Travis @ 9:30 Club
When the band first broke onto the scene in the mid to late 1990s, Glasgow's Travis was at the forefront of the British trad rock revival. Like its counterpart, Oasis, Travis is a descendant of established bands, such as The Beatles, U2, and Radiohead, as well as a progenitor of Coldplay, the more recent arena kings. The band never attained the success of either Oasis or Coldplay, partly because it rarely attempted to be larger than life while those groups openly admit to a certain amount of megalomania.
On its latest recording, The Boy With No Name, its first in four years, the band is not reaching for great heights and the result is an album that showcases a mature act that is comfortable in its normalcy while maintaining a dedication to well-crafted material. In a sense, this willingness to just be Travis is a step forward for the boys, because their weakest moments on record have been where they abandon a low key aesthetic in favor of grandeur. Last night at a sold out 9:30 Club, the band could do no wrong. Travis delivered two hours of polished melodic rock where even the more reaching material worked because of a well paced set list and the sheer enthusiasm of band and crowd alike.
Photos by Kyle Gustafson
Alabama native John Paul White's duo began the proceedings with White on acoustic guitar and vocals along with a band mate on electric guitar. While the performance was by no means bad, there was nothing memorable about it. His sound seemed inspired by Jeff Buckley, but he lacked Buckley’s talent and stage presence to hold the audience’s interest. By the end of the set, very few people in the audience seemed to be paying any attention. White might consider hiring a rhythm section to add some energy to his performance.
Travis’ set began with a flourish as the P.A. blared a medley of the 20th Century Fox Theme, the theme from Rocky, and "Livin’ in America" by James Brown, all while the band marched through the crowd wearing boxing robes. The stage design was simple with only the addition of three lighting banks and a couple of spotlights to the existing setup. Once the band reached the stage, they launched into the shuffling “Selfish Jean” and the stomping "Eyes Wide Open," both off of their most recent release.
Frontman Francis Healy’s voice was in fine form throughout the night and he played an excellent rockstar Everyman while holding the crowd in the palm of his hand. At ease on stage and generous with witty banter, and the occasional bottle of water (a valued commodity in the sweltering club) Healy connected with the audience from the first downbeat. While introducing the song, "Good Feeling," he launched into a shtick that may have been pre-meditated, but anyone who can make a joke involving Swedish keyboard players, Limp Bizkit, and anal sex gets bonus points in our book. Of course, Healy’s performance would have amounted to little without the able backing of drummer Neil Primrose, bassist Dougie Payne, guitarist Andy Dunlop, who literally climbed the rafters during "All I Wanna Do Is Rock," and the aforementioned Swedish keyboard player, Claes Bjorklund.
Written the day Healy found out he was going to be a parent, "My Eyes" was one of the most emotive vocal performances of the evening. "Closer," one of the better songs off the new album, translated very well to the stage. The band also delved into its catalog with strong performances of "Turn," "Sing," "Driftwood," and "Side." The five song encore began with a solo acoustic performance of "20" followed by the band of brothers standing shoulder to shoulder, behind a single mic, singing "Flowers In The Window." The show seemed to end with their signature tune, "Why Does It Always Rain On Me," where Healy invited an all too obliging audience to do the pogo during the final refrain, but the group did not stop there -- closing with none other than AC/DC’s "Back in Black."