IN PHOTOS: Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness, live in Manila

MANILA, Philippines – They say change will do you good, and this singer/songwriter has had more than his fair share. Commenting during his recent performance at the Hard Rock Cafe Makati, the Concord MA native joked, “And that’s a challenge clearly, by as many times I have changed my name in the course of my career, it’s one that I seem to be up for…”

Recently McMahon set out to play under the name Andrew McMahon In The Wilderness, retiring the moniker Jack’s Mannequin, which many fans will recognize him from.

This is a huge leap in itself, to leave the secure environment of a huge record label can render the best performers a bit shaky. Now add on top of that, becoming a Dad to a little girl named Cecilia and things could get a bit complicated. And as he noted to the crowd; “…as you get a bit older, it gets a bit tricker.” 

A minimal stage set up, this 4-piece band had two performers for the night. Andrew on piano and Zac Clark on keyboards, with drummer Jay McMillan and bassist Mikey Wagner headed directly to Japan, to meet up with the band for the next gig. No guitars, or drums, or over the top lighting schemes, more of an acoustic show, piano style, like something you might hear on a special guest appearance of a live radio broadcast.

Andrew’s keyboard was set up with a sound of a piano and Zac’s leaning more towards a synth electronic sound, and he also did a fine job on backing vocals. Their music is reminiscent of Ben Folds Five with a bit of Keane sprinkled in. Andrew told the audience last night that, “I grew up on Billy Joel and Elton John.” 

SoCo, Jack’s Mannequin

McMahon began his career in the early 2000s as the teenaged frontman for the alt-rock band called Something Corporate. As he quipped to the crowd; “SC is classified by many and most people as well, a punk band. And as you can see now, from my style choice of instrument, punk is pretty far out of my vocabulary.” 

Midway through his career, he faced what perhaps the most shocking news of his life, discovering he had leukemia. He explained the origin of one of his songs called “Halls”: “It was sort of the last moment before I found out I was sick, it was kinda like what I considered, that one moment before I realized that everything was going to flip on its ear.”  

Now that’s the type of life changing event that’ll throw anyone for a loop. It appears that he has now embraced the change, rather than fight against it – a wise move, but a huge challenge. His music reflects that experience, thoughtful and introspective, no shallow pop lyrics here. This artist takes you on an emotional journey, with skill and grace. Now a cancer survivor, it’s been 10 years since his stem cell transplant and he often works with organizations that provide assistance to cancer patients.  

I was impressed with the crowd, not so much the with the number of people in attendance, the venue is a relatively small, a few hundred at most. But it was that every person in the room was a dedicated fan, far from casual in nature.

You could see it in their attentiveness, intently focused, and what seemed like everyone knowing every last word to every song. I know it sounds corny but you could really feel the love in the room, no kidding.  

And it worked both ways. Andrew was genuinely appreciative which is one of those things you just can’t fake, and refreshing to see in today’s world of music. Confident on stage – it was evident this was not his first rodeo, and the crowd listened while on the edge of their seats. He interjected humor like a pro and deftly incorporated some words of wisdom without coming across as preachy: “It’s worth looking in the mirror and saying, ‘what do I want to do with my life?’” he said at one point in the show.

What I found intriguing was his vocal style itself, he would bring the audience down with a low quieter tone, but in a fraction of a second, switch it up – vocals that were meant to be heard, bombastic and gregarious.

I can relate, like so much in life, often a roller coaster ride from high to low in the blink of an eye. He sang with soul, certainly not just going through the motions, perfect levels for the intimate venue.  

Changing times

The setlist covered tracks spanning his career, from his early days to present. It was so entertaining how he reinterpreted the catalog from Something Corporate. That music is truly more of a youthful style, edgy and rough, a bit wild, however now performed with more subtlety on the piano, melodic and smooth, closer akin to a ballad than a punk song.

 

The singer provided background for several songs, “The Resolution” and his new single “Cecilia and the Satellite,” written with his daughter in mind, were a couple of standout performances for the evening.   

After the show, there was a meet and greet, not so unusual. But what was different, is that he managed  to actually speak with each person, sign a record, t-shirt or a shoe, yes a shoe, and take a selfie.

It wasn’t about how quickly you could move the fans in and out, he actually wanted to say hello and thank them individually for their support. At the beginning there was a chair and a table in-between the anxious fans awaiting to meet him. The table becoming a buffer, keeping people at a distance but the furniture was almost immediately moved aside and everyone met him face to face. 

It’s the little things you notice that speaks volumes about a person. Andrew McMahon has not only honed his talent as a modern top level performer but has done it on an ever-changing playing field.

This was one of those concerts that highlighted an artist that is perfectly comfortable at a festival event in front of tens of thousands or an intimate venue such as this, impressive stuff.

 

Even if you’re not fond of this genre of music, you gotta hand it to him, enduring changes that would have literally killed most people. Keep an eye out on this band, I’m sure they’ll bring change to the future.  

Big thanks going out to the folks at Steve O’Neal Productions for bringing the event to Manila. – Rappler.com