It's easy to see why Howard Stern hired Train [ tickets ] to serve as a back-up band for his recent Las Vegas karaoke contest--the Los Angeles act could very well be one of the world's best cover bands.

During its three-hour show Tuesday (6/29) at the Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix, Train offered a healthy dose of cover songs, ranging Bad Company's "Feel Like Makin' Love" to George Michael's "Faith." The covers took up a good portion of the show, uniting lukewarm Train fans with its diehard followers.

After intermission, the band did a medley of covers, with lead singer Pat Monahan challenged by his bandmates to see if he knew the words to various tunes. He blew "Sweet Home Alabama," "Highway to Hell" and most of "Sweet Emotion," but gave a valiant effort.

One of the show's more powerful covers was "Hard to Handle"--apropos considering the latest addition to Train is Johnny Colt, a former member of The Black Crowes. With his heavily tattooed arms peeking out from under his shirt, Colt stuck out from the rest of the band.

Train's own material didn't disappoint. The group played a good chunk of its latest album "My Private Nation" (including "Calling All Angels," "When I Look to the Sky," "All American Girl" and "I'm About to Come Alive"), as well as selections from the album's predecessor, "Drops of Jupiter" ("She's On Fire," "Drops of Jupiter"), and Train's debut self-titled LP ("Meet Virginia").

The band also debuted its latest song, "Ordinary," the powerful first single from the "Spider-Man 2" soundtrack.

Monahan's personality was addictive throughout the show, his effervescent attitude rubbing off on a crowd that feverishly responded to his every movement and word. He wore two different suit-type jackets and pants during the performance, while the rest of the band wore shirts and jeans.

While his band's songwriting has been honored with various awards, Monahan's vocals are just as impressive. He sang the beginning of many songs a capella, impressing the audience with his wide range and ability to hold a note.

The singer countered his serious lyrics with a seriously potent sense of humor. During the bouncy "All American Girl," he shared his technique for picking up women.

"I'm the singer from Train, you know, 'Drops of Jupiter'?" Monahan said, to which he replied to himself in a women's voice, "Yeah, I'm not into you."

"But there's a lot I can offer you, Britney," he said, targeting Britney Spears. "There's things I can do that you can't. I can … I can ... I can ... I can … sing!"

Judging from the crowd's response, Monahan doesn't need any help in the female department. Countless numbers of women filed to the stage to hand him slips of paper, ticket stubs and napkins, all of which he pocketed.

Train closed the show with a sing-along to "Drops of Jupiter," turning the theater-in-the-round into one big party.