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Mar 21, 2008
HANSON CONQUER TEXAS FEST!
Music Feature: Recording arts major gets education at South by Southwest Festival
Later that evening I rushed back over to the Austin Convention Center to see Hanson perform at The Bat Bar, a venue created for DirecTV live tapings. Hanson released an album, "The Walk," in 2007, which dominated this performance's set list. The show was astounding: a hip, audience-interactive and flawless performance. Hanson was also celebrating the 10-year anniversary of its first hit song "Mmmbop." I made sure to catch the guys perform again two nights later at La Zona Rosa.
Hanson Play The Police
If ever there is a band that SXSW epitomizes it is Hanson. After going through the teen-pop thing a decade ago, Hanson developed into a credible rock act in control of their own destiny.
The business of Hanson today is owned and run by Hanson and the business is thriving.
This was Hanson's first time as part of the official SXSW roster but they told Undercover News that 14 years ago they came to Austin during SXSW and busked on a street corner.
This time it was a lot more high profile.
As testament to their credibility, the SXSW crew added them to a line-up featuring Alabama 3 and Was (Not Was).
This was not an audience of teenagers. The predominately adult audience at La Zona Rosa on Saturday night was there to see Hanson, the rock band and the rock band rocked.
Included in the setlist was a cover of The Police's 'Hole In My Life'.
Unlike a lot of acts from their era, Hanson is the real thing. They actually sing, they actually play, they actually write their own music.
At the La Zona Rosa show they paid tribute to fellow Oklahoma music star Hoyt Axton by performing his 70s hit 'Never Been To Spain'. http://undercover.com.au/News-Story.aspx?id=4318
From Hanson to vintage punk & a Clash cameo
This resulted in walking into a Hanson concert, which was in full swing, complete with screaming girls competing for a tossed drumstick. It was surreal to stand among the worshiping fans, who were such a far cry from the typical SXSWer. And yes, my party and I all secretly wished for “Mmmbop.” No such luck. The boys have traded their PG teenybopper sound for a more classic rock one, but still came off as pure and all-American, even when the middle Hanson brother (on vocals and piano) asked how many people had gotten drunk last night and done something they regretted.
Come to think of it, I remember seeing the beaming blond ones at a SXSW after-party about five or so years back, cutting loose and (gasp!) enjoying an adult beverage or two. They were most definitely underage then. Maybe the brothers Hanson really do have a dark side. http://regulus2.azstarnet.com/blogs/subbacultcha/8371/
This year's SXSW panelists included Lou Reed (who participated in the keynote interview), former Clash singer/guitarist Mick Jones (now in the band Carbon/Silicon) and singer Taylor Hanson (a panelist during a discussion about 16 magazine and the birth of rock journalism). http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080321/ENT/803210322
HANSON PLAYS MAJOR SHOWCASE
There's a famous song written by Hoyt Axton, with the lyric "Well, I've never been to heaven, but I've been to Oklahoma." Waylon Jennings sang it. Elvis Presley sang it. Three Dog Night sang it.
Thursday night, Hanson fans heard it, too, when the trio performed the song, "Never Been to Spain," during Austin's monster music festival and conference, South by Southwest.
To many in the music scene, the lyric is symbolic of the changing face of music. To an industry flailing to find stability in a rapidly-changing world, the Tulsa trio is practically a case study in "How to Forge Your Own Path in the Music Biz, 101."
Broadcast live over DirecTV, the show by the sibling trio drews hundreds into the Bat Bar in the Austin Convention Center, ground zero for much of the SXSW festivities. http://www.tulsaworld.com/entertainment/article.aspx?articleID=20080315_8_H2_hHans35686
Posted at 04:07 pm by Psychomike
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