Stefanie's Tour Journal
*I would like to begin this by stating that if you are reading this for a need to make to fun of me or give any disrespect then please leave. I am not putting this up for your personal enjoyment. My intentions were to talk about everything I have gone through these past few years so you could get a little more incite into the life you did not know I even had.
On another note, I would just like to say that I would appreciate it if you did not judge nor label me. I am not a stalker or a “teenybopper”. I have done everything because of the music, and *only* for the music. I have grown up having a lot of hardships to deal with and the music is what keeps me going; it is what keeps me strong.
I started liking Hanson when I was in the fifth grade. Not many of you can say that you have loved your favorite band for over seven years. I proudly say that I have the honor of having them as my favorite band. When I was younger I did many silly things that you could consider to be very “teenybopper like," and I will admit that I know have done many silly things in middle school. But then one day, reality hit me harder than it ever had before.
Most people expect their summer vacations to be a time of relaxing, tanning, and hanging out on endless nights with your friends. As much as I was hoping to have a great summer, it was taken away from me. The summer of 1999 is the summer that I will never forget for as long as I shall live. This was the summer that somebody incredibly special to me was taken away from me too early in life. It was absolutely unexpected and I never dreamed that I would have to deal with anything like this. I still don’t want to deal with it at times. Every morning for the rest of my life I will grow up without having a father. I know he will guide me throughout my life and I can assure you, he has already started.
When my father passed away I was in a full depression. I did not want to see anybody or talk to anybody; I would lock myself in my room and spend the day crying in my bed. The only family I really have is my mom, brothers, and my grandma, so I really never had anybody to talk to. I guess I looked to music for help. My Hanson CD was in my cd player at that time, and since I had no interest in anything else, I played it. After a few songs, I started to breathe because it was the first time in long time, that I sort of felt at ease, because the music was helping me slowly. Then one of the tracks came on titled, “With You In Your Dreams”…this was a song that was dedicate to Hanson’s late grandmother. It instantly drew a connection to my dad and me. Ever since then, I grew up. I spent the rest of my childhood years loving this band for giving me the chance to attempt to live my life. Their music helped me face reality day by day. Every time I see or listen to them, it is just another reminder of how grateful I am to have this band be my favorite band. They were capable of helping me through an incredibly tough time. I had to see them and tell them everything I have gone through.
Five years have past since that summer and I am becoming an adult. I have gone through so much such as surviving high school. Throughout high school, I kept a secret from everyone that didn’t really come out until senior year. The secret was that I had a favorite band, and their name is Hanson. I never told anybody because I was scared of being made fun of for liking them, because believe me I have had many years of dealing with that. I was just apprehensive about telling this story to people and seeing how they would react. I didn’t know how people would react once I told them about my father and how the music has helped me, but now after this summer ended, I am ready to tell.
Since they are my favorite band, I wanted to support them as much as I possibly could. During my sophomore and junior year, they were pretty much out of the limelight recording an album, getting married, basically living their lives…and so was I. During the summer going into my senior year, they finally went on tour. I was able to go to one show in NYC at the China Club. I was excited and I wanted a good view. I somehow convinced my mom to let me take a train at five in the morning to go to this show. Yes the show won’t start until 7 at night, but you never met Hanson fans. Even though there are so many that are nice and are great friends, some of them can be brutal. I got there at 7 in the morning and I was around 30th in line. I swear this is true. And as the years kept going, the lines will become crazier... it’s a guarantee. I have yet another amazing story about this show and the Hammerstein concert from the This Time Around Tour from 2000 that connects me to my father, if you are curious just ask me and I will gladly tell you. It is just way too much to type up and you wouldn’t understand unless I explained it to you. Seriously.
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A few months later in November, Hanson was ending their tour again in NYC at the famous, Carnegie Hall. Not only was I excited to have 8th row there, but also I was bringing along my boyfriend, Matt. I was truly excited about this show because for the first time I was finally able to share the music with somebody else I love.
Since their new album was coming out in April, there was a lot of promotion for it and a lot of up-coming appearances. It is definitely a plus living in New York because that is where all the action is. Since they live in NYC, they always do promotions there too. They did a special promotion by having 3 concerts in CT, NY, and NJ… I was fortunate enough to go to all of them. I went to CT with Matt again, it was fun hanging out at this show. Before the show I even got to see Taylor and he shook my hand. Zac was acting all silly sticking his hand and face out of the bus to tease the girls. During these 3 shows, VH1 was following Hanson to make a documentary that was aired a few months ago… if you look really quick in one part when the camera goes through the lines of girls at the show, you can see Matt and me for a split second. The Albany show was also fun because Joanne and I ditched 2 days of school to go to this show. How awesome is that? I got home at 2:30 in the morning from CT, went to bed, woke up around 8, and drove up to Albany with Joanne. We stayed overnight there. After the show, the roadie gave me Taylor's water bottle that he actually drank from! This was cool because for this concert I didn't have a ticket since my name was on the guest list. So it was a good souvenior to replace a ticket stub. In the morning when we woke up the day after the show to drive home, it was snowing really hard outside and I was so freaked out to drive through it… but once you left Albany there was no snow…weird. That show was cool because I had second row right in front of Zac… I still wasn’t satisfied. I wanted front row. I was too tired to meet them after the show even though I could have... oh well maybe in NJ. So basically NJ started my whole camping out craze. I woke up at 3 in the morning and left a half hour later to go to this show… I seriously must have had 5 or 6 layers on because it was soooo cold. When I got there at 5ish…there were some snow flurries. Unfortunately in NJ they have a law stating that you cannot camp out for an event until after 8 in the morning… so basically it was a free for all… Since Thursday, yes Thursday people have been camping out in their cars across the streets from the venue hoping to run for front row. By the way, the concert was on Saturday lol… Anyway I was so sick for that show… I had no voice. I made a whole bunch of friends at this show and they only remembered me because of the fact that I had no voice. Anyway these girls let me hang out with them because I drove to Jersey by myself...yes I know I am crazy. Well one of the girls was on their track team and made it to be second on the line… because of that I was either 5th or 7th to get into the venue…This was my very first concert that I ever had front row for. It could not have been more amazing. I actually saw Cuzzo and his girlfriend at this show too! They ended the show with an encore of the song by AC/DC “It’s a Long way To the Top.” It’s from the school of rock. They played it with Ben Jelen, who is awesome. Hanson played with the electric guitars! Finally! I was so sick of all the acoustic songs lol…after the show I hung out to meet them… again. Taylor was so sweet. He signed my cd for me and took a picture with me (which didn’t come out grr)…by the way I totally hung out there at around 12:30-1 in the morning…oh and by the way, it was Taylor’s birthday… so that was a great experience. Zac said that they were having a show on Long Island and I started to freak out because I haven’t seen them on Long Island since 1998! I did get lost driving home which was bad, but I did find my way back and I came home with awesome memories… but this isn’t even the beginning of it.
During the month of April they had promo-week. This was where they kicked it off by having the concert at Patchogue Theater (The LI show Zac was talking about) and doing all the TV shows to promote the album. After the show, I talked to Ashley Greyson; he is basically responsible for everything Hanson does. He told us a whole bunch of things. When Hanson came out Isaac walked right to the bus and Taylor and Zac stopped to say hello to everyone. My crazy friend Lynn, yelled to Zac, and he yelled back. Then we yelled at him, and then he yelled back… basically, yeah…. Lynn, Melissa and I had a screaming contest with Zac… so funny.
After all this ended it was already around 1 in the morning. I went back to Brienne’s house to sleep for only an hour and then we took a train at 3 in the morning to the city…to see Hanson…again…They were going to be on the Today Show. We got to Rockefeller a little after 5 (the sun didn't even rise yet!) and we were the only ones there… and we got to see Hanson do their sound check! Think about this… Melissa, Brienne, and me were the only ones watching Hanson doing their sound check at 5AM!!!! That’s insane! They also seemed pretty tired too. The show was fun to be on and they did a good job singing their song. Afterwards we said goodbye to them when they hopped into the van. And it was only 10 in the morning…geez. Monday was the big day… I left school early to catch a 12:30 train to the city to meet up with Brienne and Melissa for TRL…we watched by the window like the sad fans that we are... but it was fun… I found a sign on the ground and held it up…We passed out fliers for the street team to promote the album, which came out the next day. One of the reps from their record company even gave us some posters and fliers to pass out… very cool stuff… Zac acknowledged my Simon and Garfunkel shirt too! After trl we scrunched into 2 cabs to go to the movies with Hanson… I swear. It was amazing. Sadly, I was denied Taylor’s popcorn. Of course after all of this, Taylor looks over and says, “I will see you tomorrow!”… FINALLY...I get recognition from one of them and they know me… but of course, this was the only freakin time I wouldn’t be there tomorrow… there was no possible way I would miss school again and miss student teaching tap again because I would have got in big trouble. So of course all of my friends got to meet them again and Taylor remembered them… yeah I was with them this whole weekend…and I was not there to enjoy that. I was very upset. Well that concluded my promo-week.
A month later I saw Hanson yet again at Jones Beach for Summer Jam, I actually had row F, but to my surprise I actually got front row!! This was because the first seven rows or so are all angled, and I had the last seat on my row so it was right up against the stage. Seriously, I would sit in my seat and touch the barricade. Even though it was not a full concert and they played only five or six songs, it had a lot of meaning to me. Not only was Jones Beach where my very first concert was, it was my first Hanson concert. Also, it was my Dad who took me to my first concert to see Hanson at the very same place almost six years before! How amazing is that? Anyway the set was great and I had a lot of eye contact with them. I thought that made my weekend, but I was wrong. After their set, my friend called me on the phone and basically said that if I wanted to meet Hanson I have to leave my seat right away. And I listening, and she is smart. Apparently one of her friends actually works there and told her they were getting ready to leave in their van and they were packing up now. We ran to the gates and low and behold, we saw Taylor and Zac helping to load the van. My friend Stephanie yelled out to Zac, “Hey Zac, can you come over here for a sec?” And that’s just what he did. Not only did he walk over to shake all of our hands and say hey what’s up, he said, “What, you guys don’t wanna see Avril?” We all chanted, NO! He started to ask each of us if we were going to see them on tour and I told him I was going to see him at about nine, yes nine, concerts this summer. Zac was really taken back by this and he put a big smile on his face and said he hoped to see me around. That put me right on cloud nine. After saying goodbye, we left the amphitheater to wave goodbye to the boys. They waved back. After that all of the girls went their separate ways to go home. The second I got in my car, (I was alone)..I broke down and started to cry. I could not believe what just happened. I was just having this huge moment where I realized there IS somebody looking over me and giving me all these incredible opportunities. Stop and think about this for a second. I am finally seeing Hanson at the very same place where it all started. I saw them where I had my very first Hanson concert where my Dad took me. Not only did I somehow get front row (and I did not know) I met Zac. If you know me, you know much I have always adored Zac. It become so overwhelming that I cried in my car and called my mom and told her everything. She also could not believe that this happened. It was a perfect day.
