The band Jack’s Mannequin played for CSUN students at Saturday’s Union Program Council-sponsored Matafest 2007 at the University Student Union.

The group was the headliner, featured along with the bands Primavera, Panima, Eleven Penny Life, The Trade and Ballistic Arsenal.

Jack’s Mannequin’s performance – easily the main event – drew a sparse yet vocal crowd. About 35 people stood in front of the stage, tossing around a beach ball and singing along as the band played songs such as “Dark Blue” and “The Mixed Tape” from their 2005 album “Everything in Transit.”

About 40 to 50 other people sat on the grass watching the performance.

Lead vocalist and pianist Andrew McMahon gave a spirited performance, often jumping up from his piano bench, and urged students to illegally download the band’s music if they were unfamiliar with Jack’s Mannequin’s songs.

While some students expressed confusion and dismay over entering the conference area – most students had to walk all the way around the USU to enter by way of the G4 parking lot – the band’s performance and the atmosphere of the concert seemed to make students forget about the heat and the trouble getting into the USU.

McMahon created Jack’s Mannequin after performing first as a vocalist and pianist with Something Corporate.