POP MUSIC REVIEW : Extraneous Notes From Blues Traveler

“Step right up, ladies and gentlemen! Thrill to the skills of Blues Traveler! Watch Jack Popper jam more notes into one harmonica solo than Sonny Boy Williamson played in a month of one-nighters! See Blues Traveler pounce on every open space in the arrangements like a ravenous bird of prey!”

The New York City quartet’s 75-minute set at Club Lingerie on Monday virtually begged for that carnival barker approach. The group’s attempt at a Grateful-Dead-cum-jazz-improvisation take on the blues foundered on a surfeit of extraneous notes. The musicians simply played too much to set up melodic hooks or showcase their considerable instrumental skills. The high spots of the set, featuring songs from the group’s recent album on A&M; and new tunes, came in 30-second or minute-long spurts between fallow stretches of hyperactive overkill.

Popper’s vocals were serviceable, but he focused on upper-register harmonica solos--very fast, very frequently--that resembled country fiddle workouts, while guitarist Chan Kinchla’s occasionally funky rhythm licks disappeared during solos. Bobby Sheehan used solid-bass patterns as a launching point, but drummer Brendan Hill was too stolid for the fluidity Blues Traveler aspired to.

The appreciative audience was content to be dazzled by flying fingers, but Blues Traveler would benefit enormously from a crash course in the virtues of economy--say, six months locked in a room with Meters albums.