Man Man are fucking awesome, and they proved it again on Friday evening, headlining their first show at the Bowery. The show was sold out; it was one of those nights were it feels packed, especially if you wanted to be anywhere near the stage. Why was it so crowded in the front half of the room? 'Cause folks came to dance, and dance they did. Man Man opened up with a new track which was super fast, and even though no one knew it, everyone started to get their groove on immediately.

Catching a Man Man show is like sprinting for an hour: the band doesn't stop for a breath, doesn't stop for onstage banter, maybe pauses for a few seconds to occasionally tune or change instruments. For the most part they just keep stomping, banging, grunting and jamming song through song. They played a great deal of new material, going back and forth with tracks from last years excellent Six Demon Bag. I'd not heard any of the new tracks before, and several struck as me as really catchy during my one listen, which doesn't happen that often when I hear new tracks live. Honus Honus and Pow Pow are both extremely energetic and charismatic, causing many of the females packing the front to flip their shit. My favorite moments: the band threw out a bunch of monopoly money, every single bill having been altered by the band; seeing the wave of folks getting down at the start of so many songs; hearing several hundred people sing along to the occasional song; listening to the crowd demand that the band come back on stage for not one but two encores; lastly, hearing Man Man finish with a cover of Rage Against the Machine's Bulls On Parade of all things. I've seen Man Man several times, and each time they've been excellent. This, however, is my favorite Man Man show for a simple reason: it's the first time I've seen them play to a crowd they deserve. On Friday, Man Man's intense showmanship was met with equal intensity and fervor from a rabid crowd. Man Man have finally started to hit critical mass, I think.

Now for some fun gossip: Man Man have their next record entirely written and ready to record, they're currently fielding offers from multiple labels. Among the many folks at the show were Spike Jonze and MIA, who were canoodling in the downstairs bar until closing time. They were there because Philly's own Diplo is reportedly interested in producing the next Man Man record. Also, Man Man were just named band of the year by Philadelphia Weekly.

Labels: Concert Reviews, Man Man