Anyone that has ever been to a Hanson concert has some sort of story attached to that concert. The following is my account of the most awesome day of my life. Okay, I know I really sound like a teenybopper as I write this--getting all excited about making eye contact, and seeing their smiles. hehe :) It's a little lengthy, though, but I wanted to include every detail. Sorry, but I can't help it! If you'd like to share your account with me, E-mail me!.

I was really close, so I took a lot of good pictures. The only problem is I don't own a scanner. Whenever I get a chance to borrow one, I'll be sure to put up some pix as soon as I can.

Date: August 12, 2000
Destination: San Antonio, Tx
Location: Sea World
Mission: HANSON!!!

Okay my journey to the concert actually started the previous day. It was the first day of school, and right afterwards my parents and I took off on the 150 mile trek to San Antonio. The plan (according to my parents) for the trip would be to stay at an RV park that we love in San Antonio. It's walking distance to Sea World (not like we were actually gonna walk over). They planned to go to Sea World in the morning and see the sights--something we hadn't done in years--go back to the RV to rest, and then take off to the concert--or so they thought.

After a sleepless night due to excitement, we were ready to go--to McDonald's!! hehe. I was wearing my two-sided Hanson shirt, and a Hanson cap. I had a tote bag that never left my side. Wanna know what was in it? There were three things: first were the drawings I made for Hanson. I'm not so good at realistic art, but I have this style of abstract art where I'd write something in the middle of a strange shape and put weird little designs all over it. I made one for all the kids in the Hanson clan--from Isaac to Zoe, and one that simply said Hanson. The next thing in the tote bag was my huge sign. Usually when I go to concerts, I'm up in the nosebleed section. Planning for this I made a sign that was almost as tall as me and twice as wide. It said "Wanna see my 1,524 page Hanson scrapbook?" I guess I don't have to tell you what the third thing in the bag was--my scrapbook! All 1500+ pages were there.

There was a MickeyD's in between the RV park and Sea World where we planned to eat breakfast. Against my Mom's suggestion, I brought down my scrapbook. I had a feeling it would come in handy. Not even one minute after I got off the truck, a girl entering McDonald's yelled out at me "Hanson Rules!" My Mom told me to run over to her and her two friends. The four of us sat down together at a table while our parents fought the crowd to get our orders. We introduced ourselves, and they began looking through my scrapbook. They showed me their matching bandanas with the name of their fave bro on it. Breakfast came, but I was too excited to eat. Once we finished I said goodbye to my new friends, and we took off to the place of dreams--SEA WORLD!

We parked the truck, and my Dad saw no point in taking down the concert tickets. A gut premonition told me that he should bring them, but all the excitement in me kept me from speaking up. I mean c'mon, I was within a mile radius of HANSON!! Scrapbook in tow, my parents and I entered the park. That gut feeling came back, and I told them I wanted to go check out where the concert was. They said there'd be plenty of time for that, and we'd check it out before we'd go rest. Reluctantly I agreed.

We saw three shows: Symphony of the Sea, some sort of waterski competition, and of course Shamu. Finally I convinced my parents to take me to the site of the concert. Once we got to the other side of the park, I saw what my gut feeling had told me about earlier. A sign said that you needed to get a colored wristband to guarantee your place in line. I glanced up at my Dad who exchanged his keys for my scrapbook--the only few minutes I was separate from it. I sprinted out of the park (considering I HATE running) and to the truck for the tickets. By the time I made it back, we ended up getting yellow wristbands--the second color group. We were told numbers didn't matter, but I almost cried when I saw mine. It was 1358. That meant at least 1000 people would get in before me!

We got our wristbands and continued on towards the concert area. We had been informed that we could not line up until an hour before the show. When we got there, we saw a group of maybe 100 fans or more. They were sitting around in the shade singing Hanson songs, talking about Hanson, and doing basically everything Hanson! My parents were ready to go back to the RV when I begged them to let me stay. They told me to look for someone I kenw. I looked around for my friends from McDonald's friends, but they weren't there. God only knows how, but I managed to convince my parents to let me stay!

