Heading into the Roxy I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but from talking to some of the giddy people in the crowd before the show I had a feeling it was going to be one hell of a night. Man Man put on a frantic and fun show. With instruments ranging from a melodica to a saxophone, high end screaming and wailing, and gadgets, the all male band incited the entire crowd to jump up and down, and sing along. A crowd favorite was “Engwish Bwood,” a song which puts a rock and roll spin on the classic Jack and the Beanstock fable.
It’s difficult to describe Man Man – when Gregor and I asked Chris Sharr or Sergie Sogay” (their stage names are Honus Honus, Blanco, Pow Pow, Alejandro Cougar Bjorg and Chang Wang) to describe their sound, he could not. Nor can we. Yet we can describe their awesome show. Each member of Man Man dresses in an entirely white costume, and appears in this uniform every show. They do not speak between songs, and sweat profusely.
Even though Man Man never really took a break during their set, they are extremely personal with the audience. When Chris saw our good friend Miles drumming on the edge of the stage with his hands, he invited him up to drum on the stage for a song. It is this kind of personality and character, along with upbeat drum driven songs, that makes Man Man a crazy and unpredictable act.
Their style and sound has been described as combining Tom Waits, Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart, but we would rather you go check them out yourselves. Starting April 25th Man Man will be touring with Modest Mouse, and they return to L.A on May 13th at the Greek Theatre. You should definitely keep an eye out for them.
