“I’m sorry, I just wanted to say how delighted we are to be here,” expressed lead singer, Fran Healy, as he halted the beginning of the first song, ‘Mother’, to release his words. “This gig almost didn’t happen. We were stuck in Argentina and have had to scramble some equipment at last minute, so thank you.” Following this, it was an elated performance by Travis at their first Scottish headline gig in almost five years.
The band played all the songs you would want to hear. As the show went on, it made you realise that Travis have a lot more songs you are aware of. ‘Selfish Jean’ had energy that united the audience in their euphoria, while sing-alongs such as ‘Driftwood’ and ‘Sing’ had the crowd in harmony.
Only half of their new album, Where You Stand, was performed. The crowd-pleasers were played including singles ‘Where You Stand’ and ‘Moving’, which generally received a positive reaction from the audience. A mix of their previous albums made the setlist, with the majority coming from arguably their finest album, The Man Who, along with a few tracks from The Invisible Band, The Boy With No Name and 12 Memories.
The encore gave the audience a jumpy rendition of ‘Happy’, followed by an intimate performance of ‘Flowers in the Window’ where all the band members gathered around Healy, who played guitar while leading the singing
. Then the band played the first song they ever played together as a band, ‘All I Want To Do Is Rock’. It was then bright and clear that they would finish on ‘Why Does It Always Rain On Me?’ as the band urged every member of the crowd to jump.
An ecstatic Edinburgh crowd evidently lifted the spirits of a devastated and jet-lagged Travis. It was clearly not the way they wanted to begin their short Scottish tour but Travis put their heart and soul into a performance that could most definitely not be faulted. Considering the circumstances involving their equipment, it made the show even better.
Freelance and student journalist currently educated at Edinburgh Napier University.
