Hotel Cafe: Taylor Hanson and You Pt. 2

Take These Wings & Fly

For this month’s edition of flight adventures on the way to see Taylor in California, I’m happy to report I didn't throw my phone down an escalator this time, but I did have more success finding my friend (other Holly) 30,000 feet above Arizona than I did inside the LAX airport. 

Let me explain. We both flew into LAX from different cities and were scheduled to land around 30 minutes apart. The plan was to meet up in the airport, then share an Uber to our hotel. Mid-flight, Holly sent a group message about being disappointed that her plane didn’t go directly over the Grand Canyon, but seemed close. I told her my view looked oddly similar to what she was describing, and she responded “Right now I’m being blinded by some shiny object in the distance.” I look out my window and sure enough, there are almost-Grand-Canyon vibes and some Emerald City-looking blinding glass building way off in the distance. “Are you secretly on my plane??” I asked. The answer was no, but about 10 spot-the-difference photos and one blown up group chat later, we determined that we were both in right-side window seats flying the exact same route with her plane maybe three minutes ahead of mine. Definitely one of the weirdest small world moments I’ve experienced.

We ended up landing about five minutes apart, but my flight landed in the international terminal, and hers didn’t. Despite last month’s evidence to the contrary, I can generally navigate an airport with no problem, so please know that I mean it when I say there were literally zero signs referring to the existence of other terminals in the entire wing that I landed in.  There were also no maps and no employees. The maps I found online didn’t line up with the numbered gates I was seeing with my own eyes. I wandered for a solid 20 minutes before I finally found an employee and asked for directions. “Walk down that way until you see an escalator, and then take it up,” he said. I found the escalator. I took it up. It dumped me—I kid you not—in the middle of a P.F. Chang’s. Fortunately at this point there was a sign for the other terminals confirming that LAX wasn’t just playing a joke on me, so I wheeled my suitcase past the lo mein and through a hallway in the back of the restaurant that finally led me to Holly. I greeted her with “Why was it easier to find you in the sky??” It took so long to find each other that we ended up just waiting on two more friends to arrive and all took one Uber together.



While I was only in town for two days, I tried to make the most of my time and squeeze in more than just seeing Taylor. Across the two days, I managed to go to a Jennifer Hudson Show taping, visit a popup boyband bar, eat at Barney’s Beanery in West Hollywood, walk down the Santa Monica Pier, and have my first Korean BBQ experience, all with a mix of several friends. We had a really good time and I wish I could have stayed longer.
(Also I may have to use my impending excess hnet fan club money to join a kbbq fan club in the future, because YUM!)

In a Little While I'll Be There

I didn’t show up as early as I usually do for regular Hanson shows, and by the time we got there, the line was decently long. (It was also broken in half about 30 people back with the rest lined up on the opposite wall, because apparently this is the protocol for when there's 💩 in the middle of the line 🤮). I wasn’t entirely surprised to see that Hanson’s Dad, Walker, was there and talking to fans. He ended up coming down the entire line and talking to fans in groups of four at a time. I couldn’t tell you what he spoke with everyone else about, but he seemed content to just greet everyone, ask where they came from, and thank them for coming. The girls I got paired with had no idea who he was and ended up saying “I’m sorry, but everyone here seems to just trust you, are you somebody? Are we supposed to know who you are?” I suppose if you didn’t know who he was, it would seem pretty strange to see a random older man wandering down a long line of mostly younger women, and they all magically gave him the time of day.



This Time Around

The vibe of this show felt a little different than last month and started on a much more somber note. Taylor opened by dedicating the show to a fan named Lux who tragically passed away before last month’s show after making a long trip to attend it. I didn’t know Lux, but it was sad to learn of her passing and see how many lives she touched that were mourning her loss. I thought it was incredibly sweet of Taylor to not only dedicate the show to her, but to open the show with what he said was her favorite song, “Dream Girl,” an unexpectedly fitting tribute to a fan gone too soon. He followed it with “Believe” and set the tone for what I felt was an overall more emotionally charged night.


On paper, the obvious setlist standouts would be “This is Criminal,” “Baraye” with collaborator Hamid Saeidi, and a cover of “I Love L.A.” featuring Mac Hanson and Zane Carney, none of which were expected, and all of which were a fun surprise. In reality, standing in that room, I have to tell you that the standout performance to me was “Be My Own.” Taylor’s voice sounded flawless, and it felt like he was putting everything he had into that performance and it was just pouring out of him. I may be off base, but he looked a bit emotional during it to me. It had absolutely no business being that good, none whatsoever, but it felt raw and perfect, and I’m a little bit sad I didn’t record it to keep forever and share with the world, but also glad I soaked the best parts in without a screen.
I should probably have some pretty sappy things to add about Taylor choosing to play "Me, Myself, and I" alone for the first time, but truthfully I tried not to let myself go there in the moment because I didn't want to break down and risk becoming a mess for the rest of the show.

