ppleandthings submitted: OK so i’m gonna talk about the second time I had the honor of meeting Andrew because that story is more interesting :)

So this was actually Tuesday (Oct. 18). At this venue, you had to be 18+ and being only 17, I decided to send an email and wound up being in the poster contest just because I wanted to show my support even though i could go to the show. I did get the free tickets so decided I would go to the venue super early to see if I could meet him again.

So i was the first one at the venue and I was there alone so i went inside and offered to help set up the merch just to pass the time. Just as I was about to stand on line with the rest of the fans, Andrew was walking in the venue! I tried my best to explain why how i won the tickets and get in, but I started crying so I don’t think he fully understood. But he gave me a hug, but that made me cry more :)

After he signed my copy of people and things, a poster I took down before I arrived (that he wrote “happy early Bday” on), and took a picture, I got to stay for the sound check. Andrew also knew I wasn’t a sound check winner but let me stay for it anyway. He had no idea it wasn’t an all ages show. I had to leave after that though because I could not get in for the actual show.

Over all, it was a fun day.

♥

insuccinct submitted: This will probably be longer than strictly necessary, but here goes. I live in a city in North Queensland, Australia, roughly 1,400 km (or 870 miles) away from Brisbane, the nearest capital city. This doesn’t stop me from attending every concert Andrew has played in Brisbane since I turned 16. In 2007 my best friend, Kellie, my dad and I drove 17 hours to see Jack’s Mannequin open for Fall Out Boy, in 2009 I flew down to see him play at Soundwave, and at the beginning of this year Kellie and I flew down to see him play his acoustic set.

The day before the concert, they announced a competition to win meet and greet with Andrew. They wanted you to write, in 100 words or less, why you want to meet him. I panicked. I sat there writing a thousand different versions and nothing was right and I just knew that I had to make them the best 100 words of my life because meeting him… yeah. So I tried for hours and wasn’t happy and I enlisted a friends help and was IMing her what I was writing and she said to make it more personal so I tried to do that, and still wasn’t happy and I was ranting to her about the fact that I could write an ESSAY on why I want to meet Andrew, 100 words isn’t enough! And then I realised, well… that’s exactly it. So this was my 100 words that I sent in: 

 100 words or less, hey? There’s no way I can fit everything I want to say into that, so I’ll just say this: Andrew McMahon is my hero. He has inspired me to change my life for the better, to stop saying ‘I wish’ and start saying ‘I will’ and ‘I have’. I am travelling 1,400km to get to this show and meeting Andrew so I can tell him how much of a difference he has made to my life would make me the happiest person in the world.

Apparently someone thought me worthy. At 2pm on the day of the concert I checked my email on my phone to see if my friend had replied to a message I’d sent her, and there was an email from Soundwave Touring there. Oh, I thought, probably just one of those automated we regret to inform you that you have been unsuccessful emails that I always get when I enter competitions. I clicked on it, and my phone loaded up the screen so all I could see was Hi there, I scrolled down. 

Congratulations! You and Kellie will be meeting Andrew McMahon this afternoon at 5pm (time subject to change - we will call you)

I am pretty sure I punched Kellie in the side and said, “Dude, I won!” (very eloquent of me). I couldn’t believe it - all of those other random competitions that I lost must have been just so I had enough luck built up to win this one. I still can’t believe it.

They let us in to sound check at five, and then promptly vanished, so we all found somewhere to sit on the floor of the mosh area. Andrew was on stage, halfway through a song, but when he finished he waved at us and said hello. The sound check wasn’t so much a sound check as a run through of the songs because as he said they had been working on them in a room together and stuff but when you get out there and have everything hooked up you just go “ah, that really isn’t actually working at all, is it?” It was like a private show for the five of us who had won meet and greet and it was amazing in every possible way. I had to make Kellie pinch me.

After they’d finished sound check, Andrew came down to meet us all. He introduced himself and we all shook hands, and then as he was chatting to the other people he asked if we were all from Brisbane, so I told him Kell and I were from Townsville. He asked how far away Townsville is, and I said 1,400km. He didn’t know what that was in miles (though he was super impressed) and while I was calculating in my head (which is a slow process) another girl told him, “It’s a 26 hour drive.” I was like, “well, no, it’s normally closer to 17hrs drive if you drive straight through without stopping – and we didn’t drive. It’s a 2 hour flight. We drove when we saw you in 2007, though.” He kept telling me he really hoped that it would be worth it coming all this way. I, of course, told him it had already been worth it. 

