16 - The Michigan Daily - Monday, August 3, 1998

INVU Petroit

Thousands of fans "mmm-
bopped" and "spiced up their
lives" last week at The Palace,
where Hanson and The Spice
Girls drove sold-out crowds wild.

anson's appearance at The Palace
last Tuesday was not merely a
concert. It wasn't even a major
event. When Issac, Taylor and Zachary
"mmm-bopped" onto stage, it was more
like a phenomenon.
My parents used
to tell me stories
about audi-
Beatles con-
certs back in
the '60s -
thousands of
young girls
screaming at
the tops of
their lungs,
security
dragging

hmy Barberfl Daily Arts Er
passed-out fans away from sho'vs,
legions of signs reading "I LOVE YOU
PAUL!"
While Hanson is a far cry fromn the
Beatles of the '90s, the stories my par-
ents told me became more and more
vivid with each shriek.
Tens of thousands of high-strung
teeny-boppers screamed so loud
before, after and even during
each song that it became diffi-
cult to hear the music.
And fans held up signs
like they were going out of
style. "I LOVE YOU
ZAC!" "WILL YOU
MARRY ME TAY?"
One sign even
read "HAN-
SONS ARE
} GODS TO
US!"
It would have
been impossible
for the quality of
any performance
to live up to what
fans seemed to

expect, but Hanson's music came sur-
prisingly close.
The band came out strong, opening
with the upbeat "Thinking of You." The
boys kept up the same tempo through-
out their electric set, complete with
Issac on guitar, Taylor on keyboards and
Zac on drums.
Instrumentally, Hanson was extremely
entertaining. At 17, 14 and I1, it was
amazing to see how well the guys
jammed together. They basically recreat-
ed their studio sound throughout the
show, and did so remarkably well.
It was surprising that the band never
faltered vocally, considering that puber-
ty has been changing the voice of
Taylor, who sings lead on most tracks.
Taylor was still able to hit high notes on
a number of songs. Changes were only
noticeable on a few tunes, such as "A
Minute Without You," which had to be
performed in a lower key to accommo-
date Taylor's altered voice.
After injecting the crowd with electric
jams, Hanson slowed down a bit with an
acoustic set. Sitting on comfortable
chairs with a homey backdrop behind

sac ansigens a emotional o
acoustic guitar.
them, the boys created a relaxe
phere, despite the unstoppable,
and screaming of fans.
The highlight of this set wo
You in Your Dreams," whic
Taylor and Zachary dedicated
deceased grandmother. Played b
ly and sincerely, the song pro
Hanson is more than a thoughtl
ble-gum pop group.
When the acoustic set ended,
take long for Hanson to return f
ahead with more adrenaline.
electric rock.
The band played a number c

must admit that I was skeptical about seeing
The Spice Girls live and in person. I'd been a
closet fan for a while, but just figured they
would come out among all the smoke and lights,
prance around in their outfits, suck, and I would
leave disillusioned.
The truth of the matter is, The Spice Girls put on
a very entertaining live performance. And their
singing didn't sound too bad, either.
That may have a lot to do with pre-recorded back-
ground vocals and the absence of Ginger Spice, but
I noticed a definite improvement in tonal
quality since the release of the band's
somewhat flat-noted "Two Become
One" from its premiere record, Spice.
On the evening of Sunday, July 23, 1

The Spice GirIs

entered The Palace of Auburn Hills and apparently
landed on Planet Spice.
I hadn't seen so much glitter eye shadow since
last Rush season. There was a definite toss-up
between the number of girls sporting the Sporty
Spice look (navel-revealing tank top and black
warm up pants with the stripes down the side) and
the Baby Spice/Sailor Moon pig-tail hairdo. Even
more disconcerting was the occasional Mommy
Spice. Perhaps I'm naive, but I was not prepared for
45-year-old women squeezed into hot pink mini
skirts and sequined tube tops.
The ruckus began before the
lights even went down. I had-
misjudged and left my ear-
plugs at home, soon to learn
the power of the piercing
screams of 100,000 11-
year-old girls. Forget heavy
metal guitar feedback!
Perched among the mobs of pre-
teens, their sheepish parents and
scads of obnoxious vendors pushing
green glow-sticks and $5 bags of cotton
candy, I tried to pay attention to the
show. s
Some things you probably never
cared to know about The Spice
Girls and their sold-out perfor-
mance:g
1) They have a real band. The l
Spice Band. Drummer, two guitar _
players. No kidding. The keyboard
player's name is Mr. Lover-Lover.
2) Spice Boys do exist, and despite

popular belief, they are not the Michigan Men's
Crew Team. These boys dance. They do flips. They
slide down poles and flex their big slick muscles.
The tour people must have picked these guys up
from the hottest clubs in England, because with their
tight silky black bell bottoms, shirtless vests and lit-
tle derby hats, the Spice Boys were seriously sassy.
3) Scary (Mel B.), Sporty (Mel C.), Baby
(Emma), and Posh (Victoria) are all much cuter in
real life. Take them off the lunch box and they just
glow. They were simply adorable!
They really pulled out all the stops for the
SpiceWorld American tour. There was a
definite space/future theme happen-
ing - the stage, six feet off the
ground, was festooned with
travelling, spherical light-
boards, dance platforms and r
twining, futuristic, art-
nouveau deco.
It resembled ax
giant space ship,
and appropri-
ately so. The
Girls came
out with a
booming introduc.
tion: "Spice, the
Final Frontier, and
the show began with
a souped up version
of "If You Can't
Dance" (they K
really could- F
n't; remembers

v me zacnary nanson sings background as
he plays lead drums. Not bad for 11.
d atmos- from the old days (yes, even Hanson hr
jumping old days), doing a superb job with oldi
such as "Summertime Blues" and "Gi
as "With me Some Lovin."'
h Issac, The covers were especially success
to their because they actually entertained the pa
)eautiful- ents in the crowd, who were clearly
ved that in attendance as a favor to their childre
ess, bub- One of the only disappointments
the night was unfortunately also the mo
it didn't highly anticipated part of the perfo
ull speed mance. "MMM-bop," the last son
-inspired Hanson played before the encore, w
played in a lower key for Taylor, an
f covers See HANSON, Page 1
high school dances when everyone would sort
flail around during "Brown Eyed Girl?" That's th
basic idea of Spice choreography).
Three giant video screens projected their eve
move, a portion of each screen respectfully dedica
ed to a sign language interpreter. Though the girl
*have been performing sans Ginger Spice, her spi
prevailed throughout the show (in video clips, coi
less merchandise and the 13-year-olds behind m
who relentlessly screamed "We want Geri!").
Following up with "Too Much," th
popular "Who Do You Think You Are?'
and the much-loved "Why Don't Yot
Step to Me?" the brunettes turned th
stage over to Baby Spice, who sang'
sweet version of the Supremes
"Where Did Our Love Go?'
Near the end of her solo, sh
brought a little boy of 8 or
on stage and graced him w
kiss. It did not go unnoticet
that this boy was wearing a L
of M hat.
The Girls gave us all the hits
from both albums, from a sal
safied "Spice Up your Life" to
a much-anticipated "Wannabe."
During a commercialized half
hour intermission, the vide(
screens advertised lots of ~
products, from razors to nail pUl
and those obnoxious little pore
cleansing nose strips. As if there
weren't enough promotions going
See SPICE, Page :1