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When I found out Hanson was going on a full-blown electric tour for the new album, I knew my time has arrived. The second the tour dates were posted, I instantly started to make arrangements. I was not going to give up. I had to go to as many shows as I possibly could. Think about it, how perfect could this be? Not only would I be following my favorite band for the summer, I would also be going on a road trip! I was so excited. I didn’t have to worry about school or work. It was great. I actually saved up all of my money since the second I heard about a tour. That is what I call dedication.
I tried to make arrangements with Melissa and Brienne to go, but they were not allowed to go to some of the shows, but I was so happy to know that they could go to a bunch of them. I love going to shows with them! We always have the greatest time together. Luck have it, I actually went with my friend Stephanie on our road trip. I was so happy that I was able to go with her. We had a lot of fun in the car playing twenty questions and seeing places the two of us have never been to before. Unfortunately, Steph could not go to all of the shows I was because she had college orientation. This is the list of all the concerts I was able to go to:
Hanson Underneath Tour 2004
July 8th Washington DC
July 10th Philadelphia, PA
July 11th Dewey Beach, DE
July 14th NYC
July 16th NYC
July 17th Lancaster, PA
July 22nd Boston, MA
August 17th Wallingford, CT
If you think I went to a lot of shows, then you haven’t met half of the people there. Trust me, there are so many girls who go to most of the shows on tour… there were about 30 dates! I would have traveled to all of them but I could not go by myself, plus I did have that much money after those shows. Basically I went to all but two of the East Coast shows on the tour. This was a huge accomplishment for me. Steph and I really didn’t get too lost which was a great thing.
We left around noon on July 8th heading towards the nation’s Capital, Washington DC. To our surprise, it only took about 4.5-5 hours to get there. We made good timing, or I am a fast driver on the interstate. Once we got into Maryland and Delaware, I loved driving through them because the scenery is so beautiful. It was really gorgeous. We checked into the hotel and got ready for the show. When we drove to the venue we saw the Pentagon and the Capital Building. I thought that was awesome because this was the farthest I have ever been from home and I have never been to DC before. In fact, up until this year, I have never exactly been out of the state! We had 8th row in the center section, which was an excellent way to kick off the tour. Since this was a seated show, there was no need for us to wait on line. I went for a “walk” to scope out the scene…and low and behold, I am a genius and find the tour bus around the corner. There were girls hanging out by there but not enough to scare them away. I quickly called Steph to come with me and get off line. We waited there patiently and actually missed the first opening act, which was ok, because we got to see Taylor before the show! That was great because we didn’t even see them play yet, and we already saw one of them. Personally, I thought this was a great sign to kick off the tour with.
The show itself was amazing because I have not heard them do an electric concert in since I was a freshman in high school! It was worth the wait. They played songs I never heard live and some old ones like Man From Milwaukee and Gimmie Some Lovin’ that I almost pissed my pants when I heard the song playing. After the show we were waiting about two hours for Hanson to come out. I was really tired but I wanted to see them. When the bus pulled up to pick up Taylor and Isaac (Zac was already in the bus) I saw that Frankie Muniz was sitting next to the bus driver! Think about this for a minute. Frankie Muniz (from My Dog Skip, Agent Cody Banks, and Malcolm in the Middle) was hanging out with Hanson while they were on tour! It turns out that Frankie and Zac happen to be really good friends and Zac even taught him how to play the drums. In fact, when Hanson does their second sound check before going out to perform, Frankie will come out in front of everyone and bang the drums to get the crowd going!
After the show we stayed in the Hilton hotel and drove to Philly the next day for that show. The show was the next day but when we went to check out the venue and to see if there was anybody on line, there was a bunch. Now lets put this all into perspective, we got there just to check out the venue at 3 in the afternoon the day before the concert and there were already 23 people in line! I quickly added myself to a list and become number 24 in line. A few minutes later everyone on the line had to leave because Chris Isaac was having a show at the Philly venue (The Electric Factory) that night so the sleeping bags and chairs had to be moved so people can move. They told us were could come back to camp out at midnight. We got there a little after eleven waiting to camp out. We were all organized. We slept all in line according to our number that we were in line. I had a horrible time trying to sleep that night because there was a club across the street and the music was really loud. Also Philly is just naturally a very busy and noisy city. I was lucky to get two hours of sleep that night. Since I had a lack of sleep and lack of food, I pretty much felt sick during the morning. I actually got sick when I went back to the hotel. However by the time Hanson arrived around 2ish, I was starting to feel better. Taylor was wearing a shirt that said Super Dad, so cute! He shook me hand, and so did Frankie. I got a bunch of pictures of Zac and them too.
How sad is this, please don’t think less of me, but I had to change for the show in the Philly parking lot. Steph held up a blanket around me between a wall and I quickly changed. Then we waited on line and it seriously took forever to let us in because the fans in the back were causing riots. Anyway here comes the good part, since I was 24th in line, I just got front row! This means this was the third time I will see Hanson front row but the first time for this tour and it was only the second show! I was amazed. I never had front row at an electric concert before. It really gave me chills and it blew me away. That was arguably my favorite show on the tour. They even opened up with playing Optimistic from Radiohead. That is incredible!! After the show, they hung out for autographs and pictures and Taylor signed the cover of my MOE magazine. (MOE was the magazine they created for their fan club but discontinued it and I was holding the very last issue which he drew the artwork for the front.) Since he signed the front where he drew it, it made me so happy. When Zac came out a little bit later, I was getting so excited. I love looking at him. Out of all seriousness, Zac Hanson is my idol and I admire him so much. He took a picture with me! Just HIM and me! I must admit, after I left I got all giddy because I was able to get a picture with just Zac and me. He was so nice and I always love our moments where we can talk for just a second.
After I left from seeing and taking my picture with Zac we said goodbye to Lynn, and then we hopped into the car and started to drive to Delaware. Allow me to just remind you that we left the venue around two in the morning and then we started driving to Delaware because that show was the very next day and we already heard the line was building up. We got a little lost but got right back on track once we got off the interstate. Driving through Delaware in the early morning was really different because you are driving for 80 something miles and most of the ride you are driving by yourself, all alone on the highway. Plus, there is water at least on one side since we were driving alone the coastline. At many times there were no lights any either side of the highway and it was so incredibly dark. I have never seen the stars glow so bright. After a while, Stephanie drove my car because obviously I was really tired. We got to the venue a little after 5 in the morning. It was right smack on the water and in front of a little beach. It was the kind of area where many college students will rent a beach house for the summer to relax. It had a nice atmosphere, but we had a major problem when we got there. Hanson fans were not allowed to camp out! We drove throughout the entire night to get to Delaware and now we have no place to camp out. This was not just our problem. We arrived there at 5 in the morning the day of the concert and I was already 43rd in line. Can you imagine that? Anyway, most of the girls that camped out in Philly were all there at Delaware when we arrived. We were not allowed to camp out because since it was a Sunday, they were having church there. Here’s the catch, the SAME room at the place where Hanson was playing was where they were having church that day! I thought that was really funny. Anyway, everyone parked on one side of the parking lot right by the beach and attempted to sleep in our cars. The sun started to come up and guess who showed up at the venue and 5:30 in the morning…Hanson. They parked their tour buses and basically camped out in their buses right next to us. I thought that was something very different and I did not expect that. I figured they were just going to stay in their hotel for the day. However they stayed in their buses so they would able to hang out by the beach before they had to get ready for the show. It was the hottest day of the year, even the AC in the car didn’t help. I was so sick that day. I called my mom crying because I wanted to go home. I was in no shape to drive home, and I was not going to leave Stephanie behind. It was only 7 in the morning and I only got an hour’s sleep for the day. That means in the past 48 hours I only slept for about three hours. I was sick because I didn’t take good care of myself. I didn’t sleep right and I kept eating junk food. That was why I was getting sick.
Basically everybody that came early in the morning to camp out said, “fuck it” because we didn’t want to deal with this. Some people went to a nearby water park for the day and others went to the beach. The venue has never had anything like this happen before so they did not know how to re-act to having 100 people there to wait in line at only 9 in the morning. So they took some caution tape and in the front of the parking lot they made an area where all the fans that were waiting in line had to stay in there. It was a cluster and completely unorganized. Basically it didn’t matter if you got in the “cluster” at nine in the morning or 5 at night…you could still get in the front. They made it a free for all where after a certain time they would open it and everyone would run to the door. Uh…yeah…that was definitely dangerous…Especially if you are running with 1000 rowdy teenage girls. I was sick and wanted nothing to do with it, I went to the WaWa, bought some salad and ginger ale, and I spent the day on the beach. I spent a lot of the day lying around and talking on the phone. At one point I was resting while on the phone with my friend, Andrew Monsen. I turned around and there was Taylor in his bathing suit hanging out on the beach right by me! A few minutes later Zac and Isaac came out. Natalie (Taylor’s wife) and Kate (Zac’s girlfriend) came out and went on the Jet Ski’s with the boys. Most fans had NO knowledge of this because they were on the other side of the building waiting in line. It is smart not to wait in line; you get opportunities like hanging out on a beach where Hanson is all day.
I would just like to say at this point that I hate it, really hate it when people take pictures of the Hansons when they are with their significant others, their child, or other family members. Hanson has asked their fans so many times not to take pictures of their family, and so many people have been disrespectful and rude and constantly flash pictures of them. I have never taken a picture of their family members nor do I have any intentions on doing so. I always want to yell at the people and cause havoc.
I went to the show after everyone was let in and after I ate some dinner. Luckily I felt much better after I got some rest by the beach. The concert was like a huge party. All of the cool people like myself all hung out in the back and danced around like crazy. That was a fun show. When it was over everyone was hanging out by the buses hoping to get to talk to the guys or get a picture. Nobody was misbehaving or acting bad. (There were several hundred girls there) However, since the venue did not expect anything like this, they called the police. The police were all under 21, which was crazy. Obviously they were not successful in getting anybody to leave. A few minutes later the real police came and started to bring out those mini clubs they carry around threatening to arrest people if we didn’t leave. So sadly everybody left because those people were jerks. I didn’t get to talk to with them or take a picture after the show, but at least I got to see them on the beach and they even waved to me. I will never forget that. I went to bed and slept like a rock and drove home the next day in the rain. That concluded the southern part of my east coast tour.
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I just wanted to add in this part that after my whole ordeal with being sick while camping out, an agreement was made that Zac was going to give me a hug. I deserve it, don’t you think? Anyway throughout this entire tour, there was an on-going joke with my friends and me. Basically we would keep saying how much we hated Hanson and how much we couldn’t stand them. Of course this wasn’t true, but we kept saying that we hated them because look what they do to us; I always go to any event that I possibly can and support them. I have spent so much money on them…It’s in the thousands, seriously. So we hate them for making us spend all of our money and traveling and taking off of work and school to see them, even though this was our decision. Yeah, I am sure you don’t understand, that is why it is an inside joke.
