Pop rock band Hanson performed at the Roxian Theater in McKees Rocks on October 18, 2024 ALEXIS PAPALIA | TRBLIVE
It’s time to get another catchy ’90s classic stuck in your head.
Pop rock band Hanson was a trio of precocious brothers when their hit “MMMBop” wormed its way into ears across the world in 1997. That may have been their biggest moment of pop stardom, but Isaac, Taylor and Zac have been consistently making music and touring since that breakout song. Their album “Underneath” — the 20th anniversary of which this current tour commemorates — was their first independent album and garnered them continuing success. They’ve released almost a dozen albums and numerous EPs and have busily toured the world all the while.
The “Underneath Experience” tour is a series of two-night engagements around North America, with the first night as an acoustic evening and the second night an electric one. Friday night’s show at the Roxian Theatre in McKees Rocks opened with songwriter John Calvin Abney, whose Texas drawl added a lush twang to his guitar-and-harmonica set. Saturday night will be supported by rockers Phantom Planet, of “The O.C.” theme song fame.
Hanson have grown up since their “MMMBop” days. At the time of that single’s release, they ranged in age from from 11 to 16. Their musical talent has matured, too.
All three brothers have always been musically multitalented, but it was still impressive how seamlessly each of them moved from role to role throughout their two hours onstage Friday night.
They also sing exceptionally well together, as the harmonies in set opener “Strong Enough to Break” proved. That song and its chaser, “Madeline,” were bouncy and mellow beginnings to a run of songs that built in energy. The acoustic format helped them out here, too — without overwhelming instrumentation, their soulful voices really shone. They may be a bit deeper than they were 25 years ago, but all three brothers can still boast great vocals.
After “When You’re Gone,” a ballad made to be sung to a stadium full of flickering lighter flames, they leaned more into percussion (thanks to Zac) in the sincerely moving “Georgia.”
They picked up a bit more steam with “Deeper,” adding more and more layers to the music and colorful spotlights as the majority-female audience sang along with the big pop chorus. “Annalie” followed, adding a touch of jam-band sound. They had a lot of fun with unusual time signatures on that one. And those harmonies!
Next song “Runaway Run” felt almost designed to be acoustic, a lovely ballad that had the crowd singing along as pink, blue and white spotlights twinkled over the crowd.
Each sibling got their own time to solo. Isaac took center stage to perform “River,” “We’re going to need you guys to sing with the chorus. There’s enough of the OGs in the crowd that the second time you’re gonna know what it is,” he said.
There certainly were enough decades-long fans to compete with his own voice in volume.
As he started to wrap up the song, he said, “I was thinking about the albums and artists I was listening to back in the day, like Counting Crows, Spin Doctors, and then I realized there was another band I was listening to a whole lot.” And he broke into a verse of Hootie and the Blowfish’s “Only Wanna Be With You” before belting out one last chorus of “River.”
You can always tell the soul of a band or artist by the covers they choose to play live. While that pick might not have inspired a lot of people, their minds would have swiftly changed when all three brothers came to center stage for a gorgeous rendition of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young’s “Teach Your Children.”
And then they played “MMMBop.”
Here’s the thing about “MMMBop.” Take a minute and go look at the lyrics. It is the zippiest, bounciest pop song that will ever induce an existential crisis. But hearing those words sung by adult men acoustically actually enhances them a lot and adds a layer of experience that makes the song even greater than its legacy.
Zac and Taylor took their solo turns at the keys, singing “Broken Angel” and “Save Me,” both powerful slow tunes accompanied by toned-down stage lighting that made the whole scene feel intimate.
The full trio reunited for a couple more originals and then pulled out a back-to-back of jaunty covers with Paul Simon’s “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard” and Simon and Garfunkel’s “Cecilia.” They even nailed the whistle interlude in “Me and Julio,” which is no easy feat.
Abney came back out to join them for “Dressed in Brown Eyes,” lending his prodigious harmonica skills to help ramp up the energy in the room again. Hanson matched it with “Out of My Head,” which was big and springy with bursts of sparkling keyboard moments.
The crowd was jumping for “A Minute Without You.” Zac stood out on percussion, and he amped up the drums even more for the bluesy “Thinking ‘Bout Somethin’,” a stylistic departure that felt surprisingly natural — and really fun for these guys.
Honestly, their voices were nearly inaudible during “This Time Around” because the crowd was singing along so loudly, but it was one of the night’s best songs based on vibes alone. Before calling it a night, they wrapped with the truly anthemic “I Was Born,” encouraging the audience to clap along with the tune’s inspirational lyrics.
After a brief minute offstage, they returned for a two-song encore, starting with “Been There Before,” a fitting celebration of the music they love. The final song of the night was “Believe,” a beautiful slower song that was a bit mysterious as a closer after such a fiery run.
The brothers thanked the crowd many times before taking their last bows and left parting words, “We will hopefully see you tomorrow!”
After hearing one night of Hanson, it would be quite a treat to see what they have in store for the second show.