Hanson at the Dallas HoB 2010

Taylor, Isaac, and Zac

Yes that's right. That title says "HANSON" and, yes, that's the SAME Hanson that sang the song "Mmmbop" in 1997. Now I know what most of you are thinking... "Do they still exist?" Firstly, my answer to this, the most annoying of all questions, is: Well, duh. You don't just stop existing just because you aren't on the radio all the time anymore, gah. Secondly, to actually address what you meant by asking this question, yes, they do still make music and they have been for 13 years. They broke away from their old label in 2003, started their own called 3CG, and have been releasing music independently ever since. They're all grown up, each with their own wife and family (they are all daddies now). Not to mention, they're all beautiful.

This summer they released their 5th studio album, and it is GREATNESS. Last night, I got to see them live, for the 7th time in my life, on the "Shout it Out" tour!

So before I get into the recap of what was, maybe, one of the best concerts I've seen, a little back story: In 2006, the boys traveled to Africa where they did some charity work and got close to some people living in poverty there. Since then they have done a charity walk before each one of their shows to raise awareness and money for AIDS research, Love Water, African Education, etc. These men are not just real musicians, but they are humanitarians, too. You gotta give them props. 

I've been a part of two other walks before, once in Austin in 2007, and then the next year in Dallas. However, last year I missed the walk, and this year I didn't think I was going to get to do it because I was teaching and usually the walks are in the afternoon. However, for some awesome and random reason, this walk was announced to start at 5:45 and my friends and I were already in the House of Blue finishing up eating. PERFECTION!

Bare feets!

THE WALK

Now, you should know, it'll be hard for me to write this up without sounding like a nutty fangirl because I just love them so much, but I will do my best. ONWARD!

Ashlie, Melissa, and I were waiting outside around 5:30 for the boys to come out to the crowd and get this show on the road. We were sure they would come from around the back on the right side, so of course as soon as we moved towards that side, they appeared from the other direction. Sneak attack! Anyways, each time I've been a part of the walk, they usually do a speech about what it all means, how awareness is key, and remind us to register so they know which charity we want our contribution to go to. As soon as Tay was done with his talk we began walking. Most of us were wearing shoes but a lot were bare foot, to help understand the experience of those who can't afford and have to live without things we take for granted. 

Zac and I... and a girl I don't know.

Every time I've walked, I've had a plan of which Hanson I want to get close to, if I had anything I wanted to say, etc... but every time it never works out and I have always just gone straight to Zac. He's always been my favorite (except a weird phase in 2004 when Underneath came out and I thought I was a Tay-girl, WTF) and regardless of whether or not I though I wanted to walk with Ike or Tay... I thought wrong. I ALWAYS want to walk with Zac. So I did. I have to say, this was the most fun on the walk I've had. I wasn't nervous to talk to Zac. I didn't put a lot of pressure on myself to ask him relevant questions. I just stuck with him and we had some fun conversations (at least I had fun, haha). Ashlie, Melissa, Zac, and I kind of laughed through most of the walk. I think by the end we had talked with him about the Mavs, Sun Chips, and sky-diving. Sky diving came up through talking about how Sun Chips are good for you... then how modern medicine can keep you alive for a century... and then onto how Ashlie's husband, Grant, wouldn't last that long because he'd want to jump out of a plane.... or something like that... HAH! GOOD TIMES. And random.

Me, Ashlie, and Melissa

It was cool to be around him and kind of treat him like a normal human being, because some of the fans don't do that. I think some of them just get flustered and don't know what to say and so it's just word vomit. (I understand, I've felt like that too, in the past, but I had to mega-filter myself.) I can't tell you how many times we witnessed his nervous laughter during the walk because some fan had just told him something awkward. I actually was standing with him when a girl came up to him and started telling him that her and her friends used to travel to Tulsa to stake out his house... OK! Crossing a line! I get it, we all wanted to do that. Shoot, I even tried to plan a trip to Tulsa just to be there and see if I could run into Tay at a Starbucks, but you don't TELL the guy that. You basically just said to him, "I am creepy and used to stalk you!" I think if you want him to feel gratitude or some sort of endearment to you, don't go that direction. Zac, however, was so polite that he just sped up and pretended not to hear so he didn't have to respond.

