Blues Traveler welcomed longtime friend Chris Barron (Spin Doctors) as well as Wayne Krantz and members of Lake Trout to the stage over its four-night run at New Yorks Irving Plaza. Barron and Lake Trouts Woody Ranere (keyboards), Ed Harris (guitar) and Matt Pierce (flute) sat in for Sundays encore, Miss You. On Saturday, Krantz added guitar to Weird Chick -> Mountain Cry to close the first set and Barron emerged for Bagheera in the second set. Fridays show included Barron singing Spin Doctors Cleopatra’s Cat in the first set and Come Together in the second set. Lake Trouts Harris, Pierce and Michael Lowry (drums) also performed on the encore, Woke Up This Morning. All the members of Lake Trout joined Traveler on Thursday for The Path.
Blues Traveler did not repeat any songs over the four nights, which meant many older tunes such as Trina Magna, Miss You and Weird Chick were performed for the first time in a few years.
Barron is no stranger to the group, as the Spin Doctors and Blues Traveler have a long history of jamming together. In the late eighties and early nineties, the bands often collaborated and would sometimes perform full-band segues under the moniker Spinning Traveler at New York clubs such as Wetlands Preserve and The Marquee. Both bands also appeared on the inaugural H.O.R.D.E. tour in 1992.
Blues Traveler plays tonight at The Royal Oak Theater in Royal Oak, MI. For the complete tour schedule, visit www.bluestraveler.com.