Travis, Remy Zero bring spirited rock to Cleveland
By GREG RUEHLMANN
Scene Music Critic
On a quiet Sunday evening in a sleepy Cleveland suburb, the bands Travis and Remy Zero took the stage at the Lakewood Civic Auditorium and transformed the place into the spirited sight of one of the year's best live shows. Each band frequently brought the near-capacity crowd to its feet, and both left everyone begging for more.
The night showed signs of magic from the start. With a remarkable opening set, the Alabama quintet Remy Zero showed the crowd why Travis had invited them along for a third consecutive tour. The band roared through a string of great songs, many coming from their excellent new album The Golden Hum.
Using very impressive musicianship, bassist Cedric Lemoyne, guitarists Jeffrey Cain and Shelby Tate, and drummer Gregory Slay created highly charged sonic backdrops for the powerfully emotive vocals of frontman Cinjun Tate. Some of the highlights included "Glorious #1," "Bitter," "Impossibility," and "Save Me," an adrenaline-pumping anthem that has big hit written all over it.
Prowling the stage in a hooded shirt, the shaved-headed Cinjun was an endless source of captivating energy. This captivating quality became especially evident when he began telling an interesting story about one of his songs. One night, he explained, while talking to his good friend Fran Healy (who happens to be the lead singer of Travis), Fran proposed that the two write a song that night and come back to each other the next day to share the results. Fran came back with "The Cage," a poignant song that ended up on Travis' new album The Invisible Band. The song Cinjun came back with was called "I'm Not Afraid," which he then began to perform for the audience. Initially playing by himself, the singer shared with the crowd a beautiful ballad that only improved as the rest of the band joined in.
Remy Zero so impressed the crowd with their dynamic set of well-crafted songs that people raced between acts to the lobby to buy The Golden Hum in hordes at the merchandise booth. Many were fortunate enough to have the band members sign their copies when they came out to converse with fans until Travis came on.
Capitalizing on the electricity Remy Zero had created, Travis took the stage and stirred the audience into a frenzy. The four-man group from Glasgow, Scotland indulged in hit after hit from their three studio albums, Good Feeling, The Man Who, and The Invisible Band, but especially concentrating on the latter two. They began with the fantastic lead song from Invisible Band, "Sing." As singer/songwriter Healy assumed the microphone and greeted everyone, lead guitarist Andy Dunlop took hold of a banjo that had been set up on a stand. As his guitar hung untouched from his shoulders, Dunlop started plucking the distinctive, bluegrass-tinged opening on the banjo. The crowd went wild. As the song approached the chorus, Dunlop grabbed his guitar and began to wail, only to let it go again and re-assume the banjo as verse two commenced. From "Sing," Travis proceeded to "Writing to Reach You," the catchy opener of 1999's extremely successful The Man Who.
Earnestly the band played good song after good song, each one prompting more displays of sheer joy from the crowd. They moved through hits like "Why Does It Always Rain On Me," "Flowers in the Window," "Side," and the stirring "Driftwood," as well as lesser known but equally impressive songs like "Blue Flashing Light" and bassist Dougie Payne's rendition of David Bowie's "All the Young Dudes."
Over the course of the evening, Travis demonstrated that their appeal rests just as much on the members' charmingly fun-loving and unassuming personalities as on their knack for beautiful songwriting. Fran especially was a constant source of humor and youthful exuberance. He playfully interacted with the audience all night, relating funny anecdotes (including one about his first visit to an American hospital and the huge resulting bandage one could see on his thumb) and dancing around the stage. At one point, Fran's curious mohawk prompted a fan to shout "Nice hair!" The singer responded with a sincere "thank you," then wittily followed it by saying in his best Sean Connery voice, "It's called `The Gladiator.'"
The always-animated Andy easily matched Fran's excitement, jumping about and passionately pounding his guitar strings. During one song, Fran actually had to tell him to settle down and play a little slower. The two ignited during the hit song "Turn" for one of the finest performances of the night. Running all over the stage and doing their best impressions of rock stars, Fran and Andy blasted the song's rhythm on their guitars while attempting jump spins and high leg kicks. The acrobatic activity earned huge applause.
Travis closed their show at Lakewood with the old standby "Happy" from Good Feeling. As it started, Fran sighted three young female fans who had written out the chorus on large signs, and called them onto the stage. Each time he began singing "I'm so happy `cause you're so happy," each of the three girls on stage held up the appropriate sign. The signs were a big hit, as was the upbeat song, which was a perfect choice to end a great concert. A superb night of music from two fantastic bands had left everyone feeling very happy indeed.
All Scene Stories for Tuesday, October 16, 2001
