A lizard hanging out on a rock. Can you get down with the vibe?
If you answered no, or if you’re just outright puzzled by the question, chances are you aren’t down with Man Man.
Man Man is one of those bands that lives on the fringes of indie rock and they are a bit difficult to describe. Man Man has been called experimental, art rock, genre-blenders, dramatists … there’s a long list of descriptors for this often times indescribable band. If I were to describe the group’s show at Neumos last week, I would use one word: fun.
The band’s frontman Honus Honus (real name Ryan Kattner) is a figure whose persona fits in alongside the likes of Wayne Coyne, Tim De Laughter or Gene Ween. He is a bit of an eccentric fella, or at least his music and constantly grinning stage presence makes it appear that way. That type of presence alone typically makes for a chaotic and frenzied show, but surprisingly the show was rather calmly paced and had zero hiccups. Honus was a man of few words on stage aside from a few jabs at conservative political figures, and instead of bellowing out stage banter he allowed his music to do the talking for him.
And as for the music, the three-piece configuration of Man Man that performed Wednesday delivered a spunky and spirited 75-minute set. The band’s songs are filled with unconventional instruments such as melodicas, marimbas, finger cymbals and other unlikely noise-makers for a rock band. All those instruments and more were used throughout the set, which heavily featured songs from the band’s 2024 Sub Pop release “Carrot On Strings.”
Highlights included the surprising set opener “Feathers,” a deep cut from the band’s 2006 album “Six Demon Bag,” the loud and bouncy “Top Drawer” and the playful and positive “Hold On (Hold On To Your Heart)” off 2008’s “On Oni Pond.” The songs were all accompanied by a surprisingly great light show for a club set. So props to whoever was manning the lighting setup for Man Man.
The songs from “Carrot on Strings” meshed very well with Man Man’s older material. Of course it helps when your music is sometimes described as indescribable (see above), making it all that easier for new songs to live freely alongside legacy material. The meandering and pulsing “Iguana,” the song featuring the aforementioned lizard hanging out on a rock, came midway through the set and it was followed by the humorus “Cryptoad” with the memorable chorus of “Take me home this party sucks.” But if you couldn’t tell dear readers by how smitten I was with the show, the Man Man party at Neumos did not suck.
By the time “Odyssey,” the closing track on “Carrot On Strings,” hit the set list the crowd was in full-on dance mode (which is a rare occurrence at rock shows in Seattle btw) and the band was locked in. They played what felt like an extended instrumental breakdown that culminated with a swirling of guitars, synths and drums. For my money, it’s one of the songs that best defines Man Man and that’s because it’s exactly what Man Man is, and rock ‘n’ roll should be: fun.
Photo by Ebru Yildiz courtesy Sub Pop Records
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