night they proved exactly why. They've grown from that kid band mmbopping ten years ago into an expressive and impressive rock and roll band.
Ten years ago, my brother and I saw Hanson on their first major tour. We were one of probably five guys in the place. Saturday night, the crowd was a lot different than ten years ago. It was an extremely diverse crowd both in gender and age and judging from the reaction, everyone enjoyed the show.
Hanson opened and closed the show with a a full band rock out that was a joy to watch but my favorite portion of the show was when they sat down and performed a stellar acoustic set topped off by a simply stunning solo performance of "Fire on the Mountain" by youngest brother Zac. It is this set that really proves just how far this band has come in the ten years since they debuted. They've grown and progressed into a band to be admired and respected and this show is evident of that in every way. They sound better than ever before both musically (Taylor and Zac take turns on guitar as well as their original piano and drums) and vocally. They put on an absolutely incredible show that would turn any naysayer into a believer. Especially when you have a room full of hundreds of people singing along to every word of nearly every song. It's a beautiful thing to hear.
At the end of the show they took some time to discuss their dedication to extreme poverty and HIV issues in Africa and they pointed their fans to a website where they can help out and organize their own charity walks (much like the walks Hanson has before each show. Click here for more information.) They closed out with an accapella version of the chorus from "Great Divide" and left the stage to the sound of wild applause from a much satisfied crowd.
Hanson ruled the room on Saturday and delivered an amazing show. They have withstood record label shake-ups and starting from scratch on their own terms and have come out on top with some incredible music and a ten year history to be proud of.
Here's to ten more years and a lot of great tours to experience.
Oh and by the way, when the crowd heard those those first chords of "Mmmbop"? They went insane. Just goes to show that a silly little pop song can certainly stand up to ten years. Especially when they play it as enthusiastically as the first time. Great stuff.
Setlist (I might have the first two mixed up if so, my apologies):
1. Something Going Round
2. Higher (cover)
3. Been There Before
4. Runaway Run
5. Follow Your Lead
6. Great Divide
Acoustic:
7. Strong Enough to Break
8. Go
9. Georgia
10. Fire on The Mountain
11 Every Word I Say
12. Blue Sky
13. If Only
14. Hope it Comes Soon
15. Can’t Stop
16. Use Me (cover)
17. Penny and Me
18. Running Man
19. Crazy Beautiful
20. Mmmbop
21. Lost Without Each Other
22. In the City
Encore:
23. Where’s the Love
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