Muse Reviews

Man Man

Support: The Former Soviet Republic and Cheveu

Whelan's, 12 May 2008

By Kate Rothwell

Yet another eclectic line-up from the Foggy Notions crew was on-show in Whelan's last Sunday (12 May). First up were French electropunk act Cheveu, whose singer screamed and spoke in an affected English accent over a raucous but danceable guitar and synth sound, yet coaxed the confused crowd forward with his French persona. 'Unemployment Blues' was one part blues and three parts beats, whilst the highlight of their set had to be the short and somewhat filthy 'Dog'. More memorable than the sleazy guitar are the unforgettable lyrics "You're my doggy dog, love you as I come... I'll take you to my mom's". It's either a song about man's best friend or else something was lost in translation.

Variety was the spice of the night, and in a complete change of style the following support was one man indie act The Former Soviet Republic. He had a sizeable crowd of enthusiastic followers, but unfortunately a couple of technical hiccups in the looping process caused enough of a delay for the rest of the audience to lose interest. The slotting in of a downbeat singer-songwriter between two such boisterous bands may also not have helped the general attention span; had TFSR played the opening slot then he might have been given a better chance to prove himself.

Then again, maybe not. The crowd was there for the audio-visual experience that is Man Man, who having set up their veritable orchestra of instrumentation on what now seemed to be an even smaller stage, made an appearance. Clad, as ever, like misfit tennis players with white outfits, war-paint and a selection of baseball caps; the Philadelphia five brought their mix of cacophony, melody and plain old noise to Whelan's for their only Irish show on an extensive tour. As is the Man Man custom, they played an hour long set straight through, all the while looking as if they were enjoying the energetic performance as much as their audience was.

The band have often been likened to Tom Waits, and with the growling vocals of lead singer Honus Honus in the bluesy 'Big Trouble' it is easy to see where these comparisons come from, although to dismiss them as a spin-off would be a discredit to their genuinely individual efforts. 'Mister Jung Stuffed' and 'Top Drawer', both tracks from their most recent album, 'Rabbit Habits', are examples of Man Man's very own, eccentric style.

All five members are multi-instrumentalists and use their talents to create a rich musical texture, as well as piano and regular rock instruments there is quite a bit of brass and a variety of percussive instruments thrown into the mix.

This may look a little Arcade Fire-reminiscent and produces a sound that is often lazily labelled as 'experimental' but can be appreciated in its own right when seen in a live setting. So here's hoping that having achieved European domination, Man Man might some day return to treat a few more Irish eyes and ears to what is the best musical circus in town.