Tour Memories (and occasional musings)

Members Only Show Setlist The Members Only Show set is probably the BTTI ‘theme’ that gets the most votes every year because, well, when else do you get to hear those songs? For 2019, the Members Only set would fall on the final show - a momentous but inevitably bittersweet culmination of the event. I had high expectations: I’d loved the String Theory show and earlier in the day, I’d seen Taylor perform the best solo set I’d seen in five years.   Technical problems crept up two songs into the set. On my phone pad, where I keep a note of the setlist, I’d jotted down ‘sound!!!’ next to “Best of Times” . Shame, because the Isaac lead from the 2013 Sound of Light EP has become a kind of unofficial BTTI anthem and it’s one of those special ‘island moments’ that I always look forward to. Four songs later, the guys came to the front of the stage for “On and On” , one of the most visually striking songs in Hanson’s repertoire, providing a rare opportunity to see the three...

Please note: this post was written before I saw a ‘real’ String Theory show with an orchestra. Click here for the full setlist. If you read my two part review of the String Theory double album , you’ll already know that I am not a huge fan of the recorded project, mostly because of the recycling of old vocals and a sense that the orchestral arrangement didn’t really add much to some of the songs. However, I was very excited about the live experience, so when Hanson announced a String Theory shows at BTTI, I knew I’d be in for a treat. As it was confirmed during the “What is String Theory?” Q&A that afternoon, there would be no orchestra at the show, but instead, the band would play to the instrumental version of the album. It was no big surprise - let’s face it, how feasible would it be to get an orchestra on that small stage on the beach? Sure, it wasn’t going to be the real thing, but it was still going to be an upgraded version of the album, and I was all for th...

Rock All Night  The first BTTI show always kicks off at 10:00 PM to allow enough time for those who fly in on the same day. I like late shows, but that night I was quite tired, after a day of sheltering from the rain under a gazebo. It had been raining relentlessly until early evening so my fingers had pruned up, and my hair was a frizzy mess. But it was a Rock All Night themed show, so I put on a black dress, tried to summon some energy from my soggy, pruned-up self and headed for the main beach. Hanson opened the show with an acapella version of “Back to the Island” , followed by “Fired Up” , which, with its instantly recognisable guitar intro, is a somewhat predictable but very fitting start to a concert with a rockier slant. “I’ve Got Soul” - followed, as it usually does on most Hanson setlists. So far, so rock’n’roll, for Hanson’s standards, anyway: let’s face it, they’re not exactly heavy . Another recognisable guitar riff introduced the I’ll-be-damned-i...

If you’re heading to Jamaica for the first time next week, you might be feeling a little apprehensive about this much-talked about Hanson event, which is now in its seventh year. So, as a semi-veteran (I have attended four BTTIs so far, 2015-18), I thought I’d share my Top 10 tips for a smooth and fun vacation at what some of us refer to as Hanson Summer Camp. #1 Give yourself a chance to acclimatise to the Caribbean sun: wear plenty of sunscreen and take some breaks in the shade. Looking like a lobster for the rest of the event sucks, and looking like a lobster in your picture with the band sucks even more. Don’t forget that sunscreen even if the sky is overcast: last year I ended up with sunburn one side of my body just from sitting at the swim-up bar drinking shots to keep warm in the dreadful weather. #2 It’s easy to get carried away when you first get to the all-inclusive but take it from me and pace yourself with the drinking: you don’t want to spend the e...

Reaching for the Sky Pt.2 The story continues: As the boy grew to a man He built tall ladders to ascend And those around him said with spite Risk of failure isn't worth the fight. [Full lyrics on Hansonstage] The song picks up from where Part 1 left off and tells us more about the boy, who is now striving against difficulties and fighting against all odds. This Time Around The general consensus is that the vocals were re-recorded for TTA - possibly due to the publishing rights still being owned by Def Jam. Isaac, in particular, sounds very much as ‘current’ Isaac as he belts out his verse. But vocals aside, I keep forgetting that there’s an orchestra playing - it’s very subtle in the intro and my brain just tunes out all the new stuff and fixates on the familiar: i.e. a track I’ve listened to a million times. As the orchestra kicks in properly halfway through, so does the horns section, and it sounds like everything was thrown in indiscriminately, favouring no...

It was early 2018 when Hanson began to share cryptic messages asking ‘What is String Theory?’ through their official Twitter account. But the rumour of an orchestra project had been floating around a for a while - I had first heard about in Tulsa at Hanson Day 2017, when the band had dropped the information in front of a couple of fans with the calculated timing of a Soviet-style, well-oiled propaganda machine. It was clear that Hanson were preparing their fans for The Next Thing. String Theory is now here, in the form of a double album and an orchestral tour that has taken Hanson to several North American cities and that will reach Europe and Australia in early 2019. I haven’t been to a String Theory show yet, and prior to the album release, I had tried not to listen to too many clips from the US tour, so as not to totally spoil my enjoyment for the tour and to let the album’s new orchestral arrangements surprise me. Now that I’ve had this double album on heavy rotation for a fe...

This post was originally posted on the Hanson.net forum by Robyn under his screen name @robinbond. When I asked Robyn if I could link to the post on my review of the album, he pointed out that the post was on the Members Only side, which would have been inaccessible for non-members. So we decided to repost Robyn's analysis on my blog as a guest post where everybody will be able to read his insightful, detailed analysis. Thanks, Robyn, for letting me share it! There's a boy I used to know - Reaching For The Sky (AMBITION SEARCHING FOR ONE’S PLACE IN THE WORLD) If I could turn the world to a melody I think so many troubles would cease to be - Joyful Noise (MOTIVATION) Look at what you're doing. Where's the love? It's not enough; it makes the world go round - Where's The Love (ACKNOWLEDGMENT This is the line drawn in the sand that turns a boy into a man - Dream It Do It (PROCLAMATION) It's gone so fast... In a MMMBop it's gone - MMMBop (USE THI...