| TRAIN - live at the Powerstation, 28/06/2010. |
| Written by Sarah Mudgway |
| Wednesday, 30 June 2010 08:15 |
 San Francisco based soft-rock band TRAIN have been kicking it in the music world since 1994, and are most known for their two biggest singles: the Grammy award-winning 'Drops of Jupiter' from 2001; and their most commercially successful single to date, 'Hey, Soul Sister' from their latest album 'Save Me San Francisco', their first release after a three year hiatus. Playing to a relatively packed Powerstation, Train's fans certainly are patient and loyal. This was their first New Zealand performance ever - and a cold wet wintery Auckland night did not stop the 30-40 year olds from dressing up, and subsequently rocking out to Train's simplistic yet catchy soft-rock tunes... or swooning over vocalist Patrick Monahan - who to me looked like a more preppy Chris Cornell, or a well-preserved rockstar edition of a Ken Doll - who as it turns out, boasts an exceptional voice. As the lights dimmed and the screams began, the band walked on stage accompanied by the sound of a steam train, an obvious, yet attention grabbing introduction. Automatically Monahan proved his worth, stunning those in attendance with the strength of his voice which powered above the instrumentals coming from his bandmates. Second song 'Get To Me' had Monahan amping up the crowd participation, with 'oh yeah' sing-backs causing the entire audience to pay attention and get involved. Invoking crowd participation was a strength of the band which became more evident throughout their hour and a half long set, an ability which I assume has been well mastered over their many years of practice. Going straight into single 'Meet Virginia', guitarist Jimmy Stafford finally emerged from the giant shadow cast by Monahan and stunned the audience with a long and epic guitar solo, proving the band was in fact more than a Patrick Monahan + friends type-deal. For 'She's On Fire', Monahan walked off stage, only to reappear with an acoustic guitar to begin what appeared to be a soft ballad... however, after pausing for a mandatory "rest period" the band then launched into the remainder of the track, which was surprisingly an up-tempo and line-dance inspiring country song. The difference in style compared to the rest of their set was a warm welcome, and again showcased the individual strengths of each member of the band, notably drummer Scott Underwood, who was able to maintain the ever increasing tempo without breaking a sweat. Thanks to the walking definition of a trashy cougar dancing and drinking away beside me (fake tan, fake hair, Ed Hardy tank top which was two sizes too small...), when Monahan began scanning the crowd to pull up some "young ladies" up on stage to "sexy dance and sing", I was slightly alarmed. But the five "Trainettes" embracing their stage-time were great entertainment, wholly unashamed in their five seconds of fame. Experience has done Train well, and even for those unfamiliar with their music - that's me! - the cheesy stage antics actually allowed a breath of fresh air, and re-captured any attention which had been lost. Utilizing a megaphone for 'I Got You', before second single off of their 2009 'Save Me San Francisco' album 'If It's Love', Monahan then proved that despite their age, Train are in fact down with the kids - pulling out his cellphone in order to take a photo which he would later post to his Twitter account HERE. At this point in the night, I doubt anyone could have said a bad word about the strength of Monahan's voice, however just in case there were any critics, he lost the microphone to sing 'When I Look To The Sky', not before mentioning how much it means to them that finally they were able to play to their New Zealand audience. Microphone or no microphone, Manohan sung his heart out and really stole the show... winning over the hearts of many of the females who were in the audience... especially so when he took his shirt off. 'Calling All Angels' was followed by 'Save Me San Francisco', which featured some of their worst lyrics I had heard the entire night: "I've been high, I've been low, I've been yes and I've been no." Inspired by The Wiggles, perhaps? Ending the main portion of their set with 'Hey, Soul Sister' I was bemused by the smiling bass guitarist - not a core member of the band - who was filming the audience sing-a-longs with the biggest smile across his face. They may have been playing together since I was in Primary school, but the appreciation for their fans was obvious and refreshing. Arriving back on stage for their encore, Manohan appeared in his third shirt for the evening and the band belted out the song everyone had been waiting for - 'Drops of Jupiter' - which inspired the loudest crowd sing-a-longs of the evening, and even had a few cellphones up in the air swaying. Launching straight into 'Free', the band then asked the audience what songs they wish had been played... and then proceeded to play a few lines from each of them. 'Mississippi', 'Brick by Brick' and 'Breakfast in Bed' were among the six or so songs which were included in the fan request finale - illustrating how well the band knew their own back-catalogue, which was especially impressive given that the second guitarist and bassist are not official members of Train. Promising to return early next year, Train undoubtedly lived up to their pop legacy, and proved that older musicians can rock it just as hard as their younger counterparts.  |
