I flew out of DFW around 12pm, my fight was comfortable and not very crowded, and I had the whole row on the plane to myself. I felt like I was flying first class minus the hot towel and boarding group number.
After downing a couple of Baileys in coffee, the plane landed in Jamaica and I made my way through immigration, relieved to find my luggage had made it before proceeding to get lost in the airport trying to find the transportation to the resort. Finally I found the bus I was supposed to take and was greeted by a older gentleman with a thick Jamaican accent who loaded up my luggage and directed me to the bus to find a seat.
Side note: What is it about getting on a bus I’m suddenly transported back to grade school looking around at the seats hoping to spot a familiar face so I don’t have to be that person saying “ Is this seat taken” . Lucky for me I found an empty row!
I had assumed the bus would be full of fans but it seems there were only a few of us, I instantly met three lovely ladies whose names I can’t remember but who were as excited as I was to get to the resort! The drive was long and boring, I was jetlagged and hungry so that didn’t probably make me an ideal passenger.
After checking in I went to find my friends and enjoy food, good conversation fueled by Bob Marley drinks. Before the show later that night I ran to my room to change out of my traveling clothes to get comfortable for a night of standing on a beach in Jamaica listening to Hanson play.
Is This Real Life?
With the ocean in the back ground sand between my toes holding a frozen something, I decided Hanson could have not played a single note and I could have cared less: I was living the dream at that moment.
The guys that night seemed to be in such a good mood as the show kicked off and the concert ended with a bonfire/cook-out on the beach. Sure, they could have not played it so safe with the set list - this was a fan club event; and yes, they could have played a lot of deep cuts, but I just figure not everyone is at the same number of shows or at the same level in the fandom that I am. Also “ If Only “ live never gets old.
Favorite Drinks Day 1:
Bob Marley’s
Dirty Banana
Pina Colada
Lemon Drop Shots
Shout Out’s:
- The guy at the immigration booth for holding up a line because you wanted my phone number O.o
- Girls on the bus, for not knowing what the name of the resort was either.
- American Airlines for keeping the liquor coming
- Montego Bay airport for playing Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar On Me” in baggage claim.
- My roommate Jessica for being calmer than I was for spending a small fortune, only to find out our room only had a king bed.
The Drinking Diaries:
Hangovers after a Hanson concert are something I try to avoid, but with free booze, old and new friends sharing my evening the enviable becomes the reality. Nevertheless, waking up and hearing the ocean out your door as you walk 20ft to a 24 hour coffee bar then another 20 ft. to have one of the many bartenders add liquor to your coffee then take a shower in a beautiful bathroom with a ocean view just before going to tie dye on the beach with Taylor Hanson and drink mimosas seems to have been the cure for this girls hangover.
Camp Hanson:
Waiting for Taylor to appear for tie dying is kinda like that moment in the movie Willie Wonka when they are on the boat and it keeps rowing never knowing where it’s going . When he did appear I’m pretty sure all logical thoughts flew out the window on everyone’s part. Shocker.
Taylor should have just formed a single file line and taken a picture with everyone before tie dying started. So we could get that distraction out of the way and move into the part where I managed to dye my hands totally purple.
My table decided to not follow the instructions and tie-dye boobs in our shirts, I have to give the Aussies credit for this brilliant idea! And yes folks this is the level of maturity all the free booze at BTTI brought out. When Taylor came to visit our table, he caught on really quick to our free styling and then asked if he could take a picture of our creations. Not going to deny I wish I could have a least seen the picture he took to double-check I didn’t make the “Taylor-Hanson-is-in-front-of-me” face.
Side note:
I have to say I never thought in my entire life I would be having a conversation with Taylor Hanson about boobs and why it was necessary to tie dye them in shirts.
Bracelet making with Zac:
I don’t know where to start, I sorta craft, but according to Zac Hanson my bracelet wasn’t very pretty and he informed me he would be totally ok with me going to buy one at the gift shop and giving him credit for it. In my defense I never made friendship bracelets in school for my friends, we did the whole heart lockets and matching Doc Martins thing instead.
Side Note: When I got home I watched a couple of YouTube videos and re did my bracelet. I knew I could do it, just not while Zac Hanson was watching.
Isaac’s activity:
Entertaining always. Paul McDonald was a nice touch to the activity, yet the whole thing felt very disconnected. Isaac was on a stage, unlike Taylor and Zac’s activity that were far more personable. As I sat there listening to Isaac read the trivia questions I was sorta bothered that he stayed on stage the whole time.
Maybe Taylor and Zac set the bar so high in their activities that when Isaac didn’t interact with anyone but the two people called on stage it was a bit of a let down. I don’t know exactly what I was expecting, but as I watched Isaac and Paul leave with an entourage consisting of resort staff and their crewmembers it left an unsatisfied taste. The questions weren’t difficult but they did however require using my brain and I was on vacation therefore my brain was left back in Dallas.
Rained out:
He slayed broken angel and almost had me in tears with bitter sweet , and I can’t stand that song that’s how I know it was a kick booty set! Plus watching Zac having to Google his lyrics during his solo set was a pretty priceless moment to witness.
Then the truly crappy thing happen that was really beyond anyone’s control, the main show got postponed due to weather. It was just a tiny bit of lightening and I still don’t see why they couldn’t move the show inside ,It really was such a let down , but you can’t argue with the weather.
The silver lining was Zac personally came on the beach to delivered the news. My friends and I drank our sorrows away into the night. See how the whole all-inclusive thing can become the only way I ever want to travel ever again?
