MORE THAN JUST A CONCERT: THE ALBERTANE TOUR
by David Friend
The people who doubted Hanson would have continued success must be slapping themselves right about now. Hanson kicked off their North American stretch of concerts entitled The Albertane Tour, with not only sold out concerts, but also great performances.
The show begins with the very talented Tulsa band, Admiral Twin (see INTERVIEW in this issue for more). They have both great music, and are breath-taking performing live. The audience danced and clapped along, obviously loving the music.
As Admiral Twin finished their songs, the crowd cheered as they exited off stage, and soon after the 16,000 people at the Molson Amphitheater in Toronto were cheering for Hanson. The screams were louder than an air craft carrier, literally. Signs came out of nowhere, some saying "Hanson Rox", and some even went straight to the point by only saying "SEXY".
Contrary to popular belief, Hanson isn't just for the kids...sure, they are often portrayed that way, but many twenty something's, and even forty something's could be seen throughout the concert area, cheering and clapping along with the kids.
As Hanson came onto stage the crowd went wild. They performed the songs that they are famous for including Where's the Love, I Will Come To You and Weird and also covers of such classics as Shake Your Tail Feather and Good Lovin' by The Five Du-Tones and The Rascals respectively.
When the concert came to a closing, the crowd begged that Hanson would return, even after the encore! But if they listened the to crowds demands, they would most likely be performing non-stop at the Molson Amphitheater for the next ten years.
After the concert I met up with Admiral Twin, Hanson and the rest of the gang backstage. We can put an end to the Nick Carter quote recently published in multiple papers in which the Backstreet Boy complained that Hanson wasn't very nice. The boys were extremely kind, and accommodating.
Before you could say MmmBop, the evening was over. But all 16,000 of the fans surely had the time of their lives. I highly recommend that you grab tickets to any of the cities Hanson will be visiting before the closing of the tour, some new dates have been added recently. You can check out the dates, and venues at:
http://www.hansonline.com/Tour/Tour.htm
After the tour, Hanson is planning to return to the studio to begin working on a new album for which a release date has not been set. In the fall a video of the Albertane Tour will be released along with a few other surprises.
Hanson-mania continues as we speak, with no end in sight, so we can be sure that Isaac, Taylor and Zac will continue to dish out great music for a long time to come...and as long as they keep making it, we'll keep buying it.
© to Entertainment Online 1998.
