Just after a week of unseasonably warm weather here in North Carolina, a summer pool party splashed down at The Ritz in Raleigh NC when Andrew McMahon In The Wilderness brought the Upside Down Flowers Tour; along for the ride were supporting acts Grizfolk and flor.
The latter of the two openers is the quickly rising band from Oregon, flor. The last time that they were in Raleigh, opening up for Misterwives at Lincoln Theatre, flor planted a seed that has blossomed into a wonderful base of fans that only grew on this night with their alt-rock sound. Their fun and inviting energy on stage spilled out into the crowd in front of them, as all that I could see were people singing along and dancing with arms raised in the air.
![]() ![]() |
![]() ![]() |
![]() ![]() |
![]() ![]() |
flor has released a deluxe version of their debut album come out. you're hiding on their record label Fueled By Ramen, which is available now.
The main event of the night was of course still to come and once flor left the stage, things began to transform. Scrims were pulled down, revealing the backdrop that got a small rise out of the crowd as a large "AM" light fixture could now be seen atop a platform at the back of the stage.
Andrew McMahon is known by many for his time as the front man of Something Corporate and Jack's Mannequin; however, he has gained mainstream attention over the last few years as Andrew McMahon In The Wilderness. Now with his most recent full-length album Upside Down Flowers, out now, he continues to treat us with his creative and imaginative songwriting. This current tour is of course is in direct support of the new album, and had a really fun atmosphere as band members one by one came out on stage as if they were getting ready for a pool party; one checked the temperature of the "water" (the crowd), another used a pool net skimmed to reach out into the "water" as if getting leaves out of a pool.
Andrew McMahon and his piano emerged from doors built into the platform at the back of the stage as stagehands rolled the piano to center stage while McMahon began playing "Everything Must Go". The night continued on with nearly 2 hours of music that included many covers from Chers' “Believe” as well as a few Something Corporate and Jack’s Mannequin songs that got some of the loudest reactions of the night.
![]() ![]() |
![]() ![]() |
![]() ![]() |
![]() ![]() |
Follow flor on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter; www.florsounds.com
Andrew McMahon In The Wilderness on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter; www.andrewmcmahon.com