LIVERMORE, CA - AUGUST 20: REO Speedwagon's Kevin Cronin, lead vocals, rhythm guitar, performs at Wente Vineyards in Livermore, Calif., on Tuesday, August 20, 2019. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
It didn’t look like it was going to work on paper.
REO Speedwagon seemed better off touring with a fellow ’70s/’80s classic rock act like Styx, Chicago or the Doobie Brothers again. Train should probably stay on a more modern track and hit the road with a contemporary like Maroon 5.
And, really, is there an audience who wants to hear “Keep on Loving You” and “Hey Soul Sister” equally?
Fortunately, the two co-headliners — separated by peaks in popularity by nearly 30 years — didn’t end up performing on paper, but rather on stage at Shoreline Amphitheatre at Mountain View on Saturday night. The result was a diversely appealing evening of music by two bands that don’t share much in common, otherwise than the fact that they are both very entertaining live acts.
And it’s the latter that mattered most on this night.
The nearly 5 1/2-hour concert began in fun fashion with opening act Yacht Rock Revue, the popular cover band that celebrates the groovy soft-rock tunes that dominated a.m. radio back in the ’70s and ’80s. The setlist was filled with such genre classics as Rupert Holmes’ Escape (The Piña Colada Song) — which is perhaps the definitive yacht rock staple — and Looking Glass’ “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl).” My only quibble is that the set closed with Boston’s “More Than a Feeling,” which doesn’t really belong in the genre.
Next up was REO Speedwagon, which prefaced its set with an audio/video segment that looked back at the year of 1981. That was the year when such films as “Stripes” and “Superman II” (aka, the best of all Superman movies) ruled the box office, fans were reminded during the segment. It was also when REO had the No. 1 selling album of the entire year with “Hi Infidelity.”
There were certainly a lot of people in attendance who clearly remember 1981 and (like this critic) still own a vinyl of copy of “Hi Infidelity” purchased back in the day. Those were the people who could be heard shouting along to the lyrics as the vocalist Kevin Cronin and company opened their winning 75-minute set with a rowdy “Don’t Let Him Go,” the first of five numbers drawn from “Hi Infidelity” on this night.
“I figured out why the Train guys were so excited to tour with REO Speedwagon,” Cronin joked. “I think they figured if they toured with us we’d bring in a slightly younger audience.”
The group — which appears to be inching closer to its long-overdue Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction with each passing year — sounded terrific as it continued through the anthems “Take It on the Run” (another “Hi Infidelity” winner) and “Keep Pushin'” (from 1976’s “R.E.O.”) early in the 13-song set.
Dave Amato was an absolute beast on the guitar throughout the night, consistently living up to the “Shred-Master General” nickname that the band has bestowed on him as he flew through meaty leads on “Can’t Fight This Feeling,” “Ridin’ the Storm Out” and so many others.
Cronin, of course, was his regular energetic self, working the stage and the crowd with determination. The moment that really stuck with me was when he brought “Son of a Poor Man” to a close by screaming out, “Rock ‘n’ roll will keep you young forever.”
And it certainly seems to have worked thus far for Cronin.
“I’m only 72,” he remarked. “But I feel like I’m 22.”
After the band closed the set with a roaring “Roll With the Changes,” Cronin advised the crowd to stick around for what was still to come.
“Hey, check it out — the party is just getting started,” Cronin said at the end of REO’s set. “There is a Train on the tracks and it’s coming your way.”
San Francisco’s Train made great use of its own 75-minute set, keeping fans on their feet — singing and dancing along — pretty much from start to finish.
“It’s so good to be back home,” Pat Monahan exclaimed.
The vocalist and his four bandmates — guitarist Taylor Locke, bassist Hector Maldonado, keyboardist Jerry Becker and drummer Matt Musty — came right out of the gates with a towering version of “Calling All Angels” and then continued to build momentum as they continued through such fan favorites as “Get to Me” and “Save Me, San Francisco.”
Monahan is a man who fears no rhyme, boasting a lyrical track record that includes pairing “disco” and “San Francisco” and, most famously, “soul sister” with “Mr. Mister.” While those kind of rhymes have resulted in countless trips to the bank for Monahan over the years, they can also sound a bit trite and sophomoric during heavy repetition on pop radio.
Yet, Monahan and company were consistently able to lift their material to higher levels on the concert, drawing up versions of, in particular, “50 Ways to Say Goodbye” and “Drive By” that easily topped what’s heard on record.
They also pulled out all the stops at Shoreline, such as bringing Cronin back onstage for a bit of “The Joker” that was tacked on to the end of “Meet Virginia” and Monahan handing the microphone over to son Rock for a cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Over the Hills and Far Away” while dear ol’ dad moved over to the drum kit.
(Side note: This is always a band that has had a surprising affinity for Led Zep, having once released a full live album dubbed Train Does Led Zeppelin II — which did indeed find Monahan’s group covering the heavy metal titan’s second record in its entirety. It is not, however, essential listening.)
The best moment came in the waning moments as Train invited Yacht Rock Revue back to the stage and combined forces — including the return of Rock Monahan to the stage — opened the Eagles’ songbook and delivered a stellar cover of “Hotel California.” The group then closed the night in fitting fashion with “Drops of Jupiter.”
Train setlist:
1. “Calling All Angels”
2. “If It’s Love”
3. “Get to Me”
4. “Save Me, San Francisco”
5. “Meet Virginia”
6. “Over the Hills and Far Away”
7. “Play That Song”
8. “Angel in Blue Jeans”
9. “Long Yellow Dress”
10. “50 Ways to Say Goodbye”
11. “Marry Me”
12. “Bruises”
13. “Hey, Soul Sister”
14. “Drive By”
15. “Hotel California”
16. “Drops of Jupiter”
REO Speedwagon setlist:
1. “Don’t Let Him Go”
2. “Take It on the Run”
3. “Keep Pushin'”
4. “Live Every Moment”
5. “Tough Guys”
6. “I Wish You Were There”
7. “Music Man”
8. “Can’t Fight This Feeling”
9. “Son of a Poor Man”
10. “Time for Me to Fly”
11. “Ridin’ the Storm Out”
12. “Keep On Loving You”
13. “Roll With the Changes”