The best thing to ever happen for Jack’s Mannequin was for Jack’s Mannequin to come to an end.

Gasp!

Think about it though. This means that singer/songwriter Andrew McMahon can now play any song he’s ever written– everything from Something Corporate’s fast and heavy “I Woke Up In A Car,” to Jack’s Mannequin’s sensitive and poppy “Dark Blue,” to his first solo foray, “Synesthesia.” No one will go home disappointed because it’s acceptable for him to hit it all. And that’s why Sunday night at the House of Blues was like a greatest hits show for the SoCal piano rock garage band king.

And even though McMahon’s projects have had different names over the years, many of the musicians are still the same. Jay McMillan and Mikey Wagner from Jack’s Mannequin accompanied McMahon on drums and bass respectively Sunday night, playing very familiar songs, as well as new ones off of McMahon’s latest album, Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness.

As I stood there reliving my high school days of pop rock euphoria, the gentlemen to my left were practically bawling as they sang every lyric to every song. They even sang to each other, grabbing one another by their stocky shoulders, pouring out their souls in the form of drunken, harmonious babble. I laughed, of course, but also appreciated it. I appreciated it because these fellas have definitely been Andrew McMahon fans since Ready…Break came out in 2000 and they were popping pimples before their date with Jessica to see Shrek. And they’re here, standing a few rows from the barrier 14 years later because they still love it. And the one in the soccer jersey calls Jessica and holds out his phone during “Dark Blue” because it still means something. Maybe it takes them a few more vodka tonics than we’d all like for that side to come out nowadays, but it’s still there.

They should have been selling t-shirts that said “I went to see Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness and all I got was this bone marrow donor card” at the show last night. Because I did get a bone marrow donor card at the show last night. It’s no secret that McMahon battled (and beat) Leukemia (only click that link if you wanna watch a film about it and have a good cry), and wouldn’t be here today without a life-saving stem cell transplant, so he’s on a mission to find more matches for more people out there. Before the crew finished setting up for the next act on stage, I was signed up be in the bone marrow registry thanks to the folks at the Delete Blood Cancer booth in the foyer of the House of Blues.

Junior Prom and Hunter Hunted have been supporting McMahon on this tour, two acts that tie more into McMahon’s new electronic-influenced sound heard on tracks like “Halls” and “Maps for the Getaway,” than his stripped down pop lullaby side on songs like “Hammers and Strings” and “Rainy Girl.” While the overproduced aspects of in the Wilderness can be a turn-off, his talent and passion is a common thread throughout all of his projects that make his more raw and edgier songs that much more powerful.

And before he jumped and stomped around on his piano for the last time on Sunday night, McMahon brought it all home: “Yeah it’s a blessing to be up here doing this, but it’s also a blessing to put on those headphones and listen to a song that makes your day feel better.” And for all the kids who survived Y2K, that’s what McMahon’s music is.