Show Review: Rooney/Hanson

Raleigh, NC 7/31/10 Lincoln Theatre

There is one thing that can be made completely certain after attending a show on the 2010 Hanson/Rooney “Shout it Out” tour: these two bands have not forgotten their roots.

Rooney opened with their 2007 single “When Did Your Heart Go Missing?”, which to me was very unexpected, considering their new album was just released last month. However, as the show progressed, I realized this tour was not about pushing their new album on the crowd, instead it was about giving the fans exactly what they came for: their FAVORITE songs. Rooney did play a few tracks off their new album, Eureka, including “Holdin’ On”, a song with the appropriate message of holding on to nostalgia and memories, even if you’re not sure why they are important yet. They went back to their early years, playing their more ‘California rock’ songs like “Blue Side”, and ended with two last songs, their new single “I Can’t Get Enough” and a wild finale with “I’m Shakin’” that included unsolicited audience participation.

After Rooney’s electric and energetic set, the audience was granted thirty minutes before Hanson stormed the stage with their “Waiting for this/Watch Over Me/Rock-n-Roll Razorblade/In the City” medley which was almost too much for this easily excitable audience to handle. They followed with a track from their new album, “Make it Out Alive” and “Hey” from their 2004 record. Then the guys took the crowd through a loop by offering the first of what would end up being four cover songs, “Dancin in the Streets”. Like Rooney, Hanson didn’t use this show as a forum to sell their new albums. They instead made this a tribute to the fans that have been buying records for the last thirteen years, playing four songs from their first album (yes that means MMMBop). A few octaves lower, it was pretty wild to hear songs like “Madeline” and “A Minute Without You” all grown up, and made it hard to believe those songs were written by teenagers more then a decade ago.
Taylor Hanson played the piano so furiously he never sat on the bench they provided for him, instead stood one foot in front of the other, barely standing still long enough to hit the keys he needed. The band left the stage, then came back after a few minutes leaving everyone to think their performance of their first single from “Shout it Out” (Thinkin About Somethin’) would be their final “encore” performance”. Instead, they played nine more songs, including their soulful and beautiful version of the Beatles “Oh Darlin’”. Rooney joined the band on the stage for “Give a Little”, Rob Schwartzman wearing a powder blue tux and a LA Dodgers t-shirt, and sweeping a girl from the audience to help support them on tambourine. After one last cover, “Roll With It”, the band left the stage and the crowd started to dwindle. The brothers then burst back onto the stage one last time, and play “Lost Without Each Other” to the left over crowd’s excitement.
As I left the Lincoln Theatre, I heard one of the employees exclaim that fans were “just handing over money” on merchandise for both of the bands, but I’m not surprised. Neither band was playing this show to sell records, they were playing to say thank you to the fans that have been coming out for the last decade. With that kind of obvious humble dedication, the records sell themselves.