I'm usually very shy, so I didn't wanna just go up to someone and start talking or sit in on someone's Hanson conversation. I sat found a nice shady spot under a tree. I still had my trusty scrapbook. I took out a section of it and began flipping through. I had seen the pages millions of times, so I pretty much knew them by heart. Within 5-10 minutes, two girls came up to me. They introduced them selves as Tori and Erica. I showed them my scrapbook, and the three of us instantly bonded--with a mutual love for Hanson.

One really cool thing that happened was that we got to see the whole Hanson clan. Diana was talking Jessica, Avery, Macky, and Zoe to go see the dolphins. They all looked so sweet huddled around Diana. Several people went up to Diana. According to what they told me, she was the sweetest lady. They gave her gifts for her sons, and shook her hand. My mom overheard a conversation she had with someone who wanted to take a picture of her and her kids. "We're not the stars of the show," Diana answered, "My sons are." That person did respect what she said, and didn't take the picture. However, a bunch of people still did. That made me feel kinda bad for them. As much as I wanted their picture, without even having heard that conversation, I knew it'd be better not to take it.

One of the girls I talked to said that she gave Diana something for Hanson. I had my pictures in my bag. I wanted to give them to her when she returned. I searched for a pen and wrote my name and addies on the back of one of the drawings. I didn't get a chance to give it to her, but I did manage to throw them on stage during the show. I don't know if they ever got them. Stupid me, I threw them on during the accoustic set. They weren't anywhere near where I threw the drawings. Hopefully they did find them.

The time out there waiting for the concert was simply awesome. More and more Hanson fans started to gather together. Eventually we could hear songs coming from the concert area--Hanson was rehearsing! We recognized songs like "Man From Milwaukee" which we all sang together. I stood where I could see one corner of the stage, which was pretty much all you could see from where we had situated ourselves. I saw Isaac come to that part of the stage. I whispered to my new friends that I saw him. Pretty soon other people spotted him and started screaming out. I couldn't believe that I could see him that close. He was a little distance away, but compared to how far I'd been at previous concerts I felt things couldn't get better than this. Eventually each Hanson came to that part of the stage at one time or another. They'd go about their business, hear us screaming, and then pause to wave at us. I thought nothing could top this moment.

Eventually the moment of truth came--it was time to line up. At first we had been told all blue wristbands would line up first, followed by yellow (me). I had a thick blue bracelet which I hoped I could use to fool the security. Erica and Tori both had blue ones, so I told them to try to save me a spot if at all possible inside the venue. The security began calling out wristband numbers for people to line up by 100's. I was devastated. 1300 people would line up in front of me! :( However, my Mom came to my rescue! It turns out I wasn't the only one who had made new friends. My parents had been talking to a lady who was at the concert with her daughters. She didn't wanna sit up close, so she traded wristbands with me. I was sooo exstatic. Now there was only one problem left--her number had come off. My mom took me to the line which was up to numbers 501-600. She told them that I couldn't see my number, so they just put me in line there. A few minutes later, she told me that she found the lady's daughters and their numbers were in the 800's. I told her not to say anything cause I got a better spot. :)

Eventually, it was time to open up the gates. As people were walking to get in, I started to walk really really fast. I must've passed at least 50 people. I figured that if they were checking numbers at the gate, I'd just show them that mine was illegible. Turns out they didn't really care. I got in and I saw the stage a little ways ahead of me. As I ran to the stage, I ignored security telling me to walk. I got to the stage and there was probably about 20 or 30 yards between me and the stage. I saw Zac's drum set, a microphone where Isaac would be, and Taylor's piano. The piano!!!! The piano Tay would be using. I love Taylor more than anyone or anything. I could actually see it lifesize. This was more than I could have ever dreamed possible--or so I thought!

The wait for the concert was absolute chaos. There was still an hour to go. People were pushing and shoving trying to get closer to the stage. The back of the crowd pushed forward. The front of the crowd pushed backward. I was scared for my life. Here I was, not knowing anybody in the middle of hundreds of people. As I clutched my scrapbook, stories of concert tragedies raced through my head. The most vivid was about the girl that was crushed at a David Cassidy concert. I've heard that story God only knows how many times. I also recalled more recent stories of similar accidents. I was praying the whole time.

