Man at Franzis in Wetzlar

[mikes]

The first gig of a new/old band can be demanding for a passionate fan. What will they play? Do the new songs fit in with the old ones? Will the new musicians live up to their task? Etc.

Right then. Franzis at Wetzlar - a nice and cozy club. But when MAN began they could've addressed the punters by their names, had they only known then - only thirty people were in (maybe ten more came during the next songs) when they kicked off with The Price. In contrary to many fans of the band I always liked this song. But something important was missing there: Mickys backing vocals.

But then again I noticed from Mad On Her onwards that the band mast have worked hard on the vocals. That I told Phil after the gig and he confirmed it. The blend of backing vocals is one of the best assets this band has but there needs to be more prominence, needs to be a wall the lead singer can lean against. In the beginning of this gig it was predominant Martin lead vocals. It was a different matter when Josh sung lead.
Just keep in mind what sort of lead vocals we were used to: Dekes raw energy, Micky's soulful and Martins straight forward way. Because of his youth Josh is a completely different singer. There is nothing wrong with him placing the notes but he doesn't seem to put much guts in his singing - but he has to when he's singing lead.
This also applies to the backing vocals: More guts please, gentlemen! I was stunned when I found out on my way home that they put fantastic backing vox on the CD-track of Shadow Of The Hand. Had they been more powerful during the set I would've turned towards that song in the Franzis with much more gusto.
Initial balance problems were history after five or six songs. Now I found myself stunned at how tight the band had gotten within a couple of days. New drummer Ren? Robrahn later told me he'd met the lads (excluding Martin) twelve days before for the first time: it was the fifth gig after seven days of rehearsal. Starting with the bloke behind the drums: The first german to enter the ranks definitely stood the test as a Manband drummer. He's not quite as hard a basher as Bob, but style-wise he's definitely the logical successor.
A very fruitful combination is the one of Phil Ryan and 19 years old James Beck on guitar. The young one definitely knows how to treat a wahwah-pedal. He only needs to grow his hair then he shall be on his way to a true guitar hero. Phil puts in his arsenal of sounds but is almost too keen not to outdo one of the youngsters. It will be his task to encourage James Beck to front this outfit more than he did yesterday.
Phil sang lead on Dream Away with a beautiful soulful voice. But then again he also lacked a bit of that energy Martin's able to put into the vocals.

After the show Martin says: "We could do a completely different set and it would be good." In my opinion they should think about replacing one song or the other after this tour. Especially after I'd witnessed MACBFGU - this classic was THE song for James Beck to really spread his wings - beautiful!!! It was then when he filled out the big footsteps left over by his predecessors in the band. I wanted to tell him to leave the strat at home and to just play tele, but in the end I didn't.

Some time before that I knew that this band wouldn't play C'mon. I thought to myself: The logical song to do instead would be Romain. And they did. I wished though that Phil had taken the lead vocals of the first and second verse instead of Josh - see above.

All in all I thought it was a promising start. Give this line up some months and a couple gigs more. Forget your objections and this outfit might be able to please your minds.

song list:

The Price
Mad On Her
Shadow of the Hand
Speak
Russian Roulette
Kingdom Of Noise
Stuck Behind The Popemobile
Dream Away
Steal The World
Victim Of Love
Manillo
Man With X-Ray Eyes
Many Are Called But Few Get Up
-------------------------------
Freedom Fries
Romain
Conflict Of Interest


By the way:

Michael H, I did an interview with Phil. Interested?

[Mark Davies]

Thanks, Mikes.

[Tim W]

Mikes, much appreciated.

Interseting to see Victim of Love there...

[Nick Nation]

Thanks Mikes.
How did it go down with the audience? And what about at your gig, Bobfan?

And....prepare to groan...on which songs did JB use his tele?

[Colin Salter]

Well this all sounds quite positive on the live front. Perhaps the band should hae found its live feet before recording and releasing a CD, like in the old days! New material always used to be worked in on the road before going to the studio, and was immeasurably better for it. I suppose the need to churn out new recorded product is financially driven. But this live review and the one by Kamikaze 58 elsewhere are actually changing my mind about the state of things Manwise.

[lloydie]

Im sure by the time they hit the U K they will be firing on all cylinders thanks for the review.

[Davey]

thanks mikes...i hope they feel free to pick more songs from the era's that phil was in the group(that's a lot

of songs)and any other man era,but hey it's not my call-peace...

[mikes]

@ Nick: He used his Tele Deluxe as his main instrument. During the second half of the gig he didn't touch the other guitar there.
The audience ... well the guy with the big bald spot on top of his head (not me, the other one) and the younger one with dreadlocks kept on dancing almost all the way through the gig. Some of the women allowed themselves to move their bodies as well. It was just prior to Conflict Of Interest when Martin said: "If you can't dance to that ..." - just think about it: 40 people in the room, you can't hide in the crowd, would you dance? 

