Roots & Rock 'n' Roll Tour: New Orleans

New Orleans was my non-negotiable stop on this tour. It's been a complicated year for me, so when I bought all of my tickets I didn't have a clue which cities I would actually be able to make it to and which ones I might have to sell. New Orleans is the one city in the United States I've always wanted to visit but hadn't had the opportunity yet, so when Zac's 30th birthday fell on those dates, I knew I had to make at least this one work. It ended up being the one stop on the tour where most of my friends went, so we met up from various places and played the role of tourists for a change (can I coin the term TOURist?). We celebrated Zac's 30th by splurging on good food.

There was Crawfish Étouffée

Fried Alligator

Bread Pudding



Beignets with Chocolate Milk



Chocolate Covered Apples



And Pralines I ate so fast I didn't stop to think about pictures.

In addition to the great food, we saw the Garden District, the French Quarter, a cemetery, a Dr. Seuss art gallery, a whole lot of Mardi Gras beads in trees, and apparently Nicholas Cage's old house. Oh yeah, and Hanson.

The show started with a crowd-sized rendition of Happy Birthday to Zac (during which he sang "Happy Birthday to me" with big pointed thumb gestures at himself. The guy will never actually be 30 inside), followed by the first time I have ever heard "Teach Your Children." They brought out a new Leon Russell cover called "Delta Lady" and gave us an Isaac-heavy set the second day with back to back performances of "Deeper" and "Hand in Hand" as well as closing out with "Watch Over Me." The first night closed exactly the way you would expect with a cheesecake in Zac's face and a smile on everyone else's.

Click HERE to check out a few more pictures from the shows.

Roots & Rock 'n' Roll Tour: Atlanta

The great thing about traveling for this band and being a part of this fan base for an extended period of time is that there comes a point where going to a show "alone" stops existing. You can plan alone, you can float between friend groups, but the feeling of "I don't know anybody here" just ceases to be a thing. Still, Atlanta was my first time in seven years planning a trip on my own without gluing myself to a specific group of friends the entire time. I carpooled with one group of friends, shared a hotel with another, spent time in line with yet another group, and then braved the shows surrounded completely by strangers.

The whole experience brought me back to what it felt like to be the new kid that doesn't know everybody. It's a little unsettling and awkward, but it also holds a lot of potential for new friendships if you let it. While I would have loved to share these shows with the girls I have grown so used to traveling with, I have to say it reminded me of what I miss out on when I do that every other time. I like to think that I'm open to meeting new people and making new fan friends, but the truth is having that core group of best friends can also be a little bit of a crutch. It's not one I use on purpose, but I think when you get a little too comfortable in the space you've carved out for yourself, you wind up letting other opportunities to make new friends suffer for it. So yes, I  missed my usual partners in crime in Atlanta. But I also really enjoyed getting to connect with some newer friends I might not have had the opportunity to spend time with otherwise. High fives to you girls for making my time in Atlanta a fun one. :-)

As for the shows, I was ecstatic about the whole cover song concept from day one. I may or may not have told Zac in Cancun that the Christmas/Cover song set was one of my all-time favorite Hanson shows ever (to which my friend immediately pointed out "You do realize you just told the guy your favorite Hanson show was one where he didn't play any of his own music, right?" Oops. Not what I meant). It didn't disappoint. "God Only Knows" was phenomenal. Zac and Taylor's voices blend together so well it's like the same person singing a duet with themselves sometimes. "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard" was an unexpected highlight too, and it has been stuck in my head ever since ("Goodbye to Ro-o-sie, Queen of Corona...").

I've heard "Chain of Fools" before, but never cared much about it. Let Zac sing it though, and it's time to do a double take. Isaac looked really into it too even though he wasn't singing lead. Zac nailed "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" as I knew he would, though I'll never be able to sing along to "touching you, touching me" with a straight face.

There were two big stand-outs to me over the course of these two shows.

1. A Song For You. (video courtesy of Rachel H. from the Dallas show)

I had never heard this Leon Russell song prior to the livestream of Hanson's Chicago show a few weeks ago. I was hooked the moment I heard it on Yahoo, and hearing it in person was even better. People can argue about the quality of Taylor's voice and who should sing lead on what song, but I feel like this song showcased every good thing about it. Tell me Taylor's voice is gone, and I'll point at this song and carry on my happy fan way.

