Taylor Hanson Fights the Flu at NYC Gig
Posted Friday 16 October 03:38 PM By: Ashley Iasimone

There are no sick days on tour for Hanson. At New York's Nokia Theater on Oct. 15, Taylor Hanson admitted onstage that while he doesn't like to show his weaknesses, a sudden onset of illness on the road had him explaining any shortcomings in his performance.

"A couple days ago, we finished the show and we were walking off the stage, and I felt like a truck had hit me. I have this little flu thing," Taylor told the crowd during the show. "It kind of sucks."

"Not the H1N1 version," Isaac Hanson said with a laugh.

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Sick or not, Taylor was a trooper, and the show had the approval of an eager audience. The band kicked off the concert with the uptempo 'World's On Fire,' a new tune from their 'Stand Up, Stand Up' EP. They went on to play tracks from their last full-length studio album, 'The Walk,' as well as new songs 'Carry You There' and 'Use Me Up.' Hanson also threw several older favorites into the set, highlights for the crowd being an acoustic performance of 'I Will Come to You' and, of course, 'Mmmbop.'

"The saddest thing was I didn't get to walk with you guys," Taylor said about his bout of the flu, which forced him to opt out of joining his brothers and fans earlier in the day. "But you guys did anyway, and that's what the walk is all about."

The walk that Taylor was referring to is the mile-long trek that Isaac, Taylor and Zac Hanson lead as part of the Take the Walk campaign at every stop on tour. For each mile walked, the band raises funds to aid with actions such as building schools, drilling clean water wells, providing shoes and assisting HIV/AIDS research and treatment clinics in Africa.

Hanson's tour runs through Nov. 11 in Anaheim, Calif. Hellogoodbye co-headline most dates, and Steel Train and Sherwood are the openers.