A band with a true roller coaster story is Train. The pop-rock group from San Francisco reached considerable success in the late 90's and early 2000's before falling off a bit after the release of their fourth album. The band, led by Patrick Monahan, then took a three year hiatus before returning with a fifth LP.
At that stage of a career, it's rare for a band to put out a hit record heavy on radio singles. But that's exactly what Train did. Monahan released 2009's Save Me, San Francisco, containing hits "If It's Love," "Hey Soul Sister," and "Marry Me." The rediscovered success brought new life to the band. All of a sudden they were touring with Maroon 5, playing large amphitheaters, and performing for fans of all ages.
Since Train revitalized their career, I have been lucky enough to see them live four times. The first time was practically a mistake, but their live performance won me over. This year, they were playing a Christmas themed show at the Mahaffey Theatre in St. Pete.
Train opened up with "Cadillac, Cadillac," just one of three songs played off the bands newest album, entitled Bulletproof Picasso. The new songs sounded great, as did the old classics. Two of the bands earliest hits - "Meet Virginia" and "Calling All Angels" received some of the loudest ovations of the night.
What I believe takes Train shows to the next level is the front man ability of Pat Monahan. They guy has an incredible voice, but also is very interactive. At one point of the show, Pat took advantage of the smaller venue acoustics and sang a slower song without any microphone. It was an incredibly pure moment.
Monahan also went into the crowd on one occasion and picked out audience members to help him sing the duet "Bruises." Additionally, he brought kids up on stage to play different percussion instruments on holiday themed tune "Shake Up Christmas." The singer is a true entertainer, making the show what it is.
The biggest sing-a-longs of the night came towards the end, with "Hey, Soul Sister" leading into 2011 hit "Drive By." Train exited the stage with the same energy they came on with.
Of course Monahan and the boys would return for the expected encore of "Drops of Jupiter," which had the crowd belting out the choruses. They followed this up with an Aerosmith cover of the classic - "Dream On." This is quite the difficult tune to sing, but Monahan has the necessary powerful vocals to hit the famous Steven Tyler notes.
After seeing Train 4 times now, I can come to one clear conclusion. When you see them perform live, they will play their best songs. Even as their catalogue continues to expand, they select the best tunes off their new album and combine those with their overall greatest hits. It's a guarantee at this point and that's a nice feeling for a concert-goer. You can attend a show and know that you're going to hear the hits. It's a winning formula for bands to stay relevant and attract fans to come back to future shows. I know it works for me as I'll definitely see Train again for their summer tour.
CONCERT RATING: 3.5 Stars
SETLIST:
1. Cadillac, Cadillac
2. 50 Ways to Say Goodbye
3. If It's Love
4. Meet Virginia
5. Bulletproof Picasso
6. When I Look to the Sky (sans microphones)
7. Calling All Angels
8. Save Me, San Francisco
9. Shake Up Christmas
10. Bruises
11. Angel in Blue Jeans
12. Hey, Soul Sister
13. Drive By
Encore:
14. Drops of Jupiter
15. Dream On (Aerosmith Cover)
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