Holy canoli. Man Man waged aural warfare on all of my dudes and totally claimed outright victory. As peaceful as I am, personally, I can’t help but think that Man Man are locked in a titanic struggle between themselves, and terrible music. By creating a sensory explosion, they manage to melt faces, kick ass, take names, and be better than 98% of the bands I see live on a weekly basis. From the second they stepped on stage to meticulously, yet hastily arrange their battle stations, you got a sense that you were about to witness a one in a million spectacle. The front lines were drawn out, and entrenched… Lead vocalist “Honus Honus” and Percussionist Maestro “Pow Pow” aligning their war machines (keyboard and drums) in a head to head, antlers locked duel, perpendicular to the crowd… and behind them a variety of drums, guitars, and saxaphones lay strewn about the place, ominously. After a quick head back to the locker rooms, the quintet took to the field, ready to do sonic battle against a packed crowd. What ensued was a 90 minute aur-gasm of sound that, all at once in chaotic yet blissful unison, evoked 4 year old kids hopped up on dew, Miles Davis, Tom Waits, Satan, Carnivals, Balkan Orchestras (a la beirut), and a New Orleans funeral procession band on Acid. Sound, beautiful sound, energy, primal screams, rebel yells, and frenzied acrobatics exploded, expanded, then rebounded, contracting moments later into a blissful symphony of harmony and melody. Perhaps Man Man’s greatest asset is their Ears… Whereas most bands seem to let one musician dictate terms, and set the pace, these guys all perfectly adapted their style of play to each other, making sure each instrument in their musical armada had its mighty voice heard… From a wet finger dragged over the skin of a bongo, to the sublime xylophone work, every minute sound mattered, had its place, and fit in like some epic jigsaw puzzle. Each song had the crowd pounding and pulsating with a raw energy, and every song seemed like an encore… Each Yelp into a mic, each frantic rip on a string was met with an enraptured, deafening applause. From bar brawler to schizophrenic noise burst, each song fit, and each song was an advance into musical territory uncharted, and conquered with a flair befitting of musical titans. Their set seemed to grow in energy despite the colossal amounts of soul they poured into the set… So it came as a shock when they announced that they only had more in store for us… Which they executed blissfully. When they stumbled off stage, you couldn’t hear yourself think… The place shook with a massive tremor of applause, and to the delight of all they returned, triumphantly for a 2 song encore, which despite being short, was still better than some entire performances I’ve witnessed. This 2nd wind was met with an even larger, more vocal applause, to which was gloriously met with a 2nd encore, much to the delight of all witnesses… After their 2nd encore, a fittingly, and masterfully executed “Van Helsing Boombox,” the visibly rocked to the core Man Man said some very humble words of thanks, and left us to our own devices in the warm Hollywood Night. To say that this was the show of the year is as vast of an understatement as the vastness of their talents. Man Man is officially the best ever live act, and a live act you should see before you die. My only gripe? Only one L.A. night. WE NEED YOU, MAN MAN.
Epic.