As I stood in the crowd, I was in awe at what was happening around me. People would do anything to get closer to the stage. I heard several people say that they had to get through to find a lost sister, friend, cousin--whatever. They would then be followed by an entorage of about a dozen friends. A saw a short elderly lady who didn't even reach my shoulder. She had her arms around a boy who barely even reached her shoulder. She cussed out some girls wearing yellow wristbands who were trying to get through. I glanced down at my wrist and thanked God for having provided me with a blue one--which was falling off. In the midst of all the pushing and shoving, I managed to get closer to the stage. As people would push, I'd see small openings in front of me. I'd turn myself to fit through there as people would push me in that direction. After a while I couldn't believe how far I had traveled. There was only one person ahead of me before the barracade that was about a yard from the stage!

With still 45 minutes until the show would start, hell was breaking loose. In order to calm the crowd, the security made us all sit down on the floor. This would push back the crowd a little ways. Those who could not find space to sit were simply taken out of the crowd and sent to the back. This was a pretty good idea, except we were sitting on top of each other. I could only fit my legs if I folded them under me, so they fell asleep within a few minutes. I could sit straight. If I leaned back on my arm, it too fell asleep. If I went the other way, I'd be squishing some girls' legs. Eventually everyone started leaning up on each other, so it wasn't that big of a problem, even though I think I was squishing someone's foot the whole time.

There was one advantage to sitting down. I could see under the stage hehe :) Okay, that doesn't sound like much, but I could see across the bottom, and guess what I saw? Yeah that's right, I saw Hanson on the other end. They were talking to some people and walking around getting ready.

Finally the concert started. Everyone jumped up in a frenzy. Honesty, I don't remember every single song that was played, or what order they were in. You could ask me if they played a certain song, and even right after the concert I wouldnt've been able to tell you. It's not that the concert was forgetable--quite the opposite actually. I can remember details like what angle Tay was in front of me, how much light was left during certain events, the exact outfits the guys had on. I could even remember some of the people I saw (without even having talked to them) if I would see them walking down the street somewhere, but I can't remember the complete setlist!!! AURGH!! Oh well, back to the story...

The concert was just awesome. The guys played as awesome as they ever have. They had the crowd going--almost a little bit too much, though. The show had to be stopped three times in order to try to controll the crowd. During every song, there were people that had to be taken out of the crowd that couldn't breathe or something.

I have a lot of good memories, and some bad ones too about the show. I'll start with the bad ones so that I can leave ya'll on a good note :) During the show, like any other crazed fan, I was jumping up in down with my hands in the air. Some girls that were in front of me (who weren't nice at all throughout the whole show) kept on smacking me to get me to put my hands down. I wasn't even blocking their view! Okay, you're probably saying that it might've been accidental. If it was accidental, would they be slapping me really hard on my arms and head and yelling at me? hmm... You tell me. Okay, I just couldn't control myself. I smacked one girl really hard in the head. It didn't do much good, but I did feel a bit better hehe. However, I don't recommend you try that.

Another problem that I had was my sign. I'd hold up my little one that said Taylor, but the sign about my scrapbook was way too huge. Like I mentioned before, I never even dreamed I'd be that close. I made a huge sign so that it could be seen across the lawn. After a while, I got the idea to hang it over the barricade. The only problem was that those two girls were in front of me. I asked if they'd let me put my arm through so that I could hold it up with one hand. First, they offered to hold it for me. I didn't want them to take the credit for the sign, so I managed the squeeze my arm between them. They "tried" to help me hold it up, but they ended up ripping it. :(

You know how during the show, the guys like to spray the crowd with water either from their bottles or a squirt gun? Well, as always, the guys were doing that. I got soaked by all of them--especially by Taylor. He just dumped a whole bottle on me, the two girls, and a few other people around us. I mean dumped it--opened it up and held it upside down over our heads. Then he threw the bottle at us. It bounced off my hand and into the barracaded area. Frantically, I squeezed my leg between the two girls and tried to kick the bottle towards me. It was not an easy task since the girls were intentionally trying to push my leg out of the way. It was kinda working until a security guard saw me. He asked if I wanted to get out. I told him I just wanted the bottle. He put it up on the stage and said I couldn't have it. I asked a guard for it later who refused to give it to me. Another guard eventually gave it to some other lucky girl in the crowd.