I stayed home for a few days to rest and get to prepare for the next part of my adventure. I was planning on going a little late to the first NY show because I am sick of waiting in lines and I wanted to catch up on sleep. However, at 10:00 the night before the first NY show I found out that Hanson was going to be on the CBS Early Show at 7:00 in the morning. My first reaction was, “Crap, I really hate Hanson. Now I have to wake up six hours earlier to travel to the city to see them.” So it’s 11:00 at night and I drive to Melissa’s house to sleep over. We woke up at 4 in the morning to catch a train to go to NYC. The pasrt that was even better was that I had my period and it was making me sick. I almost always have my period when I see Hanson, which sucks but I just felt like sharing because now I like to joke about it. When we arrived at the early show there were only two other Hanson fans there, and I knew them! I actually saw them at all of the shows I have been to. They were going to most of the shows this summer. Later on another girl who liked Hanson joined us too…but she was weird, she was one of those “teenyboppers” I try to avoid. Anyway, everyone else at the morning show was wearing bright red shirts that said, “We’re with Jesus.” I don’t think they had any interest in coming to see Hanson. Usually at TV appearances like this there are many fans, but since it was confirmed late the night before and there were chances of showers, there were only five of us. Besides, the people who usually come to these events were already camping out on line. Anyway, after Hanson did their segment, their car pulled up to pick them up. In a minute the three of them walked out with their asshole tour manager. Supposedly his name is Machine. He is never nice to the fans and there is a rumor that even the roadies and Hanson call him Deush(sp) McNasty. Anyway, Hanson walked out and I swear to you, Taylor walked right over to us, shook our hands and said, “Hey guys, how are you? Thank you so much for coming.” He really meant it too. You could tell that he was very grateful that we showed up to support them. Taylor even had a bunch of stuff in both arms and he managed to move them all into this left hand and arm just so he could shake our hands. Isaac did the same and asked us if we were going to the show tonight. We told him we were. Then Zac came out. Here’s the deal, as sad as I am, I actually made a sign that said, “Zac, you owe me a hug.” Because he does. He saw my sign and so did America. My little brother clay even called my phone about three times saying he saw me on TV! He walked out and I swear to you he was walking right up to me and I could get my hug when their tour manager aka: Fucker (as I like to call him) grabbed Zac by the arm, pulled him away and said, “There’s no time for hugs or autographs, the guys are very busy!” While Zac was torn away from me he said he will see me later and he’ll see what he could do. Sadly I did see him later at the show when I was around the corner and he was crossing the street from Starbucks. Girls ran up to him and I still didn’t get my hug. In fact, he still owes me it. So if you see him, you better freakin tell him. Anyway besides my horrible ordeal with my hug, the fact that Taylor gave the five of us recognition for coming to see them and showing up to support them really made my day. He was so happy and Melissa and me left happy too. We walked sixty something blocks to Irving and sat on line waiting for the wonderful Brienne to come and join us. By the way, when I met Hanson there, I was in my PJ’s..there was no way I was going to change for the show this early lol.
Brienne brought along her sister and her sister’s friend, whose hilarious. Both of them are obsessed with Ben Jelen who was Hanson’s opening act. He is very talented and I like him too. Anyway, whenever they saw Ben walking around they would freak out. At one point I left with her sister and friend to go to the bathroom and at the corner Ben was crossing the street. They waited at the other side for him to cross and asked him for a hug. Since they are younger it was really cute and I couldn’t stop laughing. After the bathroom we saw Ben walking around again (around the block from the venue so there were really no fans walking around)..Occasionally Natalie would walk around with the baby, but I didn’t bother them. They ran across the street without looking for traffic and started to talk to him. I talked to him too and told him how obsessed these girls are over him. Then out of nowhere it started to drizzle and there was really loud thunder. Ben gave a yell and the girls basically jumped into his arms because they were scared. We left him after that and huddled under my poncho in the rain. When we got into the venue the front was all filled up and we knew we would have a hard time seeing if we hung out in the front, so we went to the back. On the right side we were actually able to sit along the wall and see over the crowd. That was awesome. We got to talk to Ian while we were there. He is one of Ben’s roadies and also plays back-up drums for him. Not to mention he is a very good-looking man. To make things better my very good friend Andrew Cuzzo came to this show with his girlfriend and he stayed around the area I was in during the show. I was glad to see him there. We knew that when we were going to second NYC show here were had to sit in the same spot again.
I met up with Melissa and Brienne at the train station to go to NYC for the second and final concert in NYC. We were a little bit farther back on line but it was ok because we knew that we wanted to sit on the wall again and just have a good time. As usual, we hung out on the other side of the building where Hanson was when the bus came. Taylor came out of the bus holding his son and his sister, Jessica, came out too. The door to get into the venue was locked so while they waited Taylor hung out by us and was saying hello to everyone and asking them how they are doing. He is always so sweet and considerate about his fans.
Anyway they would come in and out every now and then, nothing too big. We went back in line to go into the venue. We got in and found the exact spot that we wanted to be. We got the best view again and had no problem seeing anybody. The second NY show was probably one the shows that I had the most fun in. Nobody bothered us in our little spot on the wall since everybody was gathered in the crowd by the stage. Brienne and I went a little crazy during the show. I acted as if I was five years younger. During some songs we would just hop off the side and run to the back and jump around like crazy. Picture the two of us going crazy, jumping around and singing while Ashley Greyson is giving us a weird look while we have no shoes on. It was so much fun and they had one of the best set lists that night. After the show I even got another water bottle. That is water bottle number three for my collection, it’s really sad to say you have a collection of Hanson’s water bottles. I think it’s cool because they are souvenirs. I could not wait for the next day because the three of us were going to Lancaster, PA to see Hanson again. I was particularly excited about this show because it would be the first full Hanson concert where I would have front row at a seated show! I got really lucky and I was so grateful and excited to have these tickets,
After the show I slept over Melissa’s house and our friend Nikki joined us too. We got up fairly early in the morning and left for our 5-6 hour drive to Lancaster. Throughout the trip we would joke about how much we hated Hanson and we kept laughing all the time. For once I had a break from driving too. This time Melissa’s mom actually drove us to Lancaster and we would stay overnight at a hotel across the street from the venue, so it didn’t matter when we got back.
When we were driving through Lancaster to get to the hotel, we kept seeing tons and tons of cows. We kept joking about how Zac was going to go cow tipping there. (he once said he did that when he was on the Tom Green Show) And we actually saw a chicken crossing the road. That is sheer irony. Oh yeah, we also saw llamas. Hanson was definitely having a concert in the middle of Amish country. What the hell were they thinking? For concerts I usually dress up a little bit for the fun of it and in order to hide my camera too. That’s a secret! Anyway, we went to the back of the venue where Hanson was walking around. We saw a bunch of people we knew and it was like a mini-reunion. Zac and Taylor kept coming in and out of the place. The workers tried to block the girls off by putting the caution tape up… yeah that worked well. Within five minutes some stupid girls actually took the tape down. People were standing right next to the bus and right next to the stairs where they had to walk up. I was in the front, but in the middle not near or blocking any of them. The girls by the stairs I thought were particularly rude. They were basically all standing right in front of the staircase so anybody walking could barely slip through onto the stairs. At one point, one of Hanson’s sisters was carrying the baby out of the bus and could barely make it onto the stairs because of all those rude fans. People were yelling at those fans and they seemed like they didn’t even cared. Seriously, what if she dropped the baby because of them? Each time Zac came out with Frankie he would leap over the stairs to avoid being crushed by females. Anyway, this next part made me so mad, I was about to flip out at those girls. Taylor came out of the venue carrying a brownie and a cup of hot coffee. Since he couldn’t get to the bottom of the stairs because of the girls, he straddled over the railing to jump onto the ground. By doing this, he stumbled since he was holding the coffee and brownie and actually tripped. He spilled his coffee and dropped his brownie. Girls were laughing and taking pictures thinking that was the funniest thing they ever saw. I got so mad at them! The reason why he tripped and dropped his snack was because of those horrible girls that blocked the stairs. That really pissed me off. Anyway, Brienne and me left to go to Burger King for some dinner.
After we ate we went back to the theater to head on in. We came a little late but we really didn’t care about missing the first opening act. The band Ingram Hill is really good, but since I have front row I cared more about seeing Hanson.
Anyway this lady gets me to where I am supposed to sit and I am about to burst into tears. I was about to break down and cry my eyes out. I had friggen *front row* seats, and I couldn’t even see the lead singer singing!... Since there was five feet of space between the front row seats and the stage (there was no barricade) all the girls in the farther back seats made a rush to the front to see them. First of all I was incredibly pissed off and started to cry because it was my dream to have a real front row seat and these girls ruined it! I was about to leave because I was so upset. I grabbed my phone called Brienne, found Melissa and ran out of the hall into the front where the merch was sold and I started to flip a shit. I started yelling and flipping out because I was so mad. I usually don’t get really mad like that, but when I get mad, I am truly angry. Brienne went to Ashley, but he didn’t do a damn thing about it because he claimed he was busy selling the merch. I found my friend Aimee and started crying to her about everything. Then Brienne and I went to the customer service desk to complain. Within a few minutes more and more people showed up and complained. People were saying it was a fire hazard and they had 8th row and couldn’t see. People, this is NOT a general admission show, stay in your friggen seats...It seemed customer service was not going to do much so Brienne and I said to Fuck It, we going to plow through the girls in the front and give them a hard time because I have front row and I’m short and I couldn’t see a friggen thing. I ran to the middle of the stage and to my surprise most girls seemed understanding and let me go right through. However, all of the girls right on the stage were such bitches and were cursing and yelling at us saying we should have got there earlier. I don’t remember a time where I was so heated and so pissed off. However, since I always have good things happen to me at shows and I know a certain somebody is looking down me, I know he would helped me out. Within a minute of me being in the crowd, security came on the stage to break it up. They claimed everybody had to stay in their seats and not in the aisles or front unless you had front row because it was a fire hazard. I started to applaud and yell thank you to every security guard. My flipping a shit actually paid off and I was just incredibly relieved and felt so much better. Now we were waiting for Ben Jelen to come out and there was not a soul in front of me or pushing me around. I was in the front row by my seat and having the most amazing time. I stood there for a second trying to take it all in. It was amazing.
