After an extended stay in the lobby, discussing the finer points of photo passes with the security guard, I sat down with my friends Michael and Shauna. They told me and my girlfriend that they would be staying seated for the Man Man show, but that they may move closer to see Cursive later in the evening. My intentions were just the opposite. It’s hard to tell if the tour was in support of Rabbit Habits because the record was released in April of last year. Yet it was a very impressive record – so impressive that I almost put it on my top ten albums of 2008. Cursive or no Cursive, I couldn’t wait to see Man Man as closely as possible.

I made my way to the front of the concert, slipping my lanky frame through the crowd to find a good vantage point from which to capture as much of the show as I could. I found myself surrounded by Man Man fans, painted in a fashion reminiscent of something between the MGMT videos and the grown-up lost boys from “Hook”. Either these are simply very organized, yet rowdy, Atlanta late teen fans, or this is the equivalent of some sort of unspoken fraternity in the tradition of groups like The Grateful Dead, Phish, and then later bands like Insane Clown Posse and Peelander Z. Either way it was clear from the chatter surrounding me that though Man Man wasn’t billed on top, they were inspiring and exciting more people than your average second- tier band.

Describing the music is difficult, because anything written can be taken to mean the opposite of what the band genuinely sounds like. The psychedelic cartoonish-ness of their music has a physical manifestation in a tradition that could equally impress Frank Zappa Iggy pop and Chuck Berry. The show was complete with costume changes, rubber snakes, and Elton John style piano jumps. There were prompted key jingling accompaniments from the audience, and the band even revealed that they themselves were painted in the style of my younger peers. This has to be one of the hardest working bands on the road to date.

The measure of a successful concert by most critics’ standards tends to depend on two criteria: How accurately did the band play their recorded material? How well did they entertain? Unless the rules changed while I wasn’t looking, Man Man has succeeded wildly. A note to headliners: When half the crowd leaves after your second opener, it’s time to find another tour mate.