I feel that just saying “Man Man has a great live show” does a disservice to the band. To me, that label often means that their album work is so-so at best. There are tons of bands that are great live (Gogol Bordello, Peelander-Z) that have a monotonous snoozefest for half of their records. But the reason I think Man Man can consistently keep such a large audience is because they keep churning out great records. This is the first full set I’ve seen them put on since Life Fantastic came out. And man does that record give them some great material to work with in their live show.

For a band with such a great live show (oops, I promised I wouldn’t say it!), Man Man’s performance is really all about the little things. It might seem strange to say about a band with such a wild lead singer, but it’s true. And like your favorite episodes of Arrested Development, you only notice more of these subtle treats with repeat viewings. Some are minor attention to detail: Honus changes into sparkly shoes when he stands up to sing with just a microphone, the backing band do pushups when Honus collapses onto the ground in the middle of a song, etc. But those moments are what make a Man Man show worth attending every time they’re near you.

This go-around, Man Man’s set was practically a “best of.” During the show, I thought they weren’t playing much from the new album. Afterward I realized that it was just because the new tracks like “Shameless” and “Dark Arts” sound like Man Man classics now. The band has had time to perfect those songs live and I’ve had ample time to warm up to the new material. Additionally we got all the Man Man live staples you could ask for (OK, we didn’t get “Ice Dogs,” but I’m beginning to think that song has been 86′ed from all future set lists)

Lots more photos after the break