Hanson – Auckland Town Hall June 27, 2017

The Hanson Brothers returned to New Zealand for a show at Auckland’s Town Hall last night. The 13th Floor’s Kate Powell MMMBopped her way down Queen Street to catch them.

When Hanson hit the airwaves in 1997, I was seven years old and couldn’t get enough of the trio’s cascading blond hair, squeaky soprano voices and cavity-inducing brand of pop.

Their first album Middle of Nowhere not only featured an album cover that looked like it was plucked straight off of their Instagram feed before Instagram existed-it spawned a plethora of  smash hits- Weird, Where’s the Love? and of course Mmmbop. A  Christmas album and sophomore effort followed, but for many they never quite found the heights of their debut.

25 years later we’ve all grown up and Hanson has never stopped releasing albums (6 studio, 3 live and did I mention a Christmas album?). Nor, would it seem have they ever lost the ability to make their fan base swoon- the Hanson effect was turned up to 11 as this reviewer sat in on an interview with them for The Project on Monday night. Grown women were twittering excitedly, applauding a little louder and longer than normal and chasing the brothers down as they left the building for selfies. They were the 90s personified, minus the questionable tribal tattoos.

Their intriguing reactions were what led me to review their show at the Auckland Town Hall last night. While Hanson follows a long line of bands who keep it in the family-Jackson 5, Beach Boys, Kings of Leon, The Ramones- where these acts differ is that they continue to maintain a sense of relevancy to the popular music landscape. (Even if the first two and a half Kings of Leon albums are the only ones worth listening to). Hanson on the other hand is a band that for most crystallise a very specific time in their childhood that is now regulated to private playlists or when everyone is too drunk to care.

At least that’s what I thought.

I fully expected this to be an evening of 90s nostalgia that has become so popular of late, some sort of cryogenically frozen teen spirit. But judging on the screaming crowd who rivalled the band in their falsetto throughout their catalogue expanding set, their true fans never left them. They knew all the words and awkward dance moves. They waved handmade signs and hysterically tried to leap onstage.

This eternally cute trio retained their boyish charm, taking every opportunity to beam at the crowd to thank them for coming out as they swept their immaculately coiffed hair out of their eyes.

Musically, they are undeniably talented, as proven by an acapella Bee Gees cover and the fantastic use of a live piano throughout the set. As a trio they struck the fine line between working with each other and letting each other shine. All good stuff. What was interesting was that they managed to make their cheery pop rock sound stretch over the last 25 years relatively unchanged and still maintain a career. You’ve heard one Hanson song; you’ve probably heard them all. As my friend acerbically quipped “imagine peaking at 11 years old.” But the fans love is staggering- Zach mentioned that there was a person at the show who had seen them a staggering 150 times.

For nostalgias sake, they were fun for the first hour with their natural talent and boundless energy carrying them through. As the clock hit the two hour mark, their repetition wore thin for this reviewer as I awaited Mmmbop. When it finally came (off the back of a series of gospel inspired numbers) it felt lacklustre and ultimately not worth the effort. Shaving half an hour off their performance would have given them ample time to showcase their hits, some deep cuts to appease their super fans, and highlight their respectable influences. If it had been a shorter set it would have felt more triumphant, whereas they just felt like they were reaching for minutes as well as mainstream pop relevance they are yet to find post 1997.

A long, somewhat fun night.

Kate Powell

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