(Andrew leaves his piano to earnestly sing “Konstantine” during the encore)

I was super bummed last fall when Andrew McMahon announced the end of Jack’s Mannequin. But thankfully, this just meant that Andrew would be working on new material without the constraints of the JM label. If you know the history behind that, you get it and were probably at this fantastic show last night. Set list for posterity….

Andrew McMahon
House of Blues San Diego
3/20/13

I Woke Up In A Car
The Mixed Tape
Watch The Sky
Television
Swim
Learn To Dance
Holiday From Real
Straw Dog
Bruised
Synaesthesia
Keep Rising
The Resolution
Cavanaugh Park
Dark Blue
If U C Jordan

Encore:
Konstantine
La La Lie

We’re lucky that AM has a soft spot for SD - he is an OC kid and he definitely has nostalgia for this town. He was super talkative during the set, explaining when/why he wrote songs, introducing the new material, and shouting out to his dad, who was in the audience. AM was his typical energetic self on the piano - but the crowd still loved it when he came out to sing, especially for the encore and perennial fan favorite “Konstantine”. I’m loving the added mix of the SoCo songs. He typically played a few at JM shows, but these recent sets have really brought back the old SoCo catalog and that is fantastic. Hope I get “Punk Rock Princesss” when I see him in a couple of weeks in NY :)

Got a bonus Andrew McMahon show while in NYC. Set list first:

Andrew McMahon
Highline Ballroom
4/9/13

Holiday From Real
I Woke Up In A Car
Me and the Moon
The Mixed Tape
Straw Dog
Synesthesia
The Resolution
Keep Rising
Amy, I
Swim
Learn To Dance
The Astronaut
Dark Blue
If U C Jordan
Bruised

Encore:
Konstantine
La La Lie

Always interesting to see other city’s venues and get a feel for their crowds. This venue was not what I expected at all - I was thinking old school theatre, it was more like a supper club. The floor was open but there were booths with seating. The crowd was actually really fun, AM had some words with some bro in a tank top a few times and there was a really annoying tall dude who seemed to have his hands up the entire time, but otherwise the crowd was really there to see AM. I felt right at home with the early sing-a-longs and I totally saw some chicks crying at some songs. Now this kind of AM crowd is one that I fit into really well.

During the encore, AM crowd surfed to the bar, had a shot of Jager and surfed back. A totally epic crowd/artist moment. He made a lot of fans happy with that.

Set list is following previous ones, I am sad I was not on a date that got “Punk Rock Princess” but the bonus NYC banter made it worth it for me.

(Mikel having a moment…)

Spending a Saturday night on the opening show of The Airborne Toxic Event’s tour is not a bad way to end the week. TATE just released a new EP and is prepping for their new album so we got some new songs. Set list for posterity…

The Airborne Toxic Event
House of Blues San Diego
3/31/13

All at Once
The Secret
Half of Something Else
Safe
Wishing Well
Timeless
Numb
Changing
True Love
Gasoline
Does This Mean You’re Moving On?
Papillon
The Kids Are Ready to Die
Welcome to Your Wedding Day
Sometime Around Midnight
All I Ever Wanted

Encore 1:
Duet/Book of Love/The Graveyard Near The House
The Storm
Innocence

Encore 2:
Happiness is Overrated
Missy/Ring of Fire/American Girl/Born in the USA/Missy

(the lovely Ana)

TATE has had some great shows at the HOB SD and I am lucky that I have been to the majority of them. Last night was way sold out and the crowd was definitely excited. TATE played a long set, hitting all the old faves and throwing in a few new ones. They sounded great - no opening night of tour issues to be worked out. The double encore was especially fantastic, especially with the teasers of “Ring Of Fire”/”American Girl” and “Born In the USA” mixed in with Missy.