They're a little bit older, a little more sure-handed with their musical instruments. But changes such as those don't matter to their fans. Their hair is still blonde, they still sing “MMMBop” and a dozen other songs that sound a lot like it, and they can still incite middle-school-girl screams. They are Hanson.

        The trio of teen-age brothers played the Taft Theatre on Saturday, and for an hour and 40 minutes their young fans matched the band's middle-of-the-road rock and pop with screams decibel for decibel.

        Ask a Hanson fan why he or she prefers them to the other boy bands and the answer will have to do with the fact that they're bold enough to interface with instruments; they don't only dance and sing like those other bands. But what's the difference if the music is this dull, and if they need three backup players to flesh out their sound?

        None of the “MMMBop” rewrites came close to the real thing. Yes, after three years they're better musicians, but their playing is no more inspired or infectious than days past.

        In fact, besides “MMMBop” the two best songs were covers, “Money (That's What I Want)” and Cheap Trick's ""I Want You to Want Me.”

        Tay, the 17-year-old, was the girl's favorite. The lead singer and keyboardist, Tay brought to mind Steve Winwood — not the teen-age, soul-shouting version from the '60s, but the washed-up, soft-rock, late-'80s version.

        Ike, 19, played guitar and just sort of stood there, acting mainly as a backup performer, except for a solo turn at Tay's keyboards for a rendition of “More than Anything.”

        Zac, the youngest at 14, has physically matured the most over the last few years, but he's still not much of a drummer and he still wears that annoying microphone headset. It was he who stepped away from the drum kit to sing Cheap Trick, through the headset, leaving his hands with nothing to do but clap awkwardly to the beat.

        While the girls stood, snapped pictures and screamed through it all, several parents tagging along sat the whole time, some even getting in a nap. But when “MMMBop“ came along, everyone sang — even the sleeping parents, mouthing out the words with eyes shut.

        What is it about that song?

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