HANSON - 30TH BIRTHDAY CELBRATION PART II!

Yesterday was a night I will NEVER forget!!

I GOT TO SEE HANSON!! 

LIVE!! 

ON THEIR EPIC RGB WORLD TOUR!!

It was everything I hoped it would be and MORE!! ❤️💚💙

They BROUGHT THE HOUSE DOWWWWWN!! 🙌🔥

It was PERFECTION from the second they stepped onto the stage to the final curtain call!!  

The venue: perfect; small and intimate. 

The setlist: perfect; *chef's kiss.* 😘 Details below.

The people I was with: perfect! My best friends! No fear of judgment with them, I was totally free to express myself and fangirl to my hearts content. And you better believe I did! I cheered and danced and JUMPED and sang NON-STOP! (so much so I've practically lost my voice today!). Near the end of the show, one of my brothers held his phone up above my head where he'd written "It's her birthday!" AND ZAC FREAKING HANSON MOUTHED HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!!* I turned and SCREAMED to my group!! 😂 AND MY SISTER GOT IT ON CAMERA!!! I LOVE YOU ZAC!! 💙💙 But I really love my brother who was bound and determined they noticed! And my sister who was supporting it and CAUGHT IT ON CAMERA! They're so sweet, seriously the BEST! ALL of my siblings were so sweet and supportive and the ALL had a genuinely good time! They were all impressed by how good HANSON really is and only had good things to say about the entire show!! ❤️💚💙 When I say I was on cloud 9, I was floating HIGH! Like, I was no longer on this planet, I was in another UNIVERSE! *I know it wasn't technically my birthday, but that's what we were celebrating, so it counts! hehe.

The audience: PERFECT!! The excitement was palpable the entire two hours we stood there waiting for the show to start; the crowd went NUTS the second Isaac, Taylor and Zac HANSON walked out on stage (even before they walked out and we caught a glimpse of them standing off stage just getting ready to walk out!) and DID NOT STOP until the very end! When I say the cheers and screams didn't wind down until they came back for the encore, I mean it was LOUD! It never died down ONCE! The only times it got quiet was during a couple ballads (like Zac's PERFECT piano solo of Wake Up! I mentioned earlier, upon my first time hearing it back in May, that this song reminded me of an old-school, cheesy love ballad from the 70's and I didn't really like it. Well, I'm eating my words now! This live rendition was gorgeous! 😍 One of my brothers even said it was one of his favorite performances of the NIGHT and he really liked the song!!). The audience was super respectful too, no one shouted out anything rude or obnoxious, they got quiet when the music came down a bit and then went CRAZY when it picked back up!! A good audience makes a HUGE difference and this one was PERFECT!! Like, THESE ARE MY PEOPLE!!! I loved when Hanson would throw the song over to us, and you could hear every single person singing every word back to them! Moments like that are magical! ✨ I also have to shout out that there was not a single person who got pushy or obnoxious and no one got sloppy drunk! In fact, you couldn't even have alcoholic beverages where I was standing! Tipsy people would make it much less enjoyable in my opinion and would probably get so annoying, especially if they were shouting and falling all over you! We stood by really nice people, so I was grateful! And I loved seeing people of all ages there! Die-hards who've been there since the beginning, kids, young adults, teenagers and even people up in their 60's! Maybe even early 70's? So sweet! 😊 I saw an older gentlemen who was wearing a tour shirt from 2017 and bought a CD! There were also a lot of men who were really grooving and getting into it! It was awesome!

