Travis at the House of Blues Anaheim

Check out mini-review of the Republic Tigers and my slideshow of Travis for OC Weekly.

I previously reviewed and photographed Travis at the House of Blues Anaheim back in November of 2007.

Travis at the House of Blues Anaheim

I have been waiting for Travis to return ever since I saw them at the KCRW Sounds Eclectic Evening. The band is touring in support of its new album "The Boy With No Name" which is a reference to Fran Healy's son when he was trying to figure out a name.

Maximo Park





The world needs more front men like Paul Smith (Vocals) from Maximo Park. Paul was not contained by the half stage as he bounded about like the energizer bunny. Maximo Park opened their set with "Signal and Sign" off their excellent debut album "A Certain Trigger". Duncan Lloyd (Guitars) had a black Rickenbacker guitar that had a jangle reminiscent of Peter Buck from REM. Maximo Park didn't let up the entire set as they charged into "Girls Who Play Guitars" with a bouncy bass hook provided by Archis Tiku (Bass). "A Fortnight's Time" off their latest album "Our Earthly Pleasures" had a heightened sense of urgency mixed with a dash of paranoia. "Karaoke Plays" sounded even better live with Paul doing his mid air acrobatics as Lukas Wooller (Keyboards) added the soft keyboard flourishes to the song. I don't think most of the Travis audience was prepared for the onslaught of Maximo Park but the round of applause that they received was confirmation of another audience won over.
 
Maximo Park Setlist at the House of Blues Anaheim (11/24/07)
"Signal and Sign"
"Girls Who Play Guitars"
"A Fortnight's Time"
"Now I'm All over the Shop"
"Karaoke Plays"
"By the Monument"
"Apply Some Pressure"
"Your Urge"
"The Unshockable"
"Kiss You Better"
"Books From Boxes"
"Going Missing"
"Our Velocity"







I have been to a lot of shows at the House of Blues in Anaheim and can safely say this was one of the best sounding concerts I have attended. I would attribute this to Travis and to their soundboard which happened to be a Digidesign D-Control system. After making a grand entrance through the audience in boxing robes and the theme to Rocky, the boys climbed the stage and threw the audience a stinging jab with "Selfish Jean" off their album "The Boy With No Name". Fran Healy (Vocals/Guitars) perpetually had a smile on his face as he strummed his Fender Telecaster guitar. Andy Dunlop (Guitars) tweaked his volume knob on his Gibson Les Paul for a creamy violin like solo during "As You Are". "My Eyes" was heavenly as Fran played a glistening 12 string Guild Acoustic guitar that sounded as gorgeous as it looked. I was impressed when they brought out the banjo for the intro to "Sing". "Driftwood" had a large majority of the audience singing along as Fran had a capo on the 7th fret of his guitar. "All I Want To Do Is Rock" had Andy taking his guitar to the people as he made his way into the center of the audience for the solo section of the song. Fran came back out by himself to do a true unplugged version of "20" as he unplugged his acoustic guitar and belted out the song. One could hear a pin drop as Fran played the song. "Flowers In The Window" was performed acoustically plugged in with the rest of the band helping out on background vocals. Travis closed the evening with a warm version of "Why Does It Always Rain On Me?". It was the perfect knockout punch to end the night. Travis is still the reigning champion.

Travis Setlist at the House of Blues in Anaheim (11/24/07)
"Selfish Jean"
"Eyes Wide Open"
"Love Will Come Through"
"Re-Offender"
"As You Are"
"My Eyes"
"Pipe Dreams"
"The Beautiful Occupation"
"Side"
"Driftwood"
"Good Feeling"
"Closer"
"Sing"
"All I Want To Do Is Rock"
"Turn"
"20"
"Baby Hit Me One More Time"
"Flowers In The Window"
"3 Times and You Lose"
"Battleships"
"Blue Flashing Light"
"Why Does It Always Rain On Me?"

KCRW A Sounds Ecletic Evening at the Gibson Amphitheatre

If you haven't turned in your taxes I suggest you make a quick contribution to KCRW. Nic Harcourt does a superb job of curating excellent talent for their annual fundraiser to help digitize their music collection. I have been fortunate to attend some shows in the prior years that have featured such bands as Death Cab For Cutie, Damien Rice, Beck, Coldplay, and Franz Ferdinand.


Bitter:Sweet started the festivities with their dreamy hodgepodge of jazz, trip hop, and electronica. It came off as a blend of Jem and Portishead. They received huge points for bringing an actual harp on stage which they combined with a DJ and a keyboardist. Shana Halligan used her sultry voice to captivate the audiences attention very early in their set. They received a warm response from the crowd.


Breakestra started the party machine with some funk jams in the vein of Ozomatli, Fishbone and a touch of James Brown. Mix Master Wolf(Vocals) was howling out his vocals and pacing back and forth on stage getting the audience out of their seats. Breakestra had a good groove throughout their set and one could easily identify that all band members were proficient musicians.





The Cold War Kids represented for Long Beach with another passionate performance. The Cold War Kids don't really need anymore blog posts but their live show will address any doubters of their talent. Carlos from the Sparrow Love Crew represented as well on "Saint John" to give it new meaning to a "banging" track. Check out Sparrow Love Crew's Myspace page to become familar with "Naidu" and my favorite "The Business". The Cold War Kids have a few days off then head to the U.K. for more touring.







Rodrigo Y Gabriela took the whole audience by storm. I can honestly say they melted faces off with their nylon string acoustic guitars. The best comparision one could make would be if you mixed Sepultura, Slayer and Iron & Wine together. Gabriela used her acoustic guitar as a drum at various points of the set with her rhythmic tapping. Rodrigo earned points for sprinkling in the riffs of "Bombtrack" and "Enter Sandman" into their set. They both even threw up the devil horns which I had to return in kind. They closed their set with a jaw dropping rendition of "Stairway to Heaven". A standing ovation from the crowd must have been a high point in their burgeoning career.






Travis was the special surprise guest which was fine by me. They debuted tracks from their album "The Boy with No Name" which comes out on May 8th. It appears to be a return to form as I enjoyed "Selfish Jean" and "My Eyes". I was a little bit lost after "12 Memories" but that was partly because "The Invisible Band" was an excellent album. Other tracks from their set included "Sing" and the shimmery "Driftwood". Fran Healy (Vocals/Guitar) belted out the songs as usual but commented that he was amazed by the Rodrigo Y Gabriela performance.





U.K. sensation Lilly Allen sauntered on stage with her breezy reggae tinged pop songs. It was not my cup of tea but I was impressed by her vocal range for someone who is so young. Lilly also had a good stage presence as she engaged the audience and had an aurora of confidence about her. One thing that had me laughing was her reference to a "colostomy bag" in her lyrics. How does she know what a colostomy bag is?








The Shins closed the evening with selections from their solid new album "Wincing the Night Away". The Shins are masters of melody as they possess an uncanny ability to make their songs sound fresh using classic chord progressions. Marty Crandall switched off between bass and keyboards and made his usual wisecracks. Stand out songs included "Phantom Limb", "Pam Berry", "Kissing the Lipless" and "New Slang". Overall, an excellent night. Thanks to KCRW.