A Letter To You/Stacy Clark/Jack’s Mannequin Show

Sarak Coakley

I was a little disappointed when I found out that the Feb. 7 Jack’s Mannequin concert was going to be held at the Wharton Center in the Great
Hall, with assigned seating. A few years back I saw Andrew McMahon, the singer/pianist from Jack’s Mannequin, in his former band Something
Corporate at the small venue, Klutch Kargo’s, in Pontiac, Mich. It was
an awesome show, and he brought so much energy to the stage and interacted with the crowd. Everyone was constantly fighting to get to the front since it was general admission, and even though the band wasn’t too “hardcore,” it allowed people to crowd surf and get super close to the stage. So, I held high expectations for this concert and hoped it was just as exciting even with assigned seating.

At 8 p.m. the show kicked off with the opening act, A Letter To You. This East Lansing band provided catchy music even though not many were familiar with their songs or lyrics. By their second song performed, it was getting hard to concentrate on the band’s actual music or lyrics because the bassist was running around, jumping and flipping his guitar. I was wondering if he was even playing the thing because he was throwing it around like he was playing the air guitar. Needless to say though, it provided the audience with a few good laughs.

The second act, Stacy Clark, is a talented singer/song-writer originally from Buffalo, N.Y. She had an excellent voice that was soothing. Accompanied with two guitarists and a drummer, Clark proved to not only have a resounding voice but was also skilled at the acoustic guitar. Some songs on the lineup were “Unusual,” “Peppermint Patties” and “Say What You Want,” which all had cute lyrics and were easy to relate to. Clark’s passion truly is music, and it is evident in her songs. For example, some lyrics from her song “Say What You Want” include “music is my passion; it is my own natural love.”

Finally, Jack’s Mannequin took the stage, and the crowd immediately went crazy. They opened with “I’m Ready,” and instantly you could feel McMahon’s energy on the stage as he slammed the keys to his piano and knocked over his stool. They played other songs from their 2005 CD “Everything In Transit,” such as: “Holiday From Real,” “The Mixed Tape,” “Bruised,” “La La Lie,” “Dark Blue,” “Kill The Messenger,” “Rescued,” “Made For Each Other” and “You Can Breathe.” Along with some of their older songs, they also
played a few songs including “Cellular Phone” from their upcoming CD in 2008, “The Glass Passenger.”

Despite only a few people knowing the words and singing along to their new songs, the audience was still supportive, and the new songs sounded great. McMahon mentioned that he was feeling a little sick, but it wasn’t noticeable because his voice still sounded amazing; he was giving his best up on stage and even ran out into the audience twice.

After they finished their set, the crowed screamed for an encore, and the band came out to play a few more songs. McMahon first came out solo and sang another new song while he played the piano. Then the rest of the band came out and they played two more songs, one being a song from Something Corporate and the last song of the night being a cover of “American Girl,” originally done by Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers.

Overall, Jack’s Mannequin is one of those bands that can play live music well and are worth paying money to go see. Andrew McMahon makes you appreciate music in so many ways because he puts his whole body into his performances, continues to put on memorable concerts and will hopefully keep doing so, despite the assigned seating.

Questions? Comments? Contact Sarah Coakley at coakley2@msu.edu