Hear Here: Electric Mayhem
Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
There can be no sin without virtue, no Nightman without Dayman, and no Man Man without The Extraordinaires. This city, this universe, needs both bands.
It’s not that they’re opposites. No, no, no. They’re two sides of the same rare coin. Both make grand musical gestures, sometimes unraveling six-minute head-scratching heroic show tunes that might well have been plucked from some underfunded and overambitious Fringe show. Each band creates roles for accordions, keys and Sousa beats. Each seems driven by a playful mischief that earns scorn, praise and the occasional Muppet comparison from the peanut gallery.
Man Man are Philly’s chaotic pop warlocks. They’re endlessly hairy, in sound and body, and always stomping, banging, belting. If you slept on last year’s On Oni Pond, wake up. It’s their best record yet.
And then there’s The Extraordinaires, lesser known and generally a less common sight on local stages, but just as worthwhile. They’re clean-cut, relatively, with clean-channel guitars to match and fond of three-part harmonies and classic choruses. Far from chaotic, Jay Purdy, Matt Gibson and company like to package their pretty albums with pretty, handmade storybooks that remind you that sometimes it’s nice to hold music in your hands.
Their newest, which gets the release-show treatment on Saturday at Johnny Brenda’s, is called Dress for Nasty Weather. It’s mostly gentle, often upbeat and occasionally magnificent. The closer “Split the Difference” is a killer, an elephant march of klezmer overtones, shouts and horns. It’s epic and ambitious, with all kinds of moving parts interlocking and overstepping. OK, fine. They’re a bit chaotic.
Sat., July 12, 9 p.m., $10, with Grandchildren and Teen Men, Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 215-739-9684, johnnybrendas.com.
