Jack's Mannequin played a strong, if textbook, show at the Ogden Theatre on Monday.

By Greg Stieber

For those who were forced to take piano lessons as a child, Jack’s Mannequin frontman Andrew McMahon dispels the myth that you can’t play the piano and still be cool. From his teen years with Something Corporate to his current band, McMahon’s talent lies in his knack for tickling the ivories. With each trip to Denver, McMahon has appeared more confident on stage, and Monday night felt as if everything had come to fruition at the Ogden Theatre.

“I love the energy in here,” McMahon acknowledged the crowd as the nearly packed house sang, danced and most of all cut loose during the 90-minute set. As the crowd hung on every note, the band went through a pretty standard set of hit songs from their three records. The crowd was at its best when the band played “The Mix Tape,” “Holiday for Real” and “Dark Blue” off their “Everything in Transit” record. The set provided very few surprises with regard to song selection, but the band kept their energy up as McMahon bounded all over the stage and jumped into the crowd a few times. “Swim” and “Glass Passenger” were the only slow-tempo songs from the set.

The highlight of the night was the sound itself, as McMahon’s vocals sounded the best they have in years. Having more than enough material to fill a set, the band did not lean on any of its Something Corporate catalog, which made sense but was still a little disappointing.

Overall, Jack’s Mannequin put on a solid performance — an hour and a half set, mostly hits, they interacted with the crowd and joked around with them about how they were the band’s favorite. The band chose the infectiously catchy, harmonica-infused tune, “La La Lie,” to close the set. The choice was fitting as it was the perfect song for a fairly textbook show.

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Greg Stieber is a Denver freelance writer and regular contributor to Reverb.