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Whose: SeattleP-I.com
By: BILL WHITE
A pubescent Pandora's box was opened Sunday night at the Moore Theater when teen idols Hanson conjured an evening of primal fantasy for its sold-out crowd of fans.
Unlike the prefab boy puppets of 'N Sync and Backstreet Boys, the Hanson brothers are the real thing. They don't wear trendy jewelry, and their show is free of high-tech choreography. These are not buzz-cut, bubblegum, cut-out dolls but real, living, cute guys with long hair who live
for the 1970s ethic of rock 'n' roll.
The backbone of the two-hour show was provided by drummer Zac, 14. He played energetically and without the crutch of backing tapes.
Although the Tulsa trio was augmented by a bass player and seconds on guitar and keyboards, the extra musicians were not used to cover up the musical shortcomings of the group but simply to thicken the sound.
On keyboards and vocals, Taylor, 16, was the focal point. He could well be the first honest-to-goodness teenage Adonis since David Cassidy. The audience was in sync with his every movement. When he swayed, they swayed. When he bounced, they bounced.
At one point, Taylor counted down a "1 . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . Scream!" As if the fans needed the encouragement. They had been screaming for an hour before the band took the stage. The screaming accompanying the dimming of the house lights may have been one of the loudest noises the Moore has ever known. In fact, some judged this Seattle's screamingest show since The Beatles played the Coliseum in 1964.
At first the music seemed secondary to the roar of the crowd. The release of tension brought on by the band's appearance was overwhelming. The audience was composed primarily of girls ages 8 to 18 -- many accompanied by parents -- holding placards, wearing handmade T-shirts and sporting band members' names on their faces and limbs.
In addition to the favorites songs from their 1997 debut album, "Middle of Nowhere," the show featured rough-and-ready versions of newer pieces from the heavily produced "This Time Around."
The new material evokes the spirit of '70s rock 'n' roll. The title song is based on a piano part taken from Rod Stewart's "Handbags and Gladrags," and "A Song to Sing" might be mistaken for Aerosmith covering a Billy Joel power ballad.
Hanson's longer second set built to a by-the-numbers rendition of the group's first hit, "MMMBop." But the real climax was a new song, "In the City," built on a variation of the classic Rolling Stones "Bitch" riff.More Reviews Are On The Way...Got one? Send it here: