It's been eight years since Travis had their last gig in Norwich and expectations were high - but they didn't disappoint. The warm-up act was Stephen Fretwell. With just an acoustic guitar to back him up, Fretwell demonstrated his beautiful voice. Unfortunately the song-writing didn't do it justice. Each song merged into the next. The hum of voices throughout his set seemed a little rude but unfortunately there was nothing to keep the audience's attention. Travis, however, had no problems captivating the crowd. Beginning with Sing, the band performed hit after hit including Side, Writing to Reach You and Driftwood. Their set covered all of their albums.  | | Fran belts out another song |
A couple of oldies were played from their very first album for those dedicated fans who have been with them all the way. For a band like Travis, who could easily sell-out arenas over and over again, performing at the UEA as their warm-up to this weekend's Isle of Wight Festival seemed a slightly odd choice. But there were no signs of the band feeling they were too big for such a small venue. In fact, Fran Healy seemed to relish the opportunity to chat with the relatively intimate crowd. His self confessed 'waffle' covered many subjects including his decision to stop smoking, the last Travis gig in Norwich back in 1997 and deliberations over what to play at next month's Live 8 concert – if Side is played, you can thank Norwich. It was this intimacy that made one of the many highlights of the night possible. An entirely acoustic version of Flowers In The Window was performed. Healy and his guitar produced a perfect rendition of the single, with the audience joining in with the chorus. The ease with which Healy chatted with the crowd added to the front man's charm and made an amazing gig all the more entertaining. Despite occasional contributions from the other members of the band, it was Healy that stood out. His unassuming style made the audience feel like equals, happily shouting back replies during what felt like conversations between songs. The crowd was a good mix, demonstrating the wide appeal of the band. However a lack of under 18s highlighted the limited amount of new material they have released recently compared to the abundance of songs a few years ago. But do not fear, Healy informed us that a new album is on its way and Travis took the opportunity to play the world exclusive of one of their newly written songs, Closer. Despite Healy's mock annoyance that the announcement that they were going to play a brand new song wasn't greeted with more enthusiasm, it got a great reception. Closer retains Travis' well known natural sound which allows all of their songs to be performed live so well. There was no reliance on special effects or enhancements; it was all band. Whilst it is impossible to pick out a single highlight of the gig, the mandatory Why Does It Always Rain On Me? for the encore was definitely up there. The enthusiasm of the crowd meant that Travis risked being drowned out by the singing of their audience. A sure sign of a fantastic performance. The chance to see Travis in this sort of setting these days is almost unheard of. The frenzied rush to get tickets was more than justified. Those lucky enough to be there will remember it for many years to come. Travis performed at the University of East Anglia on the 9 June, 2005. | 
