{"id":29522,"date":"2019-10-03T14:56:37","date_gmt":"2019-10-03T18:56:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/?p=29522"},"modified":"2019-10-03T20:17:59","modified_gmt":"2019-10-04T00:17:59","slug":"live-review-man-man-brooklyn-bowl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/live-review-man-man-brooklyn-bowl\/","title":{"rendered":"LIVE REVIEW: Man Man @ Brooklyn Bowl"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.manmanband.com\/\">Man Man<\/a>\u2019s tech rider must read like a sideshow\u2019s inventory.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">6 sparkly purple capes<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">5 bouquets of paper roses<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2 black boxing gloves<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">4 sets of keys<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1 human skeleton (authenticity optional)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2 white fur coats<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1 taxidermied deer head<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">24 jumbo feathers, red<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An assortment of hats<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1 signing plastic owl<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That all or any of this could be incorporated into a performance without making it stink of student theater would be a minor miracle. Fortunately, Honus Honus and his band of merry pranksters are miracle men. It\u2019s been four years since Man Man played New York, and six since they released an album, 2013\u2019s <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On Oni Pond<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. In the meantime, it seems they\u2019ve done nothing but rehearse, write new music (they released the two-song single \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/album\/2MWBl83sOoVfjiRbqZFBHZ?si=lWHkjALeRhCblql69Qp5lw\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bleach<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d earlier this year), and perfect a stage show fit for a traveling circus cult.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Man Man played a generous 90-minute set at Brooklyn Bowl Tuesday night, but before the six-piece took to the stage, opening act <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/grlwood.bandcamp.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">GRLwood<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> threatened to steal the show. The rowdy two-piece from Louisville, Kentucky peddle what they call \u201cSCREAM-POP,\u201d summoning a roar with only drums, guitar, and vocals. Singer\/guitarist Reg Forester has a shriek that could shred paper, and the wit to match. Forester and percussionist Karen Ledford gave brief, droll introductions to their songs, which included \u201cI Hate My Mom,\u201d \u201cWet,\u201d \u201cBisexual,\u201d \u201cNice Guy,\u201d and \u201cI\u2019m Yer Dad.\u201d The latter two tracks were the best, addressing abusive men of different stripes (overtly machismo vs. inconspicuous predators) with incisive humor. Both songs included improvised rants about everything from pizza rolls to Facebook stalking that are sadly absent from GRLwood\u2019s 2018 LP <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/grlwood.bandcamp.com\/\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Daddy<\/span><\/i><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Aside from their infectious energy and sly quips, one of the most intriguing things about GRLwood was Forester\u2019s double life as a singer; one minute, she\u2019d be tearing her vocal chords to meat scraps, and the next, piercing the ceiling with a pristine falsetto that inched toward the whistle register. You can\u2019t help but wonder if this self-described \u201cKentucky fried queerdo\u201d has a secret history singing\u00a0 in church choirs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"I&#039;m Yer Dad\" width=\"980\" height=\"735\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vQGRJn_h9GY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Forester might\u2019ve sang like an angel, but Man Man mastermind Honus Honus commanded the audience like the messiah himself\u2014or at least a convincing impostor. Before Man Man descended onto the stage from Brooklyn Bowl\u2019s lofted greenroom, a purple-caped saxophone player led the crowd through a group exercise designed to rid us of our inhibitions and emotional baggage. Then he coaxed his bandmates down with a blow on his horn.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The rest unfurled like a trapeze act. No one stayed in the same place for very long, except for the drummer, who was burning more calories seated than most expend on the treadmill. He was also the only band member with a clear job description. The others were a dizzying collection of multi-instrumentalists; the saxophonist switched to what looked like an electric clarinet, the xylophone player put down his mallets to jump through a guitar strap, which was held out by the guitarist as he made his way to play keyboard. There were maracas, and melodicas, a double guitar, and a trumpet\u2014and those were just the recognizable instruments.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Instead of the typical banter between songs, Man Man opted for endless theatrics: shaking clusters of keys on \u201cThe Ballad of Butter Beans;\u201d wearing a mask of Shia LeBeouf; holding a fur-coated skeleton in the air before setting it out to crowd surf during \u201cLoot My Body.\u201d Honus Honus has perfected the art of ritualistic performance, sprinkling holy water on the audience, and brandishing a deer head above us like <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/9GNJfb9kb5Y?t=67\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rafiki holding Simba atop pride rock<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Lion King<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. He had us singing back up and baaing like sheep, and I can\u2019t remember a time I\u2019ve been so willing to participate.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After a brief absence, Man Man returned to the stage for a three-song encore. The sax player once again cajoled them with his instrument, simulating the lure of a snake charmer. They closed the night with an extended version of \u201cWhalebones,\u201d the final track on 2008\u2019s <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rabbit Habits<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. As the ragtime nocturne slinked along, the band left the stage one by one, while the crowd and remaining members sang the song\u2019s unanswerable coda: \u201cWho are we to love at all?\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Man Man - Whalebones\" width=\"980\" height=\"551\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kzmEe3dxT6E?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Man Man\u2019s tech rider must read like a sideshow\u2019s inventory. 6 sparkly purple capes 5 bouquets of paper roses 2 black boxing gloves 4 sets of keys 1 human skeleton (authenticity optional) 2 white fur coats 1 taxidermied deer head 24 jumbo feathers, red An assortment of hats 1 signing plastic owl That all or [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":29526,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[573,202,204],"tags":[4112,3383,9041,1456,9040],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Man-Man.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29522"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29522"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29522\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29532,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29522\/revisions\/29532"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29526"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29522"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}