My other favorite part was just hearing the crowd sing along so loudly during all of the Hanson classics. I know we came to hear Taylor and you generally don’t want to hear the girl next to you over the person you paid to see, but there’s something special and a bit cathartic about singing your heart out in a chorus of strangers to a song you all know deep in your soul. I felt this in particular during “This Time Around,” “No Rest For The Weary,” and "I Was Born." The whole crowd was laughably bad at the "oh!" during "I Was Born," but Taylor seemed to enjoy our enthusiastically loud fails. Also shoutout to that moment we all became Temu Rose Stone’s choir during “Dying to Be Alive.” We can’t compare, but we had a good time.



This Was Criminal

After the show, Taylor did come out and greet the remaining fans that waited to see him. I found myself clamming up when he came my way because while I've had a million feelings about the end of the fan club, I knew he didn't deserve me blurting any of them at him in a rushed setting after his solo show. While I tried to figure out an appropriate sentence to let out of my mouth regarding his excellent show rather than a year of pent-up fan club emotions, a drunk girl butted in and took the potential word vomit category farther than I ever could have.

"Something felt missing," she said. *insert minor cringe*.

"It just wasn't the same without Isaac," she continued. *secondhand embarrassment intensifies*.

But Taylor was a gentleman about it and simply smiled and said "Oh really? I'll be sure to let him know."

Then the final nail: "It was almost, I would say..." she searched for the right word "...lackluster."

Friends, "lackluster" was not the right word. Another fan asked him to come outside to take her photo with better lighting, and I swear the entire bubble of fans around him jumped on this opportunity, and we all moved in unison as a protective barrier to corral him out the door and leave the drunk insulter in the dust. It worked. I don't remember saying anything particularly meaningful to him when my turn came, but I did work in a "Don't listen to her; it wasn't lackluster." I don't know who this girl was and can't fault her for being in a weird place emotionally, but man, spewing it at Taylor--who in fact cannot help not being Isaac and also can't control his brothers' presence at shows--was not the way to go. It was rude and unfair, and if you want to see Isaac so much, probably don't buy a ticket to a Taylor Hanson solo show.

I'm not going to turn up the heat on this roast or dive too deep into my own feelings, but maybe the best way to end is with a weird mix of both. So here you go, a cheat sheet for next time if we're so lucky.

10 Appropriate Things To Say To Taylor Hanson After His Solo Show

1. That was so fun! Are you planning to play more shows?
2. OMG, I LOVED "Be My Own!"
3. It was so cool and unexpected to see you bring out Hamid Saeidi.
4. That tribute to Lux was beautiful; I'm sure it will mean a lot to her family and friends.
5. You pulled "This is Criminal" out of the vault after saying it would never be played again. Any chance you'll ever release it?
6. "Rambling Heart" is my favorite. Thank you for playing it!
7. I'm so glad I got to see you at the Hotel Cafe before it moves. Thank you for doing this show.
8. It was different seeing you play alone, but good. We support you in whatever you do next.
9. *Incoherent rambling/crying* Would you take a photo with me? (Maybe not ideal, but still appropriate.)
10. *Silence*

If no variation of options 1-9 work for you and you're at a loss for kind words, for the love of God and preserved dignity, choose silence. It's a fantastically underrated choice.

Hotel Cafe: Taylor Hanson and You

Get Up & Go

My cross-country journey to see Taylor Hanson perform at the Hotel Cafe began the way many trips do—with a sprint through DFW to catch a connection that started boarding when my first flight landed. I knew I was in trouble when the pilot announced that seven people might make their connections if everyone else stayed seated, then made each of us raise our hands to make sure the other passengers complied with letting us off first. Naturally, I was lucky number seven.

Once I cleared the jet bridge behind the other six passengers (who all exited at a bafflingly leisurely pace), I bolted towards the nearest Skylink. When I reached the escalator, I picked up my suitcase, ran up the stairs, and practically dove between the closing doors. A few stops later, I realized I had gotten on the train going the wrong direction, and what should have been a single stop to my destination turned into a 15-minute ride of shame around the entire airport. Rookie mistake.

