Sunday, June 06, 2004

 
Shocking:

The Hanson Causerie is stirring. And you'll want to be there when it wakes up.
posted by Emily 6/6/2004 02:25:24 AM |

Thursday, March 11, 2004

 
Post-Game: Newly returned from Hanson and I am feeling giddy like a school girl. I was one, in fact, not so long ago. Nothing particularly sexy to report, except that the band asked for pizza and beer after the show, and Taylor, in a more excitable moment, draped himself quite gorgeously across the back of his baby grand.

There will be more words when there are more thoughts.

posted by Laura 3/11/2004 12:07:43 AM |

Sunday, February 08, 2004

 
Bright and Beautiful News:

Hanson's going on tour again, go figure. And I've finally found the courage and gumption to write a Carnegie Hall review.

I'm glad I waited, actually, and let the hum of that night wear off a little bit. It was heady and big, and I wrote about it here a little bit right afterwards, and you can see how my thoughts were colored by a lack of distance between the event and the writing. Hopefully this does it a bit more justice.

Enjoy! And please stop by the main site if you get a chance.


posted by Laura 2/8/2004 11:36:23 PM |

Saturday, January 03, 2004

 
Hey all! Laura said to post in here if we ever update our webpages, and well would you look at that, I did! Both update and post, that is. My site's got some new stuff on it, so if you would be so kind as to take a look...that'd be grand. Thanks, and you just have yourselves a great 2004.

Oh. I almost forgot. It's The Hanson Causerie. If you didn't know.
posted by Emily 1/3/2004 07:03:35 PM |

Sunday, November 30, 2003

 
Inside Outside: This is a concert memory that I wasn't sure when and if I would share, but it left an indelible mark and actually kind of characterized the tour for me.

It's like the lens through which I perceive Hanson not as a result of the moment, but because I unexpectedly lived out a reality that had always unconsciously been the ground from which I understood how to relate to Hanson--as celebrity and as fellow members of the community that I had imagined them to inhabit and the true place in it that I possessed.

At the Pontiac concert, I had the opportunity to speak briefly with Mrs. Hanson. Even though she was as warm as I expected her to be, this kind of hospitality always takes you pleasantly by surprise when it actually takes you by the hand. We had a brief conversation, reminiscing unexpectedly about some past history.

As I turned to go, we were both caught up in a scene unfolding before us. Two young college-aged women began to plead with security, assuring him that they were promised backstage passes but they never materialized. It was awkward to be in the presence of the band's mother as the fans' obvious desperation began to surface.

Although, we did not make eye contact during this interaction, I did notice that Mrs. Hanson took it all in with cool detachment, no judgment, pity, smugness--more like someone witnessing people talk themselves out of a parking ticket. At that moment, I identified less with the fans . . . but then I felt the sudden shame of the unpopular kid who joins in the patronizing of fellow nerds.

My angst at Hanson fanhood still lives. Rock on, Hanson, Rock on.
posted by Jackie 11/30/2003 07:00:02 PM |

Thursday, November 06, 2003

 
KIDS IN THE HALL: I guess this will go here. It is the sourest note I can muster for what happened last night, and it is more curiosity than criticism.

There was no surprise. No guests. No shocking covers. No mad deviation from the usual setlist. No electric set. No hour-long, request-filled encores. They were sort of half-dressed-up, Ike in an honest-to-goodness suit, and Taylor in Zac in pieces of one. They all wore sneakers. Zac, who promised so eloquently to let it all hang out, did look like was having quite a bit of fun, but no more or less than usual.

So what happened?

It is hard to decipher. Was it a Hanson.net rumor that went crazy, and no one bothered to curb it? Did Ashley Greyson lie to move tickets at a large, tough-sell venue, or did he stretch the truth a little, assuming that Hanson could deliver on it? Did Hanson have an actual surprise planned that fell through? I've heard mention that several guests were invited and none turned up, although none of the names are particularly exciting or well-known. None that would warrant flying across the country, anyway.

The show was wonderful, but mildly frustrating. We waited two hours for something that never materialized.

On several other notes, they did look and sound lovely, and the front row is divine, despite the suited quasi-Mafiosi lining the front edge of the stage. (We weren't there to bum rush anything, guys. Sorry to disappoint.) Tough, though, to see Taylor's head with a Steinway blocking the view.

And we added another story to the Post-Concert Weirdness file, although this one is not fit for any web page, Bright and Beautiful or otherwise. I'll take it to my grave. Unless we meet for coffee sometime and I get a chance to look you over.


posted by Laura 11/6/2003 11:42:45 AM |

Wednesday, November 05, 2003

 
BIG DAY: When I was seventeen, we had a pre-Hanson concert ritual. We took a mass field trip to Victoria's Secret, and all bought new underwear. The origins and motivations of this are beyond me this morning, six years and a dozen concerts later, but for Carnegie Hall we have developed a new one.

Someday, when you are old enough not to blush at the details, I'll tell you what it is.

Carnegie Hall is thirteen street blocks from here. It is a lovely, short walk, even in heels. We have boarded busses, planes and automobiles. Tonight, we walk to the show. Of all the accomplishments of the last six years, this is probably the best one.

On Thursday night, I walked by the hall and saw someone on the staff take the Hanson poster out of the case. I panicked. I thought he was taking it down. He wasn't. He was just moving it to the front of the building. Say what you will about Hansonmarketing, but that poster, in moody grays and blues, is stunning.
posted by Laura 11/5/2003 09:05:49 AM |