September 28, 2024
If you’ve been around this corner of the internet for awhile, you’ve probably heard me say before that every Hanson concert is different and you never know what you’re going to get. That’s still true, however this past weekend was the most special show I’ve ever attended.
Back in 2003, Hanson recorded the Underneath Acoustic EP at the legendary Church Studio in Tulsa, OK as a preview to their full-length album Underneath which would be released a year later. In celebration of the 20th anniversary of Underneath, Hanson is going on a 12-city tour this fall. But as a surprise, they semi-last-minute added a fan club event at the Church Studio the weekend before the tour kicks off. They played two back-to-back identical sessions with only 75 people in attendance for each, and most of my friends and I lucked out and were able to snag the limited tickets. One slight travel re-arrangement later (or so I thought), and I was off to Tulsa ahead of the tour.
My original plan for this trip was to fly out of Nashville Friday morning and get into Tulsa late that afternoon, with the show on Saturday. However, Wednesday evening I received a text alert from Southwest saying my flight would likely be impacted by Hurricane Helene. I ended up spending Wednesday night scrambling to change my flight to Thursday after work, and then had to pack for two trips in one a day ahead of schedule. All was well though, and both my new and original flight arrived in Tulsa right on schedule. That unfortunately was not the case for some of my friends, but we all made it in time for the show anyway.*
The room in the studio was much smaller than I anticipated, so even with such a small group of fans, it was still very up close and intimate. I was in the second row, and still could have reached out and touched Zac’s drum set if boundaries didn’t mean anything to me. (I’m also forever thankful for keeping Earpeace earplugs in my purse at all times, because drums 3 feet away with no glass cage are loud.) They of course played quite a few songs off Underneath, as well as quite a few surprises including bringing back their covers of “Teach Your Children” and “Me and Julio” mashed with “Cecelia”. They must have had some problems rehearsing the later, because when they finished, Taylor raised his hands in the air with a big smile on his face and announced, “we did it!”
Besides the intimacy of the venue, the best parts of the show were the lack of phones in the air (they weren’t allowed), and the fact that the crowd was completely silent during the songs, which means we actually got to hear Hanson’s voices more than usual. Also, given the fact that we were in a recording studio, the mics, sound equipment, and acoustics were better than any regular venue could ever hope to be. It was truly a magical experience and I imagine I’ll never hear Hanson’s voices any better than I did that day.
As a morning person, this show got bonus points for being done by 3pm. We grabbed some BBQ as a late lunch after the show, then explored a couple of the shops by the studio, and were back in our pajamas in our room by 7pm. A dream come true. All in all, I’m so glad I was able to make it to this show, and it just made me all the more excited for the upcoming tour. If you’re a fan club member, you can watch a stream of the second session for free on H.net through October 3rd, here.
*Obviously, much more important than anyone’s travel plans are the devastating effects Hurricane Helene left behind in East TN and North Carolina. I have friends with family members stuck in Asheville, NC without power, cell service, or a way to dry land. One friend’s dad is there on the ground directly involved in local disaster relief. If you’re able, please consider making a financial donation here or to the Red Cross.
Scream And Be Frees 