When Hanson came out I was completely floored. Isaac Hanson was right in front of me and Zac was staring right in my direction for most of the show. His stool was on an angle and he faced me a lot and every now and then he would make a funny face or start to bop his head around. He was so silly. I admire him so much. When Isaac sang Ain’t No Sunshine for his solo, Zac actually came out during the middle of the song wearing an Afro wig. It was hilarious. The best part about the show was that for once security did not stop anybody with a camera! This was a first for me. So of course, I took advantage of my camera since I had front row. At one point, Isaac came right up to the end of the stage and was literally hovering right over me, and he said, “hey!” with a smile on his face. There was so much eye contact made too. I got that at all of the shows where I had front row. It really made my day. When they left for their “last song” it was obvious that every single person in the room was about to run for the front when Hanson would back out for the encore. So I paid careful attention and when I knew they were going to run, I leaped right ahead of them so I was right against the stage when they came out for their encore. It was painful. My hips were being crushed against the wooden stage, but I still enjoyed myself. They did Gimmie Some Lovin’ as their encore and I took some pictures. (Besides the song, With You In Your Dreams, this has a lot of significant meaning with my Dad and me). When the show ended, we went right back to the buses. Before I go ahead, I would just to say that Brienne and me are idiots. We broke the rules. Only an elite group of special people can truly understand what I am talking about… grrr. Anyway, I was lucky enough to get Isaac’s autograph. He signed my tour book. That made me happy considering I do not have his autograph. Sadly he was not taking any pictures. Zac and Taylor were only out for a minute so I didn’t get an autograph, but since Melissa is amazing, she got all three! After that we walked across the street to where our hotel was and we waved goodbye to Hanson when their tour bus pulled away. They were being following by about thirty cars. I hate it when people follow them. Why can’t people just leave them alone? We got back to the hotel at 2:30 and woke up at 6 to drive home. Most of the ride home we were all sleeping. Once we got to the Belt Parkway, Brienne wanted to put Hanson on, and asked her, “What the hell are you thinking?” But nonetheless we listening to them again and I sang along. Now we had a little break before the BIG Boston show, which would basically end my trip.
At this point if you are still conscious and alive and still reading this, I commend you. You are amazing. Now I have been called crazy for this next part, so please I would appreciate it if you did not label or judge me. Stephanie and I left around 6:00 at night on July 20th for Boston…the show was on July 22nd. Yes everyone, I camped out for two full nights waiting for Hanson in Boston, MA. This is because there was a full day between the New Hampshire show (which I didn’t go to) and the Boston show. Since they are not that far apart, it was obvious that people we going to drive straight from one show to the next and camp out. We left at this time thinking we were going to beat all of them and be first in line. It was a risk we were willing to take. We were fine driving to Boston, and we made great time. However, once we reached Boston, we got a teeny bit lost, and because of the fact that we got lost, everybody from the NH show beat us!...and the worst part is they got there before us by 10 friggen minutes! I couldn’t believe it. We COULD have been first…I wanted to pull my hair out. But now lets think of this. I am on a line 2 days before the actual show and I am STILL 11th in line! If that’s not crazy, I don’t know what is. I have never seen a group of fans like us who will wait that long on line. The time actually went by quick. Once we got there we went to sleep. During the next day we played UNO and Scrabble. There was a Dunkin’ Donuts and McDonalds a few blocks away so we would keep going there for the bathroom and for food. Since Steph and me are so smart, we booked our hotel for 2 nights, so just incase we would have problems camping out, we would have someplace to go. So even though we can be crazy for camping out like this, we are still smart enough to make hotel reservations, we did that for every stop on the tour. We would go there during the day to take a shower and to take naps. When we got back our road was blocked because Hanson’s venue was directly across the street from Fenway Park where the Red Socks play. It was a huge game that day and it was also sold out. There were so many people around and basically all of them came up to us and asked what the hell are we are camping out for. By nighttime (the day before the show), there were probably a little over thirty people on line. I made a lot more friends during these few days like Jen, and Raelynn. They are super nice. At night everybody got a menu from a local restaurant we all ordered take out. So even though we are waiting for a long time, we usually get along and go to different places together for food. That’s why camping out is fun. You are never in real danger because there are always thirty something people camping out and people will always go with you for bathroom runs and food. Jen and her friends even came back to our hotel to shower and nap and I went back to the venue with her.
The day of the show was just madness. Fenway Park was having a double hitter and more fans were coming to the show. By noon there was well over a hundred people there. It was crazy. Throughout the day I kept feeling like I was going to pass out. There was no shade and it was so incredibly hot. I bought expensive water and I thought I was having a heat exhaustion. I hung out across the street and sat next to Fenway because it was a little shady there. Aimee and I stayed there so we would also be able to see Hanson when they came around the corner. When they came out they waved and said hello too. By this point everybody had to get rid of their sleeping bags and prepare to wait in line… and it was only 3:00.
What was cool about this show is that they were going to be shooting footage for their new music video at this concert! I was so excited. I was really hoping I would have front row for this show. It would be awesome to have front row when they shot the concert footage. When they let us in, we had to go into two rows. One row had to around to the other side of the stage and the other row (my row) went straight in. Because of this, I was the last person to fill out the front row, again! I was right in front of the piano where Taylor plays. I was soooo happy! I was really upset that Steph and Aimee didn’t get the front. They deserved it more than anybody else there.
The show was a lot of fun. They filmed the video for Lost Without Each Other as the encore for the show. Everybody was clapping and dancing around hoping to be seen in the video. At one point the camera faces the crowd really quick and I think I saw myself for a split second. So if you ever see this music video, remember…I had front row at this concert. Good Stuff. The best is yet to come.
When the show ended everyone hung out by the buses hoping to meet Hanson again. Isaac came running out and said he would be right back… he didn’t come back out until we left. But that was ok because he hasn’t been too nice. Zac was actually in the bus signing autographs from the back window! That was so funny because whenever I saw him, he has never done that. He was joking around with the people at the bottom. I was going to there in a few minutes. When I was talking to Aimee and Steph, one of the roadies was walking past us and looked at us for a second. He saw there were three of us and he was holding three of something. Then he gave us each of those three of something. Do you have any idea what this lovely, wonderful human gave me? He gave me…one of ZAC’s drumheads!!!!!!! I was flipping out when he gave it to me. I have the top of the snare drum that Zac used for this concert! The three of us ran to the other side of the bus and guess what, Zac signed our drumheads! I may have not gotten my hug, but now I am the owner of Zac Hanson’s snare drumhead, which he signed! I couldn’t believe it. I was so incredibly happy. It was an amazing experience and concert to end my road trip for the 2004 Underneath Tour. Now I only have one more concert to go that was a month away. This will officially be the end of my touring with Hanson for this tour. Hopefully they will not have any shows or appearances during college because I will be so sad if I have to miss them.
One month later, Brienne, Melissa, Steph and I got back into the car and drove to Wallingford, CT for the conclusion of our shows. I was excited yet really sad that this was my last show for a really long time. I just hope it will be amazing. Steph and I got our tickets from Will call so we actually had no idea where our seats where. Since we got them through the pre-sale we were expecting to have good seats. With our luck that sucks, we got row T…what the hell is that? I was so pissed. I even went right back to the ticket booth and asked where was the best seat for buying one ticket. The best was row M, which was not worth spending more money on. I was upset, but I was going to try to make the best of it. Brienne and I went to the back to search for Hanson. They buses were behind the venue in an area that was completely gated off. Even the gates had a screen on them so you really couldn’t see through them. That really made me upset because now I knew the chances of us seeing Hanson after the show and meeting them was rare. I never got my hug. When we were walking back, I saw Lynn, who is the greatest person ever. I told her how I was upset because I got a bad seat, and she gave me her extra ticket! I love her so much. She is definitely one of the sweetest people I know, not to mention crazy. Anyway, the seat was right to Melissa, which made me even happier! Now I have 9th row seats with a great view. This show arguably had one of the greatest set lists out of every show I have been to. Not only did they open up with Optimistic again, but also the second song was the AC/DC song they played back in March at NJ! Brienne’s seats were three rows in front of ours and during the show this couple that was there actually left and they said we could take their seats, now for the rest of the show we had 6th row! I was so grateful. During one of the songs, Taylor was making definite eye contact with us. It was awesome. When the show ended, I did tear up because that concluded my amazing summer and string of concerts. I will never ever forget this amazing summer. It really did conclude my summer because in 10 days from that date, I was moving right up there to Storrs, CT for college.
After the show, we sadly did not get to meet them, but the bus did come back after everyone left because they actually forgot something! Isaac came to the front of the bus but he didn’t come out. He actually called Raelynn, and talked on her cell phone for a minute. She is so sweet! She was so surprised that he called and I was so happy for her.
After the bus left again for the last time everybody said their goodbyes and we headed on the road to drive home really late at night.
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Now here I am at college and I keep thinking about the tour. When I was on the bus coming to NYC to go home, I popped in my Hanson DVD that I never watched into my laptop. It kind of made me feel deprived. I had an amazing experience this summer and past year and I swear I will never forget any of it. Throughout this year, I met them almost every time I saw them, I got three water bottles, four autographs, and an abundant amount of pictures; two pictures of me and Zac, and Zac’s drumhead. I have so many souvenirs that I will forever cherish. Somebody was truly looking over me and blessing me with so much happiness. I thank God every night for all of my experiences.
I never go into things expecting things to happen, I just let it flow. I am always so grateful to have accumulated such amazing memories and made so many great friends during this tour. This will certainly not be the last time I tour. Hanson will surely see more of me in the future for a very long time. After everything I have been through, how could I not see them?
To be perfectly honest, my one dream is to actually sit down with Hanson and thank them for everything they have given me. I want to tell them about my Dad and how I know he is looking over me day after day and giving me so many presents that are related to the Hansons. My Dad and I carry a special bond because of Hanson’s music and because of my very first concert. I hope one day I can wake up in the morning and say I have seen them over 100 times. I know there will be a day and when that day comes I will smile. But more, the day I can have my wish come true and tell them my amazing story will be the day I feel truly accomplished. I know I could have said something when I saw them quickly after a show, but since there are so many girls and they are so busy, they probably wouldn’t be paying much attention. I want them to remember me as the fan that loves them for their amazing music that keeps me strong by remembering my father. I don’t know if any of you will actually understand how much they mean to me, but thank you for caring. I have grown up with Hanson and they have helped me through my toughest times and I came out even stronger. I honestly don’t know where I would be if I didn’t have their music to look up to. I really feel like somebody is watching over me smiling and seeing how much I have accomplished. But I have to thank them. They made me stronger and helped me out. They have left a huge impact on my life. I truly feel like Hanson gives me a sacred and incredibly special bond between my father and me. This is something I will never ever forget. I have other stories that I did not mention, but after reading this, if you are curious, I would be more than happy to tell you. They are about my Dad and Hanson. It’s a lot more than you could ever think. Thank you for taking this incredibly long time to read about the life you never knew I had. Hopefully this will make you think twice once somebody tells you something, like who their favorite band is…maybe it goes much deeper than you think. I hope people can be more respectful. Thank you to everyone who has made my dreams come true thus far. I can only wish that my one real dream of thanking them personally would come true.
