Man Man Live @ Southgate House, Newport KY 4/12

Last night marked my second time seeing Man Man and I did my part to spread the word by dragging about a handful of people to the show. This was also the second time I've seen the band at Newport, Kentucky's Southgate House and there's simply no other venue in the area that would be a good fit for them. Unfortunately, I didn't bring a camera. And we all know the cameras on cell phone generally blow, but I decided to take one from the balcony and posted it below. There was at least one other blogger in attendance who most likely snapped some fine pictures, so keep an eye on his blog.

The opener finally started around 9:45 or 10 and was relegated to performing on the floor-- as opposed to the stage-- for one reason or another. Once I heard them play a couple of songs, I no longer felt sorry for them in the least. They played some shoegazey instrumental brand of post-rock that just did not jive with the mood that should surround a Man Man gig. It seemed that everyone was anxiously, albeit politely, waiting for them to finish up throughout their set. The band was far too passive and I cannot even recall their name, as I do not think they even announced it-- at least in anything above a murmur.



Man Man did not disappoint. They donned their usual all white get-up and war paint and tore through a set comprised of a few new numbers from their forthcoming album (hopefully this fall??), a few from The Man In A Blue Turban With A Face, and a good portion of Six Demon Bag. The only new song I'm familiar enough with to recognize and comment on by name was "Zombies", which was making the rounds on the blogs yesterday and can be copped, along with a couple of other unreleased new tracks, here. Honus Honus and his crew brought their usual manic, swashbuckling energy despite obviously being a bit road-weary. Who wouldn't occasionally get tired performing the way these dudes do night after night? While he was chatting up someone-- presumably his lady-- on a cell phone in men's room, I overheard Honus say that he had hurt himself somehow the previous night. This might explain why the boys were marginally less crazy than usual on Thursday night.

The venue was at about 60% capacity and they drew a crowd about on par with the one for Ted Leo's most recent Southgate appearance. The enthusiastic crowd contained many that had never seen the band before and it is nice to see the band's extensive touring and positive live reviews are getting people out to the shows. We were fortunate enough to hear the amazing "Van Helsing Boombox", which the band did not play the last time I saw them and, according to the band, they reserve only for when the mood is right. Personal highlights included "Van Helsing Boombox" and the bat-shit crazy rendition of "Black Mission Goggles". If you've yet to catch these guys, you're missing out on one the best live acts in modern indie rock.

MP3: Man Man - "Van Helsing Boombox"



Also, I purchased a neat little 10" vinyl of Six Demon Bag at the show. Peep the pics below: