Tour Memories (and occasional musings)

I’d booked my 8th BTTI on the wake of the 2023 event, which had been my 7th after a two-year break during the pandemic. 2023 was a really good one, the setlists were great, the band was in top form and I was glad to be back at the Jewel, the resort that had hosted us in 2016 and 2017. Would 2024 be even better? Controversial Opinion #1 The main difference from 2023 was an overspill of around 80 extra guests in another resort who would be bussed in an hour before the first show of the day. Now, 80 bodies might not seem many, but in a small resort like the Jewel I found it to be really noticeable at show time. In addition to that, the section of beach behind the seated ADA area had been designed as a general seated area, with row upon row of chairs, ‘Isaac side’. That made the standing, ‘GA’ area of the beach a lot narrower. While in previous years you used to be able to rock up to the stage shortly before start time and still get a good view from the sides, that was no longer possible, ...

The Shows Welcome Show Setlist The first show opened, as it is tradition now, with ‘Back to the Island’ and carried on with a really fun mix of covers and Hanson songs. Highlights among the covers for me were ‘Island in the Sun’ by Weezer, a Bob Marley ‘Three Little Birds/Stir it Up’ medley and an unexpected appearance of ‘Kokomo’ - finally a Beach Boys cover!  The rest was a mix of Hanson classics and oldies, and although I could live perfectly happily forever without watching another performance of ‘Where’s the Love’, old gems like ‘Been There Before’ and ‘Can’t Stop’ amply made up for it. The latter, in particular, has a special place in my heart because it was the opener at the first show in Cancun in 2015. Still a relatively new fan back then, with only the Anthem Tour (2013) behind me, I have this really vivid memory of being there for the first time, my heart suddenly sounding like a pneumatic drill in my ribcage as the guys walked on stage. Every single time you stop my hea...

It was the afternoon before I was due to fly to London Heathrow, where I had a hotel booked near Terminal 3 so that I could catch my 8:00 AM Virgin Atlantic flight to Montego Bay the next morning. I was finishing my packing when I noticed that my neck was itching. By dinner time I had fully broken out in hives. It got progressively worse through the night. By the time I got up at 6:00 AM, I was shaking all over from the heat on my skin against the cold of the morning. Despite dosing up on all the antihistamine tablets I could find, by the time I was at the Premier Inn at T3 I was not only feeling terrible, but panic was setting in. That night I phoned my husband, who pleaded with me not to go. Meanwhile, my sister was kicking herself because on my last visit to Italy only a couple of weeks before, she had given me a supply of essential medicines, including antibiotics to take to Jamaica, but no cortisone tablets, which she had in the house and which would have almost certainly cleared ...

I wonder how much these flip flops have actually cost me, I thought as I looked through my merch pack from the Island Gigs desk on a hot January morning. It was hard to believe that 2020 was my sixth stint on the island and my fifth visit to Jamaica. The last couple of months had been rough to say the least, and I was looking forward to seeing some good friends, splash around in the ocean and drink cocktails by the pool, not to mention the main attraction: four days of Hanson shows. With no setlist voting this year, I was optimistic, trusting that the band would surprise us with something different. Check out those very expensive flip-flops THE MAIN SHOWS Friday - Welcome Show Setlist In keeping with the last couple of years, the event kicked off to the calypso rhythm of “Back to the Island” - the song that lends its name to the event. I was happy to hear “Already Home” - it’s one of my favourite Hanson songs and one that sadly seems to have been dropped fro...

PICTURES DAY Traditionally, the fourth and final day of BTTI is Pictures Day, i.e. when you get the unique opportunity to have a professional picture taken with all three brothers, and if you’re lucky and determined enough, have a 30 seconds chat with them. It’s not really a Meet & Greet but with over 400 fans attending, it’s a good as it gets. Let’s be honest: most of us plan maniacally for Pictures Day. I doubt that the majority of fans are delusional enough to be trying to impress the guys; the reason for all the preparation is that, as we all know, once the photos are up on the HNET gallery, everybody in the fan base will be pouring over them for days and weeks. And you don’t really want to be the Worst Dressed Fan of BTTI 2018, do you? And so, every year, we prepare, carefully choosing The Right Outfit, accessories, shoes, hair and even shapewear (the latter, by the way, is torture in the tropical heat). A constant on Pictures Day is the weather. According to BTTI law, P...