Pop-rock trio Hanson took to the stage at Palladium Times Square on Oct. 17 for the second New York City show of their Underneath: Experience tour.
The band’s tour serves to showcase their Oct. 4 release of Underneath: Complete, a deluxe edition re-release of their 2003 studio album Underneath. Having played an acoustic set the evening prior, the band’s second concert honored the album in full electric force.
California-based rock band Phantom Planet opened the show, a collaboration that lead vocalist Alex Greenwald noted to be 25 years in the making. Their opening number, “Always On My Mind,” energized the crowd through its warm and lively acoustics, queuing all into a setlist full of well-loved hits.
Other highlights included the band’s renditions of “Lonely Day” and “Do The Panic.” Greenwall pointed out that the latter was one of multiple tracks in Phantom Planet’s discography that deal with themes of anxiety, taking the opportunity to shout out the importance of mental health.
Phantom Planet’s performance was dynamic, interacting and adapting to the audience’s energy. Dialogue between the musicians and fans brought the set to life: A crowd member’s request for the band to play “The Galleria” off of their compilation album Negatives was fulfilled by means of it being integrated into a mash-up, bleeding smoothly into “Anthem” from their setlist.
Rumbles of applause erupted as brothers and bandmates Isaac, Taylor and Zac Hanson crept onto the dark stage following Phantom Planet’s set. The three were accompanied by longtime onstage collaborators guitarist Dimitrius Collins and Andrew Perusi on bass.
The show quickly gained traction as the musicians jumped into their set, which consisted of spirited renditions from across their 11 studio albums. The musicians switched between their typical acoustics to include piano, drums and tambourine as accompaniments, the audience clapping along to the band’s high harmonies. Taylor Hanson’s call-and-response vocals with the crowd during “Waiting For This” exemplified the band’s always-moving approach to their set. The show’s rhythm was kept in breaks between songs filled by dialogue and a consistent, energetic drumbeat.
The more reserved moments of the concert consisted of soulful numbers like “Breaktown,” captivating audiences in equal measure. Zac Hanson stepped out from behind his drum kit to sing “Weird,” a song about the pressures of conformity. With the stage awash in pink lighting, the crowd’s volume lowered in focus as Hanson sang: “Even though we’re just two strangers on this runaway train / We’re both trying to find a place in the sun.”
To a similar theme, Taylor Hanson prefaced a song by searching the crowd for “those who like to roll the windows down and turn the music up” before the band kicked into the upbeat rolling tempo of “Penny & Me.” Its playful melody brought hands to the air as the crowd sang and waved along.
The band included a number of notable covers in their performance, from opening their set with a cover of Radiohead’s “Optimistic” to a rendition of Tears for Fears’ “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” that had the entire crowd singing along. Isaac Hanson’s leading vocals on a cover of Traffic’s “Feelin’ Alright?” and accompanying guitar riffs served to stylize and imbue the song with new life. Jumping between fan favorites of their own discography and classics from the intersection between the pop and rock genres served as a tactful homage to Hanson’s influences, as well as a demonstration of their ability to adapt their own personal sound.
Following rallying cheers from the crowd, both Hanson and Phantom Planet returned to the stage for an encore, playing a favorite from the former’s Underneath album. The two bands’ shared tone imbued “Lost Without Each Other” with additional layers of texture and spirit, rousing the audience in the concert’s final moments.
As the lights rose, the quantity and variety of Hanson T-shirts within the crowd became immediately visible –- a physical manifestation of the crowd’s love and loyalty from across eras. Hanson’s 32 years of artistry have won the attention of a fanbase that returns to experience their arsenal of songs live, time and time again –– the release of Underneath: Complete revitalizes favorites and reinforces this connection.
