Man Man ManManMan

Donte's blurb for Man Man is "warpaint!"; our motto for the fun-time Philly circus band is "everybody hits something!" Regardless, the "Viking-vaudeville punk-wop rock-and-soul collective" consistently puts on a great live show. Last night at Neumo's, even their sound check was awesome, and that was way before they donned the all-white outfits and face paint. In fact, the over-the-top performance is so central to Man Man's appeal that we don't even bother to listen to them in recorded form. For us, it's all about the charms of the live act: the aluminum buckets and slide whistles, the melodica and marimba, the crazy-eyed drummer, the mulleted singer/keyboardist occasionally playing the Rhoades with his butt.... It's the simple things, really, that make us smile.

Meanwhile, the kids love their Man Man. Seriously, the all-ages section on the floor at Neumo's was downright unruly, with dancing and thrashing, handclaps and fists in the air, calls and responses. The band kept the energy up with their nonstop gypsy waltzes and pirate shanties, playing horns, toys, spoons, and bowls of water. With Tom Waits vocals, group man-chants, and animal noises, sometimes they are cats and sometimes they are dogs, but Man Man is always one of the most entertaining acts touring today.

Photo care of everybody loves iamdonte, from the depths of hell, our Flickr pool.