Hanson at Warehouse Live

I love Hanson.

Yes, that Hanson. I blame my little Beach Boys lovin' heart for getting addicted to their harmonies. And I love them so much, in fact, that Friday night marked the 27th time I've seen them live. And after 27 shows, you learn a thing or two - like even after all this time, it just wouldn't be the week of a Hanson show without some crazy story to tell.

If there's one thing that sticks about me with people, it's that I love Hanson. I tend to keep it under wraps until I can judge how a new person will react to this revelation, then divulge. So when a family friend messaged me on Facebook early last week, I thought she was just being nice and letting me know my boys would be in town like most people do when they see anything Hanson-related. Nope, turns out she was sharing with me that she'd come across a Facebook giveaway for tickets to their show Friday.


I put off buying tickets for this show because 1. I knew it wouldn't sell out - they have notoriously small crowds in Houston; and 2. Their tickets tend to be on the more expensive side compared to most shows I go to...and after 26 shows always paying full price, I may have been having a hard time swallowing yet another $40 show - esp. when it's not even for new music. (Call me a bad fan, but after you've stuck around for 14+ years, racked up double-digit shows in multiple states and pulled off half the stunts I have to make it to a show...then we can talk about good and bad fandom.)

So free tickets were looking pretty good. The best part? Houston's hockey team, the Houston Aeros, were the ones giving the tickets away. (I still don't quite get it...)

The Aeros had requested Hanson fans to post a video of themselves on their Facebook, singing "MMMBop" but with a twist - it had to include the Aeros in the lyrics somehow...something along the lines of "MMMBop, the Aeros rock!"

No one posted a video. And to avoid initial embarrassment, the Aeros sighed "Okay, just like this post and we'll pick someone."

70+ likes later, the contest switched back to the video contest. "If you REALLY want them, you're gonna have to sing for them!" the Aeros Facebook read.

Enter: The Good Groupie.

Let me preface the remainder of my story with this: I am shy. Sometimes painfully shy. Growing up, despite my love for Hanson, I never would have participated in any contests that forced me to act like a lunatic to win something. And I didn't really want to this time either...but since no one was posting, I figured I had a pretty decent shot at winning.

So I retooled the opening verse of "MMMBop" to be about hockey players and their lack of teeth:

You have 32 teeth in your mouth
But only one or two will last
You go through all the plays and assists
Then you get checked and they're gone so fast
Oh yeah, and they're gone so fast
Oh, so hold on to the teeth that you have
In the end they'll be the only ones there
When you get old and start losing your hair
Can you tell me who'll really care?
Can you tell me who'll really care? Oh yeah... 

Get MMMBopped in the mouth
Your teeth'll pop out, and then they'll rot
But that's okay, the Aeros ROCK!
They dooo, yeah yeah
Get MMMBopped in the mouth
Your teeth'll pop out, and then they'll rot
But that's okay, the Aeros ROCK!
They dooo, yeah yeah

Clever? I think so. Ridiculous? Absolutely. EmbarrassingifanyoneEVERwatcheditbecauseIfeltstupiddoingit? You betcha!

But guess who won? And after so many shows, it was lovely to go for free courtesy of the most random giveaway EVER.

Hanson during "The Story."

The evening itself was great. Sam and Katie, my long-time partners-in-crime when it comes to our boys, drove down from Oklahoma for the show/weekend. We attended a fan club members event called "The Story" which was supposed to be the story behind their second album released in 2000, "This Time Around." I was thinking album themes, stories behind songs, quirky stories about recording the album.

Instead it devolved into rehashing of record label politics, which long-time fans like us know inside and out at this point, and a Q&A session full of fans asking off-topic questions or things they could easily find in the liner notes. We were underwhelmed to say the least.

The show, however, was just a good as always. Hanson shows always bring me together with my very best friends, and at this point they're more about getting to do something exciting with those friends than about seeing they boys for the umpteenth time.

Friday night was a little extra special: it was the first Hanson show I'd been to with Tammi, who is responsible for starting the whole Hanson craze among my junior high friends, since 1998. And our very own Guest Groupie, Angela, called Friday night her first Hanson show ever. Watching her experience this band I love so much for the first time ever was the most magical part of the night.

Me & Isaac. Life = happy.

After the show we did something I haven't done in years: we hung out by the bus for photos. While I was disappointed I still didn't get a photo with Zac (my timing is just never right - goal for show #28, right?),  we did all manage to get photos with Isaac and Taylor. Sam and Katie were even nice enough to take a photo for a girl whose phone literally died as it was her turn with Taylor. And with our photos taken, ears filled and hearts satisfied, we trekked back to suburbia perhaps all feeling a little bit more like our early teenage selves.

And THAT'S the thing that keeps me coming back. I love that even after all these years, three boys from Oklahoma who had a really big hit single in 1997 with some really silly words can bring us all together in a way I know we'll never find with another band.

I wouldn't trade that feeling for the world.