He asked us about the cyclone, and was suitably horrified to hear we’d had no power for a week haha and he told me he was coming back for soundwave in 2012. We got photos with him, and I showed him my tattoos which was fun. The whole experience was great, and even though I had been sure I would be incapable of speech if I ever met him, I actually managed to form fairly articulate sentences, which was a plus!

The show itself was also absolutely amazing, even though by the time it started I had been awake for 17 hours and had only eaten half of a sausage roll 12 hours ago. The joys of 6 AM flights on the day of the concert. After the show we hung around and met him again, and I got my hug and promised to be at Soundwave to see him next year. Which I will be, as I bought my tickets to the Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne shows on Thursday. $512 all up, and I haven’t even looked at flights yet. I am officially broke, but I know it will be worth every cent!

I have omitted a lot of details from this, otherwise it would be extremely long, but meeting Andrew was one of the most amazing moments of my entire life and I will never forget it.

I’ve never met Andrew McMahon.

ahainault submitted:  

 I always felt like I needed to, though, until tonight.
   I was finally able to see Jack’s live tonight; party of one, I filed into the House of Blues with everyone else. I felt more and more nervous throughout the night; I had tried to be in this position many times before, but it had never worked out. Surely something would go wrong- it would be too perfect if I actually got to see JM. Life couldn’t be that perfect.
   Sitting at home now, I’ve never felt so light. I probably looked like a mess while I was there, but I couldn’t deny my tears during multiple songs. During Swim, my voice caught so bad that I had to just mouth the words because I couldn’t speak. But by the time Dark Blue echoed through the venue, my vision had blurred.
   I can’t count on two hands the amount of people in my family/immediate friends that have been affected by cancer. I know the song wasn’t written about it, but every time I hear the main chorus line, I think of my grandpa. I’m tearing up now just thinking about it again. But every time I listen to that song, no matter what, I feel like he’s here again. And he’s watching me grow up. Like he’s proud of how far I’ve come, and I know he’ll be with me when I graduate. Somewhere, I find his strength in so much of Andrew’s music. And when I sit and listen, it feels like he’s got me on his knee again and is whispering in my ear. 
   I will never get that experience back. Of seeing my favorite band, and completely forgetting everything. Of being with my grandpa one last time and singing for everyone I’ve lost and everything I’ve done and will become.
   I didn’t know a soul at the venue, but I felt like I got to know my own soul a little better. I don’t need to meet Andrew to let him know everything he’s given me, because I’m sure he knows the extent of his music’s grasp. But to just be able to look at the stage and know someone else is inside my head makes it all just fade for a bit. I’ve never met him, but I don’t need to meet him to know how real his music is, or how real this movement is. I’ve been given more than what I could ask for from music. And for the first time in a very, very incredibly long time, I don’t feel as mentally crippled; the grip on my lungs is a little weaker, and I’m appreciating the feel of the shag carpet beneath my feet.

holdontowhatever submitted: Andrew and I on my birthday.Yup well that’s about it. All the same yada yada.

these-hammers-and-strings submitted: I hope the photo worked x.x I went to see Jack’s Mannequin with Breaking Vista in Kitchiner, Ontario July 5th, 2011.  It was the BEST show I’d ever been to.

I went to the show alone, as I had just moved 6 hours from home and didn’t have any friends to bring with me.  I made new friends the second I got in line (at 10AM) . I laughed, I cried, it was just amazing.  At the end of the show, the whole day felt so surreal.  Like a dream.  My new friends and I took a walk around the venue, to take it all in.

In the alley behind the venue, JM’s tour bus was there, and there was a lineup… so the girls and I lined up to see what the fuss was about.  Andrew was about to come out to sign things and take photos!  We were so happy.

I met Andrew, and I thanked him and obviously the rest of JM for everything they do for the fans.  The amazing music they put out that’s helped me so much over the past year.  And I hugged him.  I look terrible but Andrew looks amazing.  I’ll never forget that day.

jarret-ass submitted: I can’t even describe how incredibly inspirational this man is. He’s gotten me through so much with his beautiful music. This was, by far, one of the greatest moments of my life. First autograph and photo with Andrew. ♥ 10-10-11.

Soho Apple Store.

ps. I WAS REALLY HAPPY HIS MUSTACHE WAS GONE.

lizanotherperson asked: I have a different kind of fan story.

