Charlie Colin - bass; Charlie Gillingham - organ, piano, mellotron; Rob Hotchkiss - guitar, harmonica, vocals; Pat Monahan - lead vocals, percussion; Jimmy Stafford - guitar, mandolin, vocals; Scott Underwood - percussion, drums
This may be among the earliest professional recordings of Train available.
Recorded shortly after the band had gotten its initial 1996 indie debut, Train, re-released on Columbia's Aware Records in 1998, this performance was among one of the band's many hot, early shows taped in the Bay Area.
These tracks were captured long before Train had hits with songs like "Calling All Angels" and "Drops Of Jupiter," although some of the songs from this era, such as "Free," "I Am," and "Meet Virginia" remain a part of the band's current live repertoire. Though they had only been together a few years when this show was taped, the band was incredibly tight and innovative. Singer Pat Monahan proves here that he is one of the best blue-eyed soul singers since we first heard Daryl Hall.
They also try on some tasty covers during this show, including a bitchin' take on the Rufus Thomas soul classic, "Walkin' The Dog" (which borrows heavily from the Aerosmith arrangement), and Led Zeppelin's "Ramble On," which the band still pulls out for kicks on occasion.
Train became a platinum act in the 1990s, when the then-new alternative music radio format found them as an edgy band that could provide commercial crossover appeal to listeners. Four platinum albums and two Grammys later, Train remains among the more popular live acts in the US. Of the original line-up, only Monahan, Jim Stafford, and Scott Underwood remain, but the group is stronger than ever and has most recently returned to their rollicking pop roots.