Maroon 5 and Train



From teenyboppers to housewives, Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena played host to a memorable ladies’ night out thanks to the vocal stylings of Maroon 5 and Train.

Throngs of female fans (and a few reluctant male counterparts) packed the arena for this perfect, midweek break, all eager to be entranced by the voices of Adam Levine and Pat Monahan.

As the audience stirred, expecting Maroon 5 to appear at any moment, “Moves Like Jagger,” exploded through the speakers. The crowd immediately jumped to their feet, singing and dancing right along with the band, sharing their enthusiasm from the floor.

With so many ladies in the audience Levine joked, “Let me hear the guys that are out there. I know there are only like four of you, but you are four of the smartest guys ever!”

Levine had the audience eating out of the palm of his hand throughout the entire performance. As if the ladies did not think he was cute enough, Levine would throw in a flattering line like, “Look at all those beautiful people out there. Turn on the lights. Incredible evening. You guys are very pretty down here, very beautiful."

Maroon 5 played a perfect combination of their classic songs and created enough room to throw in some new tunes from their latest project, Hands All Over, released in July.

One impressive feature from Maroon 5’s set was their ability to transform from their traditional pop-soaked songs to an all out rock concert by playing completely unexpected musical riffs. Sometimes I had to do a double take to remember see if I was actually at a Maroon 5 show. Lying beneath the casual pop persona of Maroon 5 is some true rock ‘n’ roll pushing its way to the surface.

The most captivating moment was when Levine divided the audience. The left side of the arena was instructed to sing, “I don’t mind spending every day,” while he gave the right side the line, “out on your corner in the pouring rain,” lyrics from their bouncy tune, “She Will Be Loved.”

For a moment everyone was standing and singing in unison. After the set, Levine tweeted: “Wow. Nashville was incredible! FIRE! Sweet dreams Tennessee.”

Before Train took the stage, the house lights were turned down so low the arena was almost pitch black as the crowd waited in anticipation. Suddenly, it sounded like a locomotive was invading Bridgestone. The curtains disappeared to reveal Train already on stage enticing the audience with “Parachute,” a song from their fifth studio album, Save Me, San Francisco.

Train created one memorable moment after another. Monahan brought out Martina McBride so they could sing her song “A Broken Wing.” Earlier this year the two collaborated during an episode of CMT Crossroads in Nashville.   

Another wonderful surprise was when Train covered the U2 song “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.” In addition to the raw, acoustic style, they included the alluring texture of a cello.

Whether he was walking out in the crowd singing “Marry Me” (like a magnet in a room of silverware) or stealing a video camera from the cameraman to show the audience what they looked like, Monahan made sure there was never a dull moment.

Just when the audience thought they couldn’t possibly love Train more than they already did, the band brought out the family of Chaz Allen, a United States soldier who stepped on an improvised explosive device (IED) in Afghanistan and lost both legs.

Chaz’s wife, Jessica, and their two daughters joined him on stage for a moment the family won’t soon forget. Monahan dedicated the song “Marry Me” to them and commended the family’s bravery. I’m not sure if even the most reluctant audience members were able to keep their eyes dry for that one.

Then Train played their smash hit “Hey Soul Sister” and encored with “Drops of Jupiter,: appeasing their fans as they rounded out the night. In the end, Monahan concluded, “Nashville by far has been the best night of our tour.”