Live Review: Train, JR Reyne

JR Reyne has a great voice. Great. Bluesy. Strong. And so much like his father, James Reyne, that it must be difficult for him to break through the expectations. Then again, it's been a while since Reyne Snr was universally known. Maybe now is the time. Reyne is a solid artist with a very strong blues leaning. There's much to like and much to watch.

Train's last album was shite. There's no sugar coating it. It was very, very bad. In its favour it was only 37 minutes (give or take) of hideousness long, so tonight couldn't have been that painful, surely, and it wasn't. At least not completely.

They have always been a tight live band. They are, by no means, the same band that won Grammys for their second album, Drops Of Jupiter, but we've forgiven more or less. They are not even the same band as they were for Save Me, San Francisco, but again, you get good musicians and quality songs, it usually comes together.

And it did. Mostly. The crowd loved it. The old songs were great, Calling All Angels, If It's Love, Marry Me, all absolute crowd-pleasers. The songs from the new album were also warmly received, but there was no heart. People sang the words, but where was the passion? A Girl A Bottle A Boat is a homage at best but it is ultimately laziness of the first order and the 'songs' that came from it are the essence of that.

Get To Me from 2003's My Private Nation is a clever song. Witty. Hummable. It has no place being played alongside Drink Up.

Meet Virginia, Bruises and the unexpected, most welcome and stunningly rendered, Always Midnight, deserve better than to be slotted next to something as soulless as Valentine.

A good covers band is hard to find and can lead to an excellent night out. A Grammy Award-winning covers band is not something one expects to see at State Theatre.

It's been said before. Find the heart, Train. You had it once upon a time.