2. How much I actually appreciate Hanson songs.

That probably sounds ridiculous, but what I mean is that hearing the cover songs I was so excited about made me realize how much I really do appreciate Hanson's original songs. Every time they threw in a Hanson tune on covers night, I got this huge involuntary grin and couldn't wait to sing along. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, I guess.

I try not to give mine too much down-time to find out, though. Can't wait for round two of my Roots & Rock 'n' Roll Tour experience in Los Angeles and San Francisco next week!

Look At You vs. Give a Little

It hit me today that “Look At You” is the adolescent version of “Give a Little.”

You probably have to be a mega-super Hanson nerd of a very small niche to care what I’m about to say next, but if you happen to fall into the super fan category AND you loved English class, read on.

Both songs are narrated from the perspective of a(n assumedly) male protagonist in some sort of dance scenario with a girl. For the sake of this analysis, let’s say we’re talking about 14 year old Taylor approaching a girl vs 27 year old Taylor approaching a girl. The two songs are like snapshots taken in the same place of the same subject 13 years apart. Let’s look at the one from 1997 first.

“Look at You” is about a boy who hasn’t found his inner confidence or comfort zone just yet. We don’t know the exact setting. Middle school dance? Cool kids’ party? It doesn’t really matter. What we know is that he’s at some sort of dance and he’s being your stereotypical nervous fly on the wall at the beginning: “Standing in the shadows wondering what I'm doing here/Wishing something would happen, maybe I could disappear." Then in walks this girl with all the confidence in the world making it look so easy. (This is your basic Jake Ryan/Samantha Baker role reversal, Sixteen Candles fans). He knows that you don’t get the girl by staying in the corner, and you can hear him talking himself into action in the bridge: “Just kick off your shoes, get on the floor/This is what we came here for…Just get on the floor.” For years I took that more as a generic instruction to the person listening to the song, the all-knowing singer urging the audience to go dance and have a good time. I really think it’s the main character’s advice to himself, though, psyching himself up to do something he’s nervous about. It rhymes and flows a lot better than “Suck it up and get out there!” but that’s the basic plot so far.

Then comes the chorus which boils down to a whole lot of looking and not so much happening (Sorry, kid. You won't get any action verbs in your chorus for another decade).The next verse starts with “In the middle of the dance floor, lights shining in my face,” so at this point our protagonist has advanced from the shadows and joined the crowd on the dance floor. But before he can make any big decisions, the girl makes the move for him and encourages him with “why don't you come and give it a try/Get on the floor, just kick off your shoes/You ain't got a thing to lose.”

Presumably, boy gets on the floor. Boy kicks off shoes. Boy loses nothing except his nervousness, and ultimately, boy grows up to voice a much more confident dance scenario as a result.

Next is Zac’s crazed rambling at the end of the song. I always enjoyed his rant about a purple moose as much as the next 9-year-old girl, but even back then the shy guy at the beginning never meshed well with the shouting frenzy at the end to me. I appreciated it because it sounded fun, but it never really made any sense. This guy wants to disappear into the shadows at the mere thought of dancing, and then roughly three minutes later, he wants to be turned loose “like a one-eyed purple moose?” and is comfortable shouting “Let’s do it?” I’m not buying it. We’re only getting the perspective of one guy throughout the song, so it never crossed my mind to assign Zac’s part to some other character. Listening to it this time, it occurred to me: what if Zac’s letting loose at the end is a representation of the shy guy’s inner voice? He’s the voice of the dancing maniac locked deep down in a shy guy shell, awoken finally at the insistence of a confident girl with moves and hips. Maybe I’m reading too much into it or finally understanding something really obvious about 18 years too late, but it’s an interesting possibility and one that makes Zac’s part of the song finally make sense to me.

Now let’s look at “Give a Little.” You can tell within the first sentence that the guy has grown up a bit. Yeah, he’s still a little insecure and worried about being teased for his “flirty quips” or for choosing the wrong words to say to this girl, but the bigger victory is that he spoke to her at all. No more trying to disappear into the corner. You can still hear that same inner voice of encouragement trying to talk himself into action, though: “You gotta show her why she can't resist/Make her blush when you put your hand on her hips.” Again, I always took this as an instructional how-to to the listener, but I really think he’s talking himself through his own process, only this time it’s with such a confidence that he could be teaching someone his moves.

