Hanson brings their Underneath: Experience tour to Chicago for two sold out evenings

Pop-rock trio Hanson brought their Underneath: Experience tour to Chicago this week for two sold out nights at House of Blues that surely satisfied even the most diehard fan.

Night one was fully acoustic, and alt-rock legend Matthew Sweet opened the festivities with a set of some of his most well-known tunes, including “Sick of Myself,” “Girlfriend,” and “We’re the Same.” Sweet’s name is synonymous with power pop over the last thirty years, and we was a perfect fit for the show opener – on his birthday, no less!

The Hanson brothers took the stage to opener “Strong Enough to Break,” also the opening track from 2004’s Underneath album, and from there, it was a night of crowd favorites and deep cuts, showcasing their versatility on tracks like “Runaway Run,” “Annalie,” and a cover of CSNY’s “Teach Your Children” that saw the brothers sharing a single mic and showing off some lovely harmonies.

Night two took things electric, with California’s Phantom Planet delivering a short but sweet set of their hooky, ‘90s alt-rock, another perfect fit for the set to come from the brothers Hanson, and interesting to consider that, even though the Hanson of the ‘90s was considered unadulterated pop and far removed from rock radio, they now shared the stage with two artists who were firmly a part of the alt-rock scene, showing how those genres have merged, in many ways, over time.

Nowhere was that more obvious than in the Hanson brothers choice of opener: Radiohead’s “Optimistic” from 2000’s experimental masterpiece Kid A. A raucous “MMMBop” had the HOB floor literally shaking, along with hits like “Where’s the Love” and “World Goes Round,” making for an event that fans of the band won’t soon forget.