Train Kept on Rolling

They may be derided as "middle of the road," but Train is still one of my favorite bands. They put out consistently good music, and frontman Pat Monahan is one of the more charismatic and enjoyable guys to watch. He also has an awesome voice. Monday, at the House of Blues here in Boston, Pat was nursing a cold, but he still sounded great as the band played its latest gig to support Save Me, San Francisco, its latest release.

No surprise, the band's set leaned heavily on well-known songs (including "Drops of Jupiter," "Calling All Angels," Get to Me," "She's on Fire," and of course, "Meet Virginia," which came out early in the setlist), with a few from Save Me sprinkled in, starting with opener "Parachute," and including my favorite track, the title song. There were also a couple of impressive covers, including Led Zeppelin's "Going to California" and Aerosmith's "Dream On" (enhanced, kind of randomly, by two members of the band All-American Rejects). Guitarist Jimmy Stafford made a memorable impression on "Mississippi" and "Free." And the acoustics were also fantastic; Sara K and I stood pretty much right in front of a set of speakers and we could still hear everything clearly (though my ears were ringing for a while after the show).

Opener Uncle Kracker (yes, he's still around) played a laid-back set. We missed the first couple songs, but got there in time to hear "Drift Away," "Follow Me," and a mostly carbon-copy cover of Kid Rock's "All Summer Long," which Kracker co-wrote. No need to run out and buy his latest album.

On the whole, this was a solid show — nothing earth-shattering, but it was worth it for me. Train's a great, reliable band and they never disappoint.