HANSON: PERFECTION! Start to finish, there was not a single weak moment the ENTIRE hour and a half long show!! ALL THREE were ON!! Taylor was as soulful and passionate and emotional as ever! Zac was BELTING and powerful! Isaac was so rock n' roll and had the best crowd interactions!! He's just so sweet and personable! 💚 All three of them are so dang talented it's disgusting! These guys are truly LENGENDS in their own right yet are incredibly normal, humble and genuine! I couldn't get over the fact that I was seeing them in person. I was only 10 or so feet away from them (yeah, I CLAIMED my spot! We got there decently early and I refused to budge, lol! And I earned it considering I stood there for almost two hours before Hanson even came out! Not gonna lie, I was real jealous when I saw Taylor go give high fives to the lucky front row crowd!). It reminded me of my Hanson Day experience 5 years ago; pure magic! ✨ Complete, ecstatic, unbridled JOY! My sister made the comment: "It's so crazy seeing them in real life after so many years of only seeing them on a screen! I couldn't stop staring at them!" 😂😍 This sister is the next closest fan in my family so I loved seeing her so excited and in awe of them! Hanson, you guys DO NOT disappoint! EVER! They're actually BETTER live! I swear! They're music is already incredible on it's own when you listen to the recording. And then you watch a livestream or see a video on youtube and are like "Wow! They're even better live!" And then you see them in person and you're like "HOW!? HOW IS THIS BETTER THEN EVERYTHING I'VE SEEN/HEARD BEFORE!?!? Every song is just elevated and made greater performed live! I might become a Hanson concert junkie; like, I get it now. I get why there are people who travel to multiple shows every tour and go to Hanson Day and BTTI each year. Because they get to experience this every dang time!! 

Setlist 9.7.22

(Courtesy of hansonstage.com)

Waiting For This - FANTASTIC song to start the night with! It's one my siblings and I listened to in the car on our way to the concert so they knew when to "SHOUT IT OUT!" 😉 So much fun right off the bat!

A Minute Without You - My sister and I were EXSTATIC for this one! My sister told me later that she had forgotten about this song, so it was a really fun throw-back for her! Isaac KILLED it!! I ended up only filming parts of several songs (this one included), but I wish I had filmed the whole thing! Ugh, this was SO FUN!

Against the World - This song is such an anthem for Hanson! ❤️💚💙 If I was told to pick a song that describes this band, it would be this one. It makes me emotional!! 😭 I'm so proud of them! I loved hearing this live especially Taylor belting out "and we've lived through heartache. We've held on past, more than I can take, just STRONG ENOUGH TO BREAK!" That's right king! Name drop reference to YOUR OWN SONG!! Only legends can do something like that!! 👑🙇

Thinking of You - THROWBACK!! 🧡🖤 The breakdown they did before transitioning into (I guess what is a song from Mario; click here to see a video from earlier this tour - not mine - but explains what I'm talking about) was soooo good! They did this during the Hanson Day concert and I thought it was just a funky groove, but thanks to the help of other fans I was informed it's from Mario which I'm happy to report my video game loving brothers picked up on and appreciated it 😂 - before going into....

If Only - WARNING: Major Fangirl Moment Happening - I kid you not when this song started I LOST IT!! 😭😱🙌😍 Like I was a kid in a candy store excited!! I started SCREAMING!! My sister and I turned to each other, eyes WIDE, screaming in each others faces and started jumping and singing our HEARTS OUT!! THIS had been a BUCKET LIST MOMENT COME TRUE!!! I can't tell you how many youtube videos, livestreams and filmed concerts I have seen this happen and thought to myself "I want to be there! Someday I'm going to jump up and down with Taylor as he plays his harmonica in a sea of other fans!" AND IT HAPPENED!!! 😭💓 The only thing I didn't do was cry but I probably could have I was SO HAPPY!!! This has to be my favorite moment of the night (and overall from both concerts!) just because it was SO ICONIC and such a looooong time coming!!! UGH!!! I WANT TO GO BACK!! I WANT TO RE-LIVE THAT MOMENT A MILLION TIMES OVER!! DREAMS COME TRUE PEOPLE!!! THEY REALLY DO!! I've been a fan for 8 years and I FINALLY got to hear this song LIVE!! ❤️💚💙😭

Don't Let Me Down - Zac AMAZES me! 🤩 How he can play the drums and sing as well as he can while doing so blows my mind!! Such a fun song!! One of my pump up "I GOT THIS!" anthems!! Hanson, you guys NEVER "let me down!" 😉

Crazy Beautiful - Pleasantly surprised by this one! I wasn't expecting it, and I usually don't love when they play this one, but I really enjoyed hearing it live!! I swear ALL of their songs get better live!! They're magical musical musicians who come alive on stage and captivate their audiences!! I love them so much!!! ❤️💚💙

Go (acoustic) - I wasn't thrilled when I saw this song kept popping up on various setlists throughout the tour (as it's probably my least favorite Hanson song of all time) but it was fun to see Zac up close and play his box drum and I actually really enjoyed the live performance! Yet again, Hanson proving they can take any song and make it better live! As you'll see with this next one....

