I have mentioned before about how Andrew McMahon is my favorite musician. I have been a fan of his since I was in junior high and have followed him through three different bands. I was not lucky enough to see Something Corporate before they broke up and didn't get to see Jack's Mannequin until I was well into college. Andrew battled leukemia when I was in high school and my love for him as a musician grew into love and admiration for him as a human being. He started the Dear Jack Foundation. An organization that provides programming that directly benefits adolescents and young adults with cancer. The goal is to improve their quality of life and create positive health outcomes from treatment to survivorship for the patients and their families. Because of his journey and his Foundation, I got swabbed and am now on the bone marrow donor registry. (It's easy, just got to DKMS.org to request a swab kit!) I have been trying to see Andrew more often when he's around and this year I hit the jackpot! On December 5th we went to see him at the Bluebird in Bloomington! When I was at IU I was on the Union Board Concerts Committee and I probably suggest Jack's Mannequin every meeting so I was thrilled to finally get to see Andrew in Bloomington!
I had so much fun! I am fortunate enough to have seen him three other times this year (Indianapolis, Hangout Festival, and Grand Rapids). He played Something Corporate's "She Paints Me Blue" which is from my favorite album and he rarely plays it...so I was ecstatic! I even finally got to dance with him under the parachute! He also played Jack's Mannequin's "I'm Ready" on a whim when a member of the audience yelled it out! It was the best way to end a year of epic concerts!
