For the majority of the audience who ventured out to the Oran Mor on a bitterly cold February night, Andrew McMahon’s songs were the soundtrack to their teenage years.

Judging by the passion the audience put into singing along, songs such as ‘I Woke up in a Car’ and ‘Holiday from Real‘ still evoke those teenage emotions and memories.

The Oran Mor was perfectly suited to a show comprising simply of Andrew, his piano and his warm, genuine banter. With no barrier along the front, the gathered audience were allowed to get right up the stage front of the stage, giving the show a very intimate feel.

The set list was an excellent mix of Something Corporate and Jack’s Mannequin favourites, plus tracks from Andrew’s newer incarnation ‘Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness‘. And those new tracks are fantastic. ‘Maps from the Getaway’ in particular was outstanding.

While lyrically the newer songs focus more on family and responsibility instead of driving around singing Jimmy Eat World at the top of your voice and asking lesbians for drugs, Andrew’s ability to tell stories through his songs remains as strong as ever.

So it was only natural that Andrew took the opportunity between songs to discuss the stories behind some of them. While some of the stories he told were poignant and a few gave a good giggle, the one behind ‘Watch the Sky’ was downright hilarious. Don’t worry – I won’t spoil it for you!

Skipping the whole ‘leaving the stage to come back in a minute’ palaver of an encore in favour of a couple of extra songs, Andrew closed the show with Jack’s Mannequin standout ‘Dark Blue’ and the first ‘In the Wilderness‘ single, ‘Cecilia and the Satellite‘, a slice of pure pop goodness.

If you haven’t been lucky enough to catch one of Andrew’s shows, you’re really missing out on a fabulous evening with a brilliant musician and performer.