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"Another Day with Hanson"
The Aussies seem to have similar tastes in doughnuts, the one exception being the MAMMOTH-sized cream-filled doughnut of death, as I will politely refer to it. Don't get me wrong, our food experience up until now has been quite pleasant, we have just had to learn to Americanize our food orders. For instance, it is commonplace 'down under' to serve a hamburger with a heaping slice of raw beet and a fried egg, not to mention lots of mayo. The junk food is quite different as well. Pictures yourself sitting down to a nice plate of roasted chicken flavored or prawn cocktail flavored potato chips, or perhaps a nice snack of vegemite on a cracker. Though some people in our travelling party are vegemite converts I think it is…well…umm…I'm still not quite sure…let's just say it is an acquired taste.
Our van driver bolts towards the venue and we arrive on time. The weather is fantastic, though a bit warm, but hey that's better than rain. An extremely rowdy crowd of about 8,000 has already begun to chant "HANSON, HANSON" as the guys prepare to take the stage. This is their first big performance since "The Albertane Tour" but there seem to be no nerves rather excitement for finally getting to do what they truly love, playing live. They take the stage and get a great response. The roar from the crowd is awesome as the guys start their set. (Set list: Runaway Run, You Never Know, If Only, Dying to be Alive, Wish That I Was There, This Time Around, Mmmbop, In the City.) The crowd responds great to all the music, particularly 'If Only', which is the single in Australia, and the finale, 'In The City'. The raucous crowd would not settle for anything less than an encore so Hanson fired the band back up and performed 'Gimme Some Lovin'. The guys finish the song, thank the audience for their response and helping out the charity, take a bow then leave the stage.
We watched a little MTV, lawnbowling and Australian Rules Football (for those of you who aren't familiar with Aussie Rules it looks like one of the toughest games in the world. Imagine U.S. Football without the pads…and then some).
Some fans have gathered in front of the hotel and even though it is the end of a long day and the guys are exhausted they take the time to sign several autographs and take a few pictures. They thank everyone for coming and tell them that they looked forward to seeing them at a concert when Hanson comes back on tour.
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Q: How do the Aussie fans compare to your first visit?
Q: What was the highlight of Taylor's birthday with Ugly Phil in Sydney?
Q: What's your favourite place in Australia?
Q: If your record company paid for you to record an album on an Aussie beach, which one of you would be the first to get homesick?
After the Titanic ride at Fox studios:
(exerts taken from MOE #8 - By Ashley Greyson (we think!))
Isaac: They're pretty much…crazy.
Taylor: They're awesome. It's a really cool experience to be coming back here, but it's also kinda weird because we're seeing a lot of the same people. In a weird way it's kinda like seeing old friends.
Taylor: Well did you see that cake?!
Isaac: Oh my gosh, that was insane.
Taylor: The highlight was actually walking up there and having no microphone. We couldn't talk to anybody. We all just got up there ready to cut the cake and we're like, er…there's no mic!
Taylor: We've been to…well, I don't know if I should be telling you this, but I'm sure everyone knows about it anyway. The two times we've been here we take the first day off and go to Palm beach (in NSW). The first thing we do is go there because there's hardly anyone around and it's just a nice way to relax after a long flight.
Isaac: The truth of the matter is that we haven't had much free time during both trips to Australia. When we come here it's always very hectic.
Taylor: Probably Ike. Ike's just very homey.
Zac: Ike's always the first to miss home.
Taylor: I have to say though, if anyone complained about being stranded on an Australian beach you'd have to smack them over the head.
Q: And who'd be the most distracted?
Taylor: Zac would be out surfing as much as possible.
Isaac: Actually Tay, you would definitely be second up. Taylor is one of those people that wanders off into his own world and is easily distracted, especially on a beach!
Taylor: If that's dying, I wanna die again. Dying is cool. But personally, I prefer roller-coasters. I'd rather get on a roller-coaster and pull my guts up to the top of my head. You know, just something more exciting.
