Before Chris Martin saw the stars all Yellow, Travis' Fran Healy asked the question Why does it always rain on me?. These two groups, contemporaries of one another, each came out of the exploding UK rock scene during the late 90's. So why are Coldplay now one of the biggest groups in the music world and Travis barely register outside of their native Britain? Like the joke says, blame it on the drummer.

As Travis was set to headline several European concert festivals and tour in support of their third CD, The Invisible Band, they experienced a setback. While in France, their drummer, Neil Primrose, hit his head in a swimming pool accident and damaged several vertebrae. The resulting operation and recovery period caused them to scrap any and all appearances and put their tour plans on hold. Coldplay, on the other hand, toured non-stop for their debut and subsequent release, as well as, releasing a Live CD/DVD from that second tour.

With the return of Primrose to the band, Travis recorded their fourth full length album, 12 Memories and began to tour once more. That's what makes the new Travis at the Palace DVD so exciting. It captures Travis' homecoming show at London's Alexandra Palace on December 20, 2003. This performance before a crowd of over 8,000 fans marked the end of a busy year for the band, which saw them playing major festivals throughout Europe and Japan and selling out tour dates in America. However, rather than being exhausted, they actually seem energized and offer note for note versions of their greatest hits.

Travis keep the theatrics to a minimum, focusing instead on their stellar musicianship and near Beatles-esque songwriting ability. There's no substitute for a live show, but there have been vast improvements in the technology that bands have to document their performances. Concert films now, in the DVD format especially, let you see a band up close and at the top of their game. This film of Travis' Christmas Concert has got to be a treat for fans, but also for anyone with an interest in the band and their music.

The DVDs' production quality is excellent, with very clear, sharp images and a rich, full sound production. The concert lighting and effects are well done and the action is captured from several different angles, close-ups, fades and with different speed effects. The band play on a standard stage configuration with minimal set-up, but the Alexandra Palace is a unique venue and perfectly complements Travis' style.

Naturally, you get live performances of their hits Why Does It Always Rain On Me?, Sing and Driftwood, as well as the more recent material, such as Re-Offender and Love Will Come Through. Other highlights include stirring renditions of Writing to Reach You and All I Wanna Do Is Rock. Sadly, they do NOT perform their cover of Britney's Baby, One More Time, but they do slip in an encore of Wham's Last Christmas.

The songs included on this disc are:

Happy To Hang Around
Re-Offender
Writing To Reach You
Pipe Dreams
Quicksand
Sing
Love Will Come Through
The Fear
The Beautiful Occupation
Side
Mid-Life Krysis
As You Are
Driftwood
Somewhere Else
All I Want To Do Is Rock
The Humpty Dumpty Love Song
Turn
Some Sad Song
Last Christmas
Coming Around
Peace The Fuck Out
Why Does It Always Rain On Me?

The DVD:

Picture: The concert is presented in 16:9 anamorphic widescreen. The picture is sharp and clear.

Audio: This DVD features three different audio choices: DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo. I don't have a DTS decoder, so I can only say that the Dolby Digital tracks sound great.

Conclusion: Rhino Records has put together a great package with Travis at the Palace. I've always enjoyed Travis and this DVD capture's their dynamic live show. Even though the show is before a large crowd, it never feels anything less than intimate. With several gems in their play list, I would recommend any Travis fan to pick this disc up. However, how many times you actually watch it will depend on how big a fan you are. I am not aware of any plans at the current time for Rhino to include a CD of the concert with the DVD release, but that is the current trend and is one that I like quite a bit. Long after the thrill of seeing the performance is gone, I can still log countless spins in my home or car CD player.