Jack's Mannequin Sets the Mood for Summer Fest 2007

Southern California heartthrob Andrew McMahon definitely ended the opening night of Milwaukee's annual Summer Fest on a good note... literally.  His incredibly melodic piano skills are unlike any of today's numerous piano rock bands, and for a full hour, Jack's Mannequin had everyone standing on bleachers and singing along into the late summer night. 

Being an avid Something Corporate fan throughout high school, I had no less than the highest expectations of a live performance from McMahon's new band, and I was definitely not disappointed.  After a long and serious battle with leukemia, it is more than impressive that he is still able to woo any crowd with his amazing talent and stage presence.  Perhaps his relaxed persona was due to a little alcohol, "don't mind the Jager, I'm a little nervous," but his flawless performance would never let you tell.

It seemed that Jack's played surprisingly long for a festival set, maybe because they played almost every song off of their only released CD, Everything in Transit.  As wished by the girls standing behind me ("I hope he plays some SoCo!"), a technical difficulty with the piano resulted in a Something Corporate interlude of a Leaving Through the Window favorite, "The Astronaut."  As McMahon sat indian style at the front of the stage, the obviously large SoCo fanbase sang louder than ever.  After the piano was back in working order, McMahon got in front of it again to finish off the set with "Miss Delaney" and "The Mixed Tape."  Standard for every artist in any city, McMahon ended by thanking Milwaukee for being one of the best cities to play in for his now third performance at Summer Fest.  For an opening night encore by an amazing artist with an awesome band, it will be interesting to see if the ten remaining days of the "World's Largest Music Festival" will even be comparable.

Comments

[Jeanne]

Jack's Mannequin did put on a great show, and Andrew McMahon is excellent on the piano! He never fails to please the crowd and he comes across like he's just one of your friends up there on stage.

Summerfest rocks, it always has incredible performers and Jack's was a great lead off to the fest!

Thanks for the blog on it.

[sachi]

sweet review!

[sachi]

sweet review!

[Mimi]

Love it love it love it!
Awesome Review!

[gina]

damn you make me wish i was there! great pictures too!

[Brandon]

nice kate! soundin all professional up in the blog.

[Lyz]

good review girl!! keep it up!!!

[Kelsey]

Rock on chica...I look forward to hearing more!!!

[Lessa]

Awesome review! I am a huge Something Corporate fan as well and I can tell you are also an avid follower of the music! Love the pics...he is so great on the piano! Peace...lessa <3

[Taylore Maxcy]

I'm jealous! I was a HUGE SoCo fan back in the day and saw them all the time. I sadly haven't been able to catch a JM show yet...it's great to see Andrew is still as lovely as ever. :)

[Katherine]

Wow, that photo is high-quality! Plus after reading your review I wish I was there AND want to buy the record!

[Pasquale]

The Astronaut. That used to be my song in Highschool. They'd sing it to me in all my classes because they said I was the biggest space cadet ever, I dont know how many times I was brought back to earth by a teacher with the lines "Calling out to the astronaut." I haven't even thought about that song (or my old favorite, Straw Dog) in years until reading your review. Thanks Kate.

[Matt]

FUCK YES JACKS MANNIQUEN! love SoCo

[Jack S Mannequin Tickets]

I saw Jack’s Mannequin in a concert in Ft. Lauderdale in 2006. I still can consider it being one of the most anticipated days of my life. Songs like “Holiday From Real”, “Bruised”, and “La La Lie” wound up being my anthems for having fun. Oh, Jack’s Mannequin is a picture of perfection !