Few bands seem to truly understand what the people (me, specifically) want from a setlist like Jack’s Mannequin or illuminati hotties, who opened the San Francisco date of the MFEO (made for each other) tour at The Warfield on Nov. 21. Each included songs spanning their releases and attempted (mostly successfully) to personalize things.
While the hotties kept their set pretty tight, band leader Sarah Tudzin took a brief pause from hopping all over the place to teach the audience a sing-along part (let’s be real, the crowd always sounds like shit, but to Sarah’s credit, a good amount of people gave it a shot). Having now seen illuminati hotties open three or four shows I’m willing to commit to the following statement: they’re the best opening band a tour could have. No matter the lineup, Sarah’s stage presence is as fun as it is commanding, and every time, the band leaves the stage with the crowd more energetic than when they started their set.
And then there’s the master of charm himself, Andrew McMahon. I can’t recall a time I’ve seen a guy with such a rabid, devoted fanbase make it into and back out of the crowd — especially after heading deep into the venue — unscathed/un-touched-inappropriately not once but three times (granted, once was on the back of a large inflatable llama, so maybe that doesn’t count).
Jack’s Mannequin’s set was broken up with stories about the band’s experiences writing and recording Everything In Transit, Andrew’s battle with leukemia as a young man, label disputes and Channing Tatum movies. The set, which lasted close to 2 hours, included all but one track off of Everything In Transit and a great mix of hits and deep cuts from both Glass Passenger and People and Things, as well as the song “There, There Katie,” named for his sister who was in attendance. No one on stage that night phoned it in and as a result, the crowd was bought in from the first note. For what will probably be my final show of 2025, I couldn’t have asked for a better one.