Orange County’s own Andrew McMahon brought his career-spanning retrospective featuring hits from Something Corporate, Jack’s Mannequin and his solo band to Long Beach for the last stop on his Three Pianos mini-tour.
McMahon served as the frontman for all three acts during the “Three Pianos” show on Saturday, Aug. 22 at the new 11,000-seat F&M Bank Amphitheater that opened this summer in front of the historic Queen Mary cruise ship in Long Beach Harbor.
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The concert featured individual sets by all three bands along with a greatest hits finale. McMahon bounced between three pianos that sat front and center throughout the show — each one representing one of his three bands and a chapter in his life.
McMahon called the Long Beach show the biggest headlining concert any one of the bands has ever played in Southern California.
“This has been truly a psychedelic experience for me,” McMahon said toward the end of the night. “I hope it’s been as weird a journey for you guys as it’s been for me and for these guys.”
The three bands marked stages in McMahon’s personal and professional life.
McMahon started Something Corporate with his friends in the 1990s while they were still high school students in Dana Point.
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Jack’s Mannequin was a side project in the mid-2000s that coincided with his cancer diagnosis and treatment.
Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness was his third act when he was in his 30s, starting a family and staring into the metaphorical wilderness.
Jack’s Mannequin
Each act started with an ode to one of the three pianos that played key roles in McMahon’s career.
“You didn’t judge me,” McMahon said of the brown Baldwin grand he played with Jack’s Mannequin. “You took the stage light like a mansion heirloom and you rode the highways with me and my new band 200 sleepless nights a year.”
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An astronaut walked on the moon on a video screen during “Kill the Messenger” and set a recurring theme for the evening that would feature songs about space, flight, moons, stars, satellites and even astronauts.
The stage glowed red as “Bloodshot” toggled between heavy and light.
The audience sang “Where are you now?” as they formed a giant chorus during “The Mixed Tape.”
The Jack’s Mannequin set concluded with “Bruised” that proved popular with the legions of fans who showed up wearing t-shirts bearing the song title.
Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness
The Wilderness set began with an ode to McMahon’s black grand piano covered in stickers.
“The dreams we dreamed together were born in those early days of discovery behind the keys of your gifted tool,” McMahon said of the third of the Three Pianos in his career.
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The crowd used the Wilderness set as a chance to take a break just as the band was getting warmed up — heading for the portapotties and beer stands at the back of the amphitheater.
McMahon introduced “Ohio” by remembering childhood summers visiting his grandparents and dreaming of being a California kid.
“This is a song about the road trip that took my family out to Dana Point,” McMahon said. “My life just got better and better and better from that point forward because this was always home for me.”
McMahon hopped off the stage, climbed over the barricade and walked through the crowd as he sang “Canyon Moon” to the cheap seats.
He crowd surfed on a giant yellow duck pool float atop outstretched hands during “Island Radio.”
McMahon wrote “Synesthesia” about the jealousy he felt after his friends in Fun won Best New Artist and Song of the Year at the 2013 Grammy Awards.
“I quickly sat down at the piano,” McMahon said. “I used it as this moment of reflection to say, ‘What do you have? What is it that you’re craving?’”
Something Corporate
The Something Corporate set started with an ode to McMahon’s upright piano covered in Warped Tour band stickers from a series of tours in the early 2000s.
“You were my first true love,” McMahon said. “It was there, on that world tour stage, flanked by my bandmates, my brothers and best friends, that we began a partnership forged in loud spaces where anything could go wrong and often did.”
The seats that had emptied during the Wilderness were full again by the time Something Corporate took the stage after fans emptied their bladders and refilled their beers.
The crowd knew all the words and warbles to the “Cavanaugh Park” opener and “I Want to Save You” that followed. The opening chords of “Fall” brought a huge cheer as the crunchy guitar riff drove the beat.
McMahon introduced “She Paints Me Blue” by recalling the earliest days of Something Corporate.
“We started this band in a couple of garages, but largely in my parents’ garage over off of Goldenspring Drive in Dana Point,” McMahon said. “Never had the cops called on us once.”
The sound was fantastic in the new F&M Amphitheater even if the seating was worse than flying coach on a bargain airline.
The lyrics of “Space” perfectly summed up the lack of legroom: “Give me space so I can breathe… Give me just one inch, I swear that’s all I need.”
McMahon looked out at the moon hanging over the F&M Amphitheater seats as he introduced “Me and the Moon.”
“It’s a rare occasion that we get to play this song under the light of the moon,” McMahon said.
The “Hurricane” rocker that rounded out Something Corporate’s set could have ended the night, but the trio of bands were just getting started.
A brief acoustic set on a tiny stage at the back of the amphitheater served as a palette cleanser and gave McMahon the opportunity to see the show from the audience’s point of view.
“The Queen Mary’s right there. That’s weird,” McMahon said. “I feel like I’m at Disneyland or something. That doesn’t feel real exactly.”
Three Pianos
The inspiration for this year’s Three Pianos shows happened on McMahon’s 40th birthday when Something Corporate joined him on stage during a solo show at the House of Blues Anaheim.
The six-song encore performance led to a “Three Pianos” concert in 2025 at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado with Something Corporate, Jack’s Mannequin and Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness that was supposed to be a one-off show. Something Corporate and Jack’s Mannequin reunion tours followed.
“It’s been a three-year journey getting these bands back together one at a time and then finally making our way to the stage all together,” McMahon said. “Watching the sun set on the palm trees feels just about right for the occasion.”
Saturday night’s Long Beach performance marked the final stop of the three-city Three Pianos tour — at least for now.
Final Act
The finale brought everyone from all three bands back onto the main stage and “Punk Rock Princess” got everyone in the crowd bouncing in their seats.
McMahon dedicated “Stars” to his wife Kelly Ann who was at the heart of most of the three dozen songs he played Saturday night.
“Without her, I would not be on this stage today,” McMahon said.
McMahon turned to the crowd and let them sing “become a rock star” on cue during the epic 10-minute-long “Konstantine.”
The fourth and final set closed with “If You C Jordan,” giving fans a chance to raise a unified middle finger to everyone they’ve ever wanted to give a piece of their mind.
“I’ve never apologized for this song,” McMahon said. “I thought about maybe doing it tonight. Nope.”
McMahon’s 12-year-old daughter Cecilia joined the band on stage during the encore to sing along with “Cecilia and The Satellite” — just as she did during the Red Rocks show.
“This song is one of the greatest gifts and this kid is one of the greatest gifts,” McMahon said. “We’re going to try and sing this one together.”
“La La Lie” was an appropriate end to an evening that was all about friendship, family and reunion. All of the band members’ kids, wives and significant others joined them on stage — singing along arm in arm.
“I just want to tip my hat to our families,” McMahon said. “This would not be possible without them.”
McMahon will embark on a solo tour in October that will finish up with a sold out show on Nov. 22 at the Belly Up Tavern in Solano Beach.