Concert Review: Man Man, Bowery Ballroom 4/11/08

Don't worry, be happy. Not the message you'd think you'd take away from a Man Man show but I couldn't help hum the feel good tune as I wearily trudged out the doors and onto Delancey Street. Thankfully, the message was delivered by Bobby McFerrin and not Man Man. While the band was setting up their playground (metaphoric playground, you never know with these guys) on the stage of the Bowery, "Don't Worry, Be Happy" was piped through the speakers. And then again. And around the third play through it was abundantly clear that the band had chosen to aurally waterboard the audience for their own sick pleasure. They laughed at the audience's reaction while I tried to keep conversation going to avoid a McFerrin fixation. It was pretty amusing to hear everyone cheer as the song would fade out and cheer louder when it played again. It seems they've been doing this every night.

But then, donned in white, Pow Pow, Honus Honus, Sergei Sogay, Critter Crat and Chang Wang scurried to their positions (Honus and Pow Pow face to face in front of the rest of the band) and started the incessant percussion of "Mister Jung Stuffed," the debut track from Rabbit Habits. This was an exceptionally energetic show: for a band that hit the stage at 11:30, it took them less than a minute to have the floor of the Bowery shakin' and things didn't really tone down significantly until set closer, "Gold Teeth." After opening with a trio of songs from their newly released album, they segued into the rollicking, scream-a-long intro to old school favourite, "Zebra" Both the band and the audience seemed invested in the new songs. I'm sure I'm not the only fan fan who saw the band play every single track from Six Demon Bag in the last few years. Still, when the band launched in "Banana Ghost" the kids seem to push a little harder to move around.

In interviews the band frequently points out that their live incarnation is a totally different beast from their records thus, it was interesting to see how the new tunes played out. "Big Trouble" with it's herky jerk horn line sounded beefy and full while "The Ballad of Butter Bean" wound up being a total barn burner with Honus hopping around the small portion of the stage that didn't contain a coo-ing, screeching member of the band. Album standout "Top Drawer" got the crowd moving but once again the Six Demon Bag numbers certainly took the energy up that extra notch: there were actually crowd surfers during "Black Mission Goggles."

They closed the set with Man in the Blue Turban highlight "Gold Teeth" which the crowd didn't seem familiar with and it sounded just as beautifully confusing as it does on record. When Honus returned to the stage for the encore he plopped down and belted out a spine-tingling version of "Doo Right" which provided the audience the chance to sing along (a mere two days after the "official release") which culminated in one huge incredible scream midway during the song. At that point, Man Man gave the audience exactly what they wanted: fan favourite/manifesto "Push the Eagle's Stomach" followed by "English Bwadd" and "Young Einstein on the Beach."

It is no secret that Man Man are far and away one of the best live bands in America. I've seen hundreds of shows in over a decade and I rarely feel as thrilled or as special as I do when watching Man Man. Besides making beautiful, dissonant noise and putting on a full on spectacle, they are truly one of the few unique bands coming out of the American underground. They are primal without being shallow, experimental without being exclusionary. Man Man is the best band in America right now so run down to the store (or hit up the torrents) and start forming your own Rabbit Habits.