By Thomas Goldsmith - Staff Writer

It was an honest difference of opinion. Nate, almost 6, thought the most awesome moment of Thursdays night's Hanson concert at Starwood Amphitheatre was when they did the whimsical, folky Soldier from the trio's 3 Car Garage disc. Hudson, almost 9, preferred the harder-hitting Look At You, from the multimillion-selling Middle of Nowhere CD. The worst part, they agreed, was the screaming. For anyone who's been living in the deep woods for the last year, the Hanson siblings are guitarist Isaac, 17, keyboard player Taylor, 15, and drummer Zachary, 12. First fueled by the unstoppable 1997 hit MMMBop, the blond young Oklahomans have become the latest in a long line of teen and pre-teen pop music idols. However, despite all hype and Hanson-haters, the group more closely resembles an act like the young, Indiana-bred Jackson 5 than a studio-born collection of pretty faces like New Kids on the Block. The young men can play. And sing. That was evident at the concert, for which 5,000 covered seats had sold out in 20 minutes and the lawn held what looked like about an additional 10,000 folks. The crowd was way young and mostly female. They were indeed quite inclined to scream at a twirl of Zac's drumsticks, a soulful vocal from Taylor or one of Isaac's respectably rocked-out guitar licks. So, apart from those opening comments from two young critics close to my heart, how was the concert really? Well, really, it was a good, pop-rocking show. MMMBop remains Hanson's identifying hit, the biggest gun in its arsenal of tunes and an uplifting moment near show's end. But the band also offered other up-tempo, hooky songs such as Where's the Love and the quirky Man from Milwaukee. The obligatory unplugged segment, with Hanson's three backing musicians taking a break, centered on one of the trio's strongest points -- the harmonic blend that only siblings can achieve. Hanson also paid tribute to their '50s and '60s influences with cover tunes, including the Spencer Davis Group/Steve Winwood hit Gimme Some Lovin', the frat-rock perennial Shake a Tail Feather, the Barrett Strong/Beatles classic Money, the Rascals' Good Lovin' and, as a closer, Eddie Cochran's Summertime Blues. In all, Hanson clothes were fashionably casual, their stage talk was on the formulaic side ("You guys rock!") and their stage set was glitzy without being overpowering. Given their talent and flair, it will be interesting to keep an ear out for the years of Hanson music that are yet to come. Hanson's Tulsa pals, Admiral Twin, opened with a bright, short set of appealing pop.