Shout Outs:
-Zac for keeping things classy coming to tell us yourself about the postponed show
- Taylor for the wanting to give me a high five when my hands looked like I just took out Barney.
-The Bartenders for keeping the drinks coming
-The Grill for when you just want a burger at 2am.
-Megan for late night talks.
-Paola for having the best bug spray ever.
Favorite Drinks:
-Emeralds
-Dirty Bananas
-Strawberry with rum and a bunch of other stuff
Day three I think:
We did manage to take a brief glass bottom boat ride and splash around in the ocean before making our way to listen to Taylors solo set. Which was such a blur. I remember every word being played as a solo then a hair flip happen and well , there was face fur and a gun show in a tie dyed shirt, lets just say I’m weak and so glad my friends got video cos I have no idea after that what he played.
R&R Repeat:
Instead of an acoustic set the guys changed the show to the R&R tour covers I loved the covers night during R&R, primarily for selfish reasons, there’s no jumping except during Zacs closing number. Therefore the chances of me looking like my normal sweaty hot mess with kung-fu panda eyes where my waterproof mascara decides to run after a typically Hanson show substantially decreases. The fact was I was really looking forward to a old school acoustic and was pretty bummed it was changed. But back-to-back U2 covers and Zac climbing stuff, Isaac slaying a cover of stand by me made up for it, a little.
Shout outs:
- Mini bars in rooms
- Taylor Hanson for not screwing up his hair before BTTI
- Lisa Turner for being the best photographer on the Island
- The pizza place for the pizza that I’m still seeing in my dreams and on my ass
- Nilene for laughing till we had tears that we were sitting in the rain under a tarp.
Fav Drink:
-Jamaica Rum in Pepsi
-Emeralds
- Jamaica shots in the morning
Picture day:
It is a proven fact that you will never in your life feel more unattractive then when you’re having your picture taken with Isaac, Taylor and Zac Hanson. It’s the one moment you’ll wish you hadn’t had that Yolo meal 3 months ago, the one time your hair doesn’t cooperate and you suddenly start regretting your outfit choice. In less than 30 seconds you’ll swear off white bread and start a pinterest board devoted to outfits you’ll wear if you ever get a chance again at a photo with all three guys. Even if you know you slayed it , once you see the pictures you start picking apart every detail. We can’t help it; it’s our human nature
Side Note :I did make sure I had a few shots before but out of all the things that could have gone wrong everything went pretty smooth. I didn’t fall on my ass and I didn’t say something retarded like “ I like frogs” Whew !
Total Request Live aka Isaac’s Solo Set:
I’m going to cut the small talk and just get right to it. Having given his set some thought and comparing it with Zac and Taylor’s, it was clear to me that all three Hanson fall short when they have the spotlight only on them for longer than one song. They need the security of having each other on stage to make the show flow.
I had no idea what was going on that caused Isaac to start 45 mins late for his set. Gigs starting late are not a rare occurrence. Certainly not an uncommon thing for Hanson either, at least apologize for the tardiness, Sadly Isaac forgot a simply apology goes a long way, instead he made a joke that bombed.
I’m not sure what surrounded Isaacs’s impromptu decision to let the crowd take control of his set but I have very mixed feelings about it. On one hand the artist should maintain professionalism but on the other hand it made Isaac that much more human and less Isaac Hanson. Which for a change was kind of nice to see him in a less than perfect light.
I will say I think the relationship between fans and Hanson is a difficult one. As fans, we expect so much of them and Hanson’s ability to fulfill those expectations often falls inevitably short. That being said , it was my favorite of the solo sets. I enjoy less than perfect, I like that he listen to his fans and graced us with a never before heard song.
In the End:
The last show was full of energy and everyone around me had an amazing time. But that’s where it sorta stopped. The afterparty was a real let-down, not music selection wise, but just compared to what previous BTTI had portrayed via YouTube clips and the stories told along with the pictures posted. I thought that they guys would relax a little and maybe some crazy dancing would go down or costumes or I don’t know something noteworthy. Instead Zac tweeted his usual see ya next year tweet signaling he wasn’t going to be around later to say goodbye to, Isaac stayed back at the bar and Taylor ended up cutting the party short. I hate to be negative but the afterparty was the worst afterparty I have ever been to. People were more concerned about pictures of Taylor and getting pictures with Isaac that when a fan jumped on stage it was clear that I should have skipped it to get some rest before my flight the next day. Honesty, that’s tough for me to say considering I can typically find a way to have fun in any situation. It’s not that it differed than any other afterparty in format, it was just missing something and I can’t put my finger on it.
I found my self-falling in love all over again with this band and their music. I’d like to think the free booze had a lot to do with the love bubbles, but that wasn’t even a factor.
Whatever I lost some how I found on the beach in Jamaica. Then I ran into Zac in the airport, no makeup, in a tank top, yoga pants and flip flops with a Matt Wertz sweatshirt tied around my waist and Jackie wearing a R&R tour shirt. Can’t win them all right?
Shout Outs:
-To my new and old friends …..Words cannot express how much your friendships have meant to me. I feel truly blessed to have met each of you and call you friend.
- To my favorite band, from what felt like a blizzard in April and a mist of doubt to having a different perception in 5 days. Thank you.
- Billi for dancing like you don’t care at the after party with me, you’re a rockstar.
-Cecilia: the box of chocolates was a great snack on the flight home, you’re a doll!
- Jackie Team Ugly Bracelets 4 life
Verdict :
I’m glad to be home……I had to stop drinking or I would have needed a liver transplant .
