Experience of A Lifetime
Experience of A Lifetime
I finally had my chance to see Jack's Mannequin after listening to their music for 5 years. The day that I found out that JM were coming to Toronto, I knew that this was going to be something special and that I had to experience so I got my tickets.
The day of the show was pretty hectic. I had to drive for about 3 hours to Toronto and because I didn't know my way to the venue I had to wait for my friend to get out of class to meet me so I wasn't able to stand in line to get the best spot. By the time we met, ate quickly and left it was 6 and the doors opened at 7 so I was kinda getting bummed that we wouldn't be in the front.
The line was really long but when we got in and checked our coats we had a pretty good spot about 7-8 rows back from the centre. Luckily for us this was an all ages show, so being 22 we were taller than most of the others so had a great view of the show.
The opening acts were Allen Stone and the second was Jukebox The Ghost. They were both complete unknowns to the crowd so didn't get them amped as they would have wanted, but their live performances were amazing. By the time that Jack's Mannequin was about to come on the crowd had shifted and my friend and I were now 4th row back!!
With the first chords of 'Release Me' what the crowd didn't give to the first two bands they definitely did now. Andrew blew us all away his incredible unique voice. The crowd was in good spirits and enjoying themselves, however judging from those around us there was a large divide of fans of actual fans Jack's Mannequin and comments such as 'We love you Jack' were an embarrassment to hear.
At the end of the show, I quickly ran to get some merchandise and get my coat. While I was doing this my friend seemed to have all the luck and chatted with Al from the JM crew. She asked where the buses were so I could get my chance to meet Andrew. I talked to him for a bit and he brought us back inside from the lobby and made sure that none of the security hassled us or any of the other 12-15 others who were given the ok to wait for a signing and photo opportunity.
Finally Andrew came out after what seemed like an eternity (but it was really about 30 minutes). It was completely unreal to think that I was going to meet someone who wrote one of the albums I have listened to on a nearly weekly basis for the last 5 years but finally here I was.
I had bought one of the pre-signed posters and had him signed a personalized message on it and well as my 'Everything In Transit' album.
I thanked Andrew many times for his incredible music and his personal yet relatable lyrics and to continue on because he would always have the support of his fans.
