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MEN Tour Poster
photo: facebook.com
Setlist
Tour Dates
02/03/14 The Frequency, Madison WI
02/04/14 The Basement, Columbus 02/05/14 Comet Ping Pong, Washington DC 02/06/14 Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia 02/07/14 Pittsfield, Massachussetts 02/08/14 Great Scott, Boston 02/09/14 Space Gallery, Portland Maine 03/06/14 Bar Pink, San Diego 03/07/14 Bootleg, Los Angeles 03/08/14 The Chapel, San Francisco 03/10/14 Holocene, Portland 03/11/14 The Cobalt, Vancouver 03/12/14 Chop Suey, Seattle Read More
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When I took my ex-girlfriend to see Le Tigre back in 2005, she was convinced that JD Samson was a dude. We argued about it for awhile, and then JD started singing. “Ohhhhhhhh, she IS a girl!” This perplexing androgyny is both a blessing and a curse. Serving as an icon to transgendered and queer youth provides JD with a visibility and purpose she probably would not have found if she were more traditional looking, but her unusual appearance also dogs her with a cruel “freakshow” vibe. (“That’s the band led by the chick with the moustache.”) Fortunately, JD is much stronger than her detractors and has blossomed in her lead role in MEN. “Visibility” and “Freedom” are the two principles expressed most often in MEN’s songs, and these concepts came shining through in her joyful, positive performance at the Empty Bottle in Chicago on Friday.
After opening sets by Gel Set and Teen Witch Fan Club, JD came onstage wearing the fun cartoon jeans shown on the front cover of their latest album Labor. Wearing such bulky apparel didn’t stop her from creatively dancing her way through the opening songs (she ditched the costume for stretch pants a few songs in), occasionally returning to the keyboard to play a few notes. For the most part, JD stuck to the microphone; the musicianship duties were handled ably by the other two members of MEN, guitarist Michael O’Neill and keyboardist Lorna Dune. JD filled the role of Entertainer. And entertain us, she did! From some quite amazing high leaping kicks in the air to wild hand gestures in time to the music to jumping around energetically with a wide smile on her face, she kept the groove going throughout the 11 song set. And kept the crowd smiling along with her.
Most of the songs were faithful to the recorded versions, and when MEN did veer off script it was with mixed results. A slowed-down opening version of “Credit Card Babie$” had me pining for the dangerously catchy upbeat recorded version. (I say “dangerously” because it’s often unwise to absent-mindedly sing, “I’m gonna f*** my best / I’m gonna f*** my best / I’m gonna f*** my best to make a little tiny baby” in mixed company.) Their most popular track, “Who Am I To Feel So Free?,” also suffered slightly from a spoken word interlude that slowed down the momentum of the song. But these are minor complaints; the crowd didn’t seem to mind, shouting along with the chorus enthusiastically.
Though MEN is a dance band at heart, their set contained a good mixture of songs both hard and fast and soft and mellow. In fact, two of the highlights for me were the downbeat “Next” (whose lyric, “Never afford a house / Never retire,” hits all-too-close to home in modern America) and the romantic ballad “Simultaneously,” which featured exquisite, delicate guitar by O’Neill. The most interesting song introduction occurred with the single, “Making Art”: “It’s about continuing to make art even though you think it sucks. This is dedicated to all the feminist artists in the crowd.” Naturally, feminism is a frequent theme in MEN’s songs, and a cardboard placard on top of JD’s keyboard contained a drawing of a book with the pun, “Our Bodies, Our Shelves” on it. This, JD’s Semenya t-shirt (referencing androgynous South African runner Mokgadi Caster Semenya, who also inspires a MEN song title), and JD’s custom tampon string hat, which she wore on and off throughout the set, kept gender and feminism in the forefront.
JD referred to this as their “tundra” tour due to the intensely cold, snowy weather, and indicated that this show, which started around midnight, would be shortened so they could try to outrun an incoming snowstorm. Unfortunately, that meant they cut two encore songs off the setlist, presumably including the anthemic “Off Our Backs,” which I was looking forward to hearing. But that was a minor disappointment. As the show ended with the lines, “Nothing is working, not even a little bit” (from “Be Like This”) I thought to myself, look at this crowd, look at their smiling faces, look at them moshing triumphantly in front of you, look at the empowerment you’ve given them. No, I think it’s working very well, JD. Very well, indeed.
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JD Samson in cartoon jeans
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JD Samson
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MEN is a dance band at heart
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JD referred to this as their “tundra” tour due to the intensely cold, snowy weather, and indicated that this show, which started around midnight, would be shortened so they could try to outrun an incoming snowstorm. Unfortunately, that meant they cut two encore songs off the setlist, presumably including the anthemic “Off Our Backs,” which I was looking forward to hearing. But that was a minor disappointment. As the show ended with the lines, “Nothing is working, not even a little bit” (from “Be Like This”) I thought to myself, look at this crowd, look at their smiling faces, look at them moshing triumphantly in front of you, look at the empowerment you’ve given them. No, I think it’s working very well, JD. Very well, indeed.
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JD Samson & MEN at the Empty Bottle, Chicago (01/31/14) |
