Back to the Concert Reviews

Amanda's York Review
September 13, 2000

9-13-00

York Fairgrounds, York, PA (no general admission makes concerts happier) 7:30pm

We arrived shortly after Hanson themselves, at about 5:30pm, and we were able to see Isaac, Taylor and Zac (along with the rest of the Hanson's) depart the bus and head to the meet and greet tent that was set up along the edge of the backstage door. Isaac and Zac left almost together and about 15 minutes later, Taylor followed. The surprisingly small crowd of about 50 girls that had assembled by the busses yelled as they waved at us and smiled, but the group was hushed when any other member of the family would pass, which I think showed incredible respect. They were walking about 10 feet from us and the only thing that separated us was a plastic orange netted fence. For about 45 minutes the only people we saw were the younger siblings, we even got greeted by Mackenzie, who gave us a spirited "Helllloooo!" (he was wearing a Pokemon shirt, lol)

When the first opening act, No Authority, were on stage, a sizable amount of people left the backstage area, my friends and I decided to stay, since, by this time the 3 were back on the bus and we figured they had to leave sometime. By the way, No Authority was opening simply because they were booked for York Fair the same day, they had no association with Hanson or their tour. Halfway through No Authority's set, Isaac came out of the bus and was waved over by a few fans who, I suppose, had a gift for him. He was extremely nice to them and he started to shake hands and then give autographs. This was incredibly trusting of him after earlier events on the tour, and I think it was because there may only have been about 20 of us back there that he stayed so long. He was talking to us, and shaking hands for a few minutes when a technician came to him for a set list for the show. Isaac told him that they had it in the bus and that he'd bring it back in a minute. He said his good byes to us and went back to the bus. That moment alone left a lasting impression on me forever.

At 7:30, halfway through the Neve set, we entered the grandstand and made our way to our seats. We had an incredible view at 10th row Center! Neve rocked the crowd of only about 1500 into a frenzy.

Finally it was time for Hanson to come on. The skies were perfectly clear and there was a full moon rising behind the stage. The guys came out and opened with "Thinking of You" which, I'm sure, took many of the long time fans back in time. Next the guys went into "You Never Know" followed by "Where's The Love?".

During the show they played 4 MON songs (Thinking of You, Where's the Love?, Look at You, and MMMBop) and the rest was a mix of covers and new material. Disaster seemed to strike at the beginning of "Dying to Be Alive" when the bottom row on Taylor's keyboard seemed to give out, the tech. came up to fix it and Zac played him out with a cool drum fill. The problem was fixed, but it was probably that reason why the acoustic set, and the rest of the show itself was cut about 2 songs short.

The rest of the show contained "Wish That I Was There," "Save Me," "Runaway Run," "In The City," and "Song To Sing" which was amazing accapella, "This Time Around" and "Save Me." Plus two covers, "Magic Carpet Ride" and "Cross-town Traffic."

At the very end Isaac, Taylor, and Zac sang a verse of "This Time Around" accapella for us and then gave out some choice collectibles (i.e., guitar picks, drumsticks, etc.) and Zac was even given roses from a girl sitting on the right side of the stage. All in all, this concert was indeed the best show I have ever been to. My very first Hanson show, and definitely not my last.

-Amanda Hornberger
(GwenabeeH@aol.com)

This page is in no way associated with Hanson or Island Records. All thoughts and writings are the sole property of me. Please email me with any comments or questions. Thank You.