Requests are for karaoke bars

After our fabulous trip to Charleston, we decided to top off our vacation with a jaunt to Madison to see Andrew McMahon. We left Milwaukee around 2:30pm and set up shop outside the Majestic at about 4:15pm. We ended up standing in line with a cute girl we met at the Milwaukee show, Katherine, and her friend, Dani. Doors opened at 6:35pm and we scored spots right at the sage! The Majestic is a tiny venue, so we were especially excited! Andy's opening act was Allen Stone, a self-proclaimed "hippie with soul." We're pretty sure he was on something during his set, there were all sorts of crazy dancing (with impressive hip action) and flailing limbs. His vocal range was all over the place, which made for some interesting Mariah-Carey like moments. He made us side-step together and wave our arms and throw our troubles away. He was energetic, soulful, and crazy enough to make it all work. It was a fun way to start the night!

Since we were on the side of the stage where most of the people and equipment moved through, we saw Mr. McMahon several times backstage between sets while the band was setting up. He finished his drink and made his way to the stage around 9:15pm. One of the setlists was tapes to the stage right by us, so we knew what was coming up.

The Mixed Tape (no introduction, no wave, no nothing, just immediate jamming)

Straw Dog (there was semi-moshing and it was kind of weird)

Learn to Dance (I totally led the crowd claps at the beginning and end)

Amy, I (I love everything about this song)

The Resolution (I thought the girls behind me were going to explode)

The Astronaut (most of the song was answering texts from my mom and only kind of singing along, oops)

Catching Cold (he walked around the stage and then jumped into the crowd and everyone went nuts)

I Woke Up In A Car (Daniel rocked out the whole time)

Holiday from Real* (People ask if there are any songs I want to be remembered for. I usually tell them this one. It's kinda like the anthem of my 20s)

Watch the Sky (there was lots of jumping and arm waving from everyone)

Synesthesia (you can tell how much he enjoys performing this song, I think it'll be a setlist staple)

Bloodshot (Andrew showed off his dance moves, which involved a lot of booty shaking and piano stomping)

Cavanaugh Park* (I got lost one day and ended up at this park. After that I spent a lot of time here. Nothing really happened, it's kind of a [expletive] park, I just like the name. Sorry if that ruins the song for anyone)

Dark Blue (...and then the water reached the...Midwest!)

Bruised (surprisingly chill, the last song in the regular setlist)

Swim (acoustic) (just the man and his piano. It was powerful. People were crying)

Konstantine* (the loudest people singing along at the Milwaukee didn't know the words very well and it was super distracting. This time was much better!)

La La Lie (SO. MUCH. ENERGY. Also a harmonica solo and piano jumpkick)

* = this song has a naughty word or two, listen at your own risk

(I'm not responsible for the video quality, wrong lyrics, etc. I just tried to find the best audio)

In between the end of the set and the encore, several people started shouting out songs they wanted to hear. When Andrew walked back on stage, he looked out and said, "Are you guys chanting Konstantine? You know requests are for karaoke bars, right?" Konstantine was already on the list though, so everyone got to hear it anyway.

The marquee

The setlist

Starting things off right with The Mixed Tape

One of Andrew's many funny singing faces

Hanging out on the piano

I like the picture of a picture

Eyeing where to jump during Catching Cold

Bloodshot booty shaking

LA LA LIE!

La La Lie harmonica solo

The progression of flying Andy at the end of La La Lie

Even though it was late and we had to drive back, I still wanted to go say hi to Andrew. We found the bus around the corner and waited in line for about 20 minutes, which was must more preferable to the 45 minutes we waited after the Milwaukee show. When it was my turn, I handed my purse to Daniel and had the following conversation...

Me: Hi, I'm Jenn.

AM: Nice to meet you!

Me: I really liked your show tonight!

AM: Thanks for coming out!

Me: Can I hug you?

AM: Of course!

Me: And is it okay if I get a picture?

AM: Absolutely!

Me: Thank you so much!

AM: It was a pleasure to meet you, Jenn. Take care.

Brilliant. Maybe one day I'll say something witty.

Yay hugs!

We're both married, but wouldn't we be beautiful together?

I was totally on a concert buzz afterwards, the drive home was nothing! Running on 4 hours of sleep the next day was less than fun though. Still sad I missed Andy at Summerfest, but maybe he'll come back next year! And hopefully tour around the Midwest a lot in the meantime :)

-Jenn