One of the subtle details I find the most interesting is the way the power has shifted from the girl in “Look At  You” to the guy in “Give a Little.” You can make your own judgments about what that means, but I choose to see it as a simple shift in self-confidence. The guy in the second song isn’t the shy guy from before. He has learned that you have to put yourself out there to get what you want, and he has a better idea of how to do it thirteen years later. In “Look at You,” the girl is the one that “walks in with that look in her eye,” but in “Give a Little,” he suggests “You gotta hold her, with that look in your eyes.” He’s the one with “that look” of confidence now, and he no longer looks at her and wonders what she’s going to do. Then there’s the mention of hips in both songs. In “Look at You,” he says “She breaks the silence with a move of her hips/You better hang on don't want to lose your grip.” She has all the power here, and he’s just trying to keep up. In “Give a Little,” her hips are a way for him to turn the tables and control the situation: “You gotta show her why she can't resist/Make her blush when you put your hand on her hips.”

My favorite line to support this interpretation is this: “She loves to keep you in suspense/ But you know she just wants to dance.”

He spends the whole first song not being too sure of anything; suspense is an understatement for how he feels about her. But this line in “Give a Little” reads like a before and after for someone who has been there and finally figured it all out. She wants to appear suspenseful and complex (“everybody wonders when they look at you,” “She's gonna keep on playing until you stop chasing”), but underneath it all, you (finally!) know she just wants you to ask her to dance. He goes from wondering to knowing, and it shows in the way he describes the two situations.

I think we're out of time for today, but if you're the type that likes homework: Think about the next incarnation of the dance song scenario and track the change in confidence from from "standing in the shadows, wondering what I'm doing here" all the way to "you’re in my top ten, I like the way you bend/You’re cooler than ice, you don’t have to pretend." Taylor Hanson: Wallflower to unabashed DJ in 18 years.

Class dismissed. :-)

A Traveling Fan's Manifesto

This post was inspired by another great manifesto that I wholeheartedly agree with over at thegoodgroupie.com. Check it out!

Let's also be impressed I made it this far without ruining the moment and referring to this as a "Fanifesto."

FOR SALE: PAIR OF NEW ORLEANS TICKETS (SOLD)

F̶o̶r̶ ̶S̶a̶l̶e̶ Sold: Two tickets to Hanson’s New Orleans shows Oct. 22nd and 23rd. Included in this once-in-a-lifetime package deal is a pair of tickets to the after party hosted by the talented DJ Taylor Hanson. Asking face value price of $209.48 for the entire package.

These tickets are top-of-the-line print at home and include the official Live Nation trademark emblem to validate their authenticity. They come printed on the highest quality parchment with the finest ink* and offer a tranquil gray background and bold capital fonts to commemorate this unforgettable event. You will also receive a half-page of ads and fine print at no additional cost**.

In addition to the satisfaction of simply owning tickets, you will be treated to the memorable experience of TWO NIGHTS of Hanson performances. Imagine double the respect and double the bragging rights that a normal show brings from all of your less fortunate peers. Enjoy a special mix of cover songs on night one as well as some of Hanson’s best original tunes on night two. These tickets guarantee you a space equal to or lesser than the size of your body in the general admission floor area and are a great opportunity to bring you and your closest friend even closer.

The after party is sure to be a treat and a moment in Hanson history that you won’t want to miss. Sure, you might have missed the first time Hanson ever performed your favorite song live, but with these tickets, you may very well be able to tell your grandchildren: “I was there the 23rd time DJ Taylor Hanson spun Another One Bites the Dust.” Don’t wait on this once-in-a-lifetime experience. Reach out and buy yourself the gift of a lifetime today.

*Should you choose to equip your home printer with these materials.
**less the price of ink

Disclaimer: These tickets do not guarantee any interaction, requests, gratitude, or photo opportunity on the behalf of Hanson. They do not entitle you to any special recognition or wish fulfillment by the band. Any such interaction is entirely circumstantial and up to the band's discretion, generosity, and tight schedule. Such events are not owed to you due to the purchase of these tickets.

