To say I was excited for this show would be a severe understatement.
Better adjectives could be thrilled, delighted, elated, jubilant, tickled… all of this to say, I couldn’t wait for Mega Mango’s return to Pittsburgh.
A little backstory here. Last fall, Mega Mango visited Pittsburgh for the first time on “The No End In Sight” tour, where they hit 14 cities including Boston, Nashville, New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and more. I was invited to the show by my boyfriend, who briefly attended school with some members of the band, and spoke very highly of them as musicians and people.
Now I have this toxic trait where I tend to not listen to bands before going to their shows, and then get sad when I get there because I don’t know any of the words. This was one of those shows where I regretted that. The flow of their lyrics, the spacey bedroom-indie feel, and overall stage presence left me wanting more from the start. I was an instant fan.
Fast-forward to this winter. I’ve been following Mega Mango for a few months now and love what they’re doing. Their new music is gaining rapid popularity, and I’m strongly considering planning a trip to Philadelphia to catch a sh—I mean—visit my family.
February comes along, and I open my phone one day to find a tour announcement! But… the closest show is in Cleveland. Sounds about right, coming from a Philadelphia based band (kidding). Slowly giving up hope and preparing myself for a Tuesday in Cleveland, Mega Mango worked out a deal behind the scenes and snuck in a Pittsburgh show right before they hit the road. Of course I bought my tickets that day.
And then, for the following month and change, I encouraged anyone and everyone from the Pittsburgh music scene to attend this concert. It was pretty fun sharing new music with so many friends, several of whom ended up becoming fans. Finally, show weekend hits, and Mega Mango arrives at my boyfriend’s house at 2am Saturday night/Sunday morning, fresh off the road from their stop in Chicago. On Sunday, before the show, I had the chance to sit down with them and ask about their experience on tour while we enjoyed some Primanti’s sandwiches (in true Pittsburgh fashion).
Q: How does it feel to be almost done with tour?
A: *wide eyes* Wow, I didn’t even realize we were almost done. It’s weird, we’ve been on the road for so long that we kinda forget what home is like. It’s going to be a big adjustment period once we get back home. On day 1 of tour, Alex told the group that he thought it would fly by. It quickly went from “wow, we’re really gonna be here for another month” to “wow, it still feels like we’re only a week in”. Now with less than 8 shows left, it’s hard to imagine what comes next.
Q: You almost didn’t come to Pittsburgh this time around! Was your stop here based on fan influence or other means?
A: Pittsburgh was a last minute add! We heard of this restaurant called *looks up at sign* “Primanti Brothers?” (pronounced wayyyy wrong) and we just had to come! In all seriousness, we were going to come anyway, it just wasn’t booked yet when the first announcement came out!
Q: What have been your favorite cities, and where were you surprised to find fans?
A: While we haven’t spent a lot of time in each city, our favorite ones were our favorites because of the people we’ve met. We thought some of the cities further away from home might have lower attendance, but we were excited to find fans across the country!
Q: What song from Fun & Games are you most proud of?
A: (Alex) Risk is one I’m always proud to show someone as an introduction to the band. It just goes hard and never got old to me! Clue is the most impressive from musician to musician. (Crow) Sorry! is probably what I am most proud of, because of the personal weight in the lyrics.
Q: How do you define “success” around a new release? When can you sit back and feel proud/content? Or, do you not really worry about “success”?
A: We look at the numbers when they make themselves hard not to. Sam likes seeing people use their music as sounds, like the rats on TikTok listening to Boggle. Crow says, “people screaming [the lyrics] at shows”.
Q: Do you have any questions you were expecting to be asked and had answers prepped for, but didn’t get asked? Think of this like you’re back in school and you studied so hard for an exam and that one concept wasn’t even on the test!
A: Actually, no! We’ve been asked some really specific questions, like “so you said in your live stream the other day…” kind of stuff. It’s been very interesting hearing the questions people have asked us.
Q: Most important: How many dogs have you encountered on tour?
A: Only a couple face to face, but we see a lot hanging out of car windows and it makes us so happy!
The concert itself on Sunday lived up to every bit of expectation I had. Energetic and fun, while also soft and chill when it needed to be. The two openers, Tory Silver and Anti-Corn League, are local to Pittsburgh and I can’t wait to check them out again.
“Sheets,” Mega Mango’s latest single, was released via Elton Audio Records on May 2nd, 2023 and is available for streaming wherever you listen to music.
Live from the Pitt 