Hanson in Portland... take 1?

So last night I went to the weirdest Hanson show I've ever been to. I'm sure fans know by now that Taylor (and Zac I think) is not well and the show was cut short, to be rescheduled later. I'll get to all that in a minute... still want to do my normal post-show blog!!

So when the dates for the Musical Ride Tour were announced, and I saw they were going to Portland ME, I decided I would try to go. Since I've lived on the "main land" (not the island of Newfoundland) they had never come that close to me. Plus Portland is where my family has vacationed practically every year for 25 years. I couldn't commit to it right away since I was on the brink of starting a new job, but once I got the OK from them (WOOT I LOVE MY JOB) I planned to go down with my parents. My Hanson friends were originally planning 3 shows which I knew I couldn't do giving finances and new job, so Mom & Dad offered to take me down since they love that area so much. So it was like a mini family vacation with Hanson thrown in :)

We left New Brunswick on Monday morning and took our time driving down, stopping in Freeport to shop the outlets and the Maine Mall. We also went by the venue to size things up in daylight. There were already people in line! People camped from 9:30am the morning before to get front row. I admire their dedication! (Personally I am just as happy a little farther back but to each her own!). We stayed at the Hampton Inn down in Old Orchard Beach because it was the cheapest and it's the area we know best. On Tuesday we got up and went down to the beach area... my parents are looking to rent a condo for a month next summer (they're retired) so their family can come down for holidays whenever is convenient for them (HECK YES). After lunch we went back to the hotel and got ready to head to the State Theatre. Dad dropped Mom & I off. This was Mom's second Hanson show... she brought me to my first in Toronto back in 2005 :) For me, this is show #15.

We got there around 5pm I think. The venue is right in downtown Portland. It kind of reminded me of Northampton MA but more squish. There was a Starbucks right by the venue (joy!). As soon as we got out of the car we saw Zac on his phone over by the buses, and about 50 people in line. I found Krista & Sarah and said hello, and then we went over to Starbucks to get a coffee and just kind of watch the venue/bus/whatever. Apparently Isaac was in Starbucks 20min before we got there. Sad days. After having some coffee and talking to a really nice local guy, we went over to the box office and got our tickets. I saw some more Hanson friends, one who had a M&G! I can't believe it was her first one, it seems like she's seen them live way more than me. Mom & I walked to Rite Aid because I forgot to bring a sharpie with me (in case I needed one if an autograph opportunity arose). Then we went back and got in line about 45min before doors. We chatted with some really nice girls from northern Maine. It was their first Hanson show :)

Doors opened pretty much on time and I loved what I saw inside. The venue is GORGEOUS. It is a perfect blend of GA floor, bar dancing space, and theatre seats. Because I had Mom with me we went for seats, and got front row of them right in front of Isaac. Decent. I went and bought some merch (the tour shirt and the calendar) and got some supper for Mom & I. We were sitting next to 2 really nice girls, one who was at her 2nd Hanson show and the other at her first. I love meeting new people :) Around 8pm the show started with Charlie Mars. He was OK I guess... he was trying to hard to be edgy and "inappropriate" or whatever. I tuned out most of it to be completely honest. Mom was not impressed, hahaha.

I think Hanson got on stage right about 9:00. From the very beginning the show felt off to me. I wasn't sure why... it didn't seem like the band was giving out as much positive energy as usual. The crowd seemed dead. Maybe it's because I could see the whole floor and wasn't up inside the mob. I have no idea what the crowd looks like from behind because I'm usually in it. But I think the band and crowd usually feed off one another. Of course, this was also show 15, I was with my Mom, and I wasn't in the crowd, so maybe that's why I felt the way I did. Anyway. After 2 songs things got weird. The 3 of them kept having group talks by the drums. Their manager was side-stage the whole time connecting with either Taylor or Zac. She came out a couple of times. Taylor kept getting the crowd to sing, or asked Zac or Isaac to take the lead. Once Zac mouthed at him "I don't know it!" It was all just really off. Zac was even messing up the drums because of the lack of focus/everything going on. After 5 songs they left the stage. Usually this is to switch over to the acoustic set. But they were gone way too long. I started to worry... Taylor had mentioned earlier in the show that we had voted for an album to win tonight, but because he wasn't feeling well they had to change plans.

They came back and Taylor said "we have to cut this short" and my heart fell to the floor. They started doing all Isaac & Zac leads, except for MMMBop and Thinking bout Somethin. Then they told us that they were feeling really under the weather, and they didn't want to give us a crappy show. So they told us to keep our tickets, they'll reschedule as soon as they can, and we can use our tickets to get in to that new show and they can give us 100%. One more song or two, and it was done. 45min or so in all.

It was SO WEIRD. I usually leave Hanson shows feeling like I'm on a cloud, so filled up from the music and performance. And this time I left with the anticipation feeling still inside of me. Now, I'm not mad that the show was cut short. Taylor was very obviously SICK. He was super pale... I was afraid he was going to faint. And I know the only other time they cancelled was when Isaac had a blood clot that was a life-or-death situation. This was much harder for them than it was for any of the fans. It's just the built-up excitement I've had in me the past couple weeks still wasn't deflated. I just plain felt funny.

After the show Mom & I went out to the bus. Only Isaac came out but there were a lot of people and I wasn't aggressive enough getting over to the other side of the street so I never got an autograph or picture. But it was fun to just be there anyway. Plus Dad wasn't there yet since the show had ended so early. Once we got picked up we had a late snack at Denny's and went back to the hotel. And today we woke up and drove the 7 hours back home.

So my 15th show was a weird one. I definitely got the most bogus setlist of any show I've ever seen (Musical Ride, Waiting for This,Where's the Love, Thinking bout Somethin, And I Waited, A Minute Without You, Running Man, Deeper, MMMBop, Man from Milwaukee). But I'm glad I saw those. I mean the show could have been cancelled entirely. And it was nice for me to see that venue. I really hope I can get back there when this show is rescheduled. We'll have to wait and see!

Photos