I attended the Riverfest show yesterday in Tulsa, OK on June 9th, 2001!! I'm Amanda Michelle and im from Nacogdoches, Tx! That was my 3rd Hanson concert! My step mom took me and my friend Adri to see them play. It took eight hours to get there. We left on Friday and spent the night and checked everything out the day before. We stayed at the Adam's Mark Hotel; lots of fans were staying there! We went to a Target and got some chairs, snacks, and film. We went back to the hotel and ate dinner. We layed down to go to bed but we just couldn't go to sleep! We finally dozed off at about 1:45 and we got a wake up call at 3:00! I jumped out of bed and started getting ready. Then, I woke my friend up and she got ready, and then my step mom drove us down to Riverfest at about 4:00 that morning! Yep, it was early, but there were already people there! A girl was keeping a list of the order in which people got there, so that we could get the seats in the order that we arrived. We were about number 29 and 30. It was pretty good I guess. Most of the fans were saying that the list was fake and that it didn't matter. After about six hours of waiting, the cops came over there told everyone to line up in a single file line! Yea right!!!!! The girl handed them the list and they said, "Ok we're going to call names out and when you hear your name, get in line over here." She started calling out the names, and we started lining up in front of the railroad tracks. The people whose names were not on the list had to wait a little while longer. Then, they walked us over to the main gate where we could see the stage.
We waited in line for about 30 minutes until they started letting people go. This is how they did it! They let each person go one at a time. Each person got 30 seconds to run to the stage, and then they let the next person go! It was so funny, you would see all these girls running as fast as they could across the place! We ended up in the second row center! That's pretty good compared to lots of the other people! I don't really care where I am as long as I can see them pretty well and can hear their music!!
This is when it gets bad! Everyone finally got into their spots by about 10:30! The sun was shining down but we already had a pretty good tan so it just made us darker. Most of the fans were white, and they were getting burnt!! We had 7 hours to go, and we were already about to die!! The first band didn't even come on until about noon! We didn't have any chairs or anything, because someone stole them! :( It was so terrible. I knew it was going to be bad when all the people started surrounding in and pushing forward. This was my first general admission show, and I was so scared! My friend told me about how bad it was going to be, so I was trying to get ready. Right before Admiral Twin came on, a girl got up to front row in front of a 30 year old lady and her five year old daughter. That lady started twisting the girl's arm and cussing! It's pretty bad when grown ladies start hitting fans and picking on them, but I guess that girl deserved it. After that was over, the girl had to go around and find another spot.
Then, Admiral Twin came on! They were awesome! I don't know who the drummer is, but he's pretty good! :) The fans were being so rude! During Admiral Twin's performance, a lot of the fans were looking over backstage, looking for Hanson! What good is that going to do? Admiral Twin was onstage doing a performace, and hardly anybody was even watching them! I was paying attention, but I was one of the few! After Admiral Twin finished their set, some girls in black shorts and tops came onstage. The radio station people were coming off and on also, and talking about Hanson. They were having to spray us down with water hoses the whole time! We were about to pass out! About 15 minutes before Hanson came on, I started crying. I couldn't take it! They were pushing back, pushing forward, pulling and everything else! That is insane, we had just come here to watch three guys perform, and the audience couldn't stand calmly!
When Hanson finally came on, I had become used to the crowd, so I calmed down and got ready to hear them! Someone from the radio station came on and announced them, and they ran on stage!! Everyone went crazy!!!! It was way too bad! When they started singing, the whole crowd got into it! I think they did "Lonely Again" first and we were all singing! It sounded awesome!! When Zac did "I Wish That I Was There," the crowd was singing almost louder than him! lol. They did an awesome job and their new songs were GREAT!! I can't wait till the new album comes out! I hope they get it out earlier than they are talking about! The new songs had great meaning. I almost started crying just about the lyrics, because I know they mean so much to Hanson. Cause you really know that they came from Hanson's heart!
Well, then Hanson ran off stage. We were all trying to yell for them to come back, but they didn't! :( If I was them, I wouldn't have come back either. The fans were too crazy. They were getting pulled over the bars and passing out and anything you couldn't think of! Hanson did an awesome job, but I want to say sorry for all of the fans that were out of control! That show meant a lot to us because it's probably the last show that Hanson will do before they go into the studio and record the new album! People came from Japan, Norway, Australia, Canada and ALL OVER THE U.S.!! That show was one of the biggest that they have ever done, and the fans that were there were very LUCKY! Thanks for everything! Hanson rocked Tulsa!!
Amanda Michelle - Nacogdoches, Texas
mattlooksliketay@hanson.net
