who: the travelling band
when: 7th december 2011
where: the bet, bury, uk
support: sam lewis
i remember talking to my friend steph in the car on our way to bury on wednesday, telling her that i think it´ll be quite hard for the lads from the travelling band to top their performances in manchester and chester in november. steph probably couldn´t have cared less about that since she´s never seen them live before and was way too excited anyway. after a few “fan-girl moments” before, during and after the gig, i have no problem admitting that i was wrong and definitely worried for nothing.
support act was the rather great sam lewis. haven´t heard of him before and after seeing him live, i seriously wonder why i haven´t. he sounds like a soul-version of marcus foster and plays guitar just as good as ben howard. after touring the world with kt tunstall and releasing his debut album “everything you are” along the way, his sophomore record “the city and i” will be released early next year. as it was only sam and his acoustic guitar, his vocals were clearly highlighted during his set. especially the catchy “dead dog town” is still stuck in my head. but “words count for nothing” or “don´t change your heart” were just as beautiful. sam lewis might just be one of the best support acts i´ve seen this year.
i would´ve made good money betting that “screaming is something” would be the opening track in bury, simply because that´s the song the travelling band opened with in manchester and chester as well. but… there is a perfectly good reason to use this song to open a show with – “screaming is something” is neither a really slow, nor a really fast song and therefore a great one to get the crowd going, to “prepare” the audience for what´s about to come next, which was “horizon me and you”. and you simply can´t escape the festival feeling if you know the video to this song and festivals are usually big, just as the song itself.
the bury show was basically packed with highlights, the first one being “hindsight”. it´s hard to find another song on either one of the albums, where jo dudderidge´s vocals are so clear, which was the reason why i was dying to hear it live. maybe nagging works, maybe the guys just felt like playing this song at the met, which they apparently don´t do a lot according to jo (on guitar and keys). either way, they already made the night perfect for me by playing “hindsight” so early in the show. after that i didn´t care what else was on the setlist but with every song that followed, the night just got better and better.
as often mentioned before, “weary beaten road” is such a fantastic live song that i still don´t understand why it didn´t make the cut for the second record. i sincerely hope they´ll release it as a b-side at some point or maybe even change their minds and put it on the new album… one can dream, right!? “weary beaten road” just has so many different sides to it. it starts slow, picks up on pace before slowing down again – this pattern basically continues through the entire song. the harmonies are spot on, they automatically make you want to sing and clap along. once chris ‘spenny’ spencer (on bass) starts clapping, you won´t be able to ignore it anyway. even though i´m not sure that it would have the same energy that it has live on stage, it´d be worth finding out how a proper studio recording sounds.
it almost feels like it´s not even worth mentioning anymore, how awesome the classics like “only waiting”, “sundial” and “on the rails” are, just because these songs are always amazing and if you haven´t realised that by now, you probably never will and that´s just bad luck then. especially “sundial”, another festival anthem that brings the festival feeling to every the travelling band gig, and “on the rails” just proved once more why they´re a fantastic live band. nick vaal on drums dominates “sundial”, whereas adam gorman (on guitar, keys and harmonica) on lead vocals truly makes “on the rails” as amazing as it can possibly get.
once jo came back on stage for the encore all by himself, i´m pretty sure everyone in the audience knew we were in for a treat. and yes, we definitely were. the big star tune “thirteen” has always been a great song (believe it or not, it´s been in my itunes library for years!), but what jo did with it in bury was beyond amazing! be my guest and see yourself as i´ve managed to record it.
as if "thirteen" wasn´t enough, adam and steve ‘mugger’ mullen joined jo on stage for a gorgeous acoustic performance of the stone roses tune “waterfall”. i´m struggling to find some appropriate words to describe how absolutely beautiful this performance was. the guitar didn´t play a big role, the three part harmonies here clearly made this song so brilliant. i love the studio version of this cover but it´s even a million times better live.
they continued the encore as a five-piece with “magnetic anywhere”. mugger´s guitar obviously steals focus from everyone else here with the exception of the great lyrics maybe. this song takes some getting used to but as i said to mugger after the gig, it´s growing on me a lot, especially because of the amazing lyrics.
the travelling band´s mix of folk, pop, rock and even a little country is great on record but really shines live. i think everyone who was there with us at the met, can confirm that it was a brilliant show, probably most of all because the guys on stage seemed to enjoy it so much. and if the band has a great time, usually the audience does too. massive thanks to the travelling band for putting on a fantastic show and making this a gig i won´t forget any time soon.
setlist
screaming is something
horizon me and you
lanes of names
hindsight
fairweather friends
one dime blues
borrowed & blue
only waiting
weary beaten road
battlescars
sundial
on the rails
encore
thirteen
waterfall
magnetic anywhere
sweet city
jo dudderidge
chris 'spenny' spencer & steve 'mugger' mullen
spenny
adam gorman
nick vaal
adam, mugger and jo during "waterfall"
the travelling band has one more show left in 2011. they´re going to play at the trades club in hebden bridge this friday (9th). if you´re around, make sure to catch them.
if you want to connect with them, check their website, facebook page or simply follow them on twitter.
the travelling band. live. part I. -> 2 november 2011, academy 3, manchester
the travelling band. live. part II. -> 5 november 2011, telford´s warehouse, chester
I really really enjoyed this gig and thanks so much for asking me to go with you - cant believe that I have never heard of TTB and completely gutted that I missed them at Cropredy and Preston earlier this year, that will never happen again :) also great review, really captured how I felt about the gig, and those extra songs at the end, what an ENCORE :) thanks to the guys for an awesome night and of course my excellent autographed tote bag with all of the special stick men (apart from Spenny, who didnt draw one... tut tut!) x
ReplyDeleteLovely review! :) You describe the feelings of the songs so well. I just hope I actually get to hear them live sometime (soon)! ;) Glad you hear that you, and the guys, had such a great time. :D The pictures are great is well! Everyone's looking great. :)
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