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There was way too many long periods of time with just instrumentals. I do appreciate talented musicians, however every song had a long period of time with solos. Started to all sound the same.
Big Head Todd and his Monsters are a great show. Nothing against Blues Traveler but I primarily went to show to see Big Head Todd and loved their part of the show as they played first. I appreciate Blues Traveler’s music and good to see but when they pumped up the volume at Foellinger Theatre for the Blues Traveler set everything got muddled. I was looking forward to hearing Poppers voice and range as he still seems to have it but his vocals were often not clear. The tempo on Runaround and Hook was very fast compared to album versions and sounded hurried. It was fun to see the two bands on the same ticket. I’d definitely see again if I have the opportunity.
More of an instrumental show from BT. John left the stage multiple times during the show for extended periods of time. And what’s with playing some many other bands music? Big Head Todd & Monsters were the saving grace for the night.
Overall, Blues Traveler was a disappointment. The evening wasn’t a total bust though, as Big Head Todd and the Monsters opened the concert with an excellent set. At 75 minutes, their set was longer than the typical opener, but well worth it. Led by guitarist/singer Todd Mohr, the band engaged the audience with a nicely curated setlist. Mohr’s enthusiasm for the music got things off to a great start. Following the solid opening act, Blues Traveler took a little over 30 minutes to get set up for the headliner. Despite all the time spent by a large group of hardworking stage techs, when Blues Traveler finally started playing, they appeared to have a very hard time getting things right – constantly hand signaling the sound board operators and calling techs out onto the stage to make various adjustments. A couple of the techs spent almost as much time on the stage as the band members during the show. Whatever was going on, the sound was often muddy and unbalanced, and some band members seemed to be half a beat off the others through many songs. At times, it felt like they were rushing through songs just to get through them. The Kinchla brothers – Tad on bass and Chan on guitar – were engaging and enthusiastic. The rest of the band – not so much. John Popper left the stage for extended periods three different times during the 90-minute headliner set. He also struggled numerous times to get the right harmonicas. The extended jamming on several songs seemed very low-energy and meandering – not what you would expect from such a well-known jam band. Overall, the musical performance was nowhere near as clean and tight as you would expect from Blues Traveler. They’ve put out a lot of great music over the years, but on this night, they didn’t live up to expectations.
Big Head Todd and the Monsters stole the show. Todd is a great guitarist and vocalist as well. The should have been the headliner in my opinion. It was hard to hear the harmonica for most of the night.
My sample set of BT shows is extensive, going back to the HORDE days and before. This show was not good for the following reasons: 1. They played covers from Charlie Daniels, Van Halen and Black Sabbath. Hot for the teacher interrupted Dropping Some NYC, one of my favorite BT songs. War Pigs had no lyrics, and I've seen them play Devil Went down, but I don't remembering them botching the funky rhythm included in this tune. 2. Popper frequently leaves the stage for chunks of time. You're the front man, John. If you can't stay on stage for those ridiculous solos, then don't play them. You leaving the stage with frequency is like seeing RUSH without Geddy Lee or Bad Co without Paul Rodgers. 3. Keyboard guy got a new toy it seemed. He was channeling Greg Guiffria from ANGEL, making the synthesizer make all sorts of goofy sounds, completely unnecessary and annoying. Plus his singing on hot for the teacher was awful. Play the Hammond or a Rhodes and be done with it... I was completely dissatisfied with the set and their performance. I left during Carolina Blues. Had it not been for the opener Save His Soul, I would have given their set 0 stars. Definitely put an end to my 30 year plus BT live tradition. It's sad for me to make that statement Thank God, Big Head Todd killed it with a tight set and all original songs except for the encore. Not a total waste of $130+. Great Job BHTM! Loved your set!!
This was a great show, both bands were exceptional!!!
Went to the August 2nd show at Irving Music Factory, looking forward to hearing Blues Traveler again live. Not sure what happened, John Popper left the stage shortly after the start. Seemed like they were having trouble with his sound. Band just started playing random stuff and acting like nothing was wrong (which I guess that's what they should do). We ended up leaving 3 songs into the show....Fellas, if it weren't for an amazing Big Head Todd & the Monsters, I'd be demanding my money back for that train wreck of a show.
They sang a lot of other artists songs which was disappointing as I didn’t want to see a cover band.
Was really looking forward to this, as I’ve never seen them in concert. They had to work through some sound problems the first few songs, Popper left the stage several times, then they played cover songs, not many of their hits, and the ones they did play, were sped up. He invited Todd to come out and play, they had a weird jam session and after that, we left, as did many others.
Parking is ridiculous. $55.00 to park. Big head tod was better than expected. Blues traveler not so much. Too much jazz although having listened to them for years, I should have expected as much. They are, however, very good musicians.
Purchasing these tickets made me excited to feel the nostalgia from listening to BT in the 90s. Great music that was easy to connect with. You can imagine my sheer disappointment with John Popper and band when the concert was so absent of energy, everyone was sitting down. The only song played from the Four album was Hook and that was such a Picasso'd version of it ... The entire concert was lack luster, bizarre. Popper hardly sang and was more worried about his harmonicas than actually playing/performing for the crowd. He also kept walking off the stage which seemed off also. My husband and I brought our teens with us thinking they would get it and it would be a good time. We left early it was so bad. I hate to leave this type of review, but the concert was not worth attending this time - stick with your music source to listen to their songs.
The concert was awesome. We had great seats and loved been there. Highly recommend!
Love the venue. The wrong band opened the show. I really don't have much to say. The concessions closed way to early even the band merchandise closed. Why should I miss the concert to go buy merchandise?
I liked Big Todd & the Monsters better than Blues Traveler. Love the smaller venue! We had a good time!
Blues Traveler is always a great show. Big Head Todd & The Monsters made it even better. Look forward to the next visit.
I am huge fan of Blues Traveler for 30 years. It was awesome to see them again performing. I especially liked their cover of Devil Went Down to Georgia.
Great show. John Popper is so talented and the sound was perfect. Can't wait until they come back again.
Been listening to Blues Travelers and Big Head Todd since college and love them together. Also, first time to attend an event at Toyota Music Factory and loved the venue.
The show could have been better. Popper walked offstage twice for 4+ minutes each time after only singing 3 songs. Not sure what he was doing….he also sang way too many cover songs instead of his own material. The added bonus was a bad joke he brought his daughter on stage for to deliver the punchline about cancer which was truly odd. The opening act Big Head Todd and the Monsters was awesome.
