The first time Andrew McMahon leaped into a giant inflatable duck on Sunday night at Toad’s Place in New Haven, Conn., he was eight songs into his set. By the second time, three songs into the encore, the novelty hadn’t quite worn off and the crowd’s enthusiasm had only grown. McMahon excels at interacting with his audience, and crowd-surfing on the back of an oversized aquatic creature represents just one example of his onstage charm.

McMahon is touring in support of his most recent album, “Zombies on Broadway,” released in February. The Zombies in America tour features openers Night Riots (best known for “Contagious”) and Atlas Genius (“Trojans”). While the crowd filled out considerably before McMahon’s set, both openers garnered deserved attention, particularly during songs like “Molecules” (Atlas Genius) and “Breaking Free” (Night Riots) that have recently received alt radio play.

The crowd, with members ranging from teenagers to adults around McMahon’s age, included fans from all eras of McMahon’s career. McMahon’s set included songs from across his catalog. “I Woke Up In A Car” was the sole representative from “Something Corporate,” a pop punk outfit that formed in 1998 when McMahon was just 16. I was pleasantly surprised to hear a full three tracks from 2005’s “Everything in Transit,”

McMahon’s first album under the “Jack’s Mannequin” moniker.

Strong piano lines are a constant in McMahon’s music, and he is a master of having high energy despite being frequently tethered to an instrument. He uses two microphones to face the crowd from multiple angles, and more than once made the instrument a jumping platform. More synth-heavy songs like “Don’t Speak for Me (True)” and “Island Radio” brought McMahon away from the piano, and often to the edge of the crowd.

It’s also impossible to write about an Andrew McMahon show without mentioning the Dear Jack Foundation (DJF). McMahon founded the DJF after his 2005 fight with leukemia to support adolescents and young adults diagnosed with cancer. Before the show, DJF representatives brought clipboards through the crowd to register individuals for the National Marrow Donor Program. After Atlas Genius’s set, they sold raffle tickets for a signed drumhead.

McMahon seamlessly incorporates the mission of the DJF into his show, both by touring with representatives from the foundation and with a speech during his set. He also brought Tiffany Negreiro, who tours with the DJF, onstage to play the lengthy harmonica solo in “La La Lie” (twice). Negreiro is married to Joe Ballaro, who has toured with McMahon in varying roles throughout his career and played guitar with the band during the encore.

The encore included four songs, two of which McMahon advertised as long songs before quickly quipping that none were that long, lest anyone start getting ideas about “Konstantine,” the infamous near ten-minute-long “Something Corporate” track. The show, full of bright video backdrops that depicted the sky almost as much as McMahon’s lyrics do, came to a colorful end with bursts from two confetti cannons. Although a lot has changed for McMahon since he wrote songs like “I Woke Up In A Car,” infused with innocent optimism and a desire to tour forever, his show was infectiously joyful and impeccably executed.

Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness will play The Fillmore in Silver Spring, Md. on Friday, April 14.

Set List:

Fire Escape

Canyon Moon

Walking in My Sleep

High Dive

Dead Man’s Dollar

Island Radio

Dark Blue (Jack’s Mannequin cover)

Don’t Speak for Me (True)

Halls

Mixed Tape (Jack’s Mannequin cover)

Shot Out of a Cannon

Maps for the Getaway

Walking on a Dream (Empire of the Sun cover)

Swim (Jack’s Mannequin cover)

So Close

I Woke Up In A Car (Something Corporate cover)

Synesthesia

Encore:
Birthday Song

Holiday From Real (Jack’s Mannequin cover)

La La Lie (Jack’s Mannequin cover)

Cecelia and the Satellite