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Live Local Music

Jack’s Mannequin to Play Rec Hall on Sunday

Posted by Charlee Redman on 10/10 at 11:54 AM

Piano-rock band Jack’s Mannequin will perform at Rec Hall on Penn State’s campus on Sunday evening.

Jack’s Mannequin was created in 2005 as the side project of Something Corporate front man Andrew McMahon. Following years of touring with the band directly out of high school and a diagnosis of leukemia, McMahon decided to try something a little different from Something Corporate’s piano-enthused pop-punk. “Everything in Transit,” Jack’s Mannequin’s debut album, was released in August 2005—the same day McMahon underwent bone marrow transplant surgery.

After his recovery, McMahon toured in support of the album for three years and started the Dear Jack and Walk for a Reason charities. His style, a sort of piano pop-rock reminiscent of his native sunny California, has won him a wide and devoted audience. Jack’s Mannequin’s first single, “The Mixtape”, was featured on the television show One Tree Hill.

The Glass Passenger, the band’s highly anticipated sophomore album, was released in September 2008. The album is subtly different from Everything in Transit but it loses none of McMahon’s skillful lyrics or melodic power. At times it has a more negative tone, like in the anthem “American Love” when he declares, “I’ll kiss your neck but I just can’t look you in the eyes / Big hearts are for breaking”. The most significant change, however, is the distorted, almost raunchy music in the verses of “Bloodshot”.

The show promises to be entertaining – McMahon is a lively performer, always managing to wrap his audience in a warm atmosphere of rich piano and his smooth tenor. Check out the band’s Myspace for music, tour dates, and more.
Date: Sunday October 11th
Time: 8:30pm (doors 7:00pm)
Where: Rec Hall
Tickets: $5