The next morning I woke up at 4:30am to get ready and go downtown. We wanted to get there early so that we had a good chance of meeting them. When we arrived, there was already a line which wasn't too long. While me and my friend stayed in line, my other two friends went to buy breakfast at a nearby Second Cup. Their appearance was schedualed to be at 12:30pm. For a while, the line wasn't getting dramatically long, until about 9:00am when suddenly people started coming out of nowhere. Then a truck pulled up and workers started taking the instruments out and placing them on the mini stage in HMV. People started getting excited and pushing to get closer to the front, to get in. Then an employee of HMV came out and told us to start a line on the other side of the store. Me and my friends got seperated because so many people tried to get closer to the door. Everyone was pushing and squishing against each other. The employees and some parents who were there for their children, tried to organize but no one listened. We were chanting " HANSON, HANSON" and singing their songs. Some people who had posters with them, waved them in the air and the screaming got louder. The man in the front said if we didn't co-operate and push back, then the show would be cancelled. But no matter how many times he said that, people kept pushing forward. Whenever someone would step back as the guy had told us to do, someone else would take their place and move forward. Everyone was getting tired of waiting around outside when we could have gone inside, including me. I was so tired, I didn't know what I was telling people, I was very mad.
Finally at 10:30am, they started letting us in, one at a time. I, luckily got let in at the beginning and made my way down the stairs. Although I was near the stage, I wasn't able to see much. We were very frustrated because we were there before most of the people in front of us. More and more people starting coming down those stairs and the little space that was left, had quickly filled up. They let people stay on the stairs, then all around the banister at the top of the stairs. During this time, me and my friends started sqeezing ourselves to the front near the stage. We finally made our way to the front, right behind the barriers held up by the bodyguards. We talked to the bodyguard in front of us and he was very nice but the other security guards kept insisting that everyone move back to allow more space in the front. We couldn't understand why they kept telling us to move back. They said it was for safety purposes but I didn't understand how that could be, if people were getting claustorphobic. Many people had already started fainting even before the show started because they couldn't breath and so, some ambulances showed up. Then again, everybody started chanting; HANSON, HANSON!!! They must have been late because the employee was trying to pass the time by talking to us and having a little contest to see who can scream the loudest. He divided us into three sections and my section won. Also, there was a tv program there called "Flash" who interviewed some Hanson fans. The guy asked us who we liked the best and he asked the girl right next to me, a question and they put it on tv, so there I am again, on tv. Another man walked around in front of the audience with a small camera in his hands amd said to wave because this was for Hanson, (no, it was'nt Walker Hanson but someone taping it for them).
Finally the time had arrived for Hanson to come out, so the host announced, " here's Isaac, Taylor and Zac.........HANSON!!!" The door to the side of the stage opened and someone peered out, (probably to see how many people there were) and then out they ran. The audience went crazy and even though I tried to move, I couldn't because I was so squished. I was able to jump up and down a bit but everyone behind me was taking pictures. I thought, I'd rather Hanson see my face then some flash in their eyes so I neglected to bring along my camera. (Even though I regret it now!) At first they talked to the host but I don't really remember what they said, something about it being cool so many people showed up for one show and that it was "awesome" . Taylor asked everyone how they were doing and then the host asked Zac how it felt seeing so many people squished. Zac said " I don't know how they can stay squished like sardines." :-) They sang " Man from Milwalkee", " Madaleine " and " Mmmbop " once again. During these songs, I didn't go crazy because I knew they would appreciate us singing along and getting into the music, rather then just screaming. I stayed there all calm and listened to them while everyone else went balistic. I actually made eyecontact with them, though mostly Taylor. Whenever that happened, I just smiled and he smiled back and so he continued singing. Did you guys ever notice how good they look when they sing and smile at the same time??? I was lucky because I was right in the front center of the audience, so I got the best view. Some people were throwing stuffed animals at them and Zac went to pick them all up. After about an hour, the show was over and they left. As everyone was leaving, they gave away some Hanson pictures which were signed and everyone got at least one. Actually, I have several. I noticed many girls crying although I didn't. While we were outside, some people who had gone to that same show said they saw Hanson getting into their van and waving at all the people who saw them.
Afterwards, me and my friends decided to go to Burger King. We were sitting at the table when we recognized Hanson's bodyguards eating there also. All of us were too embaresed to go talk to them, even though they recognized us from the show. As we were leaving, my friend and her sister saw one of Hanson's bodyguards on the phone in the little hallway. While we walked out, she and her sister pretended to tie their shoes so that they could listen in on the conversation. Although it seemed noisy, it payed off cause after the guy got off the phone, he told my friend's sister and her friend that he just got off the phone with Hanson's manager. He said that they were just leaving very soon because they had to go do another appearance somewhere else. He also told them that they were very nice boys who were very down to earth and funny, and they'd be back soon. My friend's sister and her friend came running out of Burger King, screaming in the middle of downtown. They almost got run over by a car cause they wanted to tell us what just happened. We decided to leave and go home, so on the way to the subway, we ran into again, Hanson's bodyguards. They were very nice and held the door open for us. One of my friends asked them if they were Hanson's bodyguard, and although they didn't want to get us excited, they reluctantly said yes. They mentionned they would be talking to Hanson so we asked them to tell them we love them and to come back soon. They agreed and then we left.
Unfortunatly, that was the end of our Hanson experience and that was all we talked about on the way home. We'd met Hanson two days in a row and we were very happy to have had that opportunity. If you were there on any of those days and experinced that same opportunity, or if you have had a Hanson encounter and want to tell me, I'd be happy to hear it, e-mail me at mbongiorno@sprint.ca Thanks.