day 28- and hanson

Today did not include any running. But it did include one of the most ridiculous 16-hour periods of my life, and thats because I went to a Hanson concert today.
A little background: when I was 12, I was obsessed with Hanson. Like, buy ever tigerbeat, plaster my walls in posters that I kissed goodnight daily, recorded and still have every t.v. appearance ever obsessed. And then as Mmmbop died out, so did my over the top love. Little did I know that a flicker of that flame remained, to be rekindled by my best friend and music mentor Kathryn Waller, during my second year of college when I found out they were still making music, and phenomenal music at that. So from that point on, I considered myself a fan. Fast-forward a few years, and a girl named Katie from Massachusetts comes back from a year in Japan and prays that God would give her a new friend because her old ones have changed. And as icing on the cake, God, a friend who likes Hanson would be nice. Enter: me. I mean, what are the chances of two Hanson lovers meeting at a not-Hanson-based event? Slim to none, really. So we plan on going to the concert on October 19th.
Well. I thought I was a fan until I met Katie, with her daily hanson.net updates, and her having every c.d. ever made (Japanese AND American versions, because each has 2 unique songs). Then I still thought I was just a fan on a lesser scale, until today. I am not a true Hanson fan. I like, even love their music, but a fan? Ha. Not a chance. Because Hanson fans don't have normal jobs because they have to be able to take days at a time off in the middle of the week to see a show 3 states away. And they don't have lives of their own, because they are so busy following the lives of the Hanson brothers via blogs, fan sites, and other stalking-enabling media that who would have time anyway? And REAL fans don't even play cards with normal playing cards, because they have ones with caricatures of the brothers and somebody named "puff broccoli" as the joker, and it doesn't matter if they cost $15 dollars a pack because the cards enable them to play games with other real fans and have inside jokes and fight over who Taylor really belongs to. Oh. My. Goodness.
So here is how the day went: I thought I was going to get to the show at like, 5, because doors opened at 6 and the show started at 7. Too bad I was 12 hours late on that estimate. Katie said we should get there by 8 to line up because the venue was standing room only, first come first serve, and as long as we were there early, the fans have a whole number system they all honor. So I showed up about 8:30 and Katie was running late, and there were several cars parked out front, but no line. So I knocked on the window of one of the cars, and the girl very matter-of-factly told me that someone had screwed everyone over by calling the venue management, who said we couldnt sleep outside (how dare they) or even line up before 10, and then it was a mad dash. Fine. I can do mad dashes. So Katie and I mad-dashed at 10 am, and we were numbers 10 and 11 in line, and that was fine with me. So then the sitting outside began, and it was FREEZING and windy and almost miserable. But I got myself some Dunkin hot chocolate, and wrapped up in a blanket, and parked it right in front of a cute security guard who thought we were nuts. But I'm not nuts. Not in a million years compared to REAL Hanson fans.
Katie and I were sandwiched in line between a few interesting characters. In front of us, Kimono girl, named such because she wore a Kimono (well, it was short, so like a half-Kimono) that was handmade and had the words "Take The Walk" (explained later) and other Hanson references painted onto it. This was paired with a pair of khaki cargos, and I later found out that this was not her sole Kimono, but that she hand-makes them to hopefully sell one day, but specially embellishes them for Hanson concerts. Oh my. So I didn't just conclude that she was crazy based on her outfit, but that should give you a clue into some of the behaviors she displayed throughout the day, including getting "really angry, because she just wants to have a decent conversation with Zac Hanson but at every concert, everyone always crowds around and hogs them and wants pictures." Duh.
Behind Katie and I were a couple of gems who had just befriended each other during the previous night's Hanson concert. The two women met online on the Hanson MySpace page that one of them keeps up semi-professionally, as she had offered her home to anyone who was coming in for the concert either night. Now, both were either married or engaged, both had 2 younger children, and both were over the age of 26. And yet, both spent 2 days camped out to attend Hanson shows, passing the time by talking about how they just wanted a picture with Taylor to complete the trio and their lives, and about how their significant others hated Hanson but screw them, and playing the card games in the afformentioned manner. Not only that, but they discussed how they didn't have money for food for the day, or to buy groceries for their kids, but they have gone to every Hanson show (at $40 each) within a 200 mile radius for who knows how many years, and last night they spent $80 on t-shirts and books that they didn't have but desperately wanted. What?!
So at 2 O'Clock, Hanson came out to do this thing they do at every concert, called The Walk, which is also the title of their cd. They have several charities going in Africa (I'm not sure which part), including digging wells, donating shoes, schools and cell phones, and donating to aids research, so that is the theme of the tour. So they come out and have all the fans walk a mile barefoot and then for every participant, they donate a dollar of their own money to one of their charities that the participant selects, and its all fine and dandy. I think its a great idea and raises awareness. The real fans also like it because its a chance to walk and talk with the guys, and by walk and talk with, I mean herd around and try to convince them to take pictures with them. At the end of the walk, I heard an exchange between Zac and a girl, and it went like this:
Girl: Zac! Take a picture with me!
Zac: Have you registered that you finished the walk yet?
Girl: No
Z: I'm only doing pictures with people who have done that first.
G: Well I am not doing it until I get a picture.
Z: You're a cold hearted person (Good for him!)
G: (blah blah blah something I didnt hear...)