(Inside) Inside the Box

1. "Dance Like You Don't Care"

"Dance Like You Don't Care" is one of those songs you're not meant to study too closely. It has more of an electronic sound than I normally like, I laughed hard at some of the lyrics the first time I saw them on paper ("have it sauteed, grilled or filleted..."), and I have no idea what a "swing man" is. But put it all together and it just sounds like a good time. This one is tied for my favorite song on Inside the Box.  I mean how could I NOT like a song with a Space Jam pun?

(Bonus points because I knew he was saying kool-aid all along.)



2. "Give Me Your Best Shot"

This song is like the angry, trash-talking cousin of "You Can't Stop Us." The difference is it's directed at one person, and it's missing that extra punch in the drums. It works though, because it's not threatening to beat you up exactly. It says something more like "I don't need to pound anything heavy and intimidating because even your best shot is pretty weak." Best part: the line "Your face is turning red/But my knuckle's turning white."

3. "Grace Unknown"

I have to admit, based on the title alone, I didn't have high hopes for this song. But then Isaac's voice happened and that was the end of that short-lived, unfounded opinion. I really like everything about the sound of this song, from the instruments to the harmonies and all kinds of fun music-speak I don't know the terms for. Bottom line, I think I speak for everyone when I say:



4. "Don't Hide Your Tears"

I caught the end of the livestream for this song when it was still in the works, and I just knew it was going to be a skip song. My first impression is that it sounded cheesy and fluffy and not about anything real. And then all the stuff with my dad happened and I finally got the finished product in my hands, and the lyrics felt like they were written for me. "Let me be your escape/Every day I'll run away with you" and "Let me heal your tragedy/ Turn your troubled heartbeat red from blue." That was my Hanson Day experience this year put into words and wrapped up with little angelic Beach Boy-style harmonies on top. One of Hanson's strengths has always been the way their voices blend together, and this song showcases some of their best harmonies, in my opinion. I think if I had to pick, this one is my real favorite from Inside the Box. It's a happy sad that just makes me feel better when I listen to it.

5. "What Are We Fighting For"

The first line of "What Are We Fighting For" throws me off every time. My brain wants to think he's just repeating the same phrase a little bit differently, but then it catches that subtle difference between "What are we fighting?" and "What are we fighting for?" One is looking for a reason, and one is looking for that thing that brings people together in the first place that makes any fight worth fighting. I love that the title is the version of that question that looks for the deeper connection and not the fight itself. It's more hopeful that way.

Or maybe this is just a classic example of an English teacher over-analyzing and reading into something that isn't there.




My only disappointment with this year's kit is the lack of Styx song titles. Come on, Hanson. After "Best of Times" in 2013 and "Show Me the Way" in 2014, I had high hopes for a "Come Sail Away," or knowing Zac, a "Mr. Roboto."

Hanson Day 2015

I always do my best to provide a good mix of recap and personal anecdotes in my blog. With any trip, my goal is to create a written memory for myself as well as an image of what it was like to be there for those that couldn't make it. This year, I can't give you the full breakdown I would normally afford a Hanson Day post because it was a very different trip for me. This post is more personal than usual because this trip felt more personal than usual, and representing it as just a bulleted list of events feels false and inadequate. Instead of a traditional recap, here's a glimpse what Hanson Day 2015 was to me.

Lectures

If you had asked me months ago after the initial Hanson Day announcement what I was most excited about, I would have said Taylor’s Song Story lecture. I’m a word nerd forever, and I love any glimpse I can get into the meaning of songs. Maybe you read my Seven Things I’d Like to See at a Future Hanson Day Event post last year and remember me jokingly brushing off the idea of Taylor doing a lecture about song meanings. Sometimes being wrong is awesome.

I was ecstatic about the Song Story announcement and took forever to decide what story of my own would be worthy of sharing before finally sending in my 300 word submission. Fast forward to about a month before the trip, my family found out some really bad news about my dad’s health. Work stress piled on top, and I began to question if this was the first Hanson Day I would sit out. I ultimately decided that I needed the distraction and welcomed the chaotic buzz that has become part of the packaged deal that is Hanson Day. I didn't choose "With You In Your Dreams" or anything particularly emotional, and the story I decided to tell had nothing to do with sickness or my dad. It did, however, have the potential to turn into an emotional conversation, and about a week before the trip, I decided that I really wasn't up for having that conversation on stage. I emailed and withdrew my submission from whatever small chance it had of being chosen because I didn’t want to risk falling apart in front of a crowd.

