Me: "When I get to Brazil, I'm going to make the most of every moment. No show lines, no American food chains, and no wasting time in hotel rooms when I could be sightseeing."
Also me, "Sightseeing" in Uberlandia at 3pm after eating lunch at Outback:
Listen. It was hot, we were exhausted, and Uberlandia isn't exactly a big tourist destination. It may now top the list of most random places I have ever seen Hanson, though to give it some credit, I did manage to see the Statue of Liberty there, despite having never seen the one in the U.S. (Go ahead, random person in my future. Ask me if I've visited the Statue of Liberty. Why yes, I have! In Uberlandia, Brazil.)
We had a great time at the show, and I felt like Hanson did a decent job of changing up the setlist from the night before. To be completely honest, I went on this trip expecting the setlists to have a lot of singles and little variation. I left with the mindset that I was chasing new places first and Hanson second, and happy as I am to see a Hanson show, I really did not expect to be wowed by the setlists. These guys proved me wrong. The acoustic songs were different every night, and I'd say there were at least 4-5 setlist "surprises" at each show. In Uberlandia, I got to hear "Wish That I Was There" acoustic, "On and On" as a Zac solo, "Deeper," "Watch Over Me," "You Never Know" (all the heart eyes for the piano), and a totally unexpected resurrection of the "Low Rider/Ooh La La La" mashup.
I also enjoyed getting to hear "Rambling Heart" again and Taylor's little speech at the beginning that applied to plenty of us in the room that night:
We had a great time at the show, and I felt like Hanson did a decent job of changing up the setlist from the night before. To be completely honest, I went on this trip expecting the setlists to have a lot of singles and little variation. I left with the mindset that I was chasing new places first and Hanson second, and happy as I am to see a Hanson show, I really did not expect to be wowed by the setlists. These guys proved me wrong. The acoustic songs were different every night, and I'd say there were at least 4-5 setlist "surprises" at each show. In Uberlandia, I got to hear "Wish That I Was There" acoustic, "On and On" as a Zac solo, "Deeper," "Watch Over Me," "You Never Know" (all the heart eyes for the piano), and a totally unexpected resurrection of the "Low Rider/Ooh La La La" mashup.
I also enjoyed getting to hear "Rambling Heart" again and Taylor's little speech at the beginning that applied to plenty of us in the room that night:
"It's a new song about an old idea, and the idea is this moment, right here. Who's seeing more than one show in Brazil? I know there's a few travelers here tonight. This one's for you guys."
The following night in Brasilia, his speech expanded to something so similar to what I've written here a dozen times, something probably every touring musician, every traveling fan, and anyone following a thing they love on the road has felt before:
"It's about this, here, tonight, and this strange trip of traveling across the planet, getting to do something you love, and walking into a building you've never been and somehow feeling right at home."When I relayed this quote to my travel partner, she joked that it's true because she feels more comfortable walking into a Hanson show in Brazil than she feels walking into a grocery store at home. I strive for this level of painful accuracy in my blog, and man, did that observation strike home 🤣. Excuse the cheesy moment, but I'm so grateful to have found a band and a fan community that can create that kind of safe and happy space for me literally anywhere in the world. Thanks, Hanson, for inspiring the girl that can't be bothered to drive ten minutes across town for groceries to fly ten hours across the world when the opportunity arises, and for making it feel like home when we get there.
Brasilia
Our trip to Brasilia felt a little bit like a return to Jamaica simply because we booked a Level room in a Melia resort. It was there that I got my first (and last) taste of Brigadeiro, a Brazilian sweet primarily made of chocolate and condensed milk, and O-M-G was it good. If you ever make it to Brazil, do not skip out on the Brigadeiro.
We spent an embarrassing amount of time at malls because we had three days to kill, there were three within walking distance of our hotel, and I was absolutely determined to find a swimsuit. Spoiler: I left this city with three shirts, no swimsuits, and lots of ice cream receipts. There were miniature McDonald's "sobremesas" ice cream stands on pretty much every floor of every mall, so you could hardly walk away from all of them without stopping. I also tried a "McBrasil" burger, which tbh nobody needs, but I was intrigued by the menu of country-based burgers. Let none of us be surprised that the "McUSA" was covered in bacon. (P.S. Brazilian Starbucks' carry a Brownie Latte. We've all been missing out.)
My favorite thing I did in Brasilia, though, was visit the national park. Parque Nacional de Brasilia is home to several walking trails, wildlife, and its biggest draw--a giant pool that's manmade but filled by a natural spring. We only got to do a short trail and visit the larger pool, but the weather was perfect and really made for a beautiful day of relaxing in Brazil's capital city.
As for the concert, the Brasilia show surprised me, too. I was shocked when Isaac pulled out "Greener Pastures," a song I was convinced I might never hear live since I wasn't in L.A. when Mac made a guest appearance. Zac soloed "Wake Up" again and gave another beautiful performance. I know my biggest hope for this tour was to hear as many new songs from RGB as possible, but my real favorite moment of the night was when they closed the show with two of my forever favorites: Give a Little and Tonight. I did not remotely expect to hear either one of them on this tour and suddenly felt like I'd been missing them both terribly the moment the opening chords began. "Tonight" seemed like more of a tour closer than a way to close out the second to last show, but I loved every moment of the unexpected ending.
I also have to give a shoutout to the fans that organized handing out red, green, and blue ring lights at this show. While we were waiting to go in, we were given little blue battery operated rings and a sheet of instructions to turn them on during "If Only." I've always loved seeing what crowd collaborations fans have come up with at several international shows in past years, but have never had the opportunity to participate in one myself. Thank you to the fans that organized this and for including us in a fun surprise for Hanson!
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