So I did the only thing left to do and positioned myself in front of the doors so I could be the first one off to run down the escalator unimpeded. This strategy worked, and once again I lifted my suitcase by the carry handle and took off. About three stairs in, a loud thud prompted me to look down in horror as I watched my phone bounce off of a stair and proceed to pick up speed and fly down the escalator. A possibly illogical fear occurred to me in that moment: if I don't beat my phone down there, it's going to get sucked up into the gap at the bottom. I have no idea how I pulled it off, but I managed to outrun my flying phone, turn around to pick it up behind me, and do a full 180 spin back to a forward facing position, then jump off of a moving escalator with one step left to spare—all with a suitcase in hand. I know this sounds exaggerated, but somewhere in DFW there is security footage worthy of both laughter and applause. The best/worst part is I had my beloved new phone lanyard unattached in my pocket the entire time.

I ran the rest of the way and made it to my gate in time to join the end of boarding group six. I can only assume the other six passengers missed their flights based on lack of urgency, but maybe they made up for it by not killing 15 minutes on the wrong train.

The Part You Actually Came Here For

Like everyone else, I had no idea what to expect from this show. “Taylor Hanson and You,” the ticket page read. What did that even mean? I didn't know, but I knew I wanted to be there to witness such a special event in person rather than living vicariously through exaggerated secondhand speculation. More than that, I wanted to be there to support Taylor. And in a world where Taylor is putting on some mysterious tiny show called "Taylor Hanson and You," I'm casting myself in that collective "You" as quickly as I can throw money at a ticket.

Whether to your delight or disappointment, I’m not going to try to analyze this show in the larger context of whatever is happening with the band. Taylor didn’t provide any new answers, so I’m certainly not going to invent any. I showed up armed with Kleenex, unsure what I was signing up for but prepared for an emotional rollercoaster. Opening with “Tonight” did nothing to alleviate those concerns, but as the crowd began to sing along and Taylor appeared happily at home at the piano, I started to relax and feel more at home myself.



I'll drop the full setlist here before I continue for easy reference:

Tonight

Kind of A Girl (Tinted Windows)

Piano Man (Billy Joel)

I've Been Down 

Sound Like Joy

Great Divide

A Song to Sing

Make It Out Alive

You Don't Know Me (Ray Charles)

Never Let Go

Weird

Voice in the Chorus

Dancing In the Street (Martha and the Vandellas)

Roll With It (Steve Winwood)

Thinkin' 'Bout 'Somethin'

Georgia

Get Up And Go

Crazy Beautiful

Every Word I Say

Reaching For The Sky Pt 1

Reaching For The Sky Pt 2

(thanks as always to hansonstage for keeping track)

Following “Tonight” with “Kind of a Girl” was exactly the kind of musical whiplash I needed to take me out of that slightly somber territory and straight into just plain fun. It helped set the tone for an uncomplicated good time, and it felt like the elephant in the room subsided, maybe not completely gone, but harmlessly tapping his toes and shouting “whoah whoah” along with the rest of us.


Next came “Piano Man.” We’ve all known for decades that Taylor could properly rock this song if he ever chose to, and maybe he was always just waiting for the right moment. Hotel Cafe with its intimate size, tiny stage, and small but familiar crowd felt like the perfect context to bring it to life. And while there are multiple iconic lyrics that spoke to me throughout the song, the one that gave me an unexpected jolt of warm fuzzies was the simple opening line, delivered by Taylor with a grin, a quick glance around the room, and a slight tweak for accuracy:

"It's nine o'clock on a Friday, the regular crowd shuffles in."

He didn't make any obvious gestures to the crowd or look at anyone in particular, but I've never felt more like a "regular" despite having never set foot in the Hotel Cafe before. If you haven't seen it yet, hansongirl was kind enough to share a full video on instagram.

I promise I don't plan to gush about every single song in a row, but I can't skip "I've Been Down" because it was one of the most fun and energetic songs of the set. It's always a pleasant surprise on the rare occasions it resurfaces and everyone magically knows every word, but it has this strange ability to slip right back in to obscurity the moment it ends. It feels like a weirdly niche euphoric nostalgia trip to 2007 every single time I hear it.