I knew I made the right decision the minute Taylor called up a fan who had chosen "With You In Your Dreams" because it helped her get through losing her dad. She handled the conversation so well, and I sat amazed at her strength and ability to talk about it openly without breaking down. I am a pretty stoic person most of the time. I've stood dry-eyed through numerous performances of "With You in Your Dreams” and "Lay Me Down," and I’m fairly certain that my bff of 12 years has still never seen me cry to this day. But this year, as Taylor played an impromptu rendition of "With You In Your Dreams,” I broke a ~90 show tear-free streak. My friends quietly patted me on the back and produced a wad of napkins from God knows where to comfort me there in the 2nd row while Taylor sang straight into my little broken heart. That song in that moment meant so much to me, and I both loved and hated him for playing it so unexpectedly. One of the first things I told my friend after finding out the severity of my dad’s illness was I'm never going to be able to handle hearing "With You in Your Dreams" again, and I dreaded the next time I would have to sit through it. But because life is full of ironic symbolism sometimes, it was the very first song I heard Hanson perform live after finding out the news about my dad. It was a bittersweet moment that I won't ever forget.

State of the Band

The State of the Band talk is pretty much the business meeting of the event. We got tour news, nerdy website talk (pins, the new hnet logo that I can’t not read as “hat,” etc.), and the announcement of the MOEY winners.

A strange thing happened here that I certainly didn’t see coming and that I'm not going to bother overanalyzing, rationalizing, or apologizing for. I'll give it to you in math terms:

MOEY categories = 6
Number of categories I entered = 1
Number of categories I won = 2

Now I've never been good with math, but that probability never entered my mind when I submitted my entry. I mean how could it? Your reaction will probably fall somewhere on the scale of standing ovation to eye-roll, but it happened. I went home with two little monkeys for Concept Album and Hnet MVP. I'm amazed, flattered, and thoroughly floored. Thank you to everyone that voted for me and thought I was worthy of another couple of awkward moments on stage ❤.  At least you didn't have to watch me dance this time.

Show

[insert the usual adjectives here: "really fun," "awesome," "amazing," "excellent," etc.]

"Dance Like You Don't Care" was a definite highlight for me and a great way to open the show. "Lost Without You" as a solo was gorgeous, "On and On" will always be a favorite of mine, and "White Collar Crimes" was just plain necessary. I noticed they taped down the lyrics for the song "Don't Hide Your Tears" from the 2015 membership kit, but they never made a move to play it. I guess there's always next year, and I'll be ready when they do finally decide to gift us with those killer harmonies.

The afterparty took place during some crazy monsoon and tornado scare, and I was half-afraid that we would have to stay in Cain's until the warning was lifted. Thankfully, the rain had stopped by the time we walked out. What hadn't stopped was some random "Yeah" track that kept repeating over and over. I left a few minutes early due to an early morning and ended up missing the encore(s) of "Another One Bites the Dust."

Hop Jam

I can't speak in solstice terms, but for me personally, Hop Jam day is the longest day of the year. It starts early and ends late (or early depending on how you look at it), but everything in between is worth the hassle. I admire how hard everyone on staff works for this band and how much teamwork goes into creating a successful event. And to my fellow volunteers, I can't say it enough: YOU ROCK. (And lift, and stack, and sweat, and repeat.)

I'm not sure why, but I enjoyed Hanson's Hop Jam set far more this year than last year. Maybe I just needed it more, or maybe it was due to the great group of friends jumping around me, but I had an absolute blast. We put the "hop" in "Hop Jam" every chance we got, and we had plenty of room for a terrible group execution of the "Thinking 'Bout Somethin'" dance. I wouldn't have it any other way and look forward to recreating our tired mess of flailing next year. Everyone is welcome to join.


Final Thoughts

I wasn't kidding in my MOEYs post or in my brief mess of an acceptance speech about how important this community is to me. I've been an active fan club member for eight years now, and the Hop Jam show was my 90th Hanson event. I've loved every single show that came before and have always had the desire to travel and see Hanson, but this is the first time I felt like I actually needed it. I didn't need it in that joking "MUST. GO. TO. DISNEY." kind of way. I needed it because when my life was getting a little bit too hard and too much to handle, I had this amazing group of friends to support me along with some really talented musicians who had no idea how much I needed them, and yet they were still there for me, too.

