If you ever have a chance to see a show at Patriot’s Point in Charleston it’s a good idea to attend. Having the chance to see a show on the harbor overlooking downtown Charleston is really an all around great experience. You can bring your dog, put your beach chair in the sand beside the tiki hut and drink Mai Tai’s while you sit and listen to some great music.
Last month we drove to Wilmington to see Jacks Mannequin and Steel Train. Lady Danville opened up that show, and also jumped on this tour to support JM and Guster. They have a simple set up and an easy going straight forward sound. The three piece band made up of guitar, percussion and keys play an upbeat style of pop music that is easily palatable to audiences who haven’t necessarily heard their music before. At both shows they’ve done a good job with interacting with the crowd giving away temporary tattoos and throwing in an MGMT cover.
Jacks Mannequin followed Lady Danville as co-headliner with Guster. It seemed like a majority of the crowd was there to see them as people really packed in towards the stage. JM played up the fact that the show was on the beach by drinking Mai Tai’s on stage and wearing flip flops. They muscled through their set playing songs off both records and mixing in new songs from their upcoming record. For the longest time they threw in a Something Corporate song or two, but they haven’t done that the last two times I’ve seen them. The new material has taken the place of the Andrew McMahon classics. The average Jacks Mannequin fan is now between 24-30 years old I’ve figured out. It’s crazy to think how much things have changed since they started releasing music around 2000. The Something Corporate fans stuck with McMahon and his longevity is impressive. His energy on stage has never faltered either. He’ll be out in the crowd or jumping off his piano at every show.
Guster took the stage just as the sun had gone down and just as a handful of JM fans had scattered the Guster fans took their spot in front of the stage. Here is a verbal venn diagram to describe the crowd. 25% JM fans, 25% Guster fans 50% JM/Guster fans. You really can’t beat that when you have a co-headlining bill. Guster has been winning over new fans for nearly two decades now and it being my first time seeing them live they won me over. Wasn’t a difficult thing to do since I was already a fan of their music. They didn’t wear sandals on stage, but they made up for it by percussionist Brian Rosenworcel wearing a South of the Border tank top on stage. There is nothing more summer and Southern than that. Andrew McMahon joined Guster on the last couple of songs sitting in on the piano and taking a couple of verses.
The whole shindig had to be over by 10 PM. Can’t keep all of the residents of the resort up all night. When we got to the concert, Guster was apparently chilling in the swimming pool which was right beside the crowd. I guess it’s fair to say a good time was had by all.
Check out more pictures from the show.
