Review: Blues Traveler

John Popper looked bored. As his bandmates took extended solos, the front man for Blues Traveler frequently turned his back to the audience to study an ash tray and sip beverages. Even if he was attempting to divert attention toward his colleagues, his actions unintentionally projected the wrong message.

Photos by Bill Brownlee

Blues Traveler is struggling to remain viable. Although they're well past their commercial peak, the blues-rock band attracted a capacity audience of well over 3,000 to the Power & Light District Wednesday.

The jamming began immediately. The pop smarts of the opening song,the 1990 hit "But Anyway," were drowned amid an ocean of meandering guitar and keyboard solos. Much of the band's hour and 50-minute set was similarly undistinguished. Part of the problem was the venue. Lengthy soloing simply doesn't work in a space specifically designed for consumers with short attention spans.

The Power & Light District is cacophonous even when the stage is silent. The sound quality isn't intended to be pristine. Primary banks of speakers provide crisp reproduction, but ambient sound from the district's multiple venues interfere with the mix further away from the stage.

Consequently, the band's most straightforward material worked best. "Run-Around," the signature hit that's been mimicked in dozens of radio and television commercials, was given a refreshingly reimagined treatment. "Carolina Blues," a tough Southern rocker, would give the Black Crowes a run for their money. "The Hook" provided a nice sing-aong. And covers of Sublime's "What I Got," Cheap Trick's "I Want You to Want Me" and Charlie Daniels' "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" were delightful.

Popper might resemble an unhealthy mole, but he's prodigiously talented. His trademark harmonica playing and soulful voice were in fine form. But it just wasn't enough to carry the show. Popper's longtime colleagues are competent but unremarkable. Much of Blues Travelers' set was hardly distinguishable from the likable but anonymous fare dished out by blues-rock bands nightly at area watering holes.

"We want to thank Green Day for opening," Popper joked. "They were really cool."

The pop-punk superstars were playing across the street at Sprint Center. Both Green Day and Blues Traveler functioned as top-tier headliners in the '90s. Those days are long past for Blues Traveler. While Wednesday's show could hardly be characterized as disappointing- it was free after all- it indicated that the band's best days are behind them.

| Bill Brownlee, Special to The Star

Comments

[Steve]

Filter next week!

[pellboy]

Brownlee's comments are not completely offbase but as somebody who hadn't seen the band in 15 years, I still enjoyed myself. I was right up near the stage so the venue's audio shortcomings didn't have any effect on me. And while Popper may have seemed disinterested at times, guitarist Chan Kinchla more than made up for it with his animated playing.

As for the band's viability...I think they're just a quality band that will continue to play and be enjoyed by a core group of fans that doesn't really expect a whole lot more than that from them. What's wrong with that? Personally, I'll take that everytime over near 40-year olds who still insist on tapping into the teen angst well.

[amici]

I hate P&L District/meat market. I am never going back. That entirely clouded my judgment of Blues Traveler's concert. I left early.

[kmoon]

They were extremely disappointing. We left when they started to play Cheap Trick covers. Maybe we would have stayed longer: a) if the soundman could have turned John up enough to hear the vocals, b) if the soundman would have turned up the HARP enough to decipher the notes being played (especially since JP was such a huge influence on the whole approach to harp-playing), c) if they had started at a decent time!! (we were told be there by 7.. 8:00 came and went.. 9:00 came and went!....9:30 is a ridiculous start time, even for free on a Wednesday) d) if there had been ANY kind of opening band whatsoever. and e) if the crowd hadn't grown huge and unruly after all that idle time. It was a pretty disgusting experience.

[pellboy]

I guess I was fortunate as I didn't incur any of the problems with the crowd or sound, maybe the advantage of being up near the stage. And kmoon, not sure what you mean about the Cheap Trick coverS...they just did the ONE song. Pretty decent setlist if you ask me...

Blues Traveler
August 12th, 2009
Power & Light District, Kansas City, MO

Set 1
But Anyway
Slow Change>
Forever Owed
Freedom
What I Got
You, Me & Everything>
Can't Win True Love>
Run-Around
How You Remember It>
You Reach Me>
I Want You To Want Me
Girl Inside My Head
The Beacons
The Mountains Win Again>
NY Prophesie
Carolina Blues>
Hook

Encore
The Devil Went Down To Georgia

[bob]

An above average band that has written some really great songs. I almost went but I didn't want to deal with all the Green Day traffic. I love most of those early Horde Fest bands. BT's undoing may have been all that early success. Took them awhile to recover, but I don't know where they go from here. They could make the best album in the world, but they will never get airplay again for new material so it wouldn't matter. I hope they keep going on.

[pellboy]

bob, they'll probably just continue to tour playing gigs like the other night along with some festivals, casinos and smaller club shows catering to a small but loyal following. This seems to be the road taken by some other bands from that era (such as Big Head Todd and Cracker)that had some early success but now have settled in as touring acts that put out the occasional album of new material to appease their fans. I for one appreciate the fact that with the ability to market themselves via the internet and the increase of venues and events for these types of bands to play, bands like Blues Traveler can continue to exist and to a certain degree, even thrive.

[Scott]

I agree with the review - John seemed very detached, and the time with his back to the audience was very noticeable.

As someone else pointed out, the sound was horrible, you couldn't hear the vocals or harmonica well at all. It was half way into the concert before it felt like the band had any energy.

I enjoyed the 'Want You To Want Me' cover enough to buy the flash drive recording of the concert from the Merch table afterwards - and as I was hoping, the recorded sound quality was very good. If what the crowd actually heard sounded nearly as good as the recording everyone would have walked away much happier.

[Dexter Morgan]

"Carolina Blues," a tough Southern rocker, would give the Black Crowes a run for their money.

No it wouldn't.

[kazz wilkinson]

truth be told, these guys haven gotten better over the yrs but, ppl dont give any new tunes a chance and just like the radio hits. thats why you see so many brain dead folks because no one has an open ear or good imagination any more.

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"I have not seen this video but I told them my opinion about this situation 10 days ago," Mancini said.

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"I don't understand this. The video was on Monday, and Monday was a day off. Some players can do what they want, but I don't understand why.

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