[Nick Nation]

Michael H, I did an interview with Phil. Interested?

Well if he's not, we are. Ok, I am.

As you all know, I'm flippin' nosey, complimentary and tactless all at once. Such questions as 'Phil - you really are a fabulous keyboard player, expressive without going all twiddly Wakemanesque on us. Why did you decide to stay after you said you would never play in any man band ever again?' and 'When do you think you will leave again?' spring to mind. Or my mind, anyway.

[Rob the Organ]

There you go. At the risk of saying "I told you so..." it just goes to show that giving the new band a fair crack of the whip pays dividends. Now we can all look forward to George's new project too and be doubly rewarded for our faith and integrity.

Tele Deluxe for James B, eh? Interesting choice - this was the "Tele that wasn't a Tele": a two humbucker instrument designed to be a rival to the then-reigning (at the time - early seventies) Gibson Les Paul but didn't quite nail it. It was also intended as a makeover for the Tele which even within Fender's own line had been totally overthrown by the Strat by all but the loyal country purists. It has taken another 30-odd years for the Tele Deluxe to be appreciated. Certainly full marks for an individual choice: in the absence of Micky/George manning the SG the beefier sound would certainly be more appropriate than his Strat, yes.

This has happened before: Fender's once top-line (but too cumbersome to operate after getting used to a Strat) Jaguars and Jazzmasters died a gasping death after the surf era, but when the vintage Strat/Tele market started to take off many (Tom Verlaine, Elvis Costello, Danny Adler, Rumour-era Brinsley Schwarz) started buying them up for a pittance as they were still getting a quality original flagship Fender for a song. Likewise the Franz Ferdinand/Coldplay generation have started playing these Tele Deluxes with great gusto. Every dog has his day, as the saying goes. I knew I should have bought one a few years ago!

[Michael Heatley]

Danny Adler?

Now there was a man... 

[Davey]

peace y'all.i want to first say i am very sorry for posting a review to another concert besides man in this

section.i got confused;it wasn't conscious.if it could be moved without hassle that would be good,if it's ok

to leave it, ok...which brings me to the next thing i would like to talk about which is to weigh in on the

current man line up.i have to say again i have never seen man in person,i would like to see them very

much.to me martin + phil is a quorum.they are both major contributors to the man legacy.i am

interested to see how they can get on and what they can come up with.there is no replacement for

micky.there is no replacement for deke.there is no replacement for clive(and i have never heard a version

of "many are called but few get up" without clive where anyone played his beautiful and beautifully

recorded riff,that is deference)no replacement for terry, malcolm etc. but to me this includes martin and

phil,and if they want to carry the torch and they have the rights and they want to get some livelihood

happening from it,i'm for it.martin has his son playing guitar thereby bridging some generation gap,

and another young guitarist.maybe these cats are really into and are discovering man's music and can do

something with it.if the drummer is good then the band will be better...i can't get dime yet so i haven't

heard these concerts.(somebody posted a link of how to get started with it,i clicked on the page and was

immediately overwhelmed,such as it is for now;i like it when people post stuff on the you tube).well i

would hope they would play keep on crinting or bananas if they wanted to, but if not, phil played on this

and a host of other man classics(so has martin,as everyone knows) so i'm sure this influence would run

through whatever songs they are playing after awhile,i just want to see these cats in person,i know i'll

have a good time...and also i am fully behind george and bob in their projects and shows,i like the music

from george that i have heard.there may be personal stuff and business stuff that i am unaware of that i

respect,but at this point i feel justified to continue to be holistic as a fan who lives very far away.i mean, i

was able to go to school here in new york and to study with some of my idols.but it was slightly tricky

getting them back into the record after dealing with some of them in person.it was hard to listen to them

for a little while after i studied with them.but now's it's alright,and i learned something.i am sympathetic

to such situations and respect whoever has been through such a thing and the judgements or feelings

they come away with.ok enough on that...this new man is at present my only option to see them,and i'm

interested.i am a died in the wool man fan who has introduced myself to them through a '77 rock

encyclopedia.until i joined this forum(which is the only band forum i have ever and will ever join)no one

has ever played me man's music besides myself.(i am grateful for the music i have heard here by the

way).so to sum up for now: i want to see man live someday and this lineup(without hearing the music off

their new album besides the title track, or any of their new live stuff) fulfills my requirements,respect to

anyone who loves man and feels differently-peace-davey

[Martin Daughton]

i am a died in the wool man fan

Must be from Aberdare....

[Dan Singh]

Davy's on the road again..

[John Bannon]

Davy's on the road again..

Davy's on something.........