Concert Review: Jack's Mannequin, Fun, and Treaty of Paris Rock the Grog Shop

The Grog Shop on Euclid Heights Blvd. in Cleveland Heights hosted a small put powerful lineup of artists Monday night. Jack’s Mannequin, an alternative rock band from Orange County, headlined the show and preformed a very extensive set. The quartet consists of Andrew McMahon- lead vocals, piano, Bobby Anderson- guitar, backing vocals, Jay McMillian- percussion, and John Sullivan- Bass. Their brand new album, The Glass Passenger came out in September and has received very positive feedback. This 6:30 show had two opening bands to warm the audience up for what they would experience a couple hours later.

Treaty of Paris opened the night with a strong upbeat sound. The crowd clapped along to vocalist Mike Chorvat’s lead, who established a beat with the shaking of his tambourine. The band connected with the audience very well while performing favorites such as “Rollerskates” and the slow, ballad-type song; “I’ll Come Back”.

The second band on the line-up is a fresh face to us Clevelanders, though they greatly lived up to their name. Fun is an indie band out of New York. They launched their performance off by playing high-energy, feel-good tunes with strong vocals and an assorted mix of instruments, including a violin, beat-box, and the traditional bass and guitar. The absence of percussion worked in their favor allowing their acoustic-jazz style sound to keep the attention of the crowd. Though they didn’t announce their song titles much to the audience, they finished up their set covering Dexys Midnight Runners’ classic eighties song, “Come On Eileen”.

After keeping the crowd on their toes during a brief intermission, the headliners Jack’s Mannequin, required no introduction as the crowd cheered them onto the stage. Following a slight technical mishap with the bass guitar in their opening song, they blasted out crowd favorites like “Crashin” and the cheerful song “American Love”. The quartet then slowed things down a bit with their popular hit, “What gets you off”. Lead singer, Andrew McMahon commented to the crowd about the ”personal feel” he got from them, exclaiming that Cleveland really is “ the city of rock n’ roll”. The band continued through their extensive set playing many songs off their new album The Glass Passenger, including “Annie Use Your Telescope”, “Miss California“, and “Caves“, along with some older material.

Jack’s Mannequin and the other two bands kept a strong energy and atmosphere throughout the entire venue. The crowd easily got into the music and sang along to what they knew. This well combined trio of bands had a very successful, sold out performance. It’s very obvious that Andrew McMahon and his team have been through this routine before. It was very smooth sailing and enjoyable for all in attendance.

Jack’s Mannequin Setlist:
Spinning
American Love
The Mixed Tape
What Gets You Off
Crashin’
Bloodshot
Annie Use Your Telescope
Dark Blue
Miss California
Swim
Holiday
The Resolution
Caves
Bruised
I’m Ready
Hammers and Strings
Cavanaugh Park
La La Lie