Wake Up (Zac solo) - Zac on the piano! Talented KING! You'll remember I didn't have the most glowing review about this song when I first heard it...I thought it was a little cheesy. But, wow! 🤯 This was a BEAUTIFUL rendition!! Can't say I'm surprised! Whenever Hanson strips back a song and plays it either acoustically or as a solo piece like this, the song transforms into something completely new. And that is exactly what happened here! I'm kicking myself that I didn't record a single second of it! I was simply too mesmerized and caught up in the beauty of the moment. And I have to shout out Zac's incredible voice! 😍 This boy can SANG! He can BELT! I need to find a video of this performance ASAP!

Strong Enough to Break (acoustic) - This was so special!!! 💓 I wasn't expecting them to play this. When I went to Hanson Day five years ago (HOW!?) this was one of the first songs I heard live and let me tell you, it was a mo👏ment! 😭💓 I think I've made it pretty clear that this is my favorite Hanson song of all time. For many reasons: it's one of the first songs I heard when discovering them and the message felt so perfect and relevant for what I was going through in my life at the time. It's just one of the most inspirational and beautiful songs to me. My sister also loves this song and when I heard Isaac strum the beginning chords as Taylor made one of his wonderful motivational speeches, I turned to my sister and went "I think it's Strong Enough to Break." I loved the look in her eyes as she pulled out her phone and got ready to capture the magic! ✨ It was beautiful and perfect in every way!! Thank you so much for playing this one guys!! ❤️💚💙

River/Only Wanna Be With You (Isaac solo) - If anyone remembers one of my earliest posts here, my cute little brother (who's not so little anymore! 😭) loved this song (Deeper) back when I was first finding Hanson's music and sharing it with my family. It was so cute to hear him belt it out and he's always appreciated Isaac's passionate vocals! 😂 So when Isaac told us we got to vote on what song he sang for his solo, my group started SCREAMING "DEEPER!" As you can see, he didn't end up playing it. But he KILLED it on River, and endeared himself to all of my siblings because of this performance! It was because of his charisma and interaction with the crowd. They all felt Isaac was the most personable with the audience and my sister couldn't get over Isaac's flawless vocals! 😍 And his little cover of Only Wanna Be With You was super fun (especially for my brother - the one who loves Deeper - since he loves Post Malones (inferior) version of this song, lol).

Annalie - The beginning of this song never fails to make me dance and instantly transport me to a sunny summer day! The vibes just scream summer to me! 🌞 It was super fun and it was another great opportunity for Zac to show off his crazy vocal range which thrilled two of my brothers who left that night big "Zac" fans! (my one brother, who has always loved Zac best, said he felt like Zac would be "lit to hang out with!" 😂 This is a HUGE compliment coming from my super hip, young, cool 21 year old brother who thinks my taste is usually cringey, lol).

This Time Around - 🎸🙌 I was SO THRILLED they played this one!! It brought the energy back up through the roof and I have always loved this song so much, hearing it live was EPIC!! I especially love when they sing the first chorus acapella. 😍 Ugh, so good!!!! We were ROCKING out to this jam!! 🤘🙌😍🎉

Cold As Ice - ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NIGHT!!! ISAAC!!! YOU DOG!! THIS WAS SO MUCH FUN!! 🙌😍🎉🤘💚😎 I love, love, love the groovy breakdown where Isaac introduced the other two bandmates, Dimitri (guitar and keyboards) and Andrew (bass) and they all had their own "jam moment" (Andrew was really into his part lol). And then Taylor and Zac's little drum off was SICK!! 😝🤘 These men are all extraordinarily gifted!! And this song really showcased that!

Thinkin' 'Bout Somethin' - My brother may have been jipped Deeper, but this is hands down his all time FAVORITE Hanson song!! I loved the look on his face when that cowbell started up!! 😂 Such a fun song to sing along and dance to!! I was hoping they'd play this song just for my brother and they DID!! ❤️💚💙

Juliet - My sister has recently really been into this song, so when Zac and Taylor switched instruments I was thrilled for her! 👏👏 She got SO excited! It was fun to have Zac come up close again and lead us all in waving our arms to the beat!! I'm telling you the CROWD made this performance extra good! Every single person was into it. And props to Taylor who slayed the drums left-handed (since Zac is a lefty)! Talented, talented, talented man! 🙇

Truth (Taylor solo) - FREAKING. TAYLOR! 😍 This boy's got SOUL y'all!! UGH!! What a crooner! I was hoping for Rambling Heart, but he killed this song! 💓😍 He played it on the piano, which changed it up a bit from the album version. The BEST part was near the end when all of the sudden you see the band come walking back on stage and join in and all of the sudden it's turned into an EPIC COVER OF...

