Blues Traveler - Live: Thinnest of Air (2004)

Despite a few flaws, fans will give a hearty welcome to Blues Traveler Live: Thinnest of Air, a two-disc record of the band's July 4, 2003 gig at Red Rocks, Denver. It's heartening to see the group still in existence, let alone on such good form, as they seem to have been dogged by bad luck for far too long: there was John Popper's near-fatal car accident in 1992, then his heart problems in 1999, closely followed by the sudden death of brilliant bassist Bobby Sheehan. But the no-nonsense New Yorkers have come back from the brink of dissolution, recruiting Tad Kinchla on bass as well as keyboardist Ben Wilson, who makes the band officially a quintet and helps to flesh out their live sound. The concert itself is a treat, with a strong setlist ranging across their entire catalogue and played in a loose, semi-improvised manner that keeps it all sounding fresh.

Ziggy Marley guests on a laid-back rendition of 'No Woman, No Cry', but perhaps inevitably their older material sounds the strongest, with the tracks from Four ('The Mountains Win Again', 'Crash/Burn', 'Brother John') especially getting a good work-out. The newer material is just fine, if less striking. Diehards, though, may be disappointed by the absence of 'But Anyway'. But anyway, it's a solid gig, marred only by the semi-documentary approach that features way too much behind-the-scenes fooling about (in the tour bus, in hotel bedrooms etc) instead of focusing on the music. On the DVD: Blues Traveler Live: Thinnest of Air is a generous two-disc set, presented in 16:9 anamorphic with DTS and Dolby 5.1 sound options for the authentic stadium experience. There's a band biography, 19 Red Rock set lists, a photo gallery and an old interview with Popper and guitarist Chan Kinchla.

Blues Traveler - a New York-based blues-rock quartet formed in 1988 by singer/harmonica player John Popper, guitarist Chan Kinchla, bassist Bobby Sheehan, and drummer Brendan Hill, Blues Traveler were part of a revival of the extended jamming style of '60s and '70s groups like the Grateful Dead and Led Zeppelin. Signed to A&M, they released their first album, Blues Traveler, in May 1990 and followed it with Travelers & Thieves in September 1991. Popper was in a serious car accident in 1992, leaving him unable to perform for a number of months. Fortunately, he recovered, yet he still had to perform in a wheelchair for a period of time. In April 1993, Blues Traveler released their third album, Save His Soul, which became the band's first to make the Top 100.

Blues Traveler's aptly named fourth album, Four, released in September 1994, at first looked like a sales disappointment, but it rebounded in 1995 when "Run-Around," a single taken from it, became the group's first chart hit. "Run-Around" became one of the biggest singles of 1995, spending nearly a full year on the charts and sending Four into quintuple platinum status.

As the group prepared the follow-up to Four, Blues Traveler released the live double-album Live from the Fall in the summer of 1996. The group returned in the summer of 1997 with its fifth studio album, Straight on Till Morning. After completing his 1999 debut solo effort, Zygote, Popper – who'd been experiencing chest pains for months – was forced to undergo an angioplasty; weeks later, tragedy struck on August 20, 1999, when Sheehan was found dead in his New Orleans home. He was just 31 years old. The new millennium saw a newly charged Blues Traveler, and their sixth record, Bridge, appeared in May 2001. The next winter, Blues Traveler released the live What You and I Have Been Through. The studio record Truth Be Told followed in 2003, and another concert album, Live on the Rocks, appeared in 2004.

The group returned to the studio in 2004, releasing the Jay Bennett-produced Bastardos! in September of the following year. In 2007, Blues Traveler released Cover Yourself, a collection of previous hits reworked with acoustic arrangements. The David Bianco-produced North Hollywood Shootout appeared from Verve Forecast in 2008.

Artists: Blues Traveler
- John Popper: Vocals, Harmonica
- Chan Kinchla: Guitar
- Ben Wilson: Keyboards
- Tad Kinchla: Bass
- Brendan Hill: Drums
- Ziggy Marley (guest)

Tracklist:
DVD1
01. Intro
02. Carolina
03. Lost me
04. Waking Up Blues Traveler
05. Jamming With Ziggy Marley
06. No woman, no cry - Ziggy Marley guest on vocals
07. Rehearsing Save His Soul And Hook
08. Save his soul
09. Hook
10. Star-spangled Banner
11. In Bed By The Pool And At The Salon
12. Love & greed
13. All hands
14. Rehearsing Let Her Into Crystal Into Pattern
15. Let Her And Let Go
16. Crystal flame
17. Pattern
18. Bathroom Humor
19. B.C.T.B.I.(The Setlist)

DVD2
01. Emperor
02. This ache
03. Almost Showtime
04. Bagheera
05. Eventually
06. Get On The Bus
07. Slow
08. Unable to get free
09. Wailing Unable Rehearsal
10. On The Radio
11. Fan Karaoke
12. Mountains win again
13. Felicia
14. From Shatner To Playstation
15. Gargle Time
16. Cant see why
17. Reach me
18. Crash/burn
19. Making The Record
20. Sweet & broken
21. Thinnest of air
22. Rehearsing Brother John
23. Brother John
24. Credits
25. Outtakes

Features:
- Direct Scene Access
- Interactive Menu

Extra:
- Photo Gallery
- Interview
- Behind The Scenes Footage
- Band Biography

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