I Got to Go Back to the Island
I was last on the island in 2020 - it was my sixth stint as an ‘islander’ and my fifth time in Jamaica. You can see where this is going: a few weeks after we got home, the Covid pandemic hit and travelling became a distant dream.
Before Covid was even a thing, though, I was all set for skipping 2021: as I wrote in this blog post, BTTI 2020 had left me a little cold. I found the resort run down, the activities uninspiring and the concerts phoned-in. Little did I know that in less than a month, the whole world was going to shut down for a long, long time.
Even when things began to reopen and BTTI 2022 was announced, I still found travel too daunting, and seeing pictures of people wearing masks at the resort stopped any possible FOMO in its tracks.
I let the presale for 2023 come and go and focused instead on planning for Hanson’s extensive UK tour that summer. It was there, whilst doing what Hanson fans do best, i.e. sitting outside a venue, that I found out that a friend from Germany, Sophia, had a spot available on her booking.
You know when stars align?
Goodbye, money, hello, Jamaica.
Sitting at home over the friendly skies
Unfortunately, after three years of being more or less grounded within the confines of the British Isles, I had lost my travel mojo. Once the master of complicated itineraries and packing spreadsheets, I now suffered from a major mental block that extended to searching ‘Montego Bay’ on Kayak.
Enter Andie, aka 'the Golden Cougar': a fan from Yorkshire and admin of the Facebook group Hanson Love. When I found out that she had booked flights, I asked her if she could share her itinerary. Copy and paste, et voila - I was on the same flight. What did I say about stars aligning?
It was a cold and grey New Year’s Day when I boarded a BA flight from Glasgow, with a hastily assembled beach wardrobe of Amazon’s finest and a migraine. Andie emerged from T5 Arrivals soon after, and after exchanging Happy New Year wishes, the conversation quickly turned to our travel plans: our Virgin Atlantic flight to Jamaica was at 8:00 AM the next morning.
“I think we might need to get to Terminal 3 before 6:00 tomorrow,” I said hesitantly. My military campaign travel style is not for everyone and I had no idea how my new travel buddy would feel about getting up at the crack of dawn.
“Oh I was thinking of getting there at least by 5:00!” Andie said.
Relief. I was not travelling with a last-minute type of person.
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| New Year's Day at a Heathrow Hotel |
Been There Before
Every Back to the Island is a sort of time capsule: arriving at the resort, you are assaulted by this overwhelming sense of deja-vu and yet you can't help noticing how the characters of the Hanson Truman Show have changed since last time you were there.
I had not been to the Jewel since 2017 but everything was still the same - the faux colonial style, the now-even-more-dated décor, the buffet’s harsh, greenish lighting that suffused the place with an ambience reminiscent of a Soviet-era internment camp for political dissidents.
Don’t get me wrong: I don’t need luxury at BTTI. I want to hang out with friends without having to walk miles from one end of the resort to the other (check). I want swim-up bars that are actually open (check), showers that produce hot water (check) and staff who don’t resent me (check). To those bemoaning the lack of extreme luxury - let me tell you, BTTI is not the right fit for you (or you are not the right fit for the event).
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| "Hoping that the sand meets the sky" |
Trying to Capture Each Moment Like a Picture in my Head
Finally, after many of us suggested it year after year, photos with Hanson were split in two sessions. We lined up under cover, which meant no fan got sunstroke in the making of their photo with the band. It could be my impression but I found the whole process a lot less rushed than in past years, and I was able to have a quick chat with the guys. I’m sure they still dread Pictures Day, and who could blame them? I was on the second session and by then, all three brothers were wearing sunglasses, so we will never know if instead of looking right into Trevor’s camera, Hanson were vacantly staring into space or scanning the skies for the beam of an alien spaceship sent to abduct them.
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| I: "Oh noes, she's gone for hugs" Z: "Kill me now" T: "I'm having an out-of-body experience right now" |
What's Your Name?
Games this year consisted of two Family Feud sessions, hosted by Zac and Isaac. Unlike previous years, teams had to be submitted earlier in the day - again, an improvement from my last BTTI, when they just pulled badge numbers at random. When I heard that the key to getting picked was an interesting team name, I knew instantly what we would be called: “Hanson is a cult and Zac is our Leader” - a reference to a question I had asked the band at my Fanclub Reporter interview last summer. Did it work? Yes - we were the first team to be called up on stage that night. Did Zac and Isaac remember the convo? I think so, as you can see in the video below.
How did we do? Alas, we totally sucked.
(Video: credit to Jade D.)
Dance Like You Don’t Care
A pool party! I’d been asking for a pool party for years. Moving the party from a makeshift dancefloor to the pool added a touch of much-needed decadence to something a little too Disney and wholesome such as Hanson dance parties tend to be. Mental note for next year? Save the outfit money and bring a beach ball and a waterproof phone case. I still don’t know how I didn’t drop my phone in the pool that night: the next morning I woke up with bruises all over my body and a badly sprained finger that cost me $35 on a consultation with the resort's nurse. My phone? Absolutely intact and drier than the fried plantain chips served at the after-show buffet.
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| The 2023 Dance Party: less Disney, more Gatsby |
Worth the Wait
If the 2020 edition left me with a sense of déjà vu and disappointment, my return to the Island was perfectly timed to catch a band who seemed to be on top form again. Hanson looked and sounded refreshed, inspired and re-energised. Unlike last time, it seemed that a lot of thought had gone into the setlists, with no repeat songs, no meltdowns, only a few forgotten lyrics here and there (it’s Hanson, after all) and a few technical issues on the first night (it’s Jamaica, after all). I'm not a musician but I have seen this band enough times to notice when things are going well and when they’re falling apart - Taylor’s death stare, usually directed at Isaac, being the earliest warning sign. This time not only Hanson looked like they’d practiced, but even had a plan B for forgotten lyrics, in the way of iPads by their side on stage.
