Something Corporate has finally made their grand return to New Jersey on Friday, August 23. The band that was massive in the early 2000s (then went on hiatus for many years except for a brief reunion at Bamboozle Fest in 2010 when not all of the original members could return) is back with a vengeance. Two decades after their supposed peak, the full and official Something Corporate reunion has begun. To learn more about the band in this day and age, check out our interview with Andrew McMahon from a couple of weeks ago.
The first and most obvious aspect of this performance that needs to be dissected is the sound. Something Corporate sounded incredible! It’s like they were frozen in time. Tracks that were written 20 years ago sounded flawless today. The whole band was perfectly in sync. There wasn’t a single weak link after all of these years. Everybody was dancing and grooving while also playing in perfect harmony – even their new song went off without a hitch.
The band also had so much energy. Frontman McMahon would occasionally stand up from his piano and jump into the crowd. When the song’s chorus or high octane part would begin, he would kick over his piano stool and play crouched over, giving it his all like the stellar performer he always has been. Watching the band go nuts on stage was, simply put, a treasure. There’s no way the audience could stand still when the band themselves were dancing that much. Even during slower songs like “Cavanaugh Park,” the emotion in Andrew’s vocals and the band’s show was palpable. It didn’t matter the tempo of the song. Every single person in the audience of the Stone Pony Summer Stage felt the emotions the band wanted you to feel deep in their core.
The set design was also superb. As seen in the photography taken, the piano itself was made of LED screens. There was a giant screen behind the band that matched the images on the piano. Everything had spectacular visuals. It didn’t just feel like a concert; it felt like an event. The whole stage lit up with dazzling colors during tracks like “The Astronaut” or the mesmerizing “Konstantine.” It was just as much a visual performance as it was an audio one.
The return of the band was, and is, so powerful. In the crowd there were fans that saw the band when they were a teenager, but now came out with their spouses and kids. There were also fans, like myself, who were too young to see Something Corporate when they were first active. It really felt like a blend of generations to see something truly outstanding.
Photos by Valentino Petrarca