In the interest of not writing a blog post that lasts longer than the actual show, I'll try to narrow down the rest to a few highlights:

-The crowd participation for "Great Divide," "Get Up And Go," and "Weird" was wild
-Turns out "Dancing In The Street" is a total banger as a piano solo
-So are "Voice in the Chorus" and "Get Up And Go," but we already knew as much from BTTI

Taylor truly outdid himself on "A Song To Sing" and seemed to be belting it out with maybe the most passion I've ever seen. It's the only song I recorded in full:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Holly (@_hollywouldnt)

One thing I'll briefly mention is the TikTok clip I saw when I got home that garnered several concerned comments, and I just wanted to say that in person, it didn't feel that serious to me. The context is Taylor was in the middle of talking about the importance of music in all of our lives when someone shouted "MMMBop" and threw him off track. He quickly responded "MMMBop? Well, not tonight. Another time. I love that song, but not tonight." Then, after a beat, he added "Too soon, too soon." It felt like a light-hearted attempt to redirect the conversation back to what he was trying to say before he was interrupted, and I didn't take it as anything more than a sassy joke from a guy not entirely unaware of the state they've left us in.

Now a slightly more interesting moment that I haven't seen make its way onto social media? He asked if there were any fan club members present before playing a fan club song, and someone shouted back "So what's going on with that?" He replied "Hey, I'm just here for the music" and kept going, which felt like another lighthearted deflection. The overall vibe I got from both moments was that he can pat the elephant on the head and not completely ignore its presence, but he didn't sign up for the circus.

And if you want the full, anticlimactic context of the "too soon" comment, I recorded the whole thing without realizing it. You can also scroll to the bottom of this post for links to everything I've shared.

All We Need Is Music, Sweet Music

So what did this show feel like to me? I'm happy to report that I enjoyed this show for everything it was without stopping to worry about anything it wasn't. It felt like a room full of music lovers coming together to celebrate all of the best parts of live music and to “forget about life for a while” the best way we know how. Taylor seemed at ease and confidently in his element, and the energy in the room was infectious. He sounded as amazing as ever, and it felt like he poured so much of himself into every song. It was refreshing to witness and experience, and to borrow an apt lyric—it genuinely sounded like joy.

And if I had to share with you what this show felt like with zero words and just 39 seconds of video, this would be it. This is the vibe:

I may know little else at the moment, but one thing that's clear to me is that Taylor Hanson was born to create music, and no matter what else might change, that fact never will. I get the feeling that if he existed in a world without instruments, he'd be the guy banging rocks together for rhythm and paving the way for pianos to exist. And I'd still be the girl showing up hoping to get her rock signed. 🩷

(rock music pun totally unintended, but I can hardly leave it out now)

Links to Videos

A Song To Sing- Instagram

A Song To Sing- Facebook

Dancing In the Streets- Facebook

Kind of a Girl- Facebook

Everything else is compiled in this Facebook Album.

Back To The Island: A Comprehensive Cheat Sheet

If you're familiar with my blog at all, then you know that I've already dedicated thousands of sappy words to remembering Back to the Island each year. I find myself revisiting those posts from time to time, not just for nostalgia's sake, but often to answer some random question that comes to mind that I should probably already know the answer to. How many times have we been to Jewel Paradise Cove? What year did Taylor jump in the ocean? Who was the opener in Cancun? Most of the answers are there...somewhere...sometimes after clicking on three of the wrong years, and sometimes with the help of hansonstage. A few of the answers aren't really on the internet anymore unless you know who to ask or where to look. So here it is, instead of a sappy post, a far more detailed chart than any of us asked for.

