With Sister Hazel serving as pre-show music (yeah, that's about right), last night's "Evening with Train" at Bryce Jordan Center began with a very special cover of Supertramp's "Give a Little Bit." Singer Pat Monahan, it should be mentioned, kept looking at a lyric sheet for the song, which, honestly, doesn't have all that many words. Also, don't people usually stand at rock shows?

The band moved quickly into a note-perfect rendition of "Meet Virginia" (a much better opener choice), and then, single out of the way, started up with the lesser-known material. Each Train song could be a hit the same way "Meet Virginia" was; they're virtually all the same tempo, and Monahan sings them all in the exact same way. It's a shame, really, since he's got a heck of a good voice. I can't help but wonder if the bald guitarist from Train is the bald singer from Vertical Horizon. Maybe they really are the same band.

As Train finally worked into "She's On Fire," I was finally impressed. Don't ask me why, but I'm pretty fond of that song, even though I seemed to be the only one. The crowd last night was interesting; it seemed to be comprised almost entirely of student-aged people with their moms. I'm glad my mom likes the Talking Heads.

When Train launched into Otis Redding's "Hard to Handle," things started getting weird. The band's version was an absolutely dead-on rip of The Black Crowes' famous cover of the tune, minus the soul Chris Robinson brings to it. To top that off, Pat Monahan pulled a group of 11-year-old girls onstage to do a dance routine, and I realized I was watching perhaps the finest wedding band on the planet. Train does lots of covers, hits every note perfectly, and the singer even took time out to make innocuous small talk with the crowd while the bassist re-tuned. I bet if I yelled for "The Chicken Dance," the band would know it.

After completely folk-rocking the central riff out of Led Zep's "Ramble On," it occurred to me that Train's ultimate goal as a band is to avoid being loud at all costs. Or maybe the Vertical Horizon guy can't play that particular song. In any case, it was a bad move.

A few more very middle-of-the-road pop songs, and Train launched into its signature tune, the triumphant "Drops of Jupiter." Sure, I knew it was going to end the set, but I didn't care; the "na na na" chorus that closes out the song is, like it or not, among the catchiest things ever, and the crowd went wild.

The band went away, only to return seconds later in truncated form, with Monahan crooning "When I Look to the Sky" over a simple, effective piano accompaniment. The rest of the band returned, and we were let in on a secret; apparently Pat wasn't supposed to tell that Train has a song on the Spider-Man 2 soundtrack, but I sure don't have any trouble reporting it (it's like a wussy "Eye of the Tiger," if you're interested).

It was when the band tackily decided to close with "Dream On" (yes, Aerosmith's "Dream On") that I decided not to give this concert a very good review. But then I was walking out, and I ran into my friend Taylor who genuinely likes Train, and he couldn't stop raving. If you came to see Train last night, you probably left happy. And even though it went on a bit long for a non-fanatic like myself, I was pleasantly lukewarm about the whole affair. Not too bad, Train. Not too bad at all.