Oh my Giddy Aunt Fanny! How ace was last night?
Last night, I went to see MEN. MEN are a band.
An autumn cold virus has taken over my lungs and brain. I can barely talk or think, but my heart is fizzling with delight. Oh, and I think I'm swooning for Michael O'Neill, one of the two guitarists in the band called MEN. No, I'm not star struck; he just had a lovely table side manner. More about the table later!
The night started with Amongst the Pigeons. Amongst the Pigeons has a fetish for the birds he surrounds himself with. He stands, amidst the clay replicas and human imitators, wearing feline furry ears and wooing his audience with samples, loops and squidgy treats. Amongst the Pigeons is a local cat. My third sighting was the best yet. He seemed a little tense and more focused. Relatively new to the live scene, this could be the way forward for our furry friend. As he registered a wolf whistle offering support from the back of the room, Amongst the Pigeons looked surprised and bemused. I hope he gets nervous and self conscious more often. It brings out the best in him.
Then came MEN! Of course, I expected great things. After The Freebutt gig in January, I had little doubt that a treat was in store, and perhaps a few tricks. This was no experimental foray into live music land. This was almost guaranteed to be awesome.
MEN are a self declared art band. I am of the belief that they generate a sense of community wherever they go, combining collaboration with DIY in the most enviable way.
More bands should have matching backdrops and overalls painted by pals or even by Celeste Dupuy-Spencer. JD Samson, front woman magnific, wore a bum on her front. Once Celeste painted MEN playing live, now her paintings are part of the performance itself. Seemingly, MEN is made up of a gang of the chosen picked up along the way.
Back in January, I said "Sometimes being in the right place at the right time makes you cool. Make the most of it, because it only lasts as long as that moment. On 16th January 2010, I was cool for as long as there were Men on stage... We bop, we grin and then all week we imagine that we're part of the scene that Men made." Last night, I was cool and then some! Just for a moment.
Sat near the stage, we watched our table of choice transform into the MEN merch stall. By our position, we became part of the scene that I imagined last January. I have to say, we had a ball. As MEN headed for the stage, Michael instructed us not to let anyone steal stuff. I declared I would use my kicking skills. I would have been happy to, but people wanted to give us money! My impressive high kick was left unseen.
My funny old fingers rummaged through boxes and bags, finding appropriately sized t-shirts, badges, 7 inch singles and demo CDs. Many of these went on to be signed. Smiling face after smiling face came to us. They came to find a memento and we aimed to please.
We, the impromptu merch volunteers, were ACE. MEN were an amazing success and everybody wanted a piece. In the middle of the superb song Credit Card Babie$, I had to interrupt my boogie on the bench to find a large "I am a Fe-MEN-ist" T-shirt. I am pleased to say, it was being worn by a very happy chap before Credit Card Babie$ found its end note.
It wasn't just him. I'd like to think we were all happy. My only complaint is that people didn't bounce enough. Where was The Freebutt style bouncing? Brighton needs more bounce. Not to worry, we - on the bench - were imitating JD Samson's dance moves and moving our butts to the beat. We had it covered.
Back in January, I felt MEN had enough material for an album. It must come soon. It has a title and I've even found a track by track review. 'Talk About Body' is coming soon. Get ready for it!
Fabpants Recommends:
The new MEN 7 inch single.
Download MP3: Men - Off Our Backs (courtesy of audiodrums.com)
And two songs MEN have on their MySpace playlist.
I can't believe I haven't posted this track before. It was a 2007 favourite. What am I like?
Download MP3: BARR - The Song Is the Single (courtesy of reifiedrecords.com)
I am ashamed to say, I hadn't heard this before and it is ace.
Download MP3: Ponytail – Beg Waves (courtesy of einsteinmusicjournal.co.nz)
1 comment:
What larks! I love my fe-MEN-ist tshirt and am still a little starstruck. I can't believe we wound up running their merch stall but have the record of purchases in my phone as a reminder :) BTW, I have whizzed some golden nuggets to your bank account for the time-share tshirt. I wonder if the pigeons chap might possibly do a small birthday set...
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