With A Little Help From My Friends (Beatles Cover) - SHUT UP!!! 💓😱😍😭🙌 This is the BEST most SOULFUL cover of this song in existence!! HO-LY CRAP!! These guys CRUSHED IT!! And the way Truth so effortlessly flowed into this song was INCREDIBLE!! 🤯 Another HIGHLIGHT of the night!! 🔥🙌 THE BEST! They are simply the BEST!!

Where's the Love - THIS SONG WAS SO FREAKING FUN LIVE HOLY HECK!!! 🙌🤘  It gave me the same hype energy as If Only! I was jumping and dancing and singing AND I GOT TO DO THE ICONIC "ROUND AND ROUND" motion with my arms!! ❤️💚💙 Another moment I have seen in countless videos and live streams!! SO MUCH FUN!! And this was one of my other brothers (there were three total, one = lover of Deeper and Thinkin' 'Bout Somethin', two = lover of Wake Up, third - this one - thinks he's BFF's with Zac ) favorite songs and one he specifically told me he wanted to hear tonight, saying: "I hope they play the song that goes 'Dark clouds all around...we're waiting for the RIGHT light to break through.'" 😆 He's obviously always loved that part!! I turned to him when this song started and was like "It's Where's the Love!!" He goes, "What?" I clarify, "Dark clouds all around" and then he got hyped! 😂 He was really hoping for Man from Milwaukee as well (spoiler alert: they didn't play it; but I did dedicate that song to him for his birthday way back in the beginning days of my blog, he's clearly always enjoyed it! And if you know him at all, it's very fitting 😜) so I'm glad they played this one for him! 

And I Waited - This was the BIGGEST surprise of the night for me!! 😱🔥 I LOVED it!! This is a RARE one guys, so it was super exciting to hear!! And Zac was showin' off again! He goes so hard on the drums during this song!! 

I Was Born - ANOTHER MAJOR HIGHLIGHT!! 😭❤️💚💙🙌 Let's be honest, the whole show was a stand-out but some hit harder than others and this was one of them. Taylor's inspirational and powerful speech, the entire crowd fist-pumping exactly on beat to "BE-FORE!" And "OH!" was thrilling!! Words can't describe that moment! ✨ One of my brothers facetimed my mom during this song because it's her favorite, lol. What a surreal moment. 💓 Ugh, please take me back to last night!! 🥺 I want to re-live the magic over and over again!! My happy place ❤️💚💙 And, can we just acknowledge the fact that Taylor played like five different instruments throughout this show!? Piano/keyboard, Congas (on Cold As Ice), harmonica (on If Only), drums (on Juliet) and now acoustic guitar! 🤩

MMMBop - Just when you think it can't get better, IT DOES. 😭💓🧡🖤🙌 THIS. SONG. Been a fan for 8 years and I FINALLY HEARD IT LIVE!! 😭😭 IN PERSON!! THE SONG that got them on the map and brought them into our lives FOREVER!! ❤️💚💙 What a moment. EVERY SINGLE PERSON WAS SINGING EVERY SINGLE WORD INCLUDING ALL OF MY BROTHERS AND SISTER!! EVERY. WORD. UGH!! It was SURREAL! MAGIC!! It doesn't get better than that! That was something else! 🔥✨😭😍🙌💓

Get the Girl Back - My sister actually recognized this song before me! She turned to me and was just like "AHHHH!!" hahaha! She LOVES this song!! Taylor sang it like he did during the Hanson Day show which I LOVED! 😍 And, I can't lie, I was getting in my jealous feels when I saw him bending down and high fiving the audience up close! 😠 I want a high five from Taylor!! 😫 There was a guy in the crowd (a bit further back but closer than me) who reached his hand out and Taylor jokingly reached out for him but was like "too far!" lol. It was awesome! That guy was awesome! He was jamming hard the whole show! 😝🤘 I love seeing male fans who appreciate an awesome band who typically still get pinned as a teeny-bopper "boyband." Also, during this song is when my brother started holding up his phone above my head (which read "IT'S HER BIRTHDAY!") and Taylor squinted at the phone trying to read it but was also mid-performance so he had to keep going but that just means TAYLOR HANSON SAW US!! OMGOSH!!! 😱😍