Okay, the ultimate moment of heartbreak before I say all the awesome stuff that happened during the show. One of the two encore songs was "In the City". THis I remembered because it's my favorite on TTA. During the first verse, Taylor ran through the barricaded area shaking hands as he went by. I tried to put my arm between the two girls as he ran by. As expected, they were pushing me and elbowing me. I don't remember, but I probably had some bruises from them. By the time I got my arm through, Tay was already back up on the stage :(

Alright, enough of the bad news. Ya'll probably wanna know some of the awesome stuff the happened. Well the first one, I already mentioned--getting soaked by Hanson. At some point, each of them got me wet. Zac with his water gun, Ike with his gun and water bottle, and a lot of water from several of Tay's water bottles. THink that's awesome? It gets better!

Having been to several concerts, I picked up a few secrets for getting noticed. One is, that if you wanna scream out a specific message, wait until the crowd gets quiet. Tay was at his piano starting a song. (I think it was "A Song to Sing" or "Love Song". One of those ballads with a lot of piano in the begining. It may even have been "With You In Your Dreams". Just shows how much I remember :) ). Anyways, the crowd was about as quiet as they'd ever get, so that was my chance. I rememberd at an N Sync concert, my friend screamed out "I Love Lance" when it was quiet, and he started laughing, which made her believe he heard her. As the crowd wasn't screaming too loud, and neither of the guys started singing the verses, I screamed out "TAYLOR, I LOVE YOU!!!!" Much to my surprise, I saw the sweetest, cutest smile come on his face. Did he really hear me? I was excited, but then I thought, he might not have. The girl next to me turned and sounded hyper as she said, "Oh my God, he heard you!! Look, he's smiling!" Okay, I guess he did hear me. :)

You know how during the beginning of "If Only", Taylor usually runs around playing the harmonica? Well he ran over to Ike's side of the stage, while Isaac ran to my side. He was jamming out looking into the crowd. I was jumping up and down hands in the air. I was raising my hands making the sign for "I love You". Okay, I know this sounds totally crazy, but I swear it really happened. Ike was on the edge of the stage, and being as close as I was, we were able to make eye contact. As soon as we did, he smiled at me. I was just in shock that he actually smiled at me. He had to have smiled at me because I know we made eye contact. hehe :)

During one of the last songs, Taylor came and stood directly in front of me (considering that the two girls, the baracade, and about a yard of space was between us). I was jumping up and down again making the 'I Love You' sign. I swear, we too, made eye contact. He smiled, and then blew a kiss in my direction! The two girls were jumping up and down hugging and screaming thinking it was for them. People in back of me and beside me probably thought the same thing. It could've been for a number of us, but LET ME HAVE MY MOMENT!!! hehe sorry. I truthfully don't know if it was for me, but I did make eye contact with him before he did it.

AFter the show, I met my dad at the tshirt stand. I blew about 80 bucks on two shirts, a poster, a program, and a keychain. If I had more money Id've gotten more, but I had to save my summer job money for spring break. Otherwise, I swear I would have bought one of everything in the stand. I got as much as I could, and returned home flat broke. Boy, was it worth it. My parents were telling me how worried they were as I told them how awesome it was. The biggest downside to the whole concert was that now I can only go to concerts that are indoors and have seats. It was near 100 degrees out there that day. My Mom also got freaked cause she saw the little makeshift "hospital" where they kept all the people that were pulled out of the crowd. So, hopefully next time Hanson comes down they'll be big enough to play in the Alamodome (where I usually go to concerts) or some better venue. Overall, the concert was awesome, and I'd kill to be able to do it again!

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