Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
The mid to late 90s British music scene will perhaps always be dominated by the thought of a collection of bands to whom the world, in one way or another, idolised, venerated and almost single-handedly took all the glory, all the passion and much of the energy that would have been arguably better suited to groups, artists and song writers to whom deserved it so much more. The Man Who would, the woman who could, have served the attentions of the public better because there was nothing more than splendour in their music, no egos, no bitterness, just a serenade that was inclusive and deeply, melancholic, melody driven, assuredly beautiful.
To travel from Turkey to Liverpool these days is perhaps just a small step, the sense of absolute adventure and luxury has gone out of the window as the decade draws to its final, gasping breath, and yet to perform on one side of the European divide and then start the British leg of the tour within two days still seems extraordinary but then as the Philharmonic Hall audience got themselves into the swing of the musical appreciation and action early on, the extraordinary was arguably there to be found, explored and revelled in.
Quite often, the simplest presentation is the one that sticks in the mind, it is the asset employed of having the audience feel at one with the artists on stage, the microphone pushed out towards the crowd so their voice and passion is captured just as much as the group on stage, and as Travis took them through their paces for the whole of The Man Who, an album on the verge of its 20th Anniversary, that simple gesture of togetherness was welcomed and sang along with in a way that was almost quite alien to the long time Philharmonic Hall attendee, but which was almost rapturous to the band and the crowd.
With tracks such as Writing to Reach You, Driftwood, The Last Laugh of the Laughter, Turn, Why Does It Always Rain On Me?, and Luv joining old favourites across the long career of the band, including My Eyes, Flowers In The Window and Sing, the close and tight feel of the warm summer’s night was in keeping with the hot-blooded, full throated and mercurial love affair between the band and the crowd.
The Man Who could, the woman who would, for Travis this was such a welcome return that it might take a bit of time for the Philharmonic Hall to feel anything like this again.
Ian D. Hall