Encore:

Fired Up 🔥- My brother (the one who loved Wake Up) has always really liked this one, it's probably his favorite Hanson song, so I was thrilled yet again for another one of my siblings to get to hear their FAVORITE! None of my siblings are as deep in the fandom as I am; where they would have recognized every song and been able to sing along (mostly) word for word like I could, so it was really important to me that they each got to experience at least one song they really enjoyed. And that is exactly what happened!!! 👏😊 My sister, who isn't a fan of this song said it was one of her favorite performances of the night!! She was like "I don't know what it was, but I really LOVED that one!" It's because HANSON is perfect and can make you love anything they do on stage! And it's no wonder she loved it, that performance was on 🔥🔥🔥!!!  

Lost Without Each Other - I love this song!! 😍 It's such a fun, upbeat one to end a show with!! The way Taylor started saying "Thank you for being with us tonight" as the music kept playing and then how Zac ends it with so much drum fill and energy right before they come take their FINAL bow!! 🤩🙌❤️💚💙 WOW!! PERFECTION!! 

This show was PERFECT!! The energy, the music, the crowd, the people, EVERYTHING!! UGH!! "I DON'T WANNA GO HOME!!!" 😭 COME BACK SOON HANSON!! I'LL BE THERE!!

We tried waiting by the tour bus for a while after the show, hoping for a chance to see them and get a picture; and so I could get my new poster signed! But they never came out. 😔 I can't be too upset about it though, it was such a fantastic night!!! I also talked to this sweet old lady who was there all by herself and had to have been in her late 60's if not slightly older, who told me she had stood in line for hours before the show so she could get front row (she really needed it, she was tiny!). She received a setlist and was hoping to get it signed. 💓 She said, "They're just so good live! I have a hard time listening to their albums because it's just not as good to me." Awwww!! She was adorable! Hanson transcends all ages! Everyone loves HANSON! ❤️💚💙

I know I said Jack Johnson set the bar high, and he totally did, but Hanson was up for the challenge! 👊 I can't choose between the two! I refuse! Both concerts and artists were PERFECTION PERSONIFIED! I've used the word "perfect" way too much in my last two posts alone but, it's the honest truth! Both exceeded my already HIGH expectations! I was in heaven! 😍🤩😭🙌 This is how you CELEBRATE a new milestone chapter in your life!! Seeing two of your most FAVORITE artists in the world back to back and both of them absolutely KILLING IT!! And going with people you love and who love you and support you and just want to see you happy! My brother said, "It made me happy to see how happy you were!" 💓😊 I could cry I feel overwhelmed with so much love, happiness and gratitude right now! 😭❤️💚💙 

What an AMAZING year of music for me!! Which has been the ONE thing that's kept me going every day, this year especially, MUSIC! Not only did I get three new albums from three of my favorite artists - Hanson, Jack Johnson and the Goo Goo Dolls (not to mention THRILLER 40 comes out in NOVEMBER with *NEW*, never released Thriller era demos and recordings!! Also, I would guess PTX has something special coming for the holidays, they always come through!) but I got to SEE three of them LIVE and IN PERSON: Michael Jackson (I count the tribute show! It's the closest I will ever get to seeing MJ live and in his prime!), Jack Johnson and finally, HANSON! I could have seen the Goo Goo Dolls too but failed to get tickets 😞 Next time!

I am so blessed! 🙏 These were really special moments for me that I will never forget! It felt so good to just be genuinely, unapologetically THRILLED! To feel so happy and content, I wish it didn't have to end! I wish I could re-live this last week over and over! Live music is so much fun, especially when it's your favorite artists! And they are absolutely INCREDIBLE!!

THANK YOU HANSON FOR A NIGHT I WILL NEVER FORGET!! 

YOU GUYS ROCKED MY WORLD!! 

NEVER STOP BEING YOU!!! 

FANSON 4 LIFE!!!