Jack's Mannequin, Allen Stone, and Jukebox The Ghost Bring Amazing Entertainment To NYC. The first couple months of a new year tend to be a major dry spell for concerts. Gladly nobody told that to Jack’s Mannequin and they’re opening acts. I think this alone helped rise the excitement to incredible levels for the bands New York City shows, which both sold out immensely.

First off early in the evening was Allen Stone. A blonde haired man in spectacles, who never once stopped smiling towards his bandmates. The group played a wicked array of soulful tracks that the crowd of Irving Plaza took to quite nicely. When Stone yelled that his soul was felling greasy as opposed to slick and clean the crowd yelled in approval and could be seen dancing along to the tracks off his self-titled record.

Taking the stage next were Jukebox The Ghost, a three-piece from Philadelphia that used their set to not only prove that they were fitting openers for Jack’s Mannequin but also winning over new fans. Front-man Ben Thronewill manned a piano throughout the bands entire set yet still did an incredible job of moving around his arms and nearly standing on his set several times. Crowd interaction clearly helped the crowd get into the band more and their cover of the Power of Love only strengthened that even more.

After Jukebox’s set ended the crowd was immensely restless and desperately wanted more. After a short time setting up the members of Jack’s Mannequin took the stage. Guitarist Bobby Anderson could be seen pumping his fist into the air and front-man Andrew McMahon rushed to his set and never once let the smile on his face dissipate. The band kicked off the night with the track Spinning and during The Mixed Tape the guitarist of Allen Stone joined the band on stage. The music of Jack’s Mannequin was an incredible blend of indie and pop, highly infectious tones melded with deeply rooted emotional songs. Great stand outs for me were Amy, I and Swim. Jack’s Mannequin provided an incredible show that everyone at Irving Plaza that night will remember.