On April 11, 2008, a line stretched from the entrance to the Kingston Armory in Wilkes Barre, PA clear across the parking lot. This particular line of eager teenagers was in anticipation of none other than Jack’s Mannequin. A piano rock band from Orange County, CA, Jack’s Mannequin, originally a side solo project of Andrew McMahon, who is the former lead vocalist and pianist of Something Corporate, formed in 2004. The band consists of lead vocalist and pianist, Andrew McMahon, guitarist and back up vocalist, Bobby “Raw” Anderson, bassist, Jonathan Sullivan, and drummer, Jay McMillan. After Jack’s Mannequin released their first album, Everything in Transit, in August of 2005, McMahon was later diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and suffered a bone marrow transplant. He did, however, make a full recovery. The band began recording their second album in 2007 and after several move backs, the album, whose original date was to be April 22nd, is expected to be seen at your local music store by the end of August or the beginning of September, 2008.

Opening for Jack’s Mannequin was Washington, DC native, Eric Hutchinson. Hutchinson is well known for his piano, guitar, songwriting and performing skills. His debut album, That Could’ve Gone Better, has been called “clever, heartfelt and witty.” Hutchinson’s style is that of rock, folk pop, and power pop. Hutchinson’s influences are Stevie Wonder, The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Elvis Costello, Paul Simon, Prince, Billy Joel, Ben Folds Five, and G. Love & Special Sauce.

Now that we’ve had a little history lesson on the two phenomenal artists who performed at the Kingston Armory, let’s continue. When the doors to the armory finally opened, there was a rush to get the front of the stage, but the rush was unnecessary for Eric Hutchinson did not grace the audience with his presence for about an hour. However the wait was well worth the restlessness and tired feet. Hutchinson blew his listeners away with his catchy guitar riffs and sarcastic commentary. After his performance, I think he will be surprised to see his fan base rapidly grow.

After Hutchinson’s performance, there was another hour long wait before Jack’s Mannequin took the stage. During the wait, conversations could be heard about the excitement and eagerness for McMahon and his band to perform. Applause echoed the room as Jack’s Mannequin finally took the stage, ready and eager to perform. McMahon greeted his audience and started with crowd favorite, “Dark Blue”. As McMahon banged out the first few notes on the piano, the crowd went wild and sang along to every word. McMahon provided some witty commentary and then the band went on to play “I’m Ready”, “Bruised”, “Kill the Messenger”, and “Into the Airwaves”. During “Holiday From Real”, McMahon held the microphone out to the crowd for them to yell the part of the song that contains a word not suitable to write but is one you should know if you’ve ever heard the song. After some more witty banter from McMahon, the band played “The Mixed Tape” and then McMahon and Bobby surprised the audience by playing “21 And Invincible”, which is a song by McMahon’s debut band, Something Corporate. The quartette then played “La La Lie”, “Rescued”, and parts I and II of “MFEO”. While “MFEO” was a very long song, McMahon’s fingers banged it out beautifully making the song fly by. He then announced that it would be his last song and left the stage, but shouts of “Encore! Encore!” brought him back to play three more songs. The band performed a song from their new album entitled “Caves”, which received much positive feedback from the audience. McMahon and Bobby surprised the audience once again by playing yet another Something Corporate song, “Me And The Moon”. Jack’s Mannequin finished out the concert by performing Tom Petty cover, American Girl.

Even though my feet felt like they were about to fall off and I was covered in sweat from head to toe, I consider this concert to be in the top three I’ve ever attended. Jack’s Mannequin was a favorite of mine before this concert, and if it is at all possible, I think I’ve grown to love them even more.

Gabbie Ronchetti is a staff writer with Musiqtone. You can reach her at gabbieronchetti@musiqtone.com.