Dates	Location	Price	Merch By Years Attended	Special Guests	Activities	Show Themes	Highlights	Lowlights
BTTI 2013 Jan 11-Jan15	Breezes Grand Negril, Jamaica	$1499- $2999	Year 1: Basic Merch Package = Towel, T-shirt, Tote Bag.	Robert Schwartzman & Charlie Mars	Z- Tie Dye I- Drink Mixing T- Cooking	No official themes.  Second show was acoustic.	Just being there! Surprise M&G photos.	Setlist repeats.
BTTI 2014 Jan 10-Jan14	Grand Lido Negril, Jamaica	$1649- $2999	Year 2: Basic Merch + Pineapple Pin	Matt Wertz & Paul McDonald	Z- Tie Dye I- Trivia T- Afterparty	Anthem, Fan Club, Voting	1st ever solo shows, Rares on setlists.	None! This year was the gold standard of BTTIs.
BTTI 2015 Jan 7-Jan 11	Golden Parnassus Cancun, Mexico	$1499- $1899	Year 3: Basic Merch + Sunglasses	Nick Santino & David Ryan Harris	Z- Pottery Painting I- Drink Mixing T- Afterparty	Welcome to the Island, Christmas on the Island, Desert Island (voting)	Surprise excursion to Isla Mujeres, “Sand in My Crevice,” “Smiletimes”	Too cold to swim, beach wasn’t private, T solo and afterparty were indoors.
BTTI 2016 Jan 5-Jan 9	Jewel Paradise Cove Runaway Bay, Jamaica	$1599- $1949	Year 4: Basic Merch + Sun Visor (baseball cap in later years)	Parachute & Paul McDonald	Z- Bracelet Making I- Trivia T- Tie Dye & Afterparty	No official themes. Second show was RNR tour covers.	Great new location, Z solo “Lucy,” Isaac solo “Life Without You” that we didn’t know existed	Afterparty felt cut short when fans started getting on Taylor’s DJ stage.
BTTI 2017 Jan 4-Jan 8	Jewel Paradise Cove Runaway Bay, Jamaica	$1625- $1975	Year 5: Basic Merch + Passport Cover & Luggage Tag	John Fullbright & Andrew Ripp	ITZ- Tie Dye Z- Cards Against Humanity I- Family Feud T- Afterparty	Rock All Night, Acoustic, Members Only	All 3 solo shows. Isaac’s “Hallelujah” cover. “Vigorous Jazz Hands” had us in tears.	Tie dye was too hectic with all three brothers
BTTI 2018 Jan 6-Jan 10	Melia Braco Village Trelawney, Jamaica	$1675- $2125	Year 6: Basic Merch + Flip Flops	Chris Carrabba & Stephen Kellogg	Z- Cards Against Humanity I- Family Feud T- Afterparty	Rock All Night, Members Only, Singles	Chris Carrabba as an opener, Z debuted “Seymour Better Times,” T jumped in the ocean	Weather caused postponed/ indoor shows, travel delays, and canceled flights
BTTI 2019 Jan 30-Feb 3	Melia Braco Village Trelawney, Jamaica	$1725- $2225	Year 7: Basic Merch + Waterproof Speaker	Lewis Watson & Jacob Tovar	Dunn’s River Falls, ITZ- String Theory Q&A T- Afterparty Z- Video Games (not on itinerary)	Rock All Night, String Theory, Members Only	Impromptu video games with Z two nights in a row, T solo “This is Criminal”, T showed up at Falls	String Theory set felt wrong without an orchestra
BTTI 2020 Jan 31-Feb 4	Melia Braco Village Trelawney, Jamaica	$1775- $2275	Year 8: Basic Merch + Large Canvas Beach Bag	Milck & Joshua & The Holy Rollers	Z- Video Games I- Family Feud T- Prom Afterparty	No official themes.	Perfect weather, Isaac & Mac hosting Family Feud together	Multiple cases of food poisoning
BTTI 2022 Jan 6-Jan 10	Jewel Paradise Cove Runaway Bay, Jamaica	$1799- $2299	Year 9: Basic Merch + Waffle Weave Robe	Raging Fyah	I&Z- Family Feud T- Pool Party	No official themes.	Returning after a year off! Isaac attempted “Soldier”. T solo “Out of My Head” & debuted “Child at Heart”	Canceled M&G photos, covid testing to get in or out
BTTI 2023 Jan 5-Jan 9	Jewel Paradise Cove Runaway Bay, Jamaica	$1899- $2399	Year 10: Basic Merch + Embroidered Denim Jacket	Allen Mack Myers Moore	I&Z- Family Feud T- Pool Party	No official themes.	Random “Man of Constant Sorrow” cover, AMMM Bonfire show	No notes :-)
BTTI 2024 Jan 4-Jan 8	Jewel Paradise Cove Runaway Bay, Jamaica	$1949- $2499	Year 11: Basic Merch + Blanket	Allen Mack Myers Moore	I&T- Family Feud Z- Video Games T- Pool Party	No official themes.	“Island in the Sun” cover, “Semi-Hollow,” “We Belong Together”	Solo shows at 4pm = standing in blistering direct sun instead of sunset
BTTI 2025 Jan 9-Jan 13	Jewel Paradise Cove Runaway Bay, Jamaica	$1999- $2499	Year 12: Basic Merch + Stanley Cup	Phantom Planet	I&T- Pictionary Z- Video Games T- Pool Party	No official themes.	“Bridges of Stone,” Phantom Planet by the bonfire, Pictionary was a fun change from Family Feud	Weird Hunger Games front row circus

*Pricing is per-person for a double occupancy room.

Thanks to hansonstage for helping me confirm setlist themes, Gmail for never making me delete a single BTTI welcome packet, no matter how giant those PDF files are, and Hanson for causing me to edit down the "highlights" column approximately 30 times because this event is just too fun.