As surprising as it may sound, I went to a concert on Friday … as an actual concertgoer. I paid for my own ticket, wasn’t writing notes and didn’t take a single photo. In all honesty, it was kind of a weird feeling, but I still had a ton of fun.

I went to 96.5 The Buzz’s “Halloweenie Roast,” which I previously blogged about for having such a great lineup. Andrew McMahon In The Wilderness and New Politics co-headlined with support from The Griswolds and Lolo, for a stop on their “Wilderness Politics” tour.

While all the artists were fantastic, Andrew McMahon In The Wilderness stole the show — and I can honestly say McMahon is the best performer I’ve ever seen live (even though I’ll still stand by Modest Mouse being the best overall show, but that’s another conversation that you can read about in another blog post). Here’s why Andrew McMahon so awesome.

Obviously, he’s a good vocalist

While other singers may be good technically, McMahon has something else going for him — he sings with passion. As a young adult cancer survivor, he’s gone through a lot, and that definitely translates over to his music. Few rock performances are more impassioned than “The Resolution” or “Swim” (from his Jack’s Mannequin days), especially live. (Trust me, seeing “Swim” performed live was one of the highlights of my musical life.) And, speaking of Jack’s Mannequin …

He’s fronted three successful bands

McMahon has been on the music scene since 1998, when he started Something Corporate. That band would go on to be one of the most underrated pop punk groups of all time, in my humble opinion. From there, he made three albums with Jack’s Mannequin, a band that seamlessly blended fun with emotion in high-quality alternative rock. And now he’s still creating awesome music with The Wilderness, a fabulous backup band, as Andrew McMahon In The Wilderness.

He makes lyrical masterpieces

I mentioned McMahon’s passion earlier, and that’s really amplified when he’s singing words that have a lot of meaning, like the refrain of “You gotta swim” in “Swim.” Past that, though, he’s just a really good wordsmith. Nothing screams punk more than “I lace my Chucks, I walk the aisle” from the Jack’s Mannequin song “Bruised,” and “Synesthesia” is just downright beautiful.

He plays piano (not keys)

Until Friday, I had never seen a live show where someone played piano. While you might not see this as a huge deal, it is for me. Piano makes music sound more whole than keyboards, and it’s super fun to watch someone play piano. Not to mention, piano is and forever will be my favorite instrument, and anyone who can play it well (as McMahon definitely can) gets more musical respect from me.

His fans are great

New Politics performed before Andrew McMahon In The Wilderness, and the juxtaposition between their fans and McMahon’s was pretty interesting. There weren’t Andrew McMahon fans trying to push past my friends and me (like fans of New Politics did a few times), and McMahon’s fans didn’t fight when he threw stuff into the audience (on the contrary, two New Politics fans had an insane tug-of-war over an autographed flag). Also, I was genuinely surprised at the amount of fans who didn’t just sing along to the Something Corporate and Jack’s Mannequin songs, but also McMahon’s solo material — and vice versa.

He’s super humble

In all the concerts I’ve gone to, I have never seen someone as thankful as Andrew McMahon. During his last regular set song, Jack’s Mannequin’s “La La Lie,” he took a minutes-long break to not only give some recognition to his backing band, but also individually thank all of the acts on the “Wilderness Politics” tour, along with the behind-the-scenes workers for the tour and the venue, and, of course, the fans. He mentioned multiple times how lucky he was to be able to perform with three different bands, and seeing his humility made the performance seem much more special.

He’s an awesome showman

As it was a Halloween-themed concert, McMahon dressed up for the occasion, as none other than piano legend Elton John. As he performed, his showmanship rivaled what I had heard about John’s. McMahon stepped off the stage and into the crowd regularly, performing right in the middle of the standing-room audience and dancing with fans during his last song, “Synesthesia.” Not to mention, he grabbed my hand for over five seconds as he sang right in front of the barricade. McMahon definitely played off the crowd’s energy during his entire performance, further making the case that he’s just a downright amazing performer.

If these reasons don’t make you an Andrew McMahon fan, I don’t think you can be saved. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to try to convince some friends to drive to Houston, Texas, and see him again tomorrow. (Not really, but I totally wish.)