Andrew McMahon (photo: Estefany Gonzalez)

Selling out a show at The Fillmore is no easy task, especially after playing a concert in Berkeley the night before. Yet, Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness played for a full house of music lovers during the San Francisco stop of the Zombies in America Tour.

“You did it San Francisco,” Andrew McMahon told the crowd before crowd surfing on a giant inflatable pegasus. “Double hitters are hard. Thank you for making a Sunday feel like a Friday.”

This was one of the many moments McMahon left the stage to join the crowd and be a part of the giant dance party the band created at the legendary venue. McMahon’s performance was interactive and engaging. From riding on a giant rubber duck, singing several songs along the stage barricade and later upgrading to the formerly mentioned pegasus for a second round of crowd surfing on an inflatable animal, its moments like these that true invited the audience to be a part of the show.

While McMahon’s played The Fillmore with former musical projects, the concert hall holds a special place in the singer-songwriter’s life. “This room played a serious role on why I play music,” he said during a small break in the set he used to share a story of his first visit to the venue. He even pointed to the very spot he stood to watch a band during his teens and recalled it as the moment he decided to start making music.

Despite the success of his current band, McMahon hasn’t forgotten about his previous groups and honored them by playing Jack’s Mannequin’s “Dark Blue” and “Something Corporate’s “I Woke Up In A Car.”

Though the audience sang along to songs off the new Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness album Zombies On Broadway such as “Island Radio” and “Shot Out Of A Cannon,” older ones were a hit too.  “Synesthesia,” a song which McMahon invited the crowd to “dance with a stranger” next to them, saw McMahon dancing amongst fans under a parachute. “High Drive,” a catchy tune from the band’s 2014 album also had the audience bouncing to the beat.

At end of the night, fans cheered loudly enough to demand an encore. Despite two consecutive shows in the Bay, fans looked ready for a third.