Man Man: Ridding the World of Fascism
If you have never heard of Man Man you are certainly no friend of mine. It may also mean you are not from Philadelphia, like bad music, are a fascist, or hate fun. There seems to be two extremes when it comes to Man Man’s music. You either love it until it becomes a creepy obsession, possibly involving a shrine in your closet or you hate it and it gives you nightmares. If you are the latter, you are most likely a fascist.
The music of Man Man is unlike anything out there today and is saturated with creativity, imagery, talent, feathers and amazing musicality. The songs range from catchy and dancey to aggressively tragic. The eclectic sound of all three albums, The Man in the Blue Turban With a Face, Six Demon Bag, and Rabbit Habits, never gets stale and isn’t overdone.
The songs are a perfect mixture of drums, piano, saxophone, synthesizer, sousaphone, flute, xylophone, plastic toy horns, wind toys, spoons on metal and the unforgettable, raspy, vocal stylings of Honus Honus (Ryan Kattner). Regardless of the fact that none of the members of Man Man have formal training in any of the many instruments they play, each song resembles a well choreographed, well rehearsed, perfected ballet. It is not by chance that the sousaphone and the plastic toy horns play harmoniously while the piano and vocals seem to be battling. Both the musicality and the performance aspect of their shows reflect organized chaos. Chaotic and yet consistently awesome!
Seeing them live is like having the best sex you’ve ever had. They even skip the ceremonious foreplay and jump right into an hour long climax, no boring small talk, no lame little jokes, no breaking the ice etc… Their set never stops so as not to break the momentum. In the end both you and them are sweaty, exhausted and satisfied. For those of you who enjoy the foreplay and slow, tender, love making, try Jason Mraz.
Man Man would not be the world-improving force that it is today without the flawless drumming of Pow Pow (Christopher Powell) and the scratchy, Brillo pad vocals of Honus Honus. They set up their instruments so that the drums and Honus’ piano and microphone are side by side and downstage center. This provides the audience with a real show. Honus and Pow often gaze at each other for cues and have certain choreographed movements that go with the particular song they are playing. Your eyes never get bored watching while Honus perches on his stool, in a glitter dress and flaunts his legs, meanwhile Pow Pow pours water on his drums to make a splashing effect when he plays.
After one Man Man show your fascist tendencies will melt away and the liberty loving you, will shine through. They call me boy crazy but I can seriously never get enough Man Man. If you like a great show, flawless music, America, fun and freedom, than go see Man Man the next time you get a chance.