Review: An Evening with Travis' Fran Healy & Andy Dunlop at Joe's Pub

Fran Healy and Andy Dunlop, half of the Scottish band Travis, entertained a sold out crowd at NYC's legendary Joe's Pub last night. The duo took the audience on a chronological journey through the band's lengthy catalog (150 songs total), which Healy whittled down to about 22 songs for the set. The night included just under 3 hours of great music, killer stage banter, an explanation of what inspired the songs, as well as a (hilarious) slide-show. Healy started the show solo and performed the first song he ever wrote, "20," about leaving the teen-aged years and being wedged between 19 and 21. Immediately after, Andy Dunlop joined Healy on stage for the first glimpse at a slide-show and the meaning behind the band's hit "Turn."

Having seen Healy perform acoustic previously, it was an amazing experience to see him accompanied by Andy Dunlop and to truly hear Dunlop's powerful guitar lines without any distractions. You can usually feel the energy and emotion Dunlop puts into his performance, but it was never as evident as it was last night. Dunlop also honed his piano skills for a few songs, including "Falling Down."

Highlights of the set also included "Why Does it Always Rain on Me," "Driftwood," "Sing," "Love Will Come Through," and "Flowers in the Window," proceeded by a hilarious recount of a drunken tale of bass player Dougie Payne. Healy always has a ease about him, unguarded, and honest appeal, but the most moving moment of the show was his explanation of the inspiration behind "My Eyes," which was penned after finding out he was going to be a father. Before singing "My Eyes," Healy played the role of a proud papa as he let the audience in on some personal stories of his son's current music obsessions (Grandmaster Flash and Michael Jackson) and showed us recent photos of his now 3-year old.

The duo closed out their planned set with on of their most recent songs "Before You Were Young," from the band's latest release Ode to J. Smith. Rather than perform a set encore, Healy opened up the show to requests from the audience who pleaded for "Big Chair," "Love," "Selfish Jean," and "The Cage."

As if the night couldn't get any better. Healy and Dunlop announced that they would personally be manning the merchandise table and wanted to meet every last fan in the room. True to their word, they spoke to each fan, signed autographs, and thanked everyone for coming out. If you ask me, it was a perfect way to spend an evening.