Live Review: Hanson, Adam Martin

Melbourne-based, pop-rock singer Adam Martin does a great job getting the excitable crowd, which largely comprises women in their 30s, ready. Up there with only an acoustic guitar and his great voice, Martin throws in a couple of very well-known covers: Wonderwall by Oasis and Coldplay’s The Scientist. It’s a clever tactic. Everyone is screaming at the top of their lungs before the headliners have appeared, which gives Martin a bit of space to play his originals – folk-pop love songs that he croons earnestly.

"Great listening, especially with the brothers’ flawless vocal harmonies."

The three Hanson brothers finally come out to deafening cheers and, without saying much, launch into Fired Up. Playing as a five-piece with two touring musicians joining them onstage, the band are tight and punchy. I’ve Got Soul has quite a complex polyrhythm under a disco guitar riff – great listening, especially with the brothers’ flawless vocal harmonies.

After six songs, the band leave the stage and then reappear as an acoustic trio for Penny & Me: one of the better-known songs from the latter part of their career. With Taylor on piano, Isaac on guitar and Zac on bongos, it’s hard not to enjoy watching them play their quite simple rock with big smiles on their faces.

The three clean-cut, handsome brothers, who blew up in 1997, are not just still playing together; they’re performing at a high quality with real enthusiasm. Taylor has an embarrassingly good voice and he sails around the higher registers with little effort while strutting about the stage or playing piano.

The band go through Madeline, MMMbop – both early songs that receive huge applause – but the set seems to run out of steam towards the end when they return to playing electrically. Many of the songs in the second half have some kind of breakdown that gets resolved with the audience clapping on the beat followed by a big, loud finish. The repetition of this doesn’t faze the audience at all though, and Hanson depart to wolf-whistles and more earsplitting screams.