The Script<\/strong> came on to an appreciative response and frontman Danny O’Donoghue<\/strong> quickly explored the far extremities of a very large outdoor stage. His mostly-Dublin touring mates backed him with solid musicianship and fun banter throughout the set, giving him the freedom to traverse through the crowd himself. The entire set was upbeat, not soaring too high when they played familiar hits like, “Breakeven,” which talks about prayin’ to a God he doesn’t believe in and “Hall of Fame.” By the time The Script were done playing, both them and Gavin DeGraw had rocked and entertained a crowd as if they belonged there, seemed to have fun and were appreciated and not just an appetizer before the main entree\u2014Train.<\/p>\n Train<\/strong> went on a little after nightfall (about 9:30), strolling on to a completely dark stage and a familiar keyboard crescendo. Then a spotlight came on from mid center stage that silhouetted lead singer Pat Monahan as his gentle soprano to tenor voice split the night sky like the light around him. Shortly after the stage lit up the band’s background vocals to “Calling All Angels” soon echoed from the guitarist and bassist with the refrains of, “I won’t give up, if you don’t give up.” Two voices from stage right also made themselves known\u2014two girl singers that swayed and added powerful gospelesque BGVs.<\/p>\n Monahan came out to play his trumpet for the beginning of “50 Ways to Say Goodbye,” with its sultry vibe. This segued fluidly into “If It’s Love” and then “Meet Virginia,” which Monahan add-libbed for this crowd, “I’d like to meet Texas.” The band was in command of their show, seemingly relaxed and giving back some energy to an grateful and excited crowd. “Feels Good At First” brought another quiet moment to the show with its string-plucking guitar accompaniment. Train’s frontman did his own leave-the-stage moment, telling the audience to “Marry Me,” as he shared his romantic lyrics with the predominantly female audience. He went up a center aisle, through the mezzanine and out into the crowd partitioned off in the grassy hill sloped up away from the stage.<\/p>\n During “If It’s Love” Monahan worked the front of the stage, taking people’s smartphones that they were holding out to him. He’d lean around and take a photo of himself with the crowd (and presumably, the person who volunteered their phone) in the background. He’d check out the shot to make sure he got it and then hand it back. He teased the third or fourth volunteer by just sticking their phone into his back pocket for a few verses.<\/p>\n They launched several beach balls into the crowd for the title track to their Save Me, San Francisco<\/em> album. Then they reached back to play “our first song from our first album,” which segued into a little Beatles medley that touched on “We Can Work It Out,” “All You Need Is Love” and “She Loves You.” That was a fun moment that took the show into a dynamic swing upwards in terms of energy. They were about to slow it down with a little country, as Monahan explained that the girl they recorded “Bruises” with\u2014Ashley Monroe\u2014not only lived in Nashville, where they recorded it, but also made Austin her part-time home. It was nice to have her voice treat this home crowd. The band showed gratitude by backing her on one of her own songs\u2014”Weed Instead of Roses.” The drummer then took the energy level back up with a surprise techno drum solo with a little dub step additives. They add another modern dance tune later with a nod to Macklemore with a little bit of “Can’t Hold Us.”<\/p>\n They drifted into the title track of their latest, California 37<\/em>, which they recently re-released with a few bonus songs and live tracks and called the Mermaids of Alcatraz Tour Edition<\/em>. Then they went into “Hey, Soul Sister” with its ukulele accompaniment. The giant crown-shaped video frames as backdrops showed various members close-up for the whole crowd. It was a feel-good ending to a show, but it was too early and no one thought it was really<\/em> all over. I should also mention that the band put out word for any girls to dress up like mermaids and they’d get special upfront seating and join the band onstage for the song “Mermaid.” There was about 30 or so women and two men dressed as mermaids. They ranged from cute little girls to twenty-somethings to a few older ladies. The girls were all adorable, but, ahem, those two guys … (let’s just say they were funny and ugly).<\/p>\n The first encore was “We Were Made For This,” which, like the show’s opening tune, starts out gently. As the song ramps up in energy, the lights did their part. A vivid light show on the video screens accentuated the guitar solo that ensued. Afterwards the first few chords of “Drops of Jupiter” revealed another hit they shared. The band followed that with a “bring out all the guests” moment that included Ashley Monroe, Gavin DeGraw, members of The Script and even Martina McBride. They played a rousing and fun cover of “The Weight,” sharing vocal duties as they lectured Annie to share her load. It was a fitting finale, and, while the crowd could have wanted more, they left satisfied and wandered off into the slightly cooler August summer night.<\/p>\n A hot Texas night in August began with the sun beating down on a growing crowd of thousands. By nightfall it would push past ten thousand. The temperature was probably close to 100, but a breeze kicked in as the evening wore on. Gavin DeGraw showed why he is\/was a pop star. He knew how […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":23513,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[287,3596,2567,3597,3305],"class_list":["post-23512","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-austin","tag-gavin-degraw","tag-rock","tag-the-script","tag-train","cat-17-id"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"gavin](\"http:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/files\/2013\/08\/gavin-in-crowd-fist-up.jpg\")
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<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a> \u00a0<\/a><\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a> \u00a0<\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"