It’s a gorgeous Monday, July 31, 2023 evening on the Ocean City, NJ boardwalk as music lovers line up to enter the Ocean City Music Pier for a concert by acclaimed singer/songwriter Aimee Mann.
Born in Virginia in 1960, after graduating high school, Mann enrolled in Boston’s Berklee College of Music. In 1983, she co-founded the new wave band, ’Til Tuesday, and functioned as bassist and vocalist with the group until 1990 when she embarked on a solo career.
In 1999, Mann earned both Academy Award and Grammy Award nominations for her song, “Save Me,” which she composed for the film, Magnolia, and in 2001, she recorded a cover version of The Beatles’ “Two of Us” for the movie, I Am Sam.
Mann won a Grammy for her album The Forgotten Arm in 2006, and the same year was named one of the world’s ten greatest living songwriters — along with Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, and Bruce Springsteen — by National Public Radio.
Her 2017 album, Mental Illness, earned Mann her second Grammy. Her latest release is 2021’s Queens of the Summer Hotel.
Inside the sunlit Ocean City Music Pier auditorium, the audience applauds as Mann’s opening act, singer/songwriter Jonathan Coulton, takes the stage and deadpans, “I am here to prevent Aimee Mann from performing for the next 30 minutes.”
Coulton introduces his first song explaining, “This is a love song to someone who may or may not be in the audience. I don’t know because I haven’t met her yet.”
Deftly accompanying himself on the guitar, Coulton launches into the folksy “Millionaire Girlfriend” singing in his sweet falsetto voice, “She’s my millionaire girlfriend and she’s my life/Once I finally find her I’ll get permission from the wife,” to audience chuckles and guffaws.
Coulton says that his next song is about being “trapped in suburbia under the crushing burden of adulthood.” Here, he breezes into the humorous “Shop Vac.” Then, he talks about how he used to be asked to appear on local morning shows before performing “Good Morning, Tucson,” a song about a morning TV talk show host.
Aimee Mann makes a surprise appearance joining Coulton on stage and the two banter about the fact that because it’s still light out they can see all the faces in the audience. The pair duets on the science-fictiony “All This Time,” where Mann plays shaker and sings harmony while Coulton’s voice pops into falsetto mode as the melody jumps.
They follow up with “Red Shirt” where Mann harmonizes with Coulton before she informs the audience as she’s leaving the stage, “I’ll be right back.”
Coulton continues with his minor-key rocker, “Creepy Doll,” where he cries, “And there’s a creepy doll/That always follows you/It’s got a ruined eye/That’s always open,” and he follows up by telling a story about how he and his wife nearly moved from New York to Los Angeles prior to singing “I Almost Moved to L.A.”
After thanking Mann for inviting him to perform with her tonight, Coulton concludes his set with the rockin’ “IKEA” where he has fun with rhymes crooning lyrics like “IKEA/ Just some oak and some pine and a handful of Norseman/IKEA/Selling furniture for college kids and divorced men.”
The crowd cheers, and Coulton thanks them before announcing, “Let’s keep it going for Aimee Mann!” Here, bassist Paul Bryan, guitarist Adam Tressler, keyboardist Jamie Edwards, and drummer John Sands take the stage along with Aimee Mann.
Joking, “I told you I’d be right back,” Mann, 62, opens her set with “Lies of Summer.”
Accompanying herself on acoustic guitar, Mann’s warm, gentle voice fills the room as she sings, “We’ll all rewind and just/Listen for the lies of summer.” Paul Bryan and Adam Tressler provide vocal harmonies, Jamie Edwards contributes swirling keyboard fills, and John Sands offers tasteful percussion on this modern folk song set to a hip-hop beat.
Mann and Co. follow up with “You Fall,” where tight background vocals surround Mann’s lead and Tressler’s electric guitar twangs on this melodic number from Queens of the Summer Hotel.
The crowd hoots and hollers, and Mann responds, “Thank you so much — it’s great to see you,” explaining, “I mean that literally — it’s so bright in here I can see each and every one of you!” She continues with “You Never Loved Me,” an easy two-step which builds in intensity and tempo and features a lyrical Adam Tressler guitar solo.
After introducing her bandmates, Mann welcomes Jonathan Coulton back to the stage to perform a song the pair composed for Mental Illness. Mann’s guitar strumming and strong lead vocal are featured on the folk rocker, “Patient Zero.” As she sings, “Life is good/You look around and think/‘I’m in the right neighborhood’/But, honey, you don’t belong,” Coulton and Bryan provide vocal harmonies and Jamie Edwards accompanies with a string arrangement on the keyboard.
