Chris DeLine

Years before Chris Martin had the inspiration to bellow the moody, yawnish purr that contributed to Coldplay’s eventual superstardom, Travis set the tone for what was yet to come with their 1999 single “Why Does It Always Rain on Me?” It could be said that the band should be damned for opening the doors for such leisure-rockers as Coldplay and Snow Patrol, but the boys of Travis are hardly the purveyors of poor music that some might have you believe. While fluttering a bit on the British charts, last year’s Ode to J. Smith was voted the 28th best of the year in Q Magazine‘s readers’ poll, and the BBC called it an eclectic, experimental mix. Setting all that aside, however, it isn’t often that the opportunity presents itself to see a band that once headlined Glastonbury in such an intimate setting as the Fine Line. And yet Coldplay continue to sell out arenas. Why does it always rain on me, indeed. With the Republic Tigers. 18+.

[This critics’ pick was originally published by City Pages.]