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Train
A Concert Review |
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I hadn’t been to The Riviera in Chicago to see a show in quite
a while. It’s not that there haven’t been any good bands there,
but mostly I got a little lazy, had to spend more time on my job
that makes me money, and hated to pay the twenty bucks to park in a
lot so that, hopefully, my car wouldn’t get busted into (The
Riviera isn’t in the best of neighborhoods, but it is getting
better). But Train was a band I was interested in seeing and with
the opportunity put right in front of me, well, it was hopefully
worth the drive through Cub’s traffic and maybe even worth the
twenty bucks to park. I hoped it would be worth it. It was way worth
it.
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Now, my job is sometimes weird, especially for a place like The
Riviera which is general admission, and especially for a sold-out,
or at least it must have been really close to being sold-out show.
As a photographer and a reviewer, at a show like this, for three
songs I get the best spot in the house, right up against the stage,
and then I get tossed out of the photo/security pit and usually end
up in the worst spot in the house – way in the back, not really
being able to see much. But as I watched Train for three songs and
listened to them (every now and then sneaking a peek through the
crowd), I began to appreciate a band that had built quite a
following on really, what amounts to, two radio hits, those being
"Meet Virginia" and their current "Drops of
Jupiter." Train followers are fanatic, Train followers are
dedicated, and Train followers know all of the words to all of the
songs. Those things make a show of which you really don’t know
much about a band even that much more enjoyable.
As the band opened with "Respect" and "It’s
About You", both off their latest "Drops of Jupiter"
CD, I could immediately see why Train is able to pack a place like
The Riviera – they are a great live band. Pat Monahan as the lead
vocal man knows how to work things on stage, from singing to all of
the audience and then graciously accepting trinkets from the
youngins thrilled to be so close to the show. And the rest of the
band knows how to put on a show too. Guitarist Jimmy Stafford kept
his solos and posing just long enough without being annoying, Scott
Underwood on drums was able to pull off a drum solo without being
blasé, and it was obvious that the years of touring had Train
developing a fan base based on their music even though most of it
has never hit the radio.
So, as I secured my spot next to a railing good for girl
watching, good for an every now and then peek at the band, and good
enough for being way at the back of the venue, it was time to follow
along with my set-list I copied off of the stage and see how people
reacted. Some songs did better than others, with the newer material
seeming to get the better responses, but all along it seemed Train
did a great job at just keeping things going. "I Wish You
Would," one of my favoritist songs from the new CD, was great,
as were songs like "She’s On Fire" and
"Getaway", but what also surprised me was their great
renditions of some covers, songs like "Ramble On" from
Zeppelin and, oh shit, I hope I’m not wrong on this one, but I
think it was "Last Child" from Aerosmith (it wasn’t on
their set-list). The one thing that seemed wrong was after the band
did "Drops of Jupiter," complete with everyone singing and
holding their cell phones up in the air so their friends could
hear.
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They followed "Drops…" with "Heavy," and
where "Drops of Jupiter" got the crowd totally fired up,
well, "Heavy" just seemed to bring things down. Maybe that’s
just this reviewer observation.
Anyway, it was great to see a band that knew how to interact with
their audience. From the good crowd banter of Pat, posing questions
he has seen on their website pertaining to the cutest Train member
(Pat tried to flaunt that Train is about the music and not the
cutest member, but then, him having the mike, well, as far as he was
concerned, he had the answer – "It’s me!"), to the
great cover songs, to a great drum solo, to letting the crowd sing,
it was obvious Train had their act together as a touring band. That
leads me to this show’s rating of TWO "What the hell does ‘Drops
of Jupiter’ mean anyway?" THUMBS UP!! They put on a great show
– go see them!
That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!! |