So moments later the girl turns to her friends and says "did you hear that? I just got in a fight with Zac Hanson! I can't believe he called me cold-hearted. We arent on speaking terms anymore." Oh. Ok. Well I'm sure he will delete you from his speed dial then, since you aren't on speaking terms any longer. And the day was filled with people talking about the Hanson brothers as if they were close and personal friends. Ex: "Oh, Taylor would LOVE the jacket that that guy has on over there." "They won't sing 'I Will Come To You' tonight, you know thats a very personal song for them and they don't sing it publicly." And my personal favorite, "Zac is in a MUCH better mood today than he was yesterday. You know, he and his wife were fighting."
I know I sound critical, and Im not being mean. I'm just saying, these people are over the top. I saw multiple people crying today because they got a picture with one of them. Or a song they sang touched them deeply (mmmbop? really?). Or because Taylor didn't say "Thank you" when a girl returned something he dropped on the walk, which officially made him a 'dick head', but she loved him anyways. A girl reported that the other night, when they did a cover of a Police song, she would have cried, but she had an orgasm, induced by Taylors angelic voice, instead. Um...ok.
Now, not all Hanson fans are like this, but the REAL ones (obviously not me, and Katie is on the outskirts due to her normallcy) have their own subculture, which includes having fan organizers, a pre-organized list of the line-order for fans who are camping out but might get kicked out, and memorization of the entire lives of each Hanson family member, including wives and new children. And knowing every word to every song Hanson has EVER sung, including covers and even unreleased singles. And wearing a lot of merchandise, which has to include something bought, but can also include something homemade, like a purse or t-shirt or kimono. Also, they all know each other and are familiar with their concert habits, because the girl beside me at the show informed me that the spot I was in was good, because the pushers were on the other side of the stage, and there was just one kinda nutso fan named carly who would stand next to us in front of the piano like she always does, but she behaved last night. It's just bizarre.

The great news is that the concert was really good, and I enjoyed it immensely and my efforts to wake up early and sit in the cold for hours and hours paid off, because we were in the very front row, and I was right in front of Taylor. The music was good, and (I know they are married, but...)they are all quite attractive now. Even Isaac, who I wrote off as hopelessly unfortunate looking 10 years back. Zac looks a lot like Johnny Depp. Taylor makes good eye contact while singing, and I almost peed my pants a few times because his gaze met mine and was intense. (Note: this is NOT my claim that he paid any special attention to me. That would be crazy.) The amount of emphasis they put on the need of Africans (despite the generality of it) and the big impact of our little actions was great. And again, the music is just really quality. Give it a chance, I promise you won't be disapointed. I will put some pictures up in a little bit.

The only drawback to the night, besides losing a days worth of sleep and productivity? I missed game 7 of the ALCS, and therefore was not wearing my Red Sox hat, and that's why they lost tonight. Seriously, the only lose when I don't wear my hat. So I am sorry Red Sox Nation, I really am. And when the loss settles in, I will shed a little tear.