By Lisa Diedricks

Artist: Hanson

Date / Venue: Tuesday June 27th, 2017 - Town Hall, Auckland

WOW. Talk about nostalgia to the absolute max! My childhood dreams were absolutely lived out last night! HANSON ladies and gentleman, HAN-SON. Yes, the boy band, with those long blond locks (but sadly now, it's brown) that we were all guilty of listening too, with that one song we had no clue what was being said. Don’t deny it! Well the boys are back, rocking out all their oldies and some never before played songs, Isaac (36), Taylor (34), and Zac (31), were front and centre doing their thang. 

The boys are back again in Aotearoa, and took the stage at Auckland’s Town Hall last night, instruments, voices and energy galore. As the throwbacks played, I was reminded of those days I used to spend dancing in my room singing into the hairbrush, thinking I was the man! (I was). 

Hanson have been on a solid tour for a while now, and have just finished up their Australian length of the 25th Anniversary Tour, which is also to promote their Greatest Hits Album – Middle of Everywhere, that is to released soon, with notable hits such as “MMMBOP”, “Where is the Love?” and their brand new song “I Was Born”, which was a great hit tonight with the crowd. "This year is not only about the two decades of music, it's about celebrating the incredible community of fans who have been with us, singing along year after year," says Isaac Hanson.

Hanson, were always the type of band that made the girls swoon, with their bursting energy and their incredible stage presence, and voices of angels, that they without a doubt bring out when playing their instruments. Each member bringing their own personality to the stage, with the eldest, Isaac, singing both back-up and lead vocals tonight, also plays electric and acoustic guitar, as well as the piano, bass and the synth. Then we have middle Hanson, Taylor who absolutely killed it on lead and back-up vocals, and plays keyboard, percussion (including drums, bongos and the tambourine), guitar, harmonica, and piano. Yeah, I KNOW! THE MAN! And how can we forget baby Hanson, my FAVOURITE of all time. He is the youngest of the three brothers in Hanson, and was six when the band started in 1992. He smashed it on drums tonight, percussion, piano, guitar and also sings back-up and lead vocals. Zac, who at age 12, was the fourth youngest Grammy nominee of all time, and still holds the title. 

The show was an all-round amazing night for me, and maybe I’m a biased writer, because I love them so much, and with the great acoustics that the Town Hall provides I was in 90s heaven. The boys were also on NZ’s The Project last night, where they spoke about the tour and all things they loved about NZ. They even managed to squeeze in a cheeky bungy jump off the Sky Tower, which was super cool to see. 

Diverse crowds are always incredible to me, because it truly shows just how easily music can bring people together. Tonight was no exception, and even though the boys have gone independent, this year marking 15 years, its astonishing to see just how dedicated fans can be, “the fans have truly kept us going, so if if you want to clap for someone, clap for yourselves” Taylor announced as he shared an intimate moment with the crowd. 

Lights, stage, instruments and sexy voices, what more could a 90s girl ask for! Now excuse me while I return home and play the entire album again!

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL HANSON GALLERY BY LEAH VICTORIA