Something Corporate Reunion Tour 2010 - 8/2/10 Cabooze Plaza

My favorite concerts are the many where fans line up for miles; an hour before the doors open. This was one of these concerts and it set the mood for the night. Many of the audience were hardcore fans. I saw quite a few with tattoos of Something Corporate lyrics. Last year I attended Andrew McMahon's solo show at the Varsity. I didn't remember a crowd like that there.

Once we got in we secured a nice spot within sight of the keyboard of the piano. That is how Will and I (my boyfriend) determine the best view of a concert. After what seemed like endless waiting (having never seen Something Corporate before) the show began and everyone came on stage.

The show started and "I Woke Up in a Car" as the first song played! The show went on to have a great set list despite a few omissions you will hear about later. The crowd was electric with passion. Sometimes it was a bit too much. Just as they began the song "Straw Dog" Andrew abruptly stopped the show. He had noticed fighting between a boy and a girl. He proceeded to say that no one should fight at the show and we should look out for each other. Unfortunately the crowd didn't live up to its promise but overall it wasn't too bad.

The other highlight of the show for me was hearing a flawless version of "She Paints Me Blue". The last time I saw that song Andrew messed up the piano part in the bridge. This time it almost looked like he was wincing as if he remembered. It must be tricky.

As soon as "Only Ashes" started I knew that would be another great memory. The guitar parts at the beginning always seem so intense. In typical Andrew fashion he played the keys crazily towards the end. He also stood up and sat on the keys. Piano rock is just so amazing!

It was also interesting that Andrew noted the theme of the sky in Something Corporate's catalogue. This show was at the Cabooze in a parking lot so they were glad to play the songs with the sky visible.

Will's Point of View:

Before this concert and the events surrounding it, I was rather uninformed about Something Corporate. I quite liked Jack's Mannequin, but considered Something Corporate to be little more than Andrew McMahon's musically inferior beginnings. Though Andrew's music has become more sophisticated, I have no idea how I justified this point of view (even though my current feelings for "Drunk Girl" and "If You C Jordan" are much the same). Perhaps it has something to do with the sound mix; at certain points in Something Corporate's harder songs, the piano gets drowned out. This shortcoming was mirrored at the concert when one of the sound technicians was "balancing" the levels of the instruments. He played a note on the piano and immediately gestured to the others with his finger pointing down. Not much later the surrounding crowd wished that a similar gesture would have the same effect on me. The technician then struck one of the drums and gave the opposite signal. The rest of the audience then realised that their previous gesture must have been misinterpreted. Once the opening notes of "I Woke Up In a Car" were played I realised that though the levels weren't optimal for my bizarre taste, it would still be an epic performance. The piano was in fact audible, and this was demonstrated quite dramatically at one point (perhaps in "Hurricane" if I remember correctly). A few minutes into the song everything but the piano fell silent, and after a few seconds the entire audience became just as quiet. It was yet another moment demonstrating the thorough amazingness of piano rock.

With songs like "Only Ashes," "Me and the Moon," and "21 and Invincible" (and many more that I won't list for fear of duplicating the next section), the set list was quite excellent overall; however, I do have two complaints about it. First of all, the omission of "As You Sleep" (my favourite something corporate song) was quite saddening. Though the piano part is quite simple, it works brilliantly with the other instruments and the song's beautiful melody. Even though Andrew McMahon openly dislikes requests I found myself demanding its performance before the encore. I was of course drowned out by the masses requesting Something Corporate's most overrated song, Konstantine. After checking setlist.fm, I find myself angrily envying the audiences for all their other performances for their chance to hear it live. The other shortcoming was their decision to end the concert with the thoroughly unpleasant and lyrically uninspired "If You C Jordan." (Even the spelling of its title bothers me). Even the inclusion of the excellent "Forget December" couldn't redeem the encore for me.

Set List
I Woke Up In A Car
Straw Dog
21 and Invincible
She Paints Me Blue
Fall
The Astronaut
Cavanaugh Park
Only Ashes
Down
Space
Ruthless
I Want To Save You
Watch The Sky
Me and the Moon
Wait
Punk Rock Princess
Drunk Girl
Hurricane

Encore:
Konstantine
Forget December
If You C Jordan