SOMETHING CORPORATE TAKES ON DETROIT
BY EJ JOLLYIt’s difficult to name someone who has been more willing to reinvent themselves over the course of their life than Andrew McMahon.
Something Corporate formed back in 1998 when members Andrew McMahon, Josh Partington, William Tell, Kevin “Clutch” Page, Brian Ireland met in high school. We know McMahon would then go on to form his first solo project Jack’s Mannequin in 2004, the same year Something Corporate would go into hiatus. Jack’s Mannequin would eventually morph into its self-titled form Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness in 2013, but in those twenty years, Something Corporate had entered a state of “suspended animation” according to the frontman. Yet, if you’ve seen a more recent concert featuring McMahon, you know that he doesn’t view these projects as something to be ashamed of. Fan favorites include tracks like Punk Rock Princess and Dark Blue, from Something Corporate and Jack’s Mannequin’s catalogs respectively. Reunions were few and far between, but not unheard of, at various festivals, reunion tours and birthday shows. It was just a matter of time, a matter of patience, before they would inevitably come back together again.
“We recorded some new songs… [but] I’m gonna pretend for tonight that that’s not the vibe,” said McMahon, about halfway through the show. “It’s just me and my bros on the stage, when we have the opportunity to do the thing that bonded us in my parents garage and to do it all over again.” I couldn't help but smile as I watched the band invite us into their teenage nostalgia. Projected onto the large backdrop behind the stage, short video clips of each member played between a couple of songs. Text at the beginning read “Something-” followed by someone’s name, before they’d inevitably say something silly about spy cameras or what it was like on tour. These nostalgic moments perfectly set the stage for the band's new material, which I soon learned was just as relatable as their older songs.
One of those new songs McMahon mentioned is called “Happy”, is about just that- wanting to be happy. Even further, it speaks of the tension between seeking joy and where it clashes with growing up. There’s countless self-help books on the market about how to be happy, but I think Something Corporate is trying to remind us that it can be as simple as tending to a bird feeder and inviting new friends over for dinner.
Small cameras were mounted around the stage as well, and eventually turned on to mix the live feeds in with some more abstract visuals designed for the show. It was incredibly helpful after I finished photographing and moved towards the back of the venue- height doesn’t grant someone better vision unfortunately. It was a thoughtful way to help even those furthest back feel as connected to the show as those on the barricade. I decided to Facetime with my mom when the first chords of “The Astronaut” began. McMahon’s music is one of the few things my mother and I both enjoy, and even when I’m hundreds of miles away from her, I want to remind us both we’re not alone. (She’s really one of the bravest concert-goers I know, and will push as close to the front as she can no matter what others might think of her.)
The first crowd surfer of the show (and the tour!) didn’t materialize until it began to near the end. She started in the middle of the lower level crowd, a few times dipping back down before being lifted back up until she neared the barricade. McMahon was overjoyed, his voice so excited as he exclaimed, “You made it! You made it safe!” He asked for her name and let her share it into the microphone- Carrie- before giving her a setlist for her bravery.
For Carrie, I can only imagine what looking up at the ceiling of the Fillmore while floating on top of the crowd must be like. This was my first show at Detroit’s Fillmore, one of many around the country now run under the LiveNation brand name. Built in 1925 and for much of its life known as The State Theatre, it's probably the oldest music venue I’ve ever set foot in. The inside concert hall has decadent Italian Renaissance style murals and architecture throughout, with two massive knights in shining restored armor flanking each side of the stage. The grand domed ceiling is more evocative of a judicial building than a concert hall, and the first thing I thought to myself was how one wouldn’t expect glittering opulence like this to be hiding in a city with as complicated a perception as Detroit.
As the show was drawing to a close, McMahon delivered a powerful message that really captured the spirit of the night: “We’re not doing this for you. We’re not doing this for us. We’re doing it for each other!”
The band’s initial tour announcement jokingly proclaimed, “we’ve been in the parking lot for twenty years, what’s the hangup?” Well, they’re currently Out-Of-Office entirely. You’ll have to catch them at a city near you before they head back to work. Everyone is hoping they get plenty of vacation days approved in the future.
