Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness | Milwaukee, WI
On a Sunday evening in May, the self-proclaimed “King of the Rave,” Andrew McMahon, returned to Milwaukee with his band Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness, along with The Unlikely Candidates and Griffin William Sherry.
Griffin William Sherry opened the night with his unique sound, inspired from his east coast roots, that blends Americana, folk, and rock and roll. Performing with just an acoustic guitar and a microphone as an opener is no easy feat, but Sherry met the challenge head on with his heartfelt performance.
Alternative rock group The Unlikely Candidates took the stage next. Lead vocalist Kyle Morris put on a charismatic and fun performance. With seemingly endless energy, he bounced all over the stage, tossed the microphone, twirled the mic stand, and even laid on the stage and posed for photos. Midway through their set, the group played A-Ha’s “Take On Me” that could have been pulled straight from a Punk Goes Pop album or Warped Tour setlist. They closed their show with their 2021 chart-topping hit, “Novocaine”.
Andrew McMahon is no stranger to Milwaukee. He’s played The Rave and Summerfest countless times with Jack’s Mannequin and is continuing the tradition as frontman for Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness. No matter the band he’s with, his shows are always something special, and this show was no different.
This show started with McMahon in the crowd, singing an acoustic rendition of “Nobody Tells You When You’re Young” in the dark, with just lights from cell phones. He made his way through the crowd to the stage and donned a cape made out of lights in a rainbow of colors. He reminisced about his Summerfest show back in 2006 which was his first show back after recovering from leukemia (the weather was awful, he explained to the crowd). While other stages and crowds emptied out, his fans stayed so his band at the time, Jack’s Mannequin, put on a hell of a show, and tonight would be no different. “So call in to work now, because this is going to be a good one,” he shouted to a cheering crowd.
His fans sang along to every word of the 23 song set-list, no matter what band the song came from. He played five throwbacks from Something Corporate albums, six songs covering Jack’s Mannequin hits, and 12 crowd favorites from five different Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness albums. The show was perfect for fans of his full body of work. The setlist even changes a little bit every show, so fans will certainly be surprised.
Throughout the show, McMahon’s energy never waned. Whatever devotion the fans had to him, he returned to them with an interactive, memorable show. He jumped on his piano keys, jumped off the piano, went into the crowd multiple times, crowd surfed on an inflatable llama, tossed out beach balls, and even brought out a large, colorful parachute into the crowd (the kind you played with in elementary school), all without missing a beat.
Highlights from the set included the audience singing so loudly during “Fire Escape” that McMahon could barely be heard, acoustic performances of “Last Rites” and “Punk Rock Princess”, hearing the piano in “Cavanaugh Park” mashed with the piano riff from Vanessa Carlton’s “A Thousand Miles”, and the fact that the show ended at 11:11 PM before the encore (a coincidence or a nod to Something Corporate’s “Konstantine,” perhaps?).
