Man Man at Webster Hall 10/2/07

Viewer: Ninja Courtney Myers

Tonight I prepare myself for a band someone on Wikipedia describes as “playfully existential.” I prepare with my best friend and a bottle of red wine. Our tickets say eight p.m. but we arrive at the venue at eight thirty knowing that no self-respecting band would actually start at show time. This is New York after all; the city that founded fashionably late entrances. We stroll up to the door only be to told by the doormen that Man Man isn’t going on until 10:30 p.m., leaving us ample time for a pitcher of beer at the nearby Pour House.
Four Kona Golds and a joint of haze at our favorite friend turned high school chemistry teacher’s apartment- later, we walk back to Webster Hall. Located in the East Village, Webster Hall is an antique venue of black and white slate, broken mirrors, and porcelain fixtures. With dark red carpets and fake candles lighting the stairway, it may as well be a spooky fun house for kids on Halloween.





After the opening band, which we didn’t see or hear, a cracked out comedian entered stage left. Right before he was booed off the stage, he yelled at one of the lingering musicians, “I will promise to go on a diet if you will promise to get off the stage!” A skinny Trey look a like roadie looked up from the cables he was unplugging or untangling and gazed at him for a moment then returned to testing out the equipment for twenty minutes. The crowd dipped in energy until Lou Reed’s “Here it Comes” poured out of the speakers.
After the CD skipped a few times, the lights dimmed. Enter Man Man. Five guys named Honus Honus (Ryan Kattner), Pow Pow (Christopher Powell), Alejandro “Cougar” Borg (Russell Higbee), Sergei Sogay (Chris Sharr), Chang Wang and Chesnut. The drums and keyboard faced each other with the other three members behind playing guitars, flutes, and various other percussion instruments. The five guys who make up Man Man are all independently talented artists who each bring their own flavor and style to the table.
Honus Honus banged away at his piano honky tonk style yelling at the top of lungs with a voice very similar to the vocals of their friends of Modest Mouse. Meanwhile the rest of the band rotated through an eclectic menu of different instruments—some looked homemade while others were variations of non-traditional guitars. Russell has a quiet yet dominating presence. You can tell while he doesn’t need the limelight, it definitely finds him. Every other song I saw him playing a different instrument. Russell’s girlfriend, from Brooklyn, watched over the screaming fans from her side stage perch.
Each member’s own idiosyncrasies come through in their stage costumes. For example, not only do they all dress up in funky space suity shirts, polka dots, flannel and face paint, Pow Pow even decorated his drum set with a chocolate Easter bunny. During the set Chris busted out a flute as naturally as a business man pulls out his blackberry. Man Man’s cacophony performance blended a bleeding heart saxophone player, a screaming vocalist, a rip roaring drum set, and a keyboard buffet. Their musical feast climaxed with, Man Man’s lyrics, “this ship will sail and this heart will die…nothing is everything you’ll seem to hide.” They all have these completely independent ways of thinking and their collaboration masterful.
Man Man’s eclectic style mirrored their crowd which was composed of all sorts of folk ranging from library nerds to Jersey lax wearing dudes from west Essex. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, especially the huge fat shirtless hairy guy in pink booty shorts. Moving through the crowd was easy with no six foot tall frat boys blocking the way. Everyone seemed very relaxed and very grateful to be there.

Webster Hall’s colorful history began in 1886. The East Village concert hall hosted benefit costume balls where beautiful bohemians would flock and dance into the early morning. It then became a speakeasy during the frustrating times of prohibition and has since been remodeled several times into its present day form as a night club and popular music venue.
My main concern was about the dance floor because it was much more like a trampoline than an actual hardwood surface. As the crowd jumped up and down the floor’s flexibility made me nervous. I felt like the floor was going to collapse. I was not alone in this fear.
Other noteworthy acts that have played here are The Hives, Sonic Youth, The Bravery, Spoon, John Butler Trio, Explosions in the Sky, The Flaming Lips, Dispatch, and Infected Mushroom. Webster Hall designated the upstairs as the VIP area, which we were not allowed access to, even after I told them that I had ninja skills. The only other downside to the venue? The five dollar bottle of water from the bar.
Man Man has two albums under their belt. They are all in their 30s and have a promising future in the indie rock music biz. Their 2004 release, “The Man in a Blue Turban with a Face,” featured the Nike commercial single “10 lb Mustache.” Their 2006 release, “Six Demon Bag,” supposedly about Honus’s ex-girlfriend cheating on him with his best friend and getting pregnant and then discovering he is not the father. Honus now has a new girlfriend who lives in Brooklyn.
Both albums have both been successful, but it is their lives shows which have brought Man Man particular notoriety. And not just for their outrageously spirited performances but also because they never take a moment’s rest. Their entire show is unbroken, without set breaks, and is one intense party.
Next up for Man Man? Supposedly they have a cover of the theme song for Weed’s Tiny Little Boxes coming out this season…