Review
Review
Travis at Albert Hall, Manchester, 06/12/24
The Glasgow chart-toppers fight off the storm in Manchester with their Raze The Bar tour
30 years since their debut album was released back in 1994, Travis prove they’re a band that have withstood the test of time by still selling out venues such as Manchester’s Albert Hall to a devoted fanbase who never get tired of hearing classics and new stuff live.
After new single ‘Bus’ opens the set, we’re straight into ‘Driftwood’, which everyone knows the words to, before tracks take us back through Travis’ varied back catalogue. Less than two songs in, the band briefly stop playing after an incident in the crowd and pick it up from the exact same spot in the middle of a verse. New tracks off Travis’ 10th album L.A. Times are played but sprinkled in with favourites such as ‘Writing To Reach You’ and ‘Sing’, which Manchester on a Friday night does for the best part of an hour.
Fran Healy is a good frontman, speaking passionately between songs about why you should go and watch live music and knowing how to get a crowd going. When speaking about a track off Travis’ first album, Healy says to the crowd “if you think we’re talking about ‘The Man Who’ (by far their most successful release) then you need to leave.” There’s also anecdotes about stealing chords from Oasis and playing the track to Noel Gallagher. In an era where it’s hard for older bands to sound fresh, Healy knows what he’s doing.
‘Love Will Come Through’ and ‘Side’ are highlights, and ‘Gaslight’ and ‘Naked In New York City’ off the new album play to a respectful crowd who seem as genuinely interested in the new stuff as they are in the classics.
‘Flowers In The Window’ is played completely acoustically, with small mistakes and a few wrong chords celebrated as part of the charm of seeing a band without a backing track or a completely polished set.
Finally, the set finishes with ‘Why Does It Always Rain On Me?’, the track that made the band as popular as they are today and that still sounds fresh despite its millions of streams and sales. The crowd jump up and down, strangers put arms around each other and sing along. The weather is -1 outside, in the middle of a storm, but it’s warm inside Albert Hall, and wherever Travis come to play.
Travis continue their UK tour throughout December. Find tickets here
