Train Rolls Into New Mystic Lake Amphitheater

On Sunday, August 9th, Train returned to the Twin Cities in celebration of 25 years of the monumental album Drops of Jupiter. Joining Train was a thoroughly entertaining bill of openers Barenaked Ladies and Matt Nathanson.

Raconteur musician Matt Nathanson opened with “Car Crash” from his phenomenal debut album Some Mad Hope. From there, he was his usual talkative self. He shared a story of a fan complaining about a profanity in “Giants” (while using the profanity multiple times in his story), pumped the crowd up to sing the piercing chorus of his “Laid” cover, and patently interjected other artists’ songs within his. Including a verse of Prince’s “Kiss” into “Faster”. He even left the stage of the massive venue and walked along the edge of the mezzanine during “Bill Murray”. And before closing with his iconic “Come on Get Higher”, commented on the “UFO” likeness of the expansive venue while singing the praises of Minneapolis’s music scene.

Further entertaining the audience was Barenaked Ladies. The fun-loving alt rockers mixed in a array of humorous graphics and anecdotes to accompany their most popular songs. This included a well-needed transcription of the lyrics to “One Week” and galactic astronomy motifs for their Big Bang Theory theme song. And most surprisingly, multiple mashups that ranged from “Pink Pony Club” to “Highway to Hell” to upright bass versions of Sesame Street’s “Phenomenon”. But never once did any of that deter from the pleasant enjoyment of their affable songs. In fact, this is one band that deserves to return as headliner.

And headliners Train opened with “She’s on Fire” from Drops of Jupiter and immediately blew the capacity crowd into the atmosphere. Wasting no time, lead singer Pat Monahan was tossed cell phones from fans as he snapped selfies during “If it’s Love”. While featuring hits like “Calling All Angels” and “Hey Soul Sister”, they also covered tracks like John Mellencamp’s “Jack and Diane” (with Matt Nathanson returning) and a border-colliding mashup of John Denver’s “Country Roads” with “Meet Virginia”. Ultimately, they closed with the tour’s namesake “Drops of Jupiter”. It should also be pointed out that a lot of the high-energy rocking was fueled by animated guitarist and local fan favorite Butch Walker.

And if you missed the train, no worries…they return to the Twin Cities in 2027 for Lakefront Music Fest.