Travis took American rock history to their hearts on Saturday (April 8) when they finished their set at the Berkeley Community Theatre in San Francisco with a cover version of The Band’s 1960’s anthem ‘The Weight’.
Travis played the Robbie Robertson-penned song, which featured in the soundtrack to the Peter Fonda/Dennis Hopper hippy road movie ‘Easy Rider’, to mark their arrival in the city that spawned the ’60s peace ‘n’ love movement.
Not to be outdone, Oasis, who are headlining over Travis on the tour, played a cover of The Beatles’ ‘Helter Skelter’ with Noel taking the lead vocal, as he had when the band played the song in their pre-Christmas round of American radio shows.
‘Helter Skelter’, which was infamously interpreted by cult leader Charles Manson as a call to murderous revolution, is the second poignant cover version Oasis have played on this tour. Earlier in the week, they played Neil Young’s ‘Hey Hey, My My’ in Seattle as a homage to Kurt Cobain on the sixth anniversary of his death.