San Francisco rockers Train have not toured Australia since 2017 and so tickets for their 2025 tour were snapped up very quickly. The band have established themselves in the pop-rock space over the last 20 years with a huge catalogue of hits and a distinctive sound. 

The ICC Sydney Theatre was buzzing as the rockers took to the stage. Reflecting the wide discography of the band, they got to their hits straight away with “50 Ways to Say Goodbye” and “If It’s Love”, which had the crowd singing along as frontman Pat Monahan showed off his insatiable high notes. 

Train gets stick from some corners of the music industry much in the same vein as Nickelback but, interestingly, both bands actually have a huge amount of raw talent. The instrumentals throughout the night were tight and performed with flair and passion while Monahan’s voice was pitch-perfect and often, gasp-inducing. 

Despite Train’s vast catalogue of hits, some of the most well-received songs on the night were actually their covers (of which they performed more than bands usually would in similar concerts). These covers worked well as they gave the band the opportunity to show off the extent of their musicianship with the power of Monahan’s voice and the craftiness of the instrumentals coming through nicely. 

The band’s first cover was Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know”, for which they brought out KT Tunstall, who did a great job of Kimbra’s part. Tunstall stayed for “Bruises” which was an emotional moment in the show, as the song was more stripped back than the band’s typical songs. 

After an upbeat version of “Play That Song”, the band gave the audience a real treat by bringing out INXS’ Andrew Farriss for a rousing rendition of “Never Tear Us Apart”. Monahan’s voice fit the song perfectly and Farriss blended in well with Taylor Locke on lead guitar in the iconic instrumentals. This was followed by “Don’t Change” which had the whole crowd singing along as Farriss took the lead on guitar, much to the delight of the crowd. 

“If I’d known it was going to go like that, I would have brought [Farriss] out for the first song,” joked Monahan after Farriss left the stage to a huge ovation from the audience. 

The band premiered a new song “What If We Try”, which landed quite well before teasing a 2027 return tour. They then played all of their biggest hits back to back, with “Marry Me” providing some touching moments for those in the audience before “Hey Soul Sister” and “Drive By” had the crowd singing along. The band closed out the night with “Drops of Jupiter”, with the beautiful vocals of Monahan filling the venue with anthemic harmony in a fitting end to the show. 

Overall, this was a great show, with hits, cameos and class to leave everyone in the audience ecstatic. The band is one of the best in the business and showed why with an exceptional musical performance which was only enhanced by the cameos of Tunstall and Farriss. The band is going to have a huge reputation to live up to when they return to Sydney in a few years but for now, this was a night that the audience will remember for a long time. 

Rating: ★★★★★

Train – ICC Sydney Theatre – May 2025