Pat Monahan - Click for more images
Grammy awarding winning Train,not to be confused with the series of connected railroad cars pulled or pushed by one or more locomotives, thundered into town on Sunday and performed to a sold out crowd (Get it thundered into town ““ Thunder Valley Casino and Resort). I know ““ I’m on a roll! OMG a roll, get it? Trains roll on wheels – On a roll – ok I’ll stop. BTW trains stop too! Seriously, they do. Otherwise they could end up hitting places like Thunder Valley.
Thunder Valley Casino and Resort really scored with signing on Train to perform at their outdoor amphitheater. Train just finished their Save Me San Francisco tour last month. Taking full advantage of their current success, they headed back out on the road with Maroon 5 and Gavin DeGraw for a summer tour. The band actually performed in Southern California Saturday with the others, drove by bus to Sacramento, then headed back down to Hollywood for a Monday night show with the rest of the group.
Train got off to a fashionably late start. Schedule to appear at 7:00 p.m., they didn’t take the stage until 7:35 p.m. which I’m sure had everything to do with the sun beating on the stage at that hour of the day. When they finally took the stage they were met with wild applause and deafening screams.
Guitarist Jimmy Stafford and drummer Scott Underwood took the stage to kick off the show. Already on stage were Bassist Hector Maldonado and keyboardist Jerry Becker. They were joined shortly after by lead singer/songwriter Pat Monahan singing, “Parachute”.
Monahan was nonstop throughout the concert. He was bouncing from one side of the stage to the other, the whole time delivering his uniquely expressive vocals. Monahan being a short and downright skinny dude – got a little assistance from a platform at the edge of the stage. He would walk up the platform where he stood taller while talking and performing.
As the evening progressed, I think Monahan may have changed his wardrobe more than Lady Gaga (if that’s even possible). He started out with a shirt and vest, then went down to the shirt, came back out with another vest, and at one point donned a red jacket similar to the one Michael Jackson wore for thriller.
Being the funny man that he is, Monahan started off joking about how women always show up to their concerts all dressed up, but the men simply wear t-shirts. After Monahan walked out among the crowd, he said every time he does there’s at least one ass grabber. 80 percent of the time it’s a dude, but today it was a 75 year old lady.
Fifteen lucky ladies who were dancing on the floor ended up dancing onstage. Monahan had them climb a makeshift ladder to get up on stage. One of the ladies actually started climbing with a drink in hand. She made it; the drink didn’t. Once they were all onstage, he instructed them to perform their most sexy dance as he sang “She’s on Fire”.
This was a high energy show with a lot of audience interaction. On top of being a great singer and songwriter, Monahan makes for a great front man, keeping the audience engaged the entire performance. When they ended their set with “Drops of Jupiter” it was obvious to me and everyone else that the concert had gone by way too quickly and we all wanted more.
Before the concert, I had an opportunity to talk with lead guitarist Jimmy Stafford about Train’s new venture Save Me, San Francisco Wine Co. They recently released their first line of wine, Drops of Jupiter Petite Sirah. According to Stafford, their Petite Sirah was featured as the wine of the month at Bonefish Grills across the US and is available at select stores and restaurants. The price tag ““ $9.99.
Stafford explained that the wine started out as a blend of various grapes from Livermore Valley’s Concannon Vineyards. Once they arrived at just the right blend it was determined that the wine had a high enough percentage to call it a Petite Sirah (75% of the varietal must be present in the wine).
Being the wino that he is, Stafford says there’s nothing like a good glass of red wine before a show. He also told me they would be coming out with a Chardonnay and Merlot in the near future, so keep an eye out for those.
After the concert, Caroline Logan approached the band asking if they could record a video for her girlfriend who was getting married to the song, “Marry Me.” She was visibly upset and crying, so Monahan grabbed the phone and started recording. He informed her friend that she was at the concert drunk and out of control. He was quite comical during the recording.
The song list for the show was:
Parachute
If It’s Love
Meet Virginia
She’s on Fire
Calling All Angels
Latin routine of their various hits
Ramble On
Drive By (off their upcoming album)
Save me San Francisco
Ordinary
Marry Me
Hey Soul Sister
Free
Drops of Jupiter
Go to Thunder Valley Casino and Resort for a complete listing of upcoming events.
Check out more Train concert photos
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