- Stefanie R. Salamon
On another note, I would just like to say that I would appreciate it if you did not judge nor label me. I am not a stalker or a “teenybopper”. I have done everything because of the music, and *only* for the music. I have grown up having a lot of hardships to deal with and the music is what keeps me going; it is what keeps me strong.
I started liking Hanson when I was in the fifth grade. Not many of you can say that you have loved your favorite band for over seven years. I proudly say that I have the honor of having them as my favorite band. When I was younger I did many silly things that you could consider to be very “teenybopper like," and I will admit that I know have done many silly things in middle school. But then one day, reality hit me harder than it ever had before.
Most people expect their summer vacations to be a time of relaxing, tanning, and hanging out on endless nights with your friends. As much as I was hoping to have a great summer, it was taken away from me. The summer of 1999 is the summer that I will never forget for as long as I shall live. This was the summer that somebody incredibly special to me was taken away from me too early in life. It was absolutely unexpected and I never dreamed that I would have to deal with anything like this. I still don’t want to deal with it at times. Every morning for the rest of my life I will grow up without having a father. I know he will guide me throughout my life and I can assure you, he has already started.
When my father passed away I was in a full depression. I did not want to see anybody or talk to anybody; I would lock myself in my room and spend the day crying in my bed. The only family I really have is my mom, brothers, and my grandma, so I really never had anybody to talk to. I guess I looked to music for help. My Hanson CD was in my cd player at that time, and since I had no interest in anything else, I played it. After a few songs, I started to breathe because it was the first time in long time, that I sort of felt at ease, because the music was helping me slowly. Then one of the tracks came on titled, “With You In Your Dreams”…this was a song that was dedicate to Hanson’s late grandmother. It instantly drew a connection to my dad and me. Ever since then, I grew up. I spent the rest of my childhood years loving this band for giving me the chance to attempt to live my life. Their music helped me face reality day by day. Every time I see or listen to them, it is just another reminder of how grateful I am to have this band be my favorite band. They were capable of helping me through an incredibly tough time. I had to see them and tell them everything I have gone through.
Five years have past since that summer and I am becoming an adult. I have gone through so much such as surviving high school. Throughout high school, I kept a secret from everyone that didn’t really come out until senior year. The secret was that I had a favorite band, and their name is Hanson. I never told anybody because I was scared of being made fun of for liking them, because believe me I have had many years of dealing with that. I was just apprehensive about telling this story to people and seeing how they would react. I didn’t know how people would react once I told them about my father and how the music has helped me, but now after this summer ended, I am ready to tell.
Since they are my favorite band, I wanted to support them as much as I possibly could. During my sophomore and junior year, they were pretty much out of the limelight recording an album, getting married, basically living their lives…and so was I. During the summer going into my senior year, they finally went on tour. I was able to go to one show in NYC at the China Club. I was excited and I wanted a good view. I somehow convinced my mom to let me take a train at five in the morning to go to this show. Yes the show won’t start until 7 at night, but you never met Hanson fans. Even though there are so many that are nice and are great friends, some of them can be brutal. I got there at 7 in the morning and I was around 30th in line. I swear this is true. And as the years kept going, the lines will become crazier... it’s a guarantee. I have yet another amazing story about this show and the Hammerstein concert from the This Time Around Tour from 2000 that connects me to my father, if you are curious just ask me and I will gladly tell you. It is just way too much to type up and you wouldn’t understand unless I explained it to you. Seriously.
* * * *
A few months later in November, Hanson was ending their tour again in NYC at the famous, Carnegie Hall. Not only was I excited to have 8th row there, but also I was bringing along my boyfriend, Matt. I was truly excited about this show because for the first time I was finally able to share the music with somebody else I love.
Since their new album was coming out in April, there was a lot of promotion for it and a lot of up-coming appearances. It is definitely a plus living in New York because that is where all the action is. Since they live in NYC, they always do promotions there too. They did a special promotion by having 3 concerts in CT, NY, and NJ… I was fortunate enough to go to all of them. I went to CT with Matt again, it was fun hanging out at this show. Before the show I even got to see Taylor and he shook my hand. Zac was acting all silly sticking his hand and face out of the bus to tease the girls. During these 3 shows, VH1 was following Hanson to make a documentary that was aired a few months ago… if you look really quick in one part when the camera goes through the lines of girls at the show, you can see Matt and me for a split second. The Albany show was also fun because Joanne and I ditched 2 days of school to go to this show. How awesome is that? I got home at 2:30 in the morning from CT, went to bed, woke up around 8, and drove up to Albany with Joanne. We stayed overnight there. After the show, the roadie gave me Taylor's water bottle that he actually drank from! This was cool because for this concert I didn't have a ticket since my name was on the guest list. So it was a good souvenior to replace a ticket stub. In the morning when we woke up the day after the show to drive home, it was snowing really hard outside and I was so freaked out to drive through it… but once you left Albany there was no snow…weird. That show was cool because I had second row right in front of Zac… I still wasn’t satisfied. I wanted front row. I was too tired to meet them after the show even though I could have... oh well maybe in NJ. So basically NJ started my whole camping out craze. I woke up at 3 in the morning and left a half hour later to go to this show… I seriously must have had 5 or 6 layers on because it was soooo cold. When I got there at 5ish…there were some snow flurries. Unfortunately in NJ they have a law stating that you cannot camp out for an event until after 8 in the morning… so basically it was a free for all… Since Thursday, yes Thursday people have been camping out in their cars across the streets from the venue hoping to run for front row. By the way, the concert was on Saturday lol… Anyway I was so sick for that show… I had no voice. I made a whole bunch of friends at this show and they only remembered me because of the fact that I had no voice. Anyway these girls let me hang out with them because I drove to Jersey by myself...yes I know I am crazy. Well one of the girls was on their track team and made it to be second on the line… because of that I was either 5th or 7th to get into the venue…This was my very first concert that I ever had front row for. It could not have been more amazing. I actually saw Cuzzo and his girlfriend at this show too! They ended the show with an encore of the song by AC/DC “It’s a Long way To the Top.” It’s from the school of rock. They played it with Ben Jelen, who is awesome. Hanson played with the electric guitars! Finally! I was so sick of all the acoustic songs lol…after the show I hung out to meet them… again. Taylor was so sweet. He signed my cd for me and took a picture with me (which didn’t come out grr)…by the way I totally hung out there at around 12:30-1 in the morning…oh and by the way, it was Taylor’s birthday… so that was a great experience. Zac said that they were having a show on Long Island and I started to freak out because I haven’t seen them on Long Island since 1998! I did get lost driving home which was bad, but I did find my way back and I came home with awesome memories… but this isn’t even the beginning of it.
During the month of April they had promo-week. This was where they kicked it off by having the concert at Patchogue Theater (The LI show Zac was talking about) and doing all the TV shows to promote the album. After the show, I talked to Ashley Greyson; he is basically responsible for everything Hanson does. He told us a whole bunch of things. When Hanson came out Isaac walked right to the bus and Taylor and Zac stopped to say hello to everyone. My crazy friend Lynn, yelled to Zac, and he yelled back. Then we yelled at him, and then he yelled back… basically, yeah…. Lynn, Melissa and I had a screaming contest with Zac… so funny.
After all this ended it was already around 1 in the morning. I went back to Brienne’s house to sleep for only an hour and then we took a train at 3 in the morning to the city…to see Hanson…again…They were going to be on the Today Show. We got to Rockefeller a little after 5 (the sun didn't even rise yet!) and we were the only ones there… and we got to see Hanson do their sound check! Think about this… Melissa, Brienne, and me were the only ones watching Hanson doing their sound check at 5AM!!!! That’s insane! They also seemed pretty tired too. The show was fun to be on and they did a good job singing their song. Afterwards we said goodbye to them when they hopped into the van. And it was only 10 in the morning…geez. Monday was the big day… I left school early to catch a 12:30 train to the city to meet up with Brienne and Melissa for TRL…we watched by the window like the sad fans that we are... but it was fun… I found a sign on the ground and held it up…We passed out fliers for the street team to promote the album, which came out the next day. One of the reps from their record company even gave us some posters and fliers to pass out… very cool stuff… Zac acknowledged my Simon and Garfunkel shirt too! After trl we scrunched into 2 cabs to go to the movies with Hanson… I swear. It was amazing. Sadly, I was denied Taylor’s popcorn. Of course after all of this, Taylor looks over and says, “I will see you tomorrow!”… FINALLY...I get recognition from one of them and they know me… but of course, this was the only freakin time I wouldn’t be there tomorrow… there was no possible way I would miss school again and miss student teaching tap again because I would have got in big trouble. So of course all of my friends got to meet them again and Taylor remembered them… yeah I was with them this whole weekend…and I was not there to enjoy that. I was very upset. Well that concluded my promo-week.
A month later I saw Hanson yet again at Jones Beach for Summer Jam, I actually had row F, but to my surprise I actually got front row!! This was because the first seven rows or so are all angled, and I had the last seat on my row so it was right up against the stage. Seriously, I would sit in my seat and touch the barricade. Even though it was not a full concert and they played only five or six songs, it had a lot of meaning to me. Not only was Jones Beach where my very first concert was, it was my first Hanson concert. Also, it was my Dad who took me to my first concert to see Hanson at the very same place almost six years before! How amazing is that? Anyway the set was great and I had a lot of eye contact with them. I thought that made my weekend, but I was wrong. After their set, my friend called me on the phone and basically said that if I wanted to meet Hanson I have to leave my seat right away. And I listening, and she is smart. Apparently one of her friends actually works there and told her they were getting ready to leave in their van and they were packing up now. We ran to the gates and low and behold, we saw Taylor and Zac helping to load the van. My friend Stephanie yelled out to Zac, “Hey Zac, can you come over here for a sec?” And that’s just what he did. Not only did he walk over to shake all of our hands and say hey what’s up, he said, “What, you guys don’t wanna see Avril?” We all chanted, NO! He started to ask each of us if we were going to see them on tour and I told him I was going to see him at about nine, yes nine, concerts this summer. Zac was really taken back by this and he put a big smile on his face and said he hoped to see me around. That put me right on cloud nine. After saying goodbye, we left the amphitheater to wave goodbye to the boys. They waved back. After that all of the girls went their separate ways to go home. The second I got in my car, (I was alone)..I broke down and started to cry. I could not believe what just happened. I was just having this huge moment where I realized there IS somebody looking over me and giving me all these incredible opportunities. Stop and think about this for a second. I am finally seeing Hanson at the very same place where it all started. I saw them where I had my very first Hanson concert where my Dad took me. Not only did I somehow get front row (and I did not know) I met Zac. If you know me, you know much I have always adored Zac. It become so overwhelming that I cried in my car and called my mom and told her everything. She also could not believe that this happened. It was a perfect day.
