Travis played a concert in Cambridge with Turin Brakes as their support.
Seen on: 13.12.2018

When Travis brought out their album The Man Who almost 20 years ago, Turin Brakes were actually their supporting band then as well. So when they went on an anniversary tour for The Man Who, they decided to team up again – to my absolute pleasure.

Turin Brakes have been one of my favorite bands for 15 years now and in that time, I don’t think they ever played a concert in Austria. So, when I learned that they are on tour again and that they are on tour with Travis, who are also one of my favorites, and that they’d make a stop in Cambridge where my friend lived (and would come with me), tickets were bought (at first it looked like I was too late and the concert was sold out, but then I found some after all) and I was on the plane. And what an excellent decision on my part – it was a great show from both bands.

Of course, the drawback of the double whammy of both bands was that Turin Brakes as the supporting band got less time to play than I would have liked (but then again, I would have probably said the same thing if they had played two hours). Nevertheless, they managed to get in a lot of songs with a good mix of old and new. And since I pretty much know all their songs by heart, I could sing along, which is always a good thing.

They didn’t talk that much (especially compared to Travis), but they did interact nicely with the audience and the atmosphere was really great. They absolutely made me happy and now I’m back to checking their tour schedule to see whether they end up in Austria for once – or whether I can find an opportunity to come to them again.

Given that Travis were on an anniversary tour of The Man Who, they actually played the entire album just in one go. Well, interrupted by Fran Healy telling a lot of stories which is what he usually does and since he is a great story-teller, it’s always a joy. Since the album is not particularly long then, they then launched into an extended “encore” of old and new songs and this combination was really nice.

Unfortunately, I missed a small part of the concert because I actually fainted (never happened to me before, never happened since). Fortunately, I just slowly sank to the ground on my way to the edge of the hall, so I didn’t hurt myself, and I came to again quickly and then everything was fine, but I did feel very 19th century lady – maybe the excitement just got to me.

But other than that, I had the best of times and I’m really glad I spent the last of my savings on this trip.

Summarizing: Awesomeness.