On November 29th, Hanson’s ‘Finally It’s Christmas’ tour stopped at the PlayStation
Theater in New York. This show was the second of two nights at the theater,
which was lit with festive white Christmas lights. Audience members showed up
their holiday best, in a sea of red and green with the jingle of bells. The
brothers played original and standard songs, opening with their new song,
‘Finally, It’s Christmas.’ The song was a retro-inspired throwback; Isaac and
Zac supplemented their guitar and drums with a vocal bass line while Taylor
played piano and sang lead vocals. The song is off their new Christmas album of
the same name, released in October. Hanson released their music video for the
new song earlier on the same day as the concert. The band, now celebrating
their 25-year anniversary, expressed gratitude to the fans and promised the
show would include songs from their now 20-year old Christmas album, ‘Snowed
In.’
The pop group added
their own take to a number of classics and pop Christmas standards as they
welcomed the intimate crowd to their family Christmas party. The Tulsa,
Oklahoma-based trio was backed by 3 additional musicians, filling out the rock
and roll portion of the show with a saxophone, bass guitar and synthesizer. Each
member of the band took turns singing leads and verses of the songs. Hanson’sversions of Stevie Wonder’s ‘What Christmas Means to
Me’ and Chuck Berry’s ‘Run Rudolph
Run’ paid homage to their original singers, full of rocking guitar riffs, do
whop harmonies, and dance-worthy drum solos. The band’s own rockabilly song,
‘Til New Year’s Night’ kept the party going when Taylor took a piano solo that
reminded many in the audience of Jerry
Lee Lewis. Eldest brother Isaac
introduced The Beach Boys’ ‘Little
Saint Nick,’ offering his thanks and gratitude to the Wilson brothers for
inspiring their family band. Hanson’s version of the surf rock song was brassy
and rhythm-filled, reminiscent of a James Bond movie theme.
With Mark Hudson. (C) PipPepPop
The center of the show encompassed holiday ballads and
tender vocal arrangements. Another
original song ‘At Christmas’ has not been played live since the band’s ‘Snowed
In’ television special 20 years ago. The brothers crowded around a microphone
for a Capella arrangements of ‘White Christmas’ and ‘Joy on the Mountain,’ a
combination of ‘Joy to the World’ and ‘Go Tell it on the Mountain’. Each brother seamlessly switched off
conducting duties and clapping a rhythm for the songs, each guiding the beginnings
and endings of phrases in his own style. The multi-instrument playing siblings traded
their main ones for several songs, with Taylor switching to drums and Zac to
the piano. The group almost began playing another song instead of The Eagles’ ‘Please Come Home for
Christmas.’ Isaac offered an apology for
almost ruining the mood before re-tuning his guitar. He confessed they almost
began Darlene Love’s booming ‘Christmas
(Baby Please Come Home)’ during their melancholic section due to the similar
song titles.
A Capella (c) PipPepPop
As promised, their cover of Love’s song came later in the show as they took the mood to a
euphoric level. The band went into a break as Taylor led the crowd in repeating
“Christmas.” His brothers harmonized “…Baby
please come home,” as Taylor challenged to bring the song out into the
streets. Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want
for Christmas is You’, included on the new album, got the Hansontreatment and a loud echo of the chorus from the
crowd. A surprise moment of the show
came when the band’s longtime collaborator Mark
Hudson joined them onstage (with jingle bells) for a blues-inspired version
of The Beatles’ ‘Wonderful
Christmastime.’ By the end of the set, the rocking organ solo on ‘Here Comes
the Claus’ almost brought down the house.
The band’s encore echoed the feeling of the party wrapping up for the
night. They played two songs, Elvis
Priestley’s ‘Blue Christmas’ and one of the most covered Christmas songs,
‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.’ Hanson’s ‘Finally
It’s Christmas’ is out via S-Curve Records.
See more concert videos on my Youtube Channel, TheLiveMusicGirl.
In my many years experimenting with makeup, I haven't come close to perfecting eye makeup. Mainly, I have a jagged hand when it comes to eyeliner (thank got for liquid versions). Furthermore, I cannot get my eyes to 'pop' with mascara. On an average weekday, I wear the next best thing to mascara, tinted lash primer. When I go out, I attempt to 'do it up' with my eyes and make them stand out despite having smaller eyelids. Sometimes I'm lucky, the eyelash curler curls and spoolie brush coats easily. When we throw brows into the mix, my sparse eyebrows may get an even coloring.
THE CHALLENGE:
Here is my main problem. The majority of the time, it looks like I have the Minnie Mouse-like three eyelashes. I used to have a hat with Minnie's face where the lashes popped out like the above image. I'm a low maintenance girl when it comes to eye makeup. As long as it looks like I have lashes and they are not the color of my foundation, I let it go. Recently I tried to take it up a level and wear mascara during the day AND night. This was a bold choice because I am always touching my eyes and adjusting my contacts.
Upping my subtle eye game. (C)PipPepPop
THE RESULTS:
Over the course of a week, I attend a concert, a holiday party, a work lunch, a chiropractor appointment (face-down). I also applied my makeup at the gym after working out. I dropped the spoolie wand of my tinted eyelash primer after doing one eye. I rinsed the brush with soap and finished the second eye, then promptly threw out the near-empty bottle because it touched the gym locker room floor and I'm a germaphobe). Overall, the experiment went okay. I wouldn't be able to keep this up on a normal basis, but I like to think I looked a little more awake. I also had to trudge through cleaning my eyelids with 3-4 micellar* water-soaked cotton swabs, after first treating the eye area with a makeup remover wipe. One night, I got so bored/tired of wiping off my eyes that I went to bed with a vague raccoon eye. I also learned a valuable lesson that not all eyeliners (NYX Vinyl Liquid Liner) are created equal when it comes to removing the product.
I'll keep updating my mascara prowess over the next few months. Cheers and may your shimmer eyeshadow not shatter inside its case! (True story)
*Micellar water is 'the bomb.com.' I know this phrase is still relevant because my friend used it the other day. It's a french-inspired product with little balls of cleansing oil suspended in water. You can shake it like a Polaroid picture (or a vinaigrette dressing) to activate it.
