At the 9:30 Club on Friday night, a frenzied sense of finality was palpable in the air. It was the second to last show of the People and Things tour that Jack's Mannequin headlined with Jukebox the Ghost and Allen Stone, and the near prospect to the end of what has evidently been a successful and exciting tour for the bands elicited some unexpected collaborations between members of different bands and some manic creative energy.
Hailing from Seattle, Allen Stone and his band immediately established a rapport with the audience that was unusually strong for an unknown opener. With exuberant, bluesy songs, self-proclaimed "greasy heart" and some friendly jokes, the singer warmed up the audience and persuaded them to clap, sing along and even dance with moves besides the typical lighter-in-hand arm sway to his song "Say So."
Allen Stone's sound is what you might expect if you blended the music of Stevie Wonder and Billy Joel (circa his 1983 album An Innocent Man) and then threw in some powerful drums and guitar solos just for fun. The somewhat simplistic lyrics got lost in the melee of the many backup instruments at times (keyboard, drums, bass and guitar), but the overall sound is seamless, strong and pure celebration.
Jukebox the Ghost got off to a rousing start with their hit song "Schizophrenia," with sounds exactly as dissonant and unexpected as the title might lead you to believe. They played a few songs off their upcoming record, to the great enthusiasm of the crowd, and then launched into a bouncy number, "Hold It In." They lost some momentum when they performed slower songs but regained their groove when they returned to their strong suit, which is endearingly cheerful songs about not always cheerful subjects, with clever lyrics and intricately layered instrumental backgrounds, particularly for a band of only three musicians. Some great moments were during their joyful last song and their surprise ‘90s cover of Donna Lewis's song, "I Love You Always Forever," which they introduced by warning, "You've probably heard this in a dentist's office, or during the ‘90s. . .unless you're under 12, in which case I don't know what to tell you; just pretend!" This good humor can be found in all their songs, the tone of which might best be described as cheerfully sinister.
Jack's Mannequin, of piano alt-rock acclaim, came onstage to feverish shrieks and cheers from the crowd. Andrew McMahon, the lead singer, is renowned for the deep connection he has cultivated with fans on and offstage (he makes a point of staying after shows to meet fans, he made a documentary of his struggle with cancer, began a foundation for cancer research and released bonus tracks with both Best Buy and iTunes for his new album to thank customers for their support), and this renown is not unwarranted. He's mastered the art of seeming to make individual eye contact with everyone in the room, and he amicably chats with the crowd as he introduces songs. And he puts on a hell of a show. It's not unusual to see him literally jump atop his piano and play chords by stomping. He sings with raw emotion, and, while walking around the stage, he gesticulates in wild and endearingly hapless ways, as if he doesn't know what to do with his hands when they're not playing the keys.
The band plays an almost precisely even split of songs from their three albums, Everything In Transit, The Glass Passenger and October's People and Things. McMahon's eloquent songwriting abilities are recognized by the D.C. crowd, who can sing back every line to him with ease. The rest of the band provided beautiful instrumental layers to McMahon's vocals.
People and Things has been a bit of a departure from the band's normal, piano-heavy sound, bringing the other instruments to the foreground a bit more. The result has been complicated, striking music with a rich, more balanced (if somewhat less unusual) feel to it. People and Things has the best qualities of the band's previous two albums: the brash, intimate energy of Everything In Transit combined with the control and sensitivity of The Glass Passenger.
Perhaps the band recognizes it as a real culmination of their efforts on what was originally planned to be a one-album side project for McMahon — because he has stated that they may be changing their name (which is rife with connections to his past and illness).
Possibly this sense of coming to a final destination added to the last-hurrah feeling that pervaded the concert. Each band was effusive about how wonderful the tour had been, and played with a sort of apocalyptic fervor — even coming out all together in the end for a cover song.
After the bands went offstage, McMahon came back out for a three-song encore and ended the show with an explosion of confetti. It was definitely a night to remember.
