I hadn't seen Travis since 2009. I hadn’t listened to their albums in a very long time and had almost considered not making the trip from Cork to Dublin. What on earth was I thinking?

I arrived about 20 minutes before the show started.
Despite being several rows back, I had a really good view of the stage. The Olympia is actually a great venue for standing gigs.

They opened with "Mother" a song from their new album with the chorus, “Why did we wait so long?” Fran would explain later that they stopped touring to spend time with their kids. Ok... we understand.

"Selfish Jean" with its infectious drum beat and screw you lyrics shook off any Monday blues I had.

"Driftwood" had never ever appealed to me, until this concert. The entire audience sang it. They drowned Fran out. It was extraordinary moment.

The audience was wonderful. There were no annoying people pushing their way to the front. Nobody squeezed past to get to the bar. Everybody just sang along. We were all there for the music.

The set list was peppered with new songs... I really must buy the album.
But of course there were plenty of old favourites.
"Love will come through" - It’s nice that Dougie hasn’t given up his signature swaying.
"Re-Offender" - I could not for the life of me remember the title and spent the night thinking, Apologies? Remorse? Terrible really, considering it is one of my favourite songs of all time.

I listened to Travis everyday for three years and as the concert progressed, I remembered why their music used to mean so much to me.

"Blue Flashing Light" was startling. It was in such stark contrast to "My Eyes" and "Reminder". The two versions of fatherhood – the loving and caring one, the cruel and abusive one… It was beautiful in a sad, thought provoking way.

"Writing to Reach You", "Turn" and "Sing" reminded me that it’s good to be alive. Before the concert started, I must admit that I was quite excited to see the stand for Andy’s banjo … the standjo. Sing’s lyrics seem so simple, but they express so well what music means to me.

For the encore they did "Good Feeling" …“Scraping me off the ceiling” … Yes indeed, by the end, that’s exactly how I felt. They encouraged us to pogo during "Why does it always rain on me?" That was a blast. The last number was "Flowers in the Window"...one guitar and all the guys... I couldn’t believe I hadn’t seen them do that in four years. It had been way, way too long.