Bryan and Tressler leave the stage and Mann, Coulton, and Sands perform another tune from Mental Illness, “Rollercoasters.” Coulton plays softly and melodiously on his guitar as Mann and Coulton blend together on the song’s lovely “So high as you fell looking down on the tops of the trees/So high/And all you can do is say/Please, please, baby please” refrain.
Guitar and bass return and Sands plays brushes on his knees before moving to the drums and using a shaker as a drumstick on the soft rocker, “The Moth.” Lights flash and pink lights dance on the 6/8 number, “Burn It Out,” and Mann’s voice is strong and clear on “Little Bombs.” Singing, “All the sweet green trees of Atlanta burst/Like little bombs,” Mann is accompanied by Edwards’ arpeggiated piano on this track from The Forgotten Arm.
Moving to the keyboard, Mann announces, “Hi! I’m over here now,” as she launches into the melancholy Queens of the Summer Hotel single, “Suicide is Murder.” Moving back to acoustic guitar, she performs her Academy-Award nominated composition from Magnolia, “Save Me.” Tressler plays a melodica solo which adds to the folksy vibe before twanging out on his guitar. On this arrangement, Edwards’ keyboard sounds like a synthesized accordion as Bryan’s bass and Sands’ drums shuffle along.
Mann strums her guitar as she moves to the driving groove of “I Can’t Help You Anymore,” and Tressler impresses with a wailing electric guitar solo before Mann follows up with the rhythmic ballad, “Video,” which features Edwards rolling along with a barrelhouse style of piano playing.
The natural light in the auditorium fades and purple lights flash as Mann and Bryan sing “Freeway,” a country rocker which gets heads bopping in the audience. Mann and Co. wrap up tonight’s set with “King of the Jailhouse,” a Forgotten Arm story song on which Tressler’s slide playing sounds like a pedal steel guitar and two-part backup harmonies support Mann’s heartfelt lead vocal.
The crowd cheers, and Mann says, “Thank you so much!” before she and the band leave the stage. They return for an encore of “Amateur” where Mann shifts over to electric bass and John Sands plays a shuffle 3/4 beat with brushes. Edwards’ tinkling piano contrasts with Mann’s smooth and melodic bass playing. The crowd reacts with hoots and hollers and several leap to their feet to applaud.
Switching back to acoustic guitar, Mann invites Jonathan Coulton to join her on stage for a second encore. On “Long Shot” Mann sings, “You jumped the gun/I swore you off/You climbed back on” on this upbeat rocker which features Tressler shredding a guitar solo and Sands playing his drums with a drumstick in one hand and a maraca in the other. At the end, concertgoers stand and cheer while Mann leaps in the air holding her guitar prior to exclaiming, “Goodnight!”
As audience members make their way out of the Ocean City Music Pier auditorium, several comment on Aimee Mann’s performance this evening. Warren from Stuartsville declares, “I’ve seen Aimee several times, and she was really good tonight! I like that she played music from different eras of her catalogue and I like that she had a full band with her.” His wife, Karen, agrees, adding, “She has quite a catalog of songs and has had quite a career. She really was excellent tonight,” before acknowledging, “I find her voice very soothing.”
Warren’s son, Sean from Phillipsburg, recalls, “My dad introduced me to Aimee Mann’s music when I was a kid, and seeing her here tonight was cool! I loved her acoustic guitar playing and, also, how she’s so lyrically inspired. I also like how she really opened up playing the bass during her ‘Amateur’ encore.”
Whereas Michelle from Queens confesses, “This was different from the music I usually listen to, but I enjoyed it and I especially liked the lyrics and the acoustic folky sound,” Julia from Cape May Courthouse remarks, “I’m a real fan of Aimee’s; this is my fourth time seeing her. I’m so happy she came here to Ocean City — it’s really nice getting to see her so close to home — and she was amazing as always. She has such a good connection to her audience, and I loved that she played songs from her entire catalog.”
Kurt from Hilltown, PA calls Aimee Mann’s performance tonight “Excellent.” Explaining, “I’ve been a real fan since high school,” Kurt notes, “She’s 62 years old and has the same energy and sounds as fresh and great as she always has,” before adding, “It was fun seeing her here in Ocean City in such a cool venue.”
Corin, a professional musician from Boston, contends, “Aimee Mann is a great songwriter and a great singer. She has a singular voice, and as her songwriting has evolved, that voice has remained a constant in her music — it’s always reliable and it’s always there,” prior to concluding, “When you listen to her, you can be certain that every note is always going to be 100% Aimee Mann.”
To learn more about Aimee Mann, please go to aimeemann.com. For information on upcoming performances at Ocean City Music Pier — including The Fab Four on August 21, George Thorogood and the Destroyers on August 28 and 29, and The Wailers on August 31 — please go to ocnj.us/SummerConcertSeries.
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