Taylor and Melissa

A HILARIOUS ASIDE: There was a baby at the show with his parents, maybe 8 months old. ADORABLE. (P.S. Wasn't his first show either.) He was happy the ENTIRE walk and speech and everything, but as soon as Tay noticed him on his way back into the venue, he came over to the baby to say hello and the baby FREAKED THE HECK OUT. It was the best thing ever and I secretly hope someone got it on video. That baby is NOT a Tay fan, hahah!!!

Overall, the walk was magical once again. Lots of people did it, much money was donated, and I got to have yet another wonderful experience chatting and strolling with Zac. Not to mention, I ended up asking him if they had decided anything about the walk in Austin (which was the next day) because I was thinking of driving down but I had to kind of know what was up because [blah blah uninteresting exposition], SOOOO he told me he'd have the info up on H.net by the end of the night so I could check when I got home. AND HE DID IT. I felt very special. Even though the Austin walk turned out to be at 6:45 tonight, and it's raining, and most everything today is working against me so I couldn't go. But STILL. Sweet stuff.  

THE SHOW

As for the show, this had to be one of the best Hanson concert experiences for me. Firstly, Ashlie, Mel, and I were LITERALLY closest we've ever been. I feel like I saw that every time, but it was FOR REAL this time. There were only two people in front of me, and if they wouldn't have minded awkward personal space, I could have reached out and touched the partition between the crowd and the stage. Secondly, this was, by far, the nicest audience in Hanson history. We made friends with everyone around us, and there was no pushing or bullying. AND I didn't feel cramped or claustrophobic once. Then, the openers didn't take 7 hours to finish up. It didn't feel like a horribly long time waiting between sets. Hanson actually came out before 10!

When they hit the stage, they opened with the coolest medley they've ever done. It was "Waiting for This" from the new album, but it had "Watch Over Me," "In the City," and "Rock and Roll Razorblade" in it! Then, they proceeded to play for 2 whole hours. It was non-stop. Pure amazingness. Some highlights for me were when they played Speechless. Not sure if I've personally heard it live before. Also, Ike totally ROCKED "Hand in Hand." Tay's solo was "Believe" and I think I understood the full meaning of that song for the first time during this performance. Then, in the slowest moment, some girl yelled "You're so hot, Taylor!" and the moment was slightly ruined... but it was still super beautiful.

"Give a Little" seriously left me all hot and bothered because Taylor was hard core flirting with the crowd. And I know this one might sound strange, but I was SUPER excited to hear "Voice in the Chorus" live. The reason for this is that early in the summer, when I had first bought the newest CD, "Shout it Out," Hanson had already announced their tour dates and Dallas wasn't one of them. I was pretty devastated. Then, listening to this song in my car one day, I felt the full force of my disappointment when I realized how cool "Voice in the Chorus" would sound live, and that I wasn't going to get to experience that. Obviously, they announced their 3rd leg and Dallas kicked it off, so it was a happy ending! And hearing that song WAS awesome live.

AFTER THE SHOW


The boys finished out, faked the ending, encored with the "Ghostbusters" theme song (because...Halloween was the night before), and then left the stage. The gals and I rushed (ok, so I rushed them) to the back of the venue so we could get pictures. We weren't sure if they would come out... when they would come out... but thankfully we at least knew where, as they had a line forming. It's important to know at this point that one of the things I was thinking of most all summer long was how I needed another picture with Zac. The last and only one I've ever gotten was in 2007 when I had my least favorite hair cut of all time. And... I just love Zac. Plus, last year at the 2009 concert, I missed the walk and couldn't stay after the show and therefore missed a chance to get a picture then. And the year before that in 2008... for whatever reason, Zac was politely declining pictures.

Therefore, at this point in the night, all I could think about was getting a picture with Zac. You could imagine the angel chorus I heard in my head when he emerged from the building, only to have it choked off by him saying: "Sorry guys. I'm getting sick. Goodnight!" FOILED AGAIN!!!! I was very very sad. However, in a few minutes time, Tay made his way through the crowd. He was signing and taking pictures with fans. As he got to me, a homeless man cut in front of me and asked him for some money. Somehow, he managed to very politely (while smiling) tell him this was not the time. It was kind of awesome. He took a picture with me and it was glorious. He skipped my friends and signed stuff for a little girl, so before he moved past Ash and Melissa completely, I asked if he'd mind posing with them. After we got that picture, he said to me "Would you like one? You could swap?" Poor thing was so tired he didn't realize he had already taken a pic with me! I told him thanks but I just got one... but I am thinking now I should have just gotten a 2nd one. HAH! It was super cute, and I made sure to let him know it wasn't that I thought I was too good for a picture with Tay Hanson.

