Man Man makes triumphant return to Philly

The prodigal son of Philly indie music absurdism, Honus Honus, aka Ryan Kattner, returned to Underground Arts Thursday to mark Man Man’s hometown stop on the Carrot On Strings tour. The stage was set up in the usual fashion, a jungle gym of instruments and amps. Kattner sported the latest iteration of his infamous cloak: an open-front cardigan akin to a Y2K sequin hobo bag off a Forever 21 mannequin (’00s coded and great for pictures).

In a concert preview by Philadelphia Magazine, Kattner summed up ’00s music in Philly simply: “Philly was cheap and functional, and it was awesome to be a band from Philly.”

Opener Death Valley Girls embodied their Mark of the Witch meets Suspiria meets Valley of the Dolls appeal. Their music has been described as “doom boogie,” a melding of psych and goth rock with a splash of ’60s surf. They live up to their niche genre, playing both “Death Valley Boogie” and “Seis Seis Seis” at Underground Arts; the group vocals felt ritualistic by nature.

The band’s current lineup consists of day-one vocalist and keyboardist Bonnie Bloomgarden, Laena Myers (vocals/guitar), Teddy Georgia (vocals/bass), Bailey Chapman (drums), and Sarah Safaie (saxophone), a new layer to their music live. Death Valley Girls played “Fire and Brimstone” off their latest double single titled Sisters of the Moon b/w Fire and Brimstone.

Bloomgarden frequently visited the edge of the stage early, seemingly testing the waters. She set her sights on a crowd member who was lost in the music. Bloomgarden jumped down from the stage to serenade them, having to tap on their shoulder to get them to notice. Bloomgarden made herself at home, working her way through the crowd for the rest of the song, hitting the big notes ferociously surrounded by the Underground Arts crowd. Being her first show back from vocal rest, Bloomgarden did not hold back.

In the 2000s, beanies were slouchy, six-plus member bands were the norm, there were more official house show spots than unofficial, bikes were the only acceptable mode of transportation, and having an iPhone made you a poser. It’s a period of Philly music many wished they had bottled up to take little sniffs as needed.

Man Man was an especially influential entity during that time. They last played Philly proper in 2019 at World Cafe Live for Philly Music Fest and before that in 2015 at Theatre of Living Arts.

Many in the front row sported streaks of white face paint reminiscent of earlier times in Man Man’s history. One of the fans sporting white face paint jokingly yelled, “Who’s got the nitrous?!” Very era-appropriate.

Kattner (vocals/keys/guitar) was joined by Roman Salcic (vocals/drums) and Sam “CTS” Small (vocals/guitar/bass/malletkat) to deliver 2024’s Carrot On Strings‘ delayed Philly debut. “Iguana” and “Cryptoad” showcased the whimsical side of Man Man, with “Odyssey” on the rock opera ballad side.

Man Man’s set wouldn’t be complete without CNN reporter and anchor Wolf Blitzer. A cutout of Blitzer’s head was stationed at Kattner’s keyboard and later ceremonially toured the stage. Kattner’s antics are endearing because they’re silly and coy—like leaning over his keys to damp Salcic’s cymbal—but also fourth wall breaking. 

Before ending the night on “Rabbit Habits,” a wildly popular song off their wildly popular album by the same name, Safaie and Chapman of Death Valley Girls hopped on the stage for a loud unraveling chaos and extended version of “Young Einstein on the Beach” off Six Demon Bag, an album that turned 20 years old in February.

It’ll be interesting to see what’s next for Man Man given Kattner’s work on The Vampire Lestat on AMC+ and the band’s new single “So It Goes,” which dropped in March. Maybe Philly will see Kattner revisit his roots…maybe the ghosts of Man Man’s pasts—about 20—will come out to play again. Our fingers are crossed.