I am in Geology/Earth Sciences major in California. One of our field areas is Rainbow Basin, which is right by Barstow, Ca/Joshua Tree/all the other desert places Andrew likes to frequent.

Unfortunately this encounter didn't happen the year I was on the mapping trip to Rainbow Basin. It happened the year before. And if it did happen my year, I might have been too dehydrated/heat stroked by the end of the day to have notice that it was Andrew McMahon, but I digress.

So, it was the class's last day mapping. They were returning to the vans just before sunset. They noticed a few cars/vans pull us and all these people with cameras and a keyboard come out and start setting up. Then, as my friend (who does not know the greatness that is Andrew McMahon) describes it, a guy in sunglasses comes out and starts playing random things on the keyboard on top of one of the hills as the sun set. The class had to get home (6 hour drive), so they just left being completely confused.

I heard this story a year later. Immediately I was like, "WAIT. I KNOW WHAT THAT WAS! YOU SAW ANDREW MCMAHON!" and then proceeded to show them the ending of Choke, California. They were impressed that I knew this from their vague story.

But yeah. Not that much of a "fan" encounter per say. But I just think it is cool that I have done geologic mapping in a place where Andrew McMahon a year before played.

If only I took that class one year early. If only...

HAHA THAT’S SO WEIRD AND RANDOM THAT THEY JUST HAPPENED TO BE IN THE SAME SPOT!

inthewrongstory asked: My fan story!

I got to see Something Corporate twice within a week here in Chicago back in the winter of 2005 I believe. For the second concert, a friend and I decided to go down to the venue really early so we could get up close. Due to the fact that i live in Chicago, the weather was HORRIBLE. There was ice and snow everywhere with the windchill it was probably 0 degrees outside. Everyone in line was huddled together, regardless of the fact that we were complete strangers.
After a few hours in the cold, Andrew and Brian came outside to talk to us. They expressed how sorry they were that the venue would not let us inside and kept saying that they were so grateful that we were there. They gave each and every one of us a cup of hot chocolate :) Andrew then went back inside to grab his camera and then filmed us all just talking to him and waving to the camera. Turns out that footage was used in the Dear Jack documentary and at one point the camera is completely on me for a few seconds :)
After the hours of waiting in the cold, I ended up not being close to the stage at all. The crowd was kinda crappy that night and I could barely see but it was such an amazing night because I had gotten to meet Andrew and Brian and they were nothing but nice. It was so amazing. When Andrew got sick, my friend who I was with and I sent him some packets of hot chocolate <3

THAT IS SO COOL and possibly one of the most fun stories I have ever read. What sweethearts, I love those boys. They’re so thoughtful to their fans <3

wide-eyes-and-paper-crowns asked: my favorite Jack's Mannequin memory:

So I went to the show in Dayton, OH last month and he started singing "Hammer's & Strings (a lullaby)" and all these kids near the front were yelling and talking loudly, so he stops after the first line and looked at them and said, "Shut the f*** up!" it was SO funny!

but also, just when they started singing "Dark Blue" and the whole audience was dancing and singing at the top of their lungs, it was a beautiful moment I wanted to live in forever.

I was at the Dayton show, too. That was really funny when he told everyone to shut up. But really, why would you pay to go to a concert, but then talk and be disrespectful through the whole thing? So many of the people around me were being so disrespectful. I was just like “what are you doing?” But what can you do? That was such a great concert. Ah.

natashakhan asked: My favorite Andrew memory was the third (and sadly last) time I saw him, back in October 2009. The show was at a synagogue in DC and he played for 2 hours. It was during that small venue tour, I don't remember exactly what it was called. Anyway, we sat in pews and he commented that it felt like there were like 20 of us there, even though it seated hundreds.
I met him the first time I saw him, but it was the personal atmosphere of this particular venue that set this show apart. He did the fortune cookie tosses, a meet and greet for some people before the show, and told us about finding his first grey hair backstage. I bought my favorite Andrew shirt at this show, the red one that says "Andrew McMahon is a friend of mine", and both of my best friends have them as well. All three of us have had cancer strike a close family member, so to be able to share these memories and experiences means a lot.
There's so much more that happened, and I have it taped, but the camcorder has issues transferring onto my computer in a decent size without ruining the quality.
I've been resisting listening to the new material because I want to go into the new album with fresh ears, but I cannot wait to hear it. :)

That’s awesome! I was so close to going to that show, but I couldn’t make it, and I was really bummed. It sounded so cool. I’m so excited for the new album, I can’t even contain it.