Show Review, Photos: Something Corporate Thrill With First SF Show in Over A Decade
Something Corporate
w/ Mae
The Warfield
San Francisco, CA
October 12th, 2024
Review and Photos by Jared Stossel
The last time that Something Corporate performed at San Francisco’s Warfield Theatre was 2010. The world was a lot different; smartphone technology was still in its infancy, MySpace was on its way out to make room for the social media boom that Facebook and Twitter would usher in, and Obama was president. Their last San Francisco performance was in August 2010, and it would be fourteen years before they would be on that Market Street theater stage again.
On Saturday night, Something Corporate - the rock-pop act from SoCal fronted by Andrew McMahon - concluded their first tour in fourteen years, the “Out of Office Tour” at The Warfield in front of a packed, sold-out crowd. Never in my lifetime did I think I would see a Something Corporate show; I’ve seen McMahon’s other projects - Jack’s Mannequin and Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness - many times, but this was the one group that I thought would never reunite. There was no bad blood between the members; everyone had simply moved on. But a performance at last year’s When We Were Young Festival in Las Vegas sparked hope that a reunion tour would follow, and the band delivered on that promise with a stunning two-hour show that spanned their brief but illustrious career.
The show had one opener, Mae, whose unique brand of alternative indie rock proved to be the perfect start to the evening. While the band’s core lineup has changed significantly since its inception, frontman Dave Elkins and guitarist Zach Gehring still do an excellent job bringing the band’s music to life, backed by a powerful group of touring musicians.
At 9 PM, the lights dimmed, Something Corporate took the stage and dove headfirst into a career-defining setlist , playing songs from all three albums that came to define their piano-driven pop-punk sound in the early 2000s. Songs like “Space”, “Punk Rock Princess”, and “Hurricane” practically demand the crowd to scream them back at the stage. The six-piece group looked on as they powered through the two-hour set, all smiles. McMahon’s family was backstage, on the balcony, and in the crowd watching the performance, and it truly felt like a familial affair. It’s always a blast watching McMahon perform these songs during his solo shows, where he includes a healthy mix of Something Corporate and Jack’s Mannequin work alongside his solo music, but to see it performed by the band that created the songs together as teenagers in Southern California adds an entirely new dynamic to the performance. It was an absolute blast all around.
A four-song encore followed, with McMahon behind the piano for “Walking By” and the highly anticipated “Konstantine” (all ten minutes!). The band joined back in for an Armageddon-themed cover of Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing”, complete with sequences from the film being played on a giant screen behind them. The roaring finale, “If You C Jordan”, brought everyone back to 2002, band and audience screaming every word with utter delight. Something Corporate proved that some things indeed get better with time.
Something Corporate will next perform in November 2024 on the inaugural Andrew McMahon’s Holiday From Real Crusie, which will feature all three of Andrew McMahon’s projects, together for the very first time.
Something Corporate Set List
She Paints Me Blue
Space
I Want To Save You
Fall
Me and the Moon
Straw Dog
Ruthless
As You Sleep
Watch The Sky
Punk Rock Princess
21 and Invincible
The Astronaut
Only Ashes
Drunk Girl
Happy
Hurricane
Cavanaugh Park
I Woke Up In A Car
Encore:
Walking By
Konstantine
I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing (Aerosmith cover)
If You C Jordan
