Man Man bring the Party to House of Van Vans

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Man Man’s Honus Honus

Last night was another raucous party at House of Vans with Crystal Antlers, Glass Candy, and Man Man. It wasn’t quite as packed or sweaty as it has been for past shows, but it definitely still smelled like a summer party. It was also evident that it was a party full of Man Man fan fans with the tribes of people milling about with war paint on their faces.

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Damian Edwards and Andrew King of Crystal Antlers

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Singer/bassist Jonny Bell

Long Beach, CA’s Crystal Antlers were up first, with their blend of experimental psych rock with strong punk overtones. Guitarist Andrew King and percussionist Damian Edwards were great to watch, especially with Edwards’ hardcore jumping and dramatic playing style. The two played off each other a bit, with King rocking out his guitar solos, which was when he was heard best. Through most of their set the sound seemed to be mixed so the bass and organ were blown out on top of the drums, so if I had only been listening and couldn’t see them I would have thought they were a trio. King’s solos were definitely a highlight, and watching all of them play made all the difference.

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Glass Candy

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Ida No

The duo of Glass Candy was next. Ida No and Johnny Jewel formed in 1996 in Portland, OR, but are not the usual Portland band you might expect. Their music is something between electroclash freestyle and italo disco, with a dark punk feel. No is on vocals and interpretive dance moves that utilizes the entire stage, and Jewel is on synth, with some dance moves as well and stars painted on his face. No danced aerobic style and barefoot all over the stage, dragging the mic chord as far as it would go, and Jewel threw in some jumping leg-crossing moves while pumping out the beats that had the crowd in front of the stage as well as people on the outside patio dancing.

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Honus Honus

After the set was set up with dozens of balloons and Man Man’s rather elaborate set up, the band came out to screams and applause. Their music hasn’t been something that I would want to listen to all day in the past, but watching them is a whole other story. Their set up alone was outrageous – like they raided a thrift store for the most bizarre objects they could find and integrated them into their set. They had everything from what looked like lawn ornaments to a BMX to giant fingers coming out of Honus Honus’ piano with someone’s car keys hanging off of one. All the guys had their signature face paint on, matching half of the kids in the crowd. They threw out kazoos into the audience and jumped and danced and screamed along to their jubilant alternate reality saloon songs. The crowd was throwing their hands up for every song, and singer Honus Honus was encouraging everyone whilst often jumping out of his piano seat. The end of their set was met with a hand clapping ovation. That, I probably could watch all day.

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Man Man play their Philly homecoming show tonight, and then will be touring mostly on the west coast in October after hitting up Europe next month. No more dates listed for Glass Candy, btu you can keep up with news and new releases on their label co-founded by Johnny Jewel, Italians Do It Better. Crystal Antlers will be at Glasslands tomorrow night, so if you missed last night’s show, check ‘em out there.