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NEWS : STORIES
If the teenyboppers in your neighborhood have taken to asking every day if there are any chores you need done around the house for a nominal fee plus expenses, of course, you can place the blame squarely at the feet of Isaac, Taylor and Zac
The brothers, more famously known as the pop trio Hanson, are taking to the road this summer and, with little time to spare, those in their highly devoted fanbase are plotting, scheming and paying inflated prices from scalpers just to get the chance to scream their guts out during the group's summer tour. Tickets for four of the tour's 11 dates in North America have nearly sold out as fans everywhere from Montreal to Los Angeles have grabbed up all but those seats that will be the farthest away from the composers of such pop hits as "MMMBop" (RealAudio excerpt) and "Weird." Among those dying to get their hands on a ticket is 12-year-old Erin Whitman. She was planning to offer to do any number of her family's nasty chores to see Hanson's show on July 15 at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, Calif; tickets for which went on sale on Sunday. Before she could work up the courage to explain the plan to her parents, however, her mother informed her that, based on listening to "Weird" (RealAudio excerpt) on the way home from work, she'd happily man the phones in an effort to get tickets. "We both got up Sunday morning and kept calling in," Whitman explained in an e-mail. "We got four seats in the back, which isn't as close as I wanted, but I'm still really excited!" If fans such as Whitman are not happy with lawn seats or the absolute last row of the upper level, they're going to have to do a lot of baby-sitting to raise the money for better seats. A call to BASS tickets on Monday afternoon revealed that while you can purchase lawn seats for the July 19 show in Mountain View, Calif., there were no more lower level seats on sale. If fans were lucky enough to buy tickets through BASS, they would have been out $27.50, plus a $5 service charge. Now that the choice seats are gone, ticket resellers, such as those in the Bay Area, are charging a premium price for one of the hottest tickets of the summer. At Best Seats, for example, tickets in the upper level are currently $85 while tickets closer to the stage are running $125. The story is similar at Mr. Tix, where their upper level seats are selling for $90 while getting closer to the stage starts at $100. At both ticket resellers, these prices are similar to what they're charging for seats to this summer's other big teen attraction, the Spice Girls. On the alt.fan.hanson Usenet newsgroup, a forum for fans to discuss news and trivia about the singing brothers, Hanson devotees have been plotting how to get tickets. "[G]et up bright and early to call," a user identified as Renae wrote about tickets for the group's appearance at Great Woods Center in Mansfield, Mass., on June 26. "I am telling you this 'cause I am not going to that one -- but just thought you'd like to know!! There is one specified place you have to call so make sure you have the right number. These tickets WILL sell out FAST!!" Tickets for Hanson's shows in Montreal, Mountain View, Calif., Mansfield, Mass., and Los Angeles have already gone on sale. Shows in Toronto and Clarkston, Mich., are scheduled to go on sale this weekend, with shows in Atlanta, Tulsa, Okla., Denver and Bristow, Va., scheduled for the week after that. Tickets for the last show on the tour, at Key Arena in Seattle, are set to go on sale on June 6. Hanson Tour Dates: June 20; Montreal, Que., Molson Centre June 23; Toronto, Ont., Molson Amphitheatre June 26; Mansfield, Mass., Great Woods Center June 29; Clarkston, Mich., Pike Knob Music Theatre July 2; Bristow, Va., Nissan Pavilion July 5; Atlanta, Ga., Lakewood Amphitheatre July 8; Tulsa, Okla., Mabee Center Arena July 12; Hollywood, Calif., Hollywood Bowl July 15; Mountain View, Calif., Shoreline Amphitheatre July 18; Morrison, Colo., Red Rocks Amphitheatre July 21; Seattle, Wash., Key Arena
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