In retrospect, I guess I don't really have a "song story" of one song that speaks to me that I can call "my song." Instead, I have a whole band and a community and a place in a crowd that gets me, whether that's front row center or in a parking lot a block from the stage. This is my band and my fan community. This is my happy place and my escape. This is my vacation and my home and foreign and familiar all at once, and I am so grateful to have found a place in it all.

The 2015 MOEY Awards

Anyone that is part of a fan base knows that sometimes the love in that community wears thin. Sure, we have our happy bonding moments (i.e. when you hear a Hanson ringtone several aisles away in Target, and it’s necessary to “walk” over and find out the source so you can meet your new BFF). But for every one of those moments, there’s another where it’s more of a “You’re my sister so I have to love you, but I kind of want to throw things at you right now” type of love. If you stick around long enough, you’ll see a lot of ups and downs in the fan community. You stay because your love for the band that brought you together is stronger than any petty argument.

Let me apologize in advance, because the sap content going forward in this post is high. We're talking maple syrup for days.

THE MOEYs

What are the MOEYs?
Where can I vote?

I’m writing this to say how blown away I was by all of the support I saw during the entry period, and I'm seriously proud of our fan base as a whole. Each entry required a specific number of views or likes in order to qualify as a submission. And instead of an outbreak of competition or favoritism, everyone supported each other. Videos without enough views were actively pushed by friends and often complete strangers. People “liked” and shared content from others that would inevitably become their own competition. I would love it if there was a surprise category for “best supporting role” to award someone who really went above and beyond to promote others, even if they made no entries themselves.

For several weeks now, Hanson fans have been working hard to submit some truly impressive and entertaining material. I know exactly where my comfort zone is, so I stuck with a written entry. To be honest, the video categories terrified me. I have tons of respect for every person that had the guts to enter for the lip syncing categories, and there were so many. There were great recreation videos, a construction paper stop-motion video, and some classic hairbrush-in-your-bedroom-mirror style lip syncing moments just to name a few. Picking a favorite would be impossible, and I’m seriously glad I wasn’t faced with the task of narrowing down the submissions. I'm in great company in my prospective categories and liked several of the concept albums during the entry stages myself. Everyone that entered should feel accomplished, and nobody should be made to feel bad about being chosen or not chosen as a finalist.

I’m hesitant to share this post because I know exactly how sappy it is, and I’ve talked myself out of it and deleted three different versions already. I really don’t want it to come off as a “vote for me” tactic, though I know tackling the MOEY topic at all is probably going to come off that way at least a little. I’ll end by saying it was fun to participate as an entrant and a spectator, and I think everyone that made the effort and had the courage to enter deserves a round of applause. It’s amazing the level of street teaming and camaraderie that can be inspired by a little plastic monkey, a little determination, and a big supportive community of fans.

Best Fan Community Hanskeys for all. :-)

#AwkwardFanConfession(s)

In my last post, I confessed to a pretty embarrassing encounter with Hanson, and I thought it would be fun to collect and share few stories from other fans. Here's what you guys had to say about your awkward moments:

Thanks for all of the fun submissions, and best of luck with your next awkward encounter(s)! Just remember that for every accidental hug, there's someone else out there that has done the same.

That Awkward Moment When...

There’s one totally relatable topic that I’ve somehow never addressed here. I’m talking about that moment when you're interacting with your favorite band and some combination of your inner fangirl and/or natural stupidity decides to make an appearance. That foot-in-mouth or maybe even more literal face-on-ground moment that had you completely mortified while they handled it with grace because they’ve always seen worse. It’s usually followed by the inner struggle of both wanting to take it to your grave and wanting to tell all of your friends in the spirit of a good laugh and a reminder that we’re not alone in our moments of stupidity. I'm pretty sure best friends are just kindred idiot spirits secure enough to laugh at each other together.

If you've been around other fans for any extended amount of time, then you know there's something weirdly magical about getting in a car or sitting on a sidewalk with someone for hours that makes you want to spill all of those stories and collect them like trading cards. We've all got a few Jokers in the deck.

So here’s one of mine, a confession I've never made to the internet:

One time I accidentally hugged Taylor Hanson. I mean a full-on “oops, my arms are around you and you weren’t expecting it” scenario.

I can’t even use the excuse that I was young and stupid or that it was one of my first times meeting the band and I didn’t know how to react. Nope, it was last year. I was an adult. I had met the band plenty of times before without accidentally hugging anyone.

