Live Review: Hanson

The night kicked off shortly after 8pm and after being greeted by the sounds of Uncle Kracker and Sugar Ray blasting out over the speakers, the venue crammed to capacity with bubblegum pop fangirls, it became vividly apparent that we had somehow traversed time and space and stepped back into some kind of cruel 1990s time warp.

With the black drum kit centre stage, the swelling crowd erupted into desperate squeals when the three brothers that form Hanson – now all grown men – took to the stage. Heart-throb frontman, Taylor Hanson, dressed in a smart suit, vest and black pants, cut a much more mature presence from the long-haired, boyish good looks of his youth but proved he could still whip up the ‘90s hype to feverish levels of boy band mania when he kicked the show off into immediate high gear with Fired Up.

Clearly each talented musicians in their own right and with an innate ear for pleasing pop hooks, Hanson’s set merged seamlessly together and each song was flawlessly catchy, with that signature Hanson groove and a sound that invited tambourines, handclaps, harmonicas and sing-along choruses to the mix. While drummer, Zac, was under the weather battling an apparent chest infection and in all honesty looked like death warmed up, the three brothers nonetheless improvised, proving they do indeed still have a spectacular ability to harmonise. Highlights of the night included such classics as Where’s The Love, Weird, a haunting rendition of Yearbook and of course, MMMBop, which, even in 2014, still has the capacity to weave a strange, hypnotic spell over the female fans and leave them swooning in delirium.

Mid-set the evening took an intimate turn, the brothers seemingly intent on showcasing their own individual talents, with both Taylor and Isaac performing a solo acoustic song each that demonstrated their undeniable individual musical talent and instrumental prowess. By the time the boys launched into their infectious new song, Get The Girl Back, the crowd milling around the bar were firmly liquored up and the upper levels were really starting to get their bump and grind on. Whether that was indeed the energy conjured up by the magic of pop music or the rampant abuse of alcopops is a matter of debate; nonetheless this song truly captured the essence of Hanson’s signature soulful pop-rock sound.

With the boys getting more animated on stage with each song and the cheesy ‘90s vibe kicking up another notch, some found the spectacle of Taylor prancing around oozing sexuality supremely uncomfortable, but one can’t deny that Hanson loyalists seemed to dig it. If Only showcased excellent use of the harmonica and picked up that rock vibe, with the crowd bopping and grooving while Taylor jumped around the stage, taunting the swooning fan girls into a frenzy of squeals and excruciating screams that threatened to erupt your eardrums.

The Hanson extravaganza wrapped up with a somewhat bizarre finale of AC/DC that was confusing in the extreme, ending with the three brothers clasping hands centre stage and bowing to a thunderous applause before exiting the stage... only to re-emerge for the not unexpected encore that was, to this reviewer, rather lacklustre but still apparently had the kick to make the crowd go absolutely wild and finish the Anthem tour on a high note.

Overall, Hanson have evolved their bubble grooves and brand of power pop to become something akin to a more mature and seasoned rock’n’roll outfit. Indeed, the Anthem tour seemed mostly to be a solid effort by the band to provide a live showcase of their new material – perhaps in an attempt to distance themselves from the MMMBop days and the image that propelled them into stardom. Nonetheless, it was still very apparent from the spattering of back catalogue classics that even the brothers themselves have had to concede that to please the die-hard fans still fiending for some ‘90s nostalgia and who surely made up the majority of the audience tonight, they will probably forever have to retain some element of that original pop-rock boy-band charm that sky rocketed them to fame.