Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Hanson heats things up at Coney

By Paolo Balboa - August 24,2010

The Hanson brothers' "Shout it Out" tour show came to a close Monday night to raucous applause at Coney Island's Moonlite Gardens, as keyboardist Taylor Hanson hopped across the stage and encouraged fans to "heat things up."

"It's not hot enough out there, guys," he told the audience. "I want to see you shake and move."

Formed in Tulsa, Okla., Hanson is the brothers Isaac, 30; Taylor, 27; and Zac, 25. Best known for their 1997 hit "MMMBop," the brothers have since moved away from their bubbly pop antics of yesteryear. These days, Hanson creates an assured pop-rock sound that highlights each brother's individual talents and vocal harmonies.

Isaac plays guitar, and Zac keeps things steady on the drum kit. The brothers were joined Monday evening by a rhythm guitarist and bassist.

Spirits were high and the night light and airy as the mostly female crowd clapped and sang along emphatically.

Isaac, ever the joker, reflected the mood of the night.

"We changed our name to Vampire Hanson," Isaac said, before imitating Sesame Street's Count von Count. "We're going to play three, no, four more songs!"

The size of the audience left a lot to the imagination, but what it lacked in quantity it gained in enthusiasm and sheer noise. The fans ranged from the very young to Hanson contemporaries. Die-hard fans of the ilk imitated the "Twilight" movie series by wearing "Team Taylor" T-shirts.

Hanson played a 105-minute set that drew equally from the group's eight studio albums. The show featured songs from the brothers' 15-year career - from the recent "Thinkin' Bout Something," to "Great Divide" (2006), to the one that started it all - "MMMBop."

The brothers displayed some of their musical inspiration by covering older songs, as well.

"We're gonna take you back to Memphis," said Taylor, before the group played Sam and Dave's "Hold On, I'm Comin'."

As the night came to an end, Isaac expressed his gratitude to the band's loyal fans.

"Thanks for sticking with us for more than a decade, guys," he said. "How about we do this for 15-20 more years?"

Indianapolis four-piece The Working Hour and California's Rooney opened the night with their own take on casually cool piano rock.

0 People talked to us:

Twitter Delicious Facebook Digg