By Erin Lee
Photo by Erin Lee
On Sunday night, January 21st, Andrew McMahon stepped onstage at Key West Theater to perform for a lively crowd.
Armed with just piano and voice, McMahon was engaging and funny throughout his set.
The small room lends to call and response, and for better or worse the audience was not afraid to shout requests and one liners.
Andrew participated in the banter, laughing and sometimes even playing what was asked for. The vibe was very piano bar.
Early in the set, he introduced 2023's "Last Rites" from Tilt At The Wind No More as a song inspired by his wife, Kelly. As the story goes, she wanted to know what a song about lasting relationships and "sticking it out because it's magical" would sound like.
It wouldn't be an Andrew McMahon show without some joker in the audience shouting out "Konstantine!" a fan favorite from the singer's Something Corporate days. He obliged the fan with a tease, playing the last chorus.
Several times throughout the show, McMahon acknowledged his mother and sister in the audience. It seemed fitting they'd be in tow, lending nostalgia to the energy in the space.
The singer admitted to taking liberties with lyrics by sharing an anecdote about "High Dive," a song from 2014's Andrew McMahon In The Wilderness, the singer's debut album under that moniker.
McMahon intimated that the motorbike was in fact a Vespa "with a sparkly blue helmet." He went on to say he'd "never done 80 in a 45," referring to the famed lyric. It turns out that, like all of us 80s kids, he just wanted to be as cool as Bruce Springsteen. Affecting his best vocal impersonation of The Boss, he finished the song to laughter and cheers.
McMahon leaned into the crowd's antics by asking what we'd like to hear, obliging a request for "Canyon Moon" which we accompanied with a steady clapbeat.
After some questioning, references to McMahon's home on the West Coast were changed to "Southernmost coast," a nod to Key West's Southernmost Point.
The concert was a beautiful celebration of a lengthy career, with the setlist spanning across the singer's other two bands Something Corporate and Jack's Mannequin, along with his newest material from his turn as Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness.
With no other shows on the calendar for 2024 save for an already sold-out cruise the singer is hosting in November, his performance was a treat for Floridians like myself who drove almost 4 hours with a friend because you never miss an Andrew McMahon show when he comes to town.
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