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When I found out Hanson was going on a full-blown electric tour for the new album, I knew my time has arrived. The second the tour dates were posted, I instantly started to make arrangements. I was not going to give up. I had to go to as many shows as I possibly could. Think about it, how perfect could this be? Not only would I be following my favorite band for the summer, I would also be going on a road trip! I was so excited. I didn’t have to worry about school or work. It was great. I actually saved up all of my money since the second I heard about a tour. That is what I call dedication.
I tried to make arrangements with Melissa and Brienne to go, but they were not allowed to go to some of the shows, but I was so happy to know that they could go to a bunch of them. I love going to shows with them! We always have the greatest time together. Luck have it, I actually went with my friend Stephanie on our road trip. I was so happy that I was able to go with her. We had a lot of fun in the car playing twenty questions and seeing places the two of us have never been to before. Unfortunately, Steph could not go to all of the shows I was because she had college orientation. This is the list of all the concerts I was able to go to:
Hanson Underneath Tour 2004
July 8th Washington DC
July 10th Philadelphia, PA
July 11th Dewey Beach, DE
July 14th NYC
July 16th NYC
July 17th Lancaster, PA
July 22nd Boston, MA
August 17th Wallingford, CT
If you think I went to a lot of shows, then you haven’t met half of the people there. Trust me, there are so many girls who go to most of the shows on tour… there were about 30 dates! I would have traveled to all of them but I could not go by myself, plus I did have that much money after those shows. Basically I went to all but two of the East Coast shows on the tour. This was a huge accomplishment for me. Steph and I really didn’t get too lost which was a great thing.
We left around noon on July 8th heading towards the nation’s Capital, Washington DC. To our surprise, it only took about 4.5-5 hours to get there. We made good timing, or I am a fast driver on the interstate. Once we got into Maryland and Delaware, I loved driving through them because the scenery is so beautiful. It was really gorgeous. We checked into the hotel and got ready for the show. When we drove to the venue we saw the Pentagon and the Capital Building. I thought that was awesome because this was the farthest I have ever been from home and I have never been to DC before. In fact, up until this year, I have never exactly been out of the state! We had 8th row in the center section, which was an excellent way to kick off the tour. Since this was a seated show, there was no need for us to wait on line. I went for a “walk” to scope out the scene…and low and behold, I am a genius and find the tour bus around the corner. There were girls hanging out by there but not enough to scare them away. I quickly called Steph to come with me and get off line. We waited there patiently and actually missed the first opening act, which was ok, because we got to see Taylor before the show! That was great because we didn’t even see them play yet, and we already saw one of them. Personally, I thought this was a great sign to kick off the tour with.
The show itself was amazing because I have not heard them do an electric concert in since I was a freshman in high school! It was worth the wait. They played songs I never heard live and some old ones like Man From Milwaukee and Gimmie Some Lovin’ that I almost pissed my pants when I heard the song playing. After the show we were waiting about two hours for Hanson to come out. I was really tired but I wanted to see them. When the bus pulled up to pick up Taylor and Isaac (Zac was already in the bus) I saw that Frankie Muniz was sitting next to the bus driver! Think about this for a minute. Frankie Muniz (from My Dog Skip, Agent Cody Banks, and Malcolm in the Middle) was hanging out with Hanson while they were on tour! It turns out that Frankie and Zac happen to be really good friends and Zac even taught him how to play the drums. In fact, when Hanson does their second sound check before going out to perform, Frankie will come out in front of everyone and bang the drums to get the crowd going!
After the show we stayed in the Hilton hotel and drove to Philly the next day for that show. The show was the next day but when we went to check out the venue and to see if there was anybody on line, there was a bunch. Now lets put this all into perspective, we got there just to check out the venue at 3 in the afternoon the day before the concert and there were already 23 people in line! I quickly added myself to a list and become number 24 in line. A few minutes later everyone on the line had to leave because Chris Isaac was having a show at the Philly venue (The Electric Factory) that night so the sleeping bags and chairs had to be moved so people can move. They told us were could come back to camp out at midnight. We got there a little after eleven waiting to camp out. We were all organized. We slept all in line according to our number that we were in line. I had a horrible time trying to sleep that night because there was a club across the street and the music was really loud. Also Philly is just naturally a very busy and noisy city. I was lucky to get two hours of sleep that night. Since I had a lack of sleep and lack of food, I pretty much felt sick during the morning. I actually got sick when I went back to the hotel. However by the time Hanson arrived around 2ish, I was starting to feel better. Taylor was wearing a shirt that said Super Dad, so cute! He shook me hand, and so did Frankie. I got a bunch of pictures of Zac and them too.
How sad is this, please don’t think less of me, but I had to change for the show in the Philly parking lot. Steph held up a blanket around me between a wall and I quickly changed. Then we waited on line and it seriously took forever to let us in because the fans in the back were causing riots. Anyway here comes the good part, since I was 24th in line, I just got front row! This means this was the third time I will see Hanson front row but the first time for this tour and it was only the second show! I was amazed. I never had front row at an electric concert before. It really gave me chills and it blew me away. That was arguably my favorite show on the tour. They even opened up with playing Optimistic from Radiohead. That is incredible!! After the show, they hung out for autographs and pictures and Taylor signed the cover of my MOE magazine. (MOE was the magazine they created for their fan club but discontinued it and I was holding the very last issue which he drew the artwork for the front.) Since he signed the front where he drew it, it made me so happy. When Zac came out a little bit later, I was getting so excited. I love looking at him. Out of all seriousness, Zac Hanson is my idol and I admire him so much. He took a picture with me! Just HIM and me! I must admit, after I left I got all giddy because I was able to get a picture with just Zac and me. He was so nice and I always love our moments where we can talk for just a second.
After I left from seeing and taking my picture with Zac we said goodbye to Lynn, and then we hopped into the car and started to drive to Delaware. Allow me to just remind you that we left the venue around two in the morning and then we started driving to Delaware because that show was the very next day and we already heard the line was building up. We got a little lost but got right back on track once we got off the interstate. Driving through Delaware in the early morning was really different because you are driving for 80 something miles and most of the ride you are driving by yourself, all alone on the highway. Plus, there is water at least on one side since we were driving alone the coastline. At many times there were no lights any either side of the highway and it was so incredibly dark. I have never seen the stars glow so bright. After a while, Stephanie drove my car because obviously I was really tired. We got to the venue a little after 5 in the morning. It was right smack on the water and in front of a little beach. It was the kind of area where many college students will rent a beach house for the summer to relax. It had a nice atmosphere, but we had a major problem when we got there. Hanson fans were not allowed to camp out! We drove throughout the entire night to get to Delaware and now we have no place to camp out. This was not just our problem. We arrived there at 5 in the morning the day of the concert and I was already 43rd in line. Can you imagine that? Anyway, most of the girls that camped out in Philly were all there at Delaware when we arrived. We were not allowed to camp out because since it was a Sunday, they were having church there. Here’s the catch, the SAME room at the place where Hanson was playing was where they were having church that day! I thought that was really funny. Anyway, everyone parked on one side of the parking lot right by the beach and attempted to sleep in our cars. The sun started to come up and guess who showed up at the venue and 5:30 in the morning…Hanson. They parked their tour buses and basically camped out in their buses right next to us. I thought that was something very different and I did not expect that. I figured they were just going to stay in their hotel for the day. However they stayed in their buses so they would able to hang out by the beach before they had to get ready for the show. It was the hottest day of the year, even the AC in the car didn’t help. I was so sick that day. I called my mom crying because I wanted to go home. I was in no shape to drive home, and I was not going to leave Stephanie behind. It was only 7 in the morning and I only got an hour’s sleep for the day. That means in the past 48 hours I only slept for about three hours. I was sick because I didn’t take good care of myself. I didn’t sleep right and I kept eating junk food. That was why I was getting sick.
Basically everybody that came early in the morning to camp out said, “fuck it” because we didn’t want to deal with this. Some people went to a nearby water park for the day and others went to the beach. The venue has never had anything like this happen before so they did not know how to re-act to having 100 people there to wait in line at only 9 in the morning. So they took some caution tape and in the front of the parking lot they made an area where all the fans that were waiting in line had to stay in there. It was a cluster and completely unorganized. Basically it didn’t matter if you got in the “cluster” at nine in the morning or 5 at night…you could still get in the front. They made it a free for all where after a certain time they would open it and everyone would run to the door. Uh…yeah…that was definitely dangerous…Especially if you are running with 1000 rowdy teenage girls. I was sick and wanted nothing to do with it, I went to the WaWa, bought some salad and ginger ale, and I spent the day on the beach. I spent a lot of the day lying around and talking on the phone. At one point I was resting while on the phone with my friend, Andrew Monsen. I turned around and there was Taylor in his bathing suit hanging out on the beach right by me! A few minutes later Zac and Isaac came out. Natalie (Taylor’s wife) and Kate (Zac’s girlfriend) came out and went on the Jet Ski’s with the boys. Most fans had NO knowledge of this because they were on the other side of the building waiting in line. It is smart not to wait in line; you get opportunities like hanging out on a beach where Hanson is all day.
I would just like to say at this point that I hate it, really hate it when people take pictures of the Hansons when they are with their significant others, their child, or other family members. Hanson has asked their fans so many times not to take pictures of their family, and so many people have been disrespectful and rude and constantly flash pictures of them. I have never taken a picture of their family members nor do I have any intentions on doing so. I always want to yell at the people and cause havoc.
I went to the show after everyone was let in and after I ate some dinner. Luckily I felt much better after I got some rest by the beach. The concert was like a huge party. All of the cool people like myself all hung out in the back and danced around like crazy. That was a fun show. When it was over everyone was hanging out by the buses hoping to get to talk to the guys or get a picture. Nobody was misbehaving or acting bad. (There were several hundred girls there) However, since the venue did not expect anything like this, they called the police. The police were all under 21, which was crazy. Obviously they were not successful in getting anybody to leave. A few minutes later the real police came and started to bring out those mini clubs they carry around threatening to arrest people if we didn’t leave. So sadly everybody left because those people were jerks. I didn’t get to talk to with them or take a picture after the show, but at least I got to see them on the beach and they even waved to me. I will never forget that. I went to bed and slept like a rock and drove home the next day in the rain. That concluded the southern part of my east coast tour.
* * * *
I just wanted to add in this part that after my whole ordeal with being sick while camping out, an agreement was made that Zac was going to give me a hug. I deserve it, don’t you think? Anyway throughout this entire tour, there was an on-going joke with my friends and me. Basically we would keep saying how much we hated Hanson and how much we couldn’t stand them. Of course this wasn’t true, but we kept saying that we hated them because look what they do to us; I always go to any event that I possibly can and support them. I have spent so much money on them…It’s in the thousands, seriously. So we hate them for making us spend all of our money and traveling and taking off of work and school to see them, even though this was our decision. Yeah, I am sure you don’t understand, that is why it is an inside joke.
