Indie band played an earful of a performance
By JOHN HUSTON
Scene Music Critic
The setting: Spring Break 2000; New Orleans, La.; the week after Mardi Gras. Lots of beads, boobs and beer. So why not take a night off and see some indie rock?
Man or Astro-man? are known for their live shows, and their cover of the Mystery Science Theatre 3000 theme song is spectacular.
The first band of the evening was Causey Way. Their performance was most memorable for being boring and unoriginal. Basically they were Devo rip-offs. Man or Astro-man? are too, but they pull it off a little more effectively. It seemed like Causey Way assumed that they could put on a good show if they all dressed in matching jumpsuits, played quirky music and moved erratically in time with the music. They assumed wrong. It was preferable to spend the time during Causey Way's set at the bar trying to ignore them. Luckily they weren't playing too loudly.
Papas Fritas took the stage soon thereafter. They are on Minty Fresh Records, the label that made Veruca Salt huge. The band has lots of defining characteristics. They all wore '70s clothes and played their brand of '80s music. It was charming … for a while. Just like the `80s, it got boring pretty quickly.
The coolest thing about the band was their lead singer/guitarist's striking resemblance to David Koresh. Top that off with the fact that an Art Garfunkel lookalike played the bass (and provided back-up harmonies! Just like the REAL Garfunkel!). Their female drummer would occasionally sing lead vocals, and she definitely provided the band's shining musical moments.
Although Papas Fritas played at a volume slightly higher than Causey Way, they could not even compare to the sonic onslaught that followed.
The Man or Astro-man? stage show didn't disappoint. They claim to be outer space computer experts, who are trapped on Earth after their "cruiser" crashed in Alabama and are now trying to assimilate to life on this planet by posing as a musical group. Is that weird enough for you?
On stage they all wore costumes and spoke with robot-like voices. It was quite a refreshing change from your average band whose members usually stand still, looking down at their instruments.
But the pain, oh the pain! The only thing that could have helped Man or Astro-man? would have been earplugs for the crowd.
Other than that, they were great. Their energetic surf-influenced rock sound got the crowd moving and their wacky stage personas were complimentary to the overall mood of the show. They oscillated between standard guitars and basses to playing computer keyboards slung around their necks that were linked up to amplifiers to produce spacey, Casio-like sounds.
At one point, between songs, they revealed a large aquarium at the back of the stage that contained a large brain that they said helped them relate to the earthlings. How nice of them!
After wading through the opening bands and suffering sufficient hearing loss, they didn't even have the courtesy to play the MST3K theme. Oh well, it was enjoyable, if not a little painful. As they say, it hurt so good.
The Man or Astro-man? live show is worth the price of admission — this particular show cost $8. Spare yourself the post-show deafness, though, and drop an extra fifty cents on a pair of earplugs first. You'll be glad you did.
All Scene Stories for Tuesday, March 28, 2000