Mel, Tay, and Ash!

Me and Taylor. Favorite pic of us. EVER.

 Then, very soon after, Ike came by and I got a great picture with him as well. Ashlie had never gotten a picture with Isaac before so that was really cool for her. And Melissa had never gotten a picture with any of them. The night, overall, was a success. It was so much fun, worth the money, the time, the anticipation, and only made me want them to come back ASAP. Like next week, please.

Ike and me!

Mel, Ike, and Ash! First for them both. :)

The quality of music, talent, performance, and fan interaction has only gone up and up and up with these guys. I am shocked when I really think about just how lucky and maybe a little spoiled we Hanson fans are that these guys put so much effort into us. They have live streaming events for those of us who can't be physically at events, they have the walks to incorporate us into their passions, they play shows that are extremely long and AWESOME, and then they come out after and take pictures and sign stuff. They don't have to do a lot of those things and I am so grateful to them for being that kind of band. They are genuine and sweet and each experience I have with them only make me love them more. I hope we never take them granted, Fansons.

You better believe I'll be here next year, doing the walk, seeing the show, and contemplating driving down after them to do it again the next day. Hah! I love you, boys. Never change.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! As a celebration of one of my favorite holidays ever, here are some pictures from my Halloween weekend with my friends and my hubby!


First, THE COSTUMES:

Justin went as Dexter!

I went as [SPOILER] dead Rita!
I even am wearing a towel to show that I just got out of the tub.
A little wrong?
Maybe... but I couldn't resist!

Yes, Justin and I dressed up like Dexter and Rita. I saw the Dexter costume while I was at the mall and could NOT pass it up! I called Justin immediately and asked if he'd by up for it, and he said yes. Unfortunately, we didn't even have plans for Halloween when I bought it, so we weren't sure what to do with it. Thankfully, the next day my friend Amanda sent an invite out about her last minute Halloween Party! Hoorah, a reason to dress up and put the Dex costume to good use. But that meant I had to come up with something to go with it. I know a lot of couples go as two different things, and that's cool, but I love doing counterpart costumes. SO... I came up with a very insensitive costume idea... sorry Rita fans, (I love her too!!!) but this one was too awesome to pass up!

This was my first time EVER doing a costume that was slightly scary. I usually like to go as something that is cute. Not something or someone that is either dead/dying/scary/threatening/boring. That last one is kind of a given, duh. So I had a hard time figuring out how I wanted to do my make up as I've never tried to make my self look dead. I've done dead eyes when I dressed as a vampire... but how did I do the rest? Thankfully, my friend, Terri, gave me some "dead lips" tips and I was on my way. Foundation over the mouth, powder, and then some blue eye-shadow. HELLO. Then I had fake blood to smear all over my arms and legs to look as though I've just gotten out of the bath. P.S. I DID have clothes on under my towel, guys, haha!

The costume party was SO fun! And we had a vast array of great costumes to dazzle us. Including the following:

Here's our beautiful hostess, Amanda!
(She's a ladybug, if you can't tell)

Here we have Snookie, Rita (me), a Chilean miner, a bee, a ladybug, and Liz Lemon from 30Rock.

Antics ensued, there were games and punch and a LOT of laughter. It was so special to laugh and be silly with these people. AND to introduce our significant others to each other. And to other friends. I hope it becomes an annual party, hint hint!

Here's a drink with a mustache.

Terri's antenna made a jump into her punch.

The mustache kept jumping from place to place all night.
P.S. This is Terri's husband, a bee-keeper. TOO CUTE RIGHT?

Oh! The tables have turned!

Happy Halloween! I'd love to see your costumes. Comment links to pictures!

Movie Review: Paranormal Activity 2

I was so psyched about this movie because I loved the first one. I know that usually horror movie sequels aren't that good, but I was freaked out enough by the trailer that I thought I'd give this one a try. So, me and my gals brought our courage to the movie theater tonight, opening night, to see what we were sure would a terrifying movie, hoping for a fun experience. We had a fun experience. But not so much a scary one.