I stayed home for a few days to rest and get to prepare for the next part of my adventure. I was planning on going a little late to the first NY show because I am sick of waiting in lines and I wanted to catch up on sleep. However, at 10:00 the night before the first NY show I found out that Hanson was going to be on the CBS Early Show at 7:00 in the morning. My first reaction was, “Crap, I really hate Hanson. Now I have to wake up six hours earlier to travel to the city to see them.” So it’s 11:00 at night and I drive to Melissa’s house to sleep over. We woke up at 4 in the morning to catch a train to go to NYC. The pasrt that was even better was that I had my period and it was making me sick. I almost always have my period when I see Hanson, which sucks but I just felt like sharing because now I like to joke about it. When we arrived at the early show there were only two other Hanson fans there, and I knew them! I actually saw them at all of the shows I have been to. They were going to most of the shows this summer. Later on another girl who liked Hanson joined us too…but she was weird, she was one of those “teenyboppers” I try to avoid. Anyway, everyone else at the morning show was wearing bright red shirts that said, “We’re with Jesus.” I don’t think they had any interest in coming to see Hanson. Usually at TV appearances like this there are many fans, but since it was confirmed late the night before and there were chances of showers, there were only five of us. Besides, the people who usually come to these events were already camping out on line. Anyway, after Hanson did their segment, their car pulled up to pick them up. In a minute the three of them walked out with their asshole tour manager. Supposedly his name is Machine. He is never nice to the fans and there is a rumor that even the roadies and Hanson call him Deush(sp) McNasty. Anyway, Hanson walked out and I swear to you, Taylor walked right over to us, shook our hands and said, “Hey guys, how are you? Thank you so much for coming.” He really meant it too. You could tell that he was very grateful that we showed up to support them. Taylor even had a bunch of stuff in both arms and he managed to move them all into this left hand and arm just so he could shake our hands. Isaac did the same and asked us if we were going to the show tonight. We told him we were. Then Zac came out. Here’s the deal, as sad as I am, I actually made a sign that said, “Zac, you owe me a hug.” Because he does. He saw my sign and so did America. My little brother clay even called my phone about three times saying he saw me on TV! He walked out and I swear to you he was walking right up to me and I could get my hug when their tour manager aka: Fucker (as I like to call him) grabbed Zac by the arm, pulled him away and said, “There’s no time for hugs or autographs, the guys are very busy!” While Zac was torn away from me he said he will see me later and he’ll see what he could do. Sadly I did see him later at the show when I was around the corner and he was crossing the street from Starbucks. Girls ran up to him and I still didn’t get my hug. In fact, he still owes me it. So if you see him, you better freakin tell him. Anyway besides my horrible ordeal with my hug, the fact that Taylor gave the five of us recognition for coming to see them and showing up to support them really made my day. He was so happy and Melissa and me left happy too. We walked sixty something blocks to Irving and sat on line waiting for the wonderful Brienne to come and join us. By the way, when I met Hanson there, I was in my PJ’s..there was no way I was going to change for the show this early lol.
Brienne brought along her sister and her sister’s friend, whose hilarious. Both of them are obsessed with Ben Jelen who was Hanson’s opening act. He is very talented and I like him too. Anyway, whenever they saw Ben walking around they would freak out. At one point I left with her sister and friend to go to the bathroom and at the corner Ben was crossing the street. They waited at the other side for him to cross and asked him for a hug. Since they are younger it was really cute and I couldn’t stop laughing. After the bathroom we saw Ben walking around again (around the block from the venue so there were really no fans walking around)..Occasionally Natalie would walk around with the baby, but I didn’t bother them. They ran across the street without looking for traffic and started to talk to him. I talked to him too and told him how obsessed these girls are over him. Then out of nowhere it started to drizzle and there was really loud thunder. Ben gave a yell and the girls basically jumped into his arms because they were scared. We left him after that and huddled under my poncho in the rain. When we got into the venue the front was all filled up and we knew we would have a hard time seeing if we hung out in the front, so we went to the back. On the right side we were actually able to sit along the wall and see over the crowd. That was awesome. We got to talk to Ian while we were there. He is one of Ben’s roadies and also plays back-up drums for him. Not to mention he is a very good-looking man. To make things better my very good friend Andrew Cuzzo came to this show with his girlfriend and he stayed around the area I was in during the show. I was glad to see him there. We knew that when we were going to second NYC show here were had to sit in the same spot again.
I met up with Melissa and Brienne at the train station to go to NYC for the second and final concert in NYC. We were a little bit farther back on line but it was ok because we knew that we wanted to sit on the wall again and just have a good time. As usual, we hung out on the other side of the building where Hanson was when the bus came. Taylor came out of the bus holding his son and his sister, Jessica, came out too. The door to get into the venue was locked so while they waited Taylor hung out by us and was saying hello to everyone and asking them how they are doing. He is always so sweet and considerate about his fans.
Anyway they would come in and out every now and then, nothing too big. We went back in line to go into the venue. We got in and found the exact spot that we wanted to be. We got the best view again and had no problem seeing anybody. The second NY show was probably one the shows that I had the most fun in. Nobody bothered us in our little spot on the wall since everybody was gathered in the crowd by the stage. Brienne and I went a little crazy during the show. I acted as if I was five years younger. During some songs we would just hop off the side and run to the back and jump around like crazy. Picture the two of us going crazy, jumping around and singing while Ashley Greyson is giving us a weird look while we have no shoes on. It was so much fun and they had one of the best set lists that night. After the show I even got another water bottle. That is water bottle number three for my collection, it’s really sad to say you have a collection of Hanson’s water bottles. I think it’s cool because they are souvenirs. I could not wait for the next day because the three of us were going to Lancaster, PA to see Hanson again. I was particularly excited about this show because it would be the first full Hanson concert where I would have front row at a seated show! I got really lucky and I was so grateful and excited to have these tickets,
After the show I slept over Melissa’s house and our friend Nikki joined us too. We got up fairly early in the morning and left for our 5-6 hour drive to Lancaster. Throughout the trip we would joke about how much we hated Hanson and we kept laughing all the time. For once I had a break from driving too. This time Melissa’s mom actually drove us to Lancaster and we would stay overnight at a hotel across the street from the venue, so it didn’t matter when we got back.
When we were driving through Lancaster to get to the hotel, we kept seeing tons and tons of cows. We kept joking about how Zac was going to go cow tipping there. (he once said he did that when he was on the Tom Green Show) And we actually saw a chicken crossing the road. That is sheer irony. Oh yeah, we also saw llamas. Hanson was definitely having a concert in the middle of Amish country. What the hell were they thinking? For concerts I usually dress up a little bit for the fun of it and in order to hide my camera too. That’s a secret! Anyway, we went to the back of the venue where Hanson was walking around. We saw a bunch of people we knew and it was like a mini-reunion. Zac and Taylor kept coming in and out of the place. The workers tried to block the girls off by putting the caution tape up… yeah that worked well. Within five minutes some stupid girls actually took the tape down. People were standing right next to the bus and right next to the stairs where they had to walk up. I was in the front, but in the middle not near or blocking any of them. The girls by the stairs I thought were particularly rude. They were basically all standing right in front of the staircase so anybody walking could barely slip through onto the stairs. At one point, one of Hanson’s sisters was carrying the baby out of the bus and could barely make it onto the stairs because of all those rude fans. People were yelling at those fans and they seemed like they didn’t even cared. Seriously, what if she dropped the baby because of them? Each time Zac came out with Frankie he would leap over the stairs to avoid being crushed by females. Anyway, this next part made me so mad, I was about to flip out at those girls. Taylor came out of the venue carrying a brownie and a cup of hot coffee. Since he couldn’t get to the bottom of the stairs because of the girls, he straddled over the railing to jump onto the ground. By doing this, he stumbled since he was holding the coffee and brownie and actually tripped. He spilled his coffee and dropped his brownie. Girls were laughing and taking pictures thinking that was the funniest thing they ever saw. I got so mad at them! The reason why he tripped and dropped his snack was because of those horrible girls that blocked the stairs. That really pissed me off. Anyway, Brienne and me left to go to Burger King for some dinner.
After we ate we went back to the theater to head on in. We came a little late but we really didn’t care about missing the first opening act. The band Ingram Hill is really good, but since I have front row I cared more about seeing Hanson.
Anyway this lady gets me to where I am supposed to sit and I am about to burst into tears. I was about to break down and cry my eyes out. I had friggen *front row* seats, and I couldn’t even see the lead singer singing!... Since there was five feet of space between the front row seats and the stage (there was no barricade) all the girls in the farther back seats made a rush to the front to see them. First of all I was incredibly pissed off and started to cry because it was my dream to have a real front row seat and these girls ruined it! I was about to leave because I was so upset. I grabbed my phone called Brienne, found Melissa and ran out of the hall into the front where the merch was sold and I started to flip a shit. I started yelling and flipping out because I was so mad. I usually don’t get really mad like that, but when I get mad, I am truly angry. Brienne went to Ashley, but he didn’t do a damn thing about it because he claimed he was busy selling the merch. I found my friend Aimee and started crying to her about everything. Then Brienne and I went to the customer service desk to complain. Within a few minutes more and more people showed up and complained. People were saying it was a fire hazard and they had 8th row and couldn’t see. People, this is NOT a general admission show, stay in your friggen seats...It seemed customer service was not going to do much so Brienne and I said to Fuck It, we going to plow through the girls in the front and give them a hard time because I have front row and I’m short and I couldn’t see a friggen thing. I ran to the middle of the stage and to my surprise most girls seemed understanding and let me go right through. However, all of the girls right on the stage were such bitches and were cursing and yelling at us saying we should have got there earlier. I don’t remember a time where I was so heated and so pissed off. However, since I always have good things happen to me at shows and I know a certain somebody is looking down me, I know he would helped me out. Within a minute of me being in the crowd, security came on the stage to break it up. They claimed everybody had to stay in their seats and not in the aisles or front unless you had front row because it was a fire hazard. I started to applaud and yell thank you to every security guard. My flipping a shit actually paid off and I was just incredibly relieved and felt so much better. Now we were waiting for Ben Jelen to come out and there was not a soul in front of me or pushing me around. I was in the front row by my seat and having the most amazing time. I stood there for a second trying to take it all in. It was amazing.
