Review: Travis at The Depot

Travis performed at The Depot last Tuesday (Feb. 4, 2025), scaring a lot of fans out of their houses on a school night. They didn’t show up in droves or anything, but there may be a reason for that. It has been over a decade since Travis has toured very fast and furiously through our fair country, after all. Still, those who fell for the band early on might like them more this many years later. Flavors tend to deepen over time. Why should good bands be any different?

If there was ever any inkling, this foursome of Glasgow natives is simply resting on its substantial past successes; this performance helped quash those preposterous ideas. They sounded as good as everyone hoped they might, easily sharing songs from their latest (2024’s L.A. Times) with professionalism and ease. Nothing felt forced. They have new layers to offer. While the band played a lot of the songs that made them so familiar in the first place (“Sing,” “Closer,” and, good lord, so many more), the newer songs were also on display, the ones we aren’t close friends with yet. (We’ll get there, promise.) It was terribly fun and uncommonly friendly, as casual as being invited to your buddy’s house to watch them jam in a garage for a while.

Lead singer Fran Healy sprained his ankle at their show the night before (uneven stairs will get you when you least expect it). That hardly stopped him and his band of near-lifelong mates from giving us the best versions of themselves they could muster. The beloved show must go on, and these guys are solid. They’re workhorses. Wearing what he called his “Frankenstein boot” on one foot, Fran still mostly stood for his songs and could mostly get around, just with lots more hopping. At the tail end of one of their best tunes, “Writing to Reach You,” he noticed someone starting to faint near the stage, stopped the song abruptly, and clambered toward her to assist as the paramedics rushed in to help. It was a touch of unexpected drama that had us all collectively holding our breath.

So, besides being a revered singer for all the best reasons, Fran was someone’s hero that night. Being saved by a band you adore is an easy forever memory—something to share with the grandkids one day. 

Photos by Nathan Christianson (Instagram: @npcplus)

no images were found