Jack's Mannequin to Come Alive at the TLA

In the summer of 2005, Jack's Mannequin (MySpace)—the spinoff-turned-focal project of Something Corporate frontman Andrew McMahon—put out one of the catchiest, most hook-laden albums we've ever heard, Everything in Transit. What really impressed us about it, and what keeps it near the top of our rotation in our CD player and on our playlist over three years later, is not just that there were a ton of hooks, but that there was a certain personal gravity to McMahon's lyrics that had been disappointingly lacking from Something Corporate's material, which largely relegated Something Corporate to disposable emo-pop. Everything in Transit was a clear, and substantial, step up from McMahon's prior work, and evidenced a young songwriter who was really starting to hit a groove.

The album was something of a triumph for McMahon, in more ways than one: the day that Everything in Transit was released, he received a transplant to treat his leukemia, with which he'd been diagnosed shortly after recording the album. He has since gone on to make a full recovery, but the experience clearly (and understandably) colored McMahon's perspective as he wrote material for the follow-up to Everything in Transit. That follow up, the recently-released The Glass Passenger, details McMahon's bout with leukemia in straightforward terms. He doesn't hide behind metaphor; rather, McMahon's lyrics are straightforward, un-exaggerated, and honest. The albums deals with everything from diagnosis to recovery (including that of his libido), and while some might find the album to smack of self-importance, we think of it in its context: a cathartic effort on McMahon's part to put the leukemia experience behind him. We don't expect that, years from now, we'll think of it as Jack's Mannequin's best album. (Honestly, we don't find it as compelling as Everything in Transit.) But it gives us a lot of hope that there are even better things ahead of McMahon and Jack's Mannequin.

Based on our appreciation of McMahon's music, we strongly encourage you to find a way, if you haven't already, of getting yourself into tomorrow night's sold-out Jack's Mannequin show at the TLA. We've seen Jack's Mannequin three times before, and they put on a show well worth checking out. Not a whole lot of glitz and glamor, but just a good, solid rock show with good music and a guy who has one of the most commanding stage presences in young music today.

Jack's Mannequin, with Fun and Treaty of Paris
Tomorrow, Tues., 11/18/08
TLA, 334 South Street
7:30 p.m. (Doors 6:30 p.m.)
SOLD OUT (so see what you can find on craigslist)