Denver Broncos Block Party featuring Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness and Edison at Sports Authority Field Mile High on 7/2/17

Bronco Block Party at the South Lawn at
Sports Authority Field at Mile High

It's not everyday that you enter a concert and get high-fived by Miles the Denver Broncos Mascot. This was the first Denver Broncos Block Party (the next one will be in September). The crowd was made up of a mixture of Denver Broncos fans thrilled to get a chance to gaze upon all three Denver Bronco Lombardi Trophies and Andrew McMahon fans thrilled to get a chance to gaze upon the man himself.

Andrew McManhon started playing piano by ear at the age of nine. His band Something Corporate were signed to a recording contract two years after McMahon graduated from high school.  He later fronted Jack's Mannequin a more mainstream piano rock band until 2014. Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness is his latest musical venture that has produced two albums and one major hit.

Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness

Smoke started billowing out from the stage signaling the start of the show. Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness got the crowd dancing right away by playing Fire Escape (about being up till dawn) from their latest album Zombies on Broadway. McMahon told the crowd, "If you have something to do tomorrow, cancel it." This was his introduction to Dead Man's Dollar about a musician's sacrifice to earn a living making music.

After playing a large portion of new material, McMahon played songs from his Jack's Mannequin period.  Dark Blue, a song about isolation, had the crowd singing-a-long passionately and loudly to every lyric. Swim, a ballad written about his fight against leukemia, gave McMahon an opportunity to promote his charity Dear Jack Foundation that raises money for cancer research.

Andrew McMahon and a patriotic pool toy

A rainbow parachute (like children use in gym class) was given to the audience to wave along to the disco inspired Synesthesia.  McMahon pleaded for politics not to divide us, but have music unite us (it might be a good idea to send rainbow parachutes to Washington). Fulfilling his patriotic duty, McMahon crowd surfed on an inflatable eagle asking the crowd not to let him fall on someone (safety first). Cecilia and the Satellite, his biggest hit, closed the show to the crowd once again singing-a-long.  The eagle pool toy sadly did not make another appearance during the encore.

Edison

Denver's own Edison got the Denver Bronco Block Party started. Singer Sarah Slaton, wearing her signature back fedora, led the band through a set of indie-folk rock melodies about traveling, astrological signs, and raging. The band recently moved out of their apartments and put everything in storage to hit the road in their van named Van Morrison dragged by their trailer named Trailer Swift (awe ... road humor). They shared their love for traveling while performing Open Road that has lately received radio airplay. The Denver Bronco Block Party was silenced during Slaton's battle cry during Civil War, "My head/My Heart/Are raging a civil war." It sounds like she might need an inflatable pool toy to cheer her up.

See you at the next show.  I'll be the one riding an eagle floatation device high-fiving a mascot.