Long-time blues rock band Blues Traveler brought their "30 Years of Four" tour to Raleigh, North Carolina this past Wednesday night. The fall tour celebrates the 30th anniversary of the band's Billboard charting album, four, which included the Grammy Award winning song, "Run-Around." The tour was advertised as a "time for deeper cuts from the album to be played, and not just the hits."
The anticipation from the audience could be felt as soon as you entered the venue. It is certainly obvious that Blues Traveler has withstood the test of time and cultivated a fan-base that has done the same. The stage was set with the band's instruments dimly silhouetted in the lights with the famous cat in glasses logo from the four album cover hung as the backdrop. As the lights began to brighten, cheers erupted as John Popper, vocalist and harmonica player, led the band on stage. Once in position and after a greeting to the still-cheering audience, the band launched into their first song of the night.
As piano keys began to ring out, the crowd cheered even more as Popper and the band launched into "Look Around", a surprising but effective smooth ballad to kick off the night. With the crowd singing every word, it became clear that this was going to be a night of excitement. Before the last note of their opening song had finished ringing out, the band launched into their more upbeat jams and set the tone for what the rest of the night's performance would contain. From shredding guitar notes, groovy bass lines and drum beats and of course Popper's signature harmonica playing, Blues Traveler was here to make sure no one left disappointed!
The night continued as the band delivered on the promise of playing deeper cuts from the four album, while also playing all the hits as well. That isn't to say there weren't a few surprises tossed in to the set as well. At one point, Popper took a leave from the stage and the band, beginning with bassist Tad Kinchla, began a fully instrumental cover of "War Pigs," originally by Black Sabbath. This was one of many highlights throughout the night, as at one point during a break in the set, a fan through their shirt onto the stage. As John Popper through it back to the fan he told him, "Hey man, put your shirt back on, and I'll give you this harmonica." The audience cheered as Popper tossed the harmonica to the fan as the shirt was once in fact, back on.
When the performance came to a close, the final song of the night was the bands famous hit single, "Hook." The audience singing every word and dancing along to every note tells you all you need to know about the talent of Blues Traveler and the fact that they will not be going anywhere anytime soon. All in all, the musicianship of Popper and his bandmates is something that must be witnessed and appreciated not only through listening to their catalogue of albums, but also live!
