The concert got off to a good start with a rocking version of "Carolina Blues", one of my favorites from the Straight On Till Morning album. For the third song, they brought out the show opener, Ziggy Marley, to lend his voice to his father's classic, "No Woman, No Cry". Popper totally lost himself in the song, and he and Marley made this one of the show highlights. Being the 4th of July, the band played the "Star Spangled Banner", as darkness fell, and the fireworks show began. The other show highlight was a fiery performance of "Crash Burn", which closed the second set, and had the crowd frantically screaming for more--even after more than two hours of jamming.

Overall, I found most of the live versions of their songs to be inferior to the studio versions. They were often at a slower tempo, and just sounded more tame than the originals. It should be the exact opposite of this. Blues Traveler has a lot of great songs, but they also have a lot of very mediocre songs, and these tended to drag the show down. For a nearly three hour concert, I found myself being desperately bored during some of it. I am an amateur guitarist, and usually focus mostly on the guitar player when watching a concert. I found Chan Kinchla's guitar playing to be very repetitive, and uninspiring. Some of his solos were pretty good, but his rhythm guitar is almost a non-factor. He doesn't fill out the songs as much as he should, leaving them often sounding very thin.

If you are already a Blues Traveler fan, you will certainly love this DVD. If you are new to the band, it is definitely worth checking out. Just be prepared for some serious jamming my friends.

Setlist
Carolina Blues
You Lost Me There
No Woman, No Cry
Save His Soul
Hook
The Star-Spangled Banner
Love & Greed
All Hands
Let Her & Let Go
Crystal Flame
Pattern
Support Your Local Emperor
This Ache
Bagheera
Eventually (I'll Come Around)
Slow Change
Unable To Get Free
The Mountains Win Again
Felicia
Can't See Why
You Reach Me
Crash Burn
Sweet & Broken
Thinnest Of Air
Brother John

Performance 7/10
Production 9/10

Read all of my DVD concert reviews atRoy's Reviews