ANDREW MCMAHON AT MONMOUTH PARK IN OCEANPORT

There’s something special about a Jersey sunset, and something even more special about it when you’re watching one of your favorite artists perform an iconic album in full at a drive in show. Add to it that this was the majority of the attendees’ first show since quarantine started and you get an unforgettable experience. Andrew McMahon recently played three nights in Anaheim, CA to celebrate 15 years of Everything in Transit, the debut album from Jack’s Mannequin. He decided to show the east coast some love as well, and brought the show to Oceanport, NJ for two nights.

City and beach sounds played over the speakers as heard at the beginning of the opening track, “Holiday from Real”, signaling that the band was about to take the stage. When they walked on, fans of Andrew McMahon could recognize some familiar faces in his band, as well as the new face of Morgan, the violin player. Andrew and the band started playing the familiar tracks such as “The Mixed Tape”, “La La Lie”, and “Dark Blue” as patrons jammed out from their cars in their parking spaces. This was the first night of the two and it was sold out. After each song many cute car horn honks could be heard in addition to applause and cheers. The experience was very different from the normal show that we are all used to, but that didn’t stop the excitement from buzzing in the air, and it certainly didn’t stop Andrew from giving the audience the incredible performance he’s known to give. In fact, I think the absence of shows over the past couple of months made this one feel even better. Watching Andrew McMahon step onto his piano during the performance felt familiar and comfortable, and for a couple hours life felt almost normal again.

Throughout the show, Andrew provided some commentary on certain tracks and showed his appreciation for the attendance of the crowd. Andrew has such a warm, welcoming way of speaking to the audience during a show, making it feel so personal. His funny little anecdotes during tracks such as “Miss Delaney” about his wife sitting with two thumbs down somewhere at home because it’s a song about another girl gave the audience the laugh we all needed. Before finishing the play through of “MFEO: Pt. 1- Made for Each Other / Pt. 2- You Can Breathe”, he took the time to discuss how “Pt. 2- You Can Breathe” took on a whole new meaning for him now during this time. He stated,

“Knowing that there are people in our world, in our country, who are dying saying the words ‘I can’t breathe’. My heart breaks.”

It was a very touching speech and made the performance of the end of the track that much more powerful.

After the Everything in Transit part of the set, he went on to play eight more tracks from other points in his career. He included two Something Corporate songs, “Me and the Moon” and “I Woke Up in a Car”, as well as some Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness songs such as “High Dive” and his newest single, “Get on My Wave”. During “Fire Escape” he surprised the audience with wacky arm inflatable men flailing wildly on stage. He encored with “Swim”, “Something Wild”, and “Cecilia and the Satellite” before heading off stage.

The entire experience just felt very surreal after not having been able to attend any live music events the past couple of months, but nobody could’ve asked for a more heartfelt performance. We can’t wait for the day when we can all be in the pit together again.

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It is also important to mention that in addition to this being the 15 year anniversary of the album, it is also the 15 year anniversary of Andrew McMahon being cancer free. During the show, Andrew brought attention to the Dear Jack Foundation, an organization he founded to help benefit youth and adolescents who have been diagnosed with cancer. In addition to providing many incredible resources, they are currently working on their “Raise Your Voice 250k Challenge”. The goal is to raise $250,000 by November 11th. For more information or to make a donation, please visit https://www.dearjackfoundation.org/250k-challenge/.