Welcome Show
Highs
For me, it was the reggae medley of ‘Back to the Island’ with two Bob Marley classics, ‘Three Little Birds’ and ‘Stir It Up’. In all my previous times in Jamaica, Hanson had never sung a Bob Marley song so this was on top of my wish list. Check!
Lows
The first show was very short for Hanson standards, ending almost abruptly. A possible reason could be technical issues - at one point we heard a loud, static noise that sounded like equipment frying. Regardless, after 'Rollercoaster Love', the lights went up and in an mmmbop, Hanson were gone. What happened to ‘the show must go on’?
Second Show
Highs
Highlights for me were “Stop Me in My Tracks”, “Somebody That Wants to Love You”, “Cut Right Through Me” - which I had not heard since the Anthem tour - and “Young and Dumb”. Also worthy of mention was “Nothing Like a Love Song” - the only original track included in 2020’s public release ‘Perennial’. Hate the song, but it was still a notch on my sonic belt to hear it live.
Lows
I can’t think of any, other than I wish the show could have gone on for another two hours. Or indeed, forever.
Final Show
Highs:
'World Goes Around' (finally!), 'Dressed in Brown Eyes' and a cover of Bobby McFerrin's 'Don’t Worry, Be Happy'. Disclosure: I actually don't care much for the original, but hearing that song on a Jamaican beach, layered with Hanson’s harmonies, the stage lit up in the colours of the Jamaican flag - well, let me tell you, it was absolutely magical.
Lows:
“More than Anything”. Will we ever get to hear Isaac play a different song on the piano?
Or Just Shake it Off Going Solo
Zac Highs:
Zac started the set at the piano and the moment I recognised the opening notes of “I Am” - my absolute favourite Zac song - I was ready to hand him my soul on a silver plate. (Hashtag: Cult Leader).
Zac Lows:
Zac’s voice was a little croaky, which is incredibly rare for him, and I have to admit that I actually kind of liked it. So not really a low, but I had to write something.
Isaac Lows:
When Isaac finally came on stage twenty minutes late and after having skipped his soundcheck I worried that we were about to get a repeat of his shambolic set from 2016.
Isaac Highs:
But after opening with ‘So Lovely’, Isaac carried on with a good setlist that included classic singalongs like ‘Lonely Again’ and rarities like ‘What’s Your Name’. He closed with a medley of 'Halleluiah/Amazing Grace' which he had first performed at BTTI 2017.
Taylor Lows:
Taylor’s solo was set for an hour earlier than the usual start time of 5:00 PM. It was still very sunny and hot at that point, which meant that standing on the beach was absolute torture. To make things worse, the sun was right behind the stage, making it very hard to see. If I ruled the Island, I’d ban all music activities until 5:00 PM.
Taylor Highs:
He came, he conquered and gave us sunstroke, but not before treating us to some absolute gems: ‘Climb’, ‘Sound like Joy’ and the hitherto String Theory exclusive, ‘Reaching for the Sky’. I took that as a possible sign that String Theory is not dead and buried but might indeed make a comeback at some point, for a few one-off shows?
Singing Along to Feeling Alright
Allow me a moment of reflection. There were moments, back in 2020, when I believed that some things had gone forever - that the consequences of the pandemic would make it impossible for me to get on a plane and fly across the ocean just to see a band and hang out with old friends. Three years on, we seem to have conveniently forgotten the silent streets and planeless skies of 2020, the Zoom hangouts, the sometimes absurdly arbitrary social distancing rules.
I can't help thinking back to 2020, when Hanson livestreamed a series of seated, socially distanced shows from Tulsa’s Cain’s Ballroom. Spotting my friends in the sparse audience, I felt like a ghost watching the living from behind the veil - invisible and unheard, but unwilling to let go.
If there is one thing we all must have learnt from 2020, it’s that everything - including toilet paper - can be taken away in the blink of an eye; for a musician, that includes touring. Some artists, like Stephen Kellogg, managed to quickly adapt and turn a physical tour into a virtual experience. Fortunately Hanson could bank on a solid US fan base who would still travel to Tulsa, undeterred by aviation restrictions and ready to fight for a handful of steeply priced front row tables.
But it must have been scary for artists to deal with the uncertainty of a future with no crowds or spontaneity, to face the serious possibility that concerts would turn into airport security-style ordeals. I can’t help but wonder if Hanson, three deeply religious men, had Job:1:21 buzzing in their ears - “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away”. Did they consider the possibility that their lifestyle, the touring, even their enduring success - could all be gone, forever?
So maybe that’s why Isaac, Taylor and Zac looked genuinely happy to be there this time. They were back there with their fans, on a Jamaican beach, ten years into a winter recurrence that at one point had become impossible to keep. And maybe that’s why we too - the fans - all felt so relaxed and grateful to be there again: no masks, no compulsory tests, no endless forms to fill in before flying. We were back in our happy place, back to comparing our concerts tally and scrutinising our M&G pictures, back to planning the next adventure while the current one was still underway.
We're never gonna lose the sound
We're never gonna forget the beat
Cuz I'm addicted to the melody
I've got rhythm in my feet
But when I've lost the plot
And I've forgotten every part
I know you'll be right here waiting
If I go right back to the start
We should be dancing in the street
Find a melody we can repeat
There would be a song from every girl and boy
It'll sound like joy
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