When Hanson came out I was completely floored. Isaac Hanson was right in front of me and Zac was staring right in my direction for most of the show. His stool was on an angle and he faced me a lot and every now and then he would make a funny face or start to bop his head around. He was so silly. I admire him so much. When Isaac sang Ain’t No Sunshine for his solo, Zac actually came out during the middle of the song wearing an Afro wig. It was hilarious. The best part about the show was that for once security did not stop anybody with a camera! This was a first for me. So of course, I took advantage of my camera since I had front row. At one point, Isaac came right up to the end of the stage and was literally hovering right over me, and he said, “hey!” with a smile on his face. There was so much eye contact made too. I got that at all of the shows where I had front row. It really made my day. When they left for their “last song” it was obvious that every single person in the room was about to run for the front when Hanson would back out for the encore. So I paid careful attention and when I knew they were going to run, I leaped right ahead of them so I was right against the stage when they came out for their encore. It was painful. My hips were being crushed against the wooden stage, but I still enjoyed myself. They did Gimmie Some Lovin’ as their encore and I took some pictures. (Besides the song, With You In Your Dreams, this has a lot of significant meaning with my Dad and me). When the show ended, we went right back to the buses. Before I go ahead, I would just to say that Brienne and me are idiots. We broke the rules. Only an elite group of special people can truly understand what I am talking about… grrr. Anyway, I was lucky enough to get Isaac’s autograph. He signed my tour book. That made me happy considering I do not have his autograph. Sadly he was not taking any pictures. Zac and Taylor were only out for a minute so I didn’t get an autograph, but since Melissa is amazing, she got all three! After that we walked across the street to where our hotel was and we waved goodbye to Hanson when their tour bus pulled away. They were being following by about thirty cars. I hate it when people follow them. Why can’t people just leave them alone? We got back to the hotel at 2:30 and woke up at 6 to drive home. Most of the ride home we were all sleeping. Once we got to the Belt Parkway, Brienne wanted to put Hanson on, and asked her, “What the hell are you thinking?” But nonetheless we listening to them again and I sang along. Now we had a little break before the BIG Boston show, which would basically end my trip.
At this point if you are still conscious and alive and still reading this, I commend you. You are amazing. Now I have been called crazy for this next part, so please I would appreciate it if you did not label or judge me. Stephanie and I left around 6:00 at night on July 20th for Boston…the show was on July 22nd. Yes everyone, I camped out for two full nights waiting for Hanson in Boston, MA. This is because there was a full day between the New Hampshire show (which I didn’t go to) and the Boston show. Since they are not that far apart, it was obvious that people we going to drive straight from one show to the next and camp out. We left at this time thinking we were going to beat all of them and be first in line. It was a risk we were willing to take. We were fine driving to Boston, and we made great time. However, once we reached Boston, we got a teeny bit lost, and because of the fact that we got lost, everybody from the NH show beat us!...and the worst part is they got there before us by 10 friggen minutes! I couldn’t believe it. We COULD have been first…I wanted to pull my hair out. But now lets think of this. I am on a line 2 days before the actual show and I am STILL 11th in line! If that’s not crazy, I don’t know what is. I have never seen a group of fans like us who will wait that long on line. The time actually went by quick. Once we got there we went to sleep. During the next day we played UNO and Scrabble. There was a Dunkin’ Donuts and McDonalds a few blocks away so we would keep going there for the bathroom and for food. Since Steph and me are so smart, we booked our hotel for 2 nights, so just incase we would have problems camping out, we would have someplace to go. So even though we can be crazy for camping out like this, we are still smart enough to make hotel reservations, we did that for every stop on the tour. We would go there during the day to take a shower and to take naps. When we got back our road was blocked because Hanson’s venue was directly across the street from Fenway Park where the Red Socks play. It was a huge game that day and it was also sold out. There were so many people around and basically all of them came up to us and asked what the hell are we are camping out for. By nighttime (the day before the show), there were probably a little over thirty people on line. I made a lot more friends during these few days like Jen, and Raelynn. They are super nice. At night everybody got a menu from a local restaurant we all ordered take out. So even though we are waiting for a long time, we usually get along and go to different places together for food. That’s why camping out is fun. You are never in real danger because there are always thirty something people camping out and people will always go with you for bathroom runs and food. Jen and her friends even came back to our hotel to shower and nap and I went back to the venue with her.
The day of the show was just madness. Fenway Park was having a double hitter and more fans were coming to the show. By noon there was well over a hundred people there. It was crazy. Throughout the day I kept feeling like I was going to pass out. There was no shade and it was so incredibly hot. I bought expensive water and I thought I was having a heat exhaustion. I hung out across the street and sat next to Fenway because it was a little shady there. Aimee and I stayed there so we would also be able to see Hanson when they came around the corner. When they came out they waved and said hello too. By this point everybody had to get rid of their sleeping bags and prepare to wait in line… and it was only 3:00.
What was cool about this show is that they were going to be shooting footage for their new music video at this concert! I was so excited. I was really hoping I would have front row for this show. It would be awesome to have front row when they shot the concert footage. When they let us in, we had to go into two rows. One row had to around to the other side of the stage and the other row (my row) went straight in. Because of this, I was the last person to fill out the front row, again! I was right in front of the piano where Taylor plays. I was soooo happy! I was really upset that Steph and Aimee didn’t get the front. They deserved it more than anybody else there.
The show was a lot of fun. They filmed the video for Lost Without Each Other as the encore for the show. Everybody was clapping and dancing around hoping to be seen in the video. At one point the camera faces the crowd really quick and I think I saw myself for a split second. So if you ever see this music video, remember…I had front row at this concert. Good Stuff. The best is yet to come.
When the show ended everyone hung out by the buses hoping to meet Hanson again. Isaac came running out and said he would be right back… he didn’t come back out until we left. But that was ok because he hasn’t been too nice. Zac was actually in the bus signing autographs from the back window! That was so funny because whenever I saw him, he has never done that. He was joking around with the people at the bottom. I was going to there in a few minutes. When I was talking to Aimee and Steph, one of the roadies was walking past us and looked at us for a second. He saw there were three of us and he was holding three of something. Then he gave us each of those three of something. Do you have any idea what this lovely, wonderful human gave me? He gave me…one of ZAC’s drumheads!!!!!!! I was flipping out when he gave it to me. I have the top of the snare drum that Zac used for this concert! The three of us ran to the other side of the bus and guess what, Zac signed our drumheads! I may have not gotten my hug, but now I am the owner of Zac Hanson’s snare drumhead, which he signed! I couldn’t believe it. I was so incredibly happy. It was an amazing experience and concert to end my road trip for the 2004 Underneath Tour. Now I only have one more concert to go that was a month away. This will officially be the end of my touring with Hanson for this tour. Hopefully they will not have any shows or appearances during college because I will be so sad if I have to miss them.
One month later, Brienne, Melissa, Steph and I got back into the car and drove to Wallingford, CT for the conclusion of our shows. I was excited yet really sad that this was my last show for a really long time. I just hope it will be amazing. Steph and I got our tickets from Will call so we actually had no idea where our seats where. Since we got them through the pre-sale we were expecting to have good seats. With our luck that sucks, we got row T…what the hell is that? I was so pissed. I even went right back to the ticket booth and asked where was the best seat for buying one ticket. The best was row M, which was not worth spending more money on. I was upset, but I was going to try to make the best of it. Brienne and I went to the back to search for Hanson. They buses were behind the venue in an area that was completely gated off. Even the gates had a screen on them so you really couldn’t see through them. That really made me upset because now I knew the chances of us seeing Hanson after the show and meeting them was rare. I never got my hug. When we were walking back, I saw Lynn, who is the greatest person ever. I told her how I was upset because I got a bad seat, and she gave me her extra ticket! I love her so much. She is definitely one of the sweetest people I know, not to mention crazy. Anyway, the seat was right to Melissa, which made me even happier! Now I have 9th row seats with a great view. This show arguably had one of the greatest set lists out of every show I have been to. Not only did they open up with Optimistic again, but also the second song was the AC/DC song they played back in March at NJ! Brienne’s seats were three rows in front of ours and during the show this couple that was there actually left and they said we could take their seats, now for the rest of the show we had 6th row! I was so grateful. During one of the songs, Taylor was making definite eye contact with us. It was awesome. When the show ended, I did tear up because that concluded my amazing summer and string of concerts. I will never ever forget this amazing summer. It really did conclude my summer because in 10 days from that date, I was moving right up there to Storrs, CT for college.
After the show, we sadly did not get to meet them, but the bus did come back after everyone left because they actually forgot something! Isaac came to the front of the bus but he didn’t come out. He actually called Raelynn, and talked on her cell phone for a minute. She is so sweet! She was so surprised that he called and I was so happy for her.
After the bus left again for the last time everybody said their goodbyes and we headed on the road to drive home really late at night.
* * * *
Now here I am at college and I keep thinking about the tour. When I was on the bus coming to NYC to go home, I popped in my Hanson DVD that I never watched into my laptop. It kind of made me feel deprived. I had an amazing experience this summer and past year and I swear I will never forget any of it. Throughout this year, I met them almost every time I saw them, I got three water bottles, four autographs, and an abundant amount of pictures; two pictures of me and Zac, and Zac’s drumhead. I have so many souvenirs that I will forever cherish. Somebody was truly looking over me and blessing me with so much happiness. I thank God every night for all of my experiences.
I never go into things expecting things to happen, I just let it flow. I am always so grateful to have accumulated such amazing memories and made so many great friends during this tour. This will certainly not be the last time I tour. Hanson will surely see more of me in the future for a very long time. After everything I have been through, how could I not see them?
To be perfectly honest, my one dream is to actually sit down with Hanson and thank them for everything they have given me. I want to tell them about my Dad and how I know he is looking over me day after day and giving me so many presents that are related to the Hansons. My Dad and I carry a special bond because of Hanson’s music and because of my very first concert. I hope one day I can wake up in the morning and say I have seen them over 100 times. I know there will be a day and when that day comes I will smile. But more, the day I can have my wish come true and tell them my amazing story will be the day I feel truly accomplished. I know I could have said something when I saw them quickly after a show, but since there are so many girls and they are so busy, they probably wouldn’t be paying much attention. I want them to remember me as the fan that loves them for their amazing music that keeps me strong by remembering my father. I don’t know if any of you will actually understand how much they mean to me, but thank you for caring. I have grown up with Hanson and they have helped me through my toughest times and I came out even stronger. I honestly don’t know where I would be if I didn’t have their music to look up to. I really feel like somebody is watching over me smiling and seeing how much I have accomplished. But I have to thank them. They made me stronger and helped me out. They have left a huge impact on my life. I truly feel like Hanson gives me a sacred and incredibly special bond between my father and me. This is something I will never ever forget. I have other stories that I did not mention, but after reading this, if you are curious, I would be more than happy to tell you. They are about my Dad and Hanson. It’s a lot more than you could ever think. Thank you for taking this incredibly long time to read about the life you never knew I had. Hopefully this will make you think twice once somebody tells you something, like who their favorite band is…maybe it goes much deeper than you think. I hope people can be more respectful. Thank you to everyone who has made my dreams come true thus far. I can only wish that my one real dream of thanking them personally would come true.
- Stefanie R. Salamon