Maroon 5 and Train rock the Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Centre

Close to 6,000 fans danced and screamed to the sounds of Matt Nathanson, Train and Maroon 5 at the Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Centre on Monday night.

  • Sep. 12, 2011 5:00 a.m.
Maroon 5's lead singer, Adam Levine, played to a crowd of almost 6,000 at the AESC on Monday Night.

Maroon 5's lead singer, Adam Levine, played to a crowd of almost 6,000 at the AESC on Monday Night.

The Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Centre was full of screaming fans on Monday night as Matt Nathanson, Train and Maroon 5 gave an electric show.

The evening started with an opening act by Matt Nathanson, who performed a number of his folk-rock tunes to a growing audience.

He finished off his set with his platinum-selling song Come On Get Higher to a full audience.

By the time Train took to the stage, everyone was standing. The rock band emerged to the sound of a train rolling down a set of tracks, combined with a roar of cheers from the audience.

The group touched on some of its old tunes, including Meet Virginia to Calling All Angels.

Soon after, lead singer Patrick Monahan called a group of girls on stage, where they danced and sang along to the song She’s On Fire.

After a take on the Rihanna tune Umbrella, Monahan walked through the audience while singing his hit Marry Me.

Monahan had the crowd engaged by his personality, which was quirky, funny and upbeat.

His audience engagement was electric as he talked to the crowd between nearly every song.

Jumping around on the stage in white skinny jeans, black high-top sneakers and a white t-shirt, Monahan wrapped up Train’s one-hour-and-15-minute segment with the songs Soul Sister and Drops of Jupiter.

It was a swift transition as Maroon 5 emerged following a complete redesign of the stage, which was outfitted in orange and pink speakers.

The pop-rock group, led by Adam Levine on vocals, switched effortlessly between new and old tracks, including the latest tune Moves Like Jagger and oldie, Sunday Morning.

Levine was nimble – constantly levitating on his toes and jetting from one end of the stage to the other.

Wearing tight black jeans, black Nike’s and a white t-shirt, Levine often knelt down to sing to the screaming girls that lined the stage during the entire performance, which ran from 9:45-11 p.m.

Maroon 5 kept the arena buzzing by belting out hits like Misery, Makes Me Wonder and Wake Up Call.

The lights constantly changed from green to red to yellow and then blue. At one point, an oversized disco ball made an appearance.

In addition, the group shifted from pop to rock throughout the evening. Levine emphasized the group’s strong rock direction with an impressive guitar solo, which drew applause and even more high-pitched screaming.

The concert ended with an encore, where Levine sang the popular song She Will Be Loved. What began as a ballad, quickly morphed into the well-known pop version, and ended with the audience singing to Levine.

Wrapping up the show, Levine did a jump, stuck out his tongue, punched his fist into the air and kicked over his mic stand. The group then bowed to wild applause before walking off stage.

Check back at Abbynews.com for more photos and video of the performances.

 

 

Abbotsford News