Day 4 - The Final Show

I have to admit that, following Isaac’s solo set (more on that later)  I was a bit worried about the final show: would it be a disappointment? We took our places on Isaac’s side of the stage this time and hoped for the best.

Now, I don’t know what happened between the end of Isaac’s solo set and the main show, but somehow the lack of focus he had displayed a couple of hours earlier had disappeared, and as the show kicked off to the opening notes of ‘Tragic Symphony’, it was clear that we had ‘our’ Isaac back and he was on fire. Sigh of relief!

The setlist was a mix of album tracks, predominantly from ‘Anthem’ and ‘Shout it Out’ and a few from the rest - plus a couple of songs from the ‘Sound of Light’ EP which I get the impression the band treat as an extension of ‘Anthem’ by now (it’s their best members’ EP of all times so far. I’m not accepting different opinions here!).  Surprisingly, “Cut Right Through Me” made an appearance (I’d only heard that one live once) although I’m not quite sure if there were technical problems at that point as it sounded ...weird (excuse my lack of music terminology).

The most special treat came in the form of a rare performance of ‘Great Divide’. I’d been wanting to hear that song live for so long but I didn’t think I’d hear it at BTTI; it was a real privilege and I found it very moving. Nothing embodies Hanson’s music as the words I have hope.

Setlist photo courtesy of Iria Rodriguez

The show closed with the same song Hanson had opened with on the first day: “Back to The Island”. Paul McDonald and some of the guys from Parachute got onstage, and everybody sang along, enjoying the last few minutes of music, not wanting the concert to end. At that point I couldn’t help feeling a tinge of sadness knowing that soon it would all be over - the whole event had gone so quickly, and the last show had been the best one. Life really isn’t fair, sometimes.

After a very long medley of ‘happy birthday’ songs  for Andrew, the bass player,  the band left the stage. It was over. And there I was, slightly dizzy from the whirlwind of music and emotions I had been caught in for the last two hours, tired, sweaty and a little sad.
band had pulled it off again, saving their best till last, so that we’d all walk away from that stage remembering that fantastic concert as the emblem of BTTI 2016.

That night I found myself wondering if and when I’d be back there, in Jamaica,  watching the band play on a tropical beach, accompanied by the sound of the ocean. I’d had a great time, and yet I felt that now I’d done the BTTI ‘thing’ twice and a little of the magic had gone for me. Maybe you can have too much of a good thing, after all?

It’s too soon to say for sure, but whilst last year I came back from Mexico determined to sign up again, this time round I felt that my BTTI addiction was (at least temporarily) under control.