Spoilers below.

 

This movie was NOT good. We were so irritated when we left, because it was such a let down, though we did have fun making fun of it. Haha. Mostly, this movie is a string of loud noises and cheap scares. The acting wasn't good, there wasn't a lot of time to get to know the characters, and therefore it was really hard to care about them. The only one I liked, besides Abby the dog, was the step-daughter. Plus, I thought all of the events dragged on and on... I was like... WHY do they keep cutting and cutting and cutting to a different camera? It seemed like it was all just for suspense, I guess, to make us jump with a random loud noise after waiting for so long. And then, once things started really getting going, I felt it then went much too fast. It was like small things kept happening to make it drag, but then as soon as something big happened it was the climax... There was no smooth progression like the first one did so well. Also... there was NO motivation for ANYONE to be filming. This family just carried a random hand-held around for no reason. In fact, there was one scene where the husband is arguing with his wife and filming at the same time. I was like... What man would want to tape a conversation like this? What family tapes EVERY conversation??? At least Micah had a reason to be carrying around a camera. They EXPLAINED that motivation.

Here's the run down of how this movie is linked to the first. Katie, the main character in the first has a sister who married an older man with a daughter and they just had a baby named Hunter. Throughout the movie the demon is after Hunter and we find out why later one... It's a really lame reason, just so you know. Katie shows up a few times in this one, as does Micah. And, in fact, Katie plays a pretty important part.


The problem with this movie is it tried too hard to incorporate the first one. It takes place a few months before Paranormal Activity occurred, and kind of completely undermines the premise for the first movie. It explains why the demon is after Katie's family (apparently some distant relative in the past made a deal with a demon to give the first son that is born to that family to it if they became rich or something dumb), it shifts the story of childhood traumas about the demon from being mostly Katie's to being mostly her sister's (who is the step-mom in this story), and then it straddles the events of the first one and ends after Micah is killed.... making the fear factor slow down a lot in between. Then, at the end, after Katie's sister is possessed, they decide the only way to get the demon to go away is to give it to someone else. And some site they were looking at (on a site probably named convenient-plot-devices.com) said it had to be a blood relative so they choose to give it to Katie... SURPRISE! And THAT is how the demon comes and starts messing with her in the first movie. And then it shows the stupid dad/husband burning the picture of Katie when she was a child as part of the demon-transfer ritual. Again, undermining the greatness of the first film. GAH! 

When they finally reveal that Katie's sister was actually going through all this paranormal stuff before she was I was thinking that eventually maybe the demon would be visiting both sisters at the same time... and I guessed that at the end something would happen to make the demon unsuccessful in taking Katie's sister and so he would use Katie to get the baby. But the whole random thing about the family consciously deciding to pass the demon to Katie was such a stupid way to get to the end. My idea was better, I feel. And of course at the end, after they have exorcised Katie's sister, it flashes to the night Micah was killed and Katie shows up to her sis's house covered in blood. She snaps brother-in-law's neck on the couch, which rocked since he's such a jerk the whole time, and then goes up stairs and kills her sister. Then, Katie leaves the room carrying Hunter, the baby, and we hear him laugh. Then there is a black screen for literally a minute before the credits start... WHY? Who knows... but the whole things was perplexing in one way or another.

I would say what totally ruined this movie completely is the fact that all of this happened because some stupid ancestor made a deal with a demon. What made the first movie so scary was that there WAS no reason. It was random. And HOW do you even meet a demon to make a deal with one? And how do demons have powers enough to make deals with souls....? DUMB.

The only good scene that actually really impressed me was when Katie's sister was down in the kitchen and there is all this boring waiting around. I expected a pot to fall or something like that, but instead every single cabinet, drawer, container, etc opens all at the same time in the entire kitchen. It was very surprising and something we hadn't seen in the other movie. Everything else that happened is something we had already seen versions of. Though, I will also say the scene where Katie's sister gets her legs knocked out from under her TWICE and dragged down the stairs into the basement (then the basement door slams quite frighteningly) was also pretty great.

Overall it was a big MEH. But we had fun making comments about it as we watched!