A Standing Ovation and Lots of Love for Dan Mangan at Trinity St. Paul’s

Date of show: October 28, 2010

[Ed. Note: This was a dry show. Obviously, no shots were had. But we’re still allowed to enjoy good music, right?]

What happens when you pair a beautiful, husky voice with a packed venue boasting incredible acoustics?

Magic.

Dan Mangan stepped on stage followed by an 8-piece backing band (which included members of openers The Crackling) and started his set with “Sold,” a number that sounded particularly boisterous with that backing band. I was nearly startled when the thunderous drums rolled in and I knew immediately that we were all in for a treat. Mangan played a 13-song set (plus a 2-song encore) that had the audience completely engaged and riveted. It was spectacular, handclaps and sing-a-longs included.

Not only was the music beautiful, but as the evening progressed, there was more and more amusing stage banter, including a taste of the puns from the #punmangan trending topic on Twitter. He mentioned that his mother, when studying to be a minister, had taken up a short residency with Trinity St. Paul’s, which almost convinced her to fly out for the show. Adorably, Mangan followed up to this with “She almost loves us.”

For the most part, Mangan played tunes from Nice, Nice, Very Nice, but also treated the audience to 4 new songs, one of which was done solo and so new that Mangan had not even really gone over it with the band. Highlights include the lively stomps from the band for “Tina Glorious Comeback” which had Mangan’s water looking “like Jurassic Park,” the backing band singing in falsetto to the normally boy-girl duet “The Indie Queens Are Waiting,” as well as the sing-a-long to “Robots.” Mangan said, “Every night, I’m amazed that people want to sing along to such a silly song.” The acoustics may be forgiving, but there is something truly magical about the crowd at a completely sold-out venue singing along in key to a song that never fails to make people smile.

It was an extra special treat when Mangan covered Elliott Smith’s “Waltz #2 (XO),” especially considering he does not normally do covers. Mangan ended off the encore with “So Much For Everyone,” the only song of the night from Postcards and Daydreaming. Away from the microphone, Mangan could still be heard clearly and the crowd joined him with some lovely harmonies. At the end of the night, he had the audience on their feet. Humbly and graciously, Mangan and his backing band took a bow. From my view, I couldn’t see a single person that was not on their feet and it was a completely beautiful moment.

Seeing Dan Mangan live is quite the experience. With a voice that is powerful and heart-warming (and remains as my current #1 favourite Canadian voice) and a charming stage presence, Dan Mangan will easily sweep you off your feet. Everyone at Trinity St. Paul’s United Church can likely attest to this: see Dan Mangan live and you’ll fall in love (with his music, of course).