Well, I suppose it's only fitting that the first post here is about The Men, since I've probably listened to more The Men studio recordings this year than any other band. Yes, I realize that they've actually been around for a few years and that, as such, I'm a bit late to the party, but what better way to make up for that than near-complete immersion in the band's discography, right? [Word to the wise - that discog link includes download links to a lot of The Men's rare / out of print stuff, so grab 'em.]
Anyway, after much careful deliberation, I've come to the conclusion that The Men are the best band in Brooklyn right now. Their last two albums, 2011's Leave Home and the more recent Open Your Heart, are nearly flawless, genre hopping primers on how to rock the fuck out in all the best ways. Over the course of these two albums, The Men manage to emulate legends as diverse as Dinosaur Jr., Pissed Jeans, the mighty Led Zep, Guided by Voices, Can, and Harvey Milk, and they even somehow manage to pull off a total Stones rip that doesn't suck. While making one's way through Leave Home and Open Your Heart the listener can't help but assume that these guys must have one helluva great record collection between them.
This was my first time seeing The Men live, due to an inexcusable screwup this summer when I missed them opening for Ty Segall despite actually having tickets to the show. And adding to the anxiety, on this night, we were risking battle with Hurricane Sandy, who was expected to touch down in the evening. Either way, a couple good buddies, Beafv and Bricer, had separately caught sets by The Men last summer, with both of them reporting that the band favors a full set of grimy, adrenalized punk, eschewing the more contemplative or krauty aspects of their catalog entirely. Fair enough. And with The Men taking the stage after 1 AM on this night, much of the crowd (myself included) needed a good kick in the ass, so the more aggro the better, as far as I'm concerned.
The band set the tone (um, like I said, AGGRO) early by opening with "Turn It Around" into "Open Your Heart," and the rest of the set continued apace, with them trying out several new songs along with some stuff I recognized ("Cube," "Night Landing," "()," and "Ex Dreams," um, I think). As expected, everything RAWKED, which is probably the way to go when you're battling the clock (it was nearly 2 AM when they were done), Mother Nature (Hurricane Sandy was fortunately not punctual), and Don Pedro's legendarily awful PA. The set was super fun - loud, sloppy, and aggressive.
So, what to expect from this band going forward? They apparently have a single coming out on Matador sometime soon (?) and according to their website they have a whole new album in the can, as well. It will be interesting to see if they eventually add some less-hyperactive numbers to their set, but even if they don't, they're more than worthwhile in the live setting. RAWK.
GRADE: A solid "B."
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