John Popper of Blues Traveler was restrained with his harmonica pyrotecnics early on, but let loose as the set progressed. Photos by .
The frequency with which was tossing harmonicas to his many fans at the Tuesday night had me wondering if he goes through over 1,000 a year. Popper has always liked to toss a couple during the course of a show, but he must have handed out 10 or so to people who would crowd round the stage every time he gestured to throw one over the course of the band’s nearly three-hour set. It’s too bad guitarist Chan Kinchla can’t do that with his Paul Reed Smith guitars (though he did hand out guitar picks at the end of the night).
Perhaps no band on the planet alternates so swiftly between borderline cheesy pop songs and more complex jam-oriented songs as Blues Traveler. The pop side of the band was on display from the opening song “Just For Me.” Popper’s harmonica pyrotechnics were restrained early on, and other pop style songs followed, including “Amber Awaits,” which featured a gently soothing bass line from Tad Kinchla.
Traveler has never shied from having guests play with them, and their set really took off when banjo player Dave Johnston and guitarist Matt Grondin joined the band on “Go Outside and Drive.” Johnston took a jaunty banjo solo out of the first chorus, and then he, Grondin and Popper alternated call-and-response solos during an extended jam that had guitarist Chan Kinchla mostly holding down rhythm.
Traveler has never shied from cover songs. In addition to playing “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” Sublime’s “Lady Madonna” ripoff “What I Got,” and “I Want You to Want Me,” complete with a riff on Spinal Tap’s “Hellhole” at the end, they threw in short bits of “Blister in the Sun” during “Go Outside and Drive.”
While much of the new material is more pop-oriented, some of it has a heavier edge. The relentlessly catchy “You, Me and Everything,” which is propelled by a keyboard line from Ben Wilson, was offset by the darker “How You Remember It,” which owed a lot to Chan Kinchla’s creamy guitar tones.
In addition to many of their hits, the band delved into some rarely played gems, such as “Look Around,” which featured Popper stepping out on a guitar solo, and a brilliant “Regarding Steven.” Popper’s distorted harmonica solo blended with Chan Kinchla’s searing guitar during an extended jam.
Now in their 22nd year, Blues Traveler has a wealth of material to draw on. Unlike their jam brethren in and , Traveler doesn’t seem to avoid repeating material as much. While it’s nearly impossible not to sing along to “Hook” with the rest of the audience, hearing “Regarding Steven” made me long for other rarely played songs like “Whoops.”
Johnston and Grondin joined the band again on the encore “Brother John” and Popper again went for call and response solos from each, and they riffed on the classic “Shout” before ending with a rousing jam.
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Candace Horgan is a Denver freelance writer/photographer and regular contributor to Reverb. When not writing and shooting, she plays guitar and violin in Denver band the defCATS.
Lucia De Giovanni is an award-winning photographer and internationally known photojournalist. You can view more of her work on her and follow her Project 365, a Photo a Day, on her .
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