By Danielle Frank
The set of Yeasayer’s Brooklyn Masonic Temple concert was great. They played songs the crowd was looking forward to, such as “Wait for the Summer,” “Germs” and other fan-favorites off of their CD, “All Hour Cymbals.” A screen behind them projected psychedelic images of body parts, faces, colorful swirls and other splatters of color that really added to the mood of their eclectic style. The crowd, though, made up of American Apparel models was rude and uninterested, standing in tight circles, texting on their cell phones.
Unfortunately, Yeasayer does not have enough of a stage presence to keep the audience involved. But they are a relatively new band and hopefully it’ll develop over time. Nonetheless, they performed well, and the entire venue shook with the vibrations of their intense guitar riffs.
During the intermission between Yeasayer and Man Man, the crowd was treated to 10 consecutive repetitions of Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” After each time, the volume was slightly increased, so much so that by its final playing, the hipsters had finally become interested enough to start weakly protesting.
However, the wait and ear-murdering intermission tunes proved to be well worth it when Man Man took the stage. Even those who had come to see Yeasayer and knew little about Man Man were captivated by the entire performance. Their stage presence was spectacular.
Man Man came out clad in face paint; some members in short shorts, some in feathers and incredibly enthused. They did not waste time introducing songs and just launched into an energetic, engaging performance.
Knowing the songs was not necessary for enjoying them, either. “Black Mission Goggles,” a more recognizable song of theirs, was performed to perfection and easily the most engaging of their entire set. Pretending there was no one on stage during Yeasayer’s set, the audience was dancing and jumping around. Their music could be described as unique, diverse and similar to Gogol Bordello, except with bigger indie leanings.
Frontman Honus Honus was all over the stage, jumping, blowing kazoos, shaking keys and changing costumes. His energy was incredible, and held the crowd in a trance.
Much of their set came from the newly released, “Rabbit Habits,” from which came much of their set, and their previous CD, “Six Demon Bag.” It was truly a show to remember.