It happened in Jamaica at BTTI 2014 during the individual photos with the band. When my turn came, I walked up and Taylor held out his arms to me. It surprised me because I had watched plenty of people in line ahead of me, and none of them had gotten hugs. It didn’t make sense that he would try to hug me and no one else, but there he was with open arms, so I went with it and started to reciprocate. My arms are halfway around the guy and what he says next puts on all the brakes. ALL the brakes. In a painfully reluctant voice, he goes,

“Oh…so...I guess we’re gonna hug?”

(Don't read playful "haha, we're joking" inflections into that sentence. There weren't any.)

What do you even say to that? We're so used to the perfectly polished, appreciative “That's awesome! Nice to see you!” Taylor Hanson that is normally present at M&Gs, and here was brutally honest and completely caught off guard Taylor Hanson instead. I’m not going to take it personally because I think he was just as confused as I was, but helloooo, awkward. Too late to pull out some obvious "Oh, you thought I was hugging you? I was just stretching my arms in your general direction" save.

So he hugs me back and we survive the most awkward, mutually unwanted hug. My bad, I guess maybe he was just putting his arms out to put one around me in the picture.  Lesson learned. We take the picture and I’m so embarrassed that for once I can't wait to get away from Hanson, but I also can’t walk away without apologizing. I’m not sure what kind of word vomit came out, but I know I told him I was sorry for the awkward hug and that I totally misread the situation. The whole thing must have been full of secondhand embarrassment for them too, because Zac’s response was a very sweet “That’s okay, we can hug” and a big (intentional, I swear!) pity hug. It was a nice gesture that really did make me feel better, but I still walked away mortified and swearing to myself to never physically interact without some sort of verbal confirmation first.

The irony wasn't lost on me as I stood in line for my picture this year in Mexico and watched as all three Hansons hugged every single person in line.  I thought about going up and saying “Oh, so…I guess we’re gonna hug?” when it was my turn. Thankfully, I’m fully aware that the only thing more awkward than a mortifying moment with your favorite band is trying to bring it back up a year later and expecting them to know what in the world you’re talking about. I let the perfect year-late comeback go unsaid and got through a relatively normal M&G photo instead.

Fast forward to the final show later that night on Isla Mujeres. Taylor came down from the stage during their cover of “Back to the Island” and started high fiving the front row. I responded the way I always do, by holding onto the barricade while everyone behind me surged forward with outstretched hands, perfectly content to just hold my own space. So while Taylor is high fiving and coming my way, I’m watching his hand as it goes into the crowd. Keep your eye on the ball so you don’t get smacked in the face, right? I watch as he high fives the people to my left, a series of *palm* *palm* *palm* into the crowd, but then for me, a baffling fist. I’m thinking okay, he sees that I’m not responding to the high five invitation, so he’s trying for a fist bump instead? I fist bump him, then look up at the confused look on his face and immediately realize that whatever he was going for, a fist bump was NOT it. My friend turns and says "Holly, he was saying you look squeezed." He had only been making fists to mimic the way I was holding onto the barricade. By the time I realize this, he has already moved on and more people are fist bumping him. I just stand there laughing at myself because in the world of accidental salutations, at least I've downgraded from hugs to fist bumps. Someone should just tie my hands already.

I had no idea the whole thing was captured on video until it showed up on Hanson.net a few weeks later. It looks quick and normal enough from the outside. Cute, even. Sometimes you just have to laugh at yourself and let everyone else in on it too. And then you stop and thank God that nobody has been around to record all of life's accidental hugs.

Now it's your turn. My next post is going to be a compilation of awkward/embarrassing fan stories, and I want to hear yours!

Submission Guidelines
Submit your story of 300 words or less via email to holly@travelingfan.net. If you have pictures/video documenting the moment, you're welcome to submit those as well. Please include how you would like to be credited (full name, name + twitter handle, name + website url, etc.). I'll take submissions until the end of Sunday, February 22nd. Think Seventeen magazine's Traumarama, traveling fan style. Please keep it PG, and all entries come with free spell-check service. :-)

Don't have a full story, but still want to share an awkward moment? Tweet yours with the hashtag #AwkwardFanConfession and I'll include it in the post. I can't wait to hear your stories!