WALLINGFORD, Conn. - Mmm-Bop!

Seven years after the three Hanson brothers debuted with the smash bubble gum pop record "Middle of Nowhere" in 1997, the boys are now all grown up (sort of) and making more mature straight-up rock 'n' roll. Honestly.


Of course, Isaac, Taylor and Zac, now 23, 20, and 18, respectively, continue to be loved by the same teen-age female contingency as was evidenced by the thousands of screaming fans at the careerbuilder.com Oakdale Theater Tuesday night.


In a way, it's unfortunate that Hanson's audience is so gender limited. The boys simply don't know what they're missing. Still, it seems that the girls are enjoying their secret. Actually, it really is hard to look past the trio's good looks and Jackson 5-ish novelty, but one listen to their 1-hour and 45-minute set proved that the brothers really do care about the music.


They may not have loads of street cred with today's teen-age boys, but would the Backstreet Boys have opened their show with a cover of Radiohead's stark masterpiece "Optimistic?" Not likely.


Admittedly, the boys own songs were a bit lighter lyrically like "Dancin' in the Wind" and "Strong Enough to Break" from their latest release "Underneath," but the music had oodles of obvious classic rock influences. At this point they're still more Bon Jovi than Rolling Stones, but they're on their way.


The trio shared the vocals somewhat evenly, though middle child Taylor was the obvious vocal star on tracks like "A Minute Without You" and "Look at You," a couple of "oldies" from "Middle of Nowhere," as well as the stadium rocking B-side single "Every Word I Say."


With his teen magazine looks and very solid singing voice, Taylor could easily succeed as a solo performer. But for the brothers Hanson, everybody gets fair play. Zac and Isaac were given the spotlight to perform solo acoustic songs including Isaac's fine performance of "Being Me."


Regardless, they were most fun as a trio on tunes like the catchy title track from 2000's "This Time Around" and "Get Up and Go" and the title track from "Underneath." High pitched screams boomed when Hanson sang songs like "Where's the Love," the second single from "Middle of Nowhere," the funky "Speechless," and their current single "Penny and Me."


The brothers also continued to show their classic rock education with a faithful rendering of the Spencer Davis Group/Steve Winwood's soulful "Gimme Some Lovin'."


Of course, it just wouldn't have been a Hanson concert without the bubble gum classic "Mmm-Bop." For better or for worse, "Mmm-Bop" has become that kind of pop song that people will never forget. If you asked Tuesday's crowd, they'd probably tell you it's for the better.


Hanson rounded out the evening with "If Only" and "In the City" from "This Time Around" and closed with "Lost Without Each Other" from "Underneath" before encoring with "You Never Know," also from "This Time Around."


Up-and-coming pop rocker Michael Tolcher opened with his own 30-minute set including "Sooner or Later," "Kiss and Tell," and the single "Mission Responsible" from his new album "I Am."