Men Women & Children @ Annex

Last night I headed to the Annex with some people to check out Men Women & Children. I'll be honest, I was going more for the party then for the band. The band was playing the new "Ruff Club" party and it sounded like a good time. Anyway, I was sent the bands album a few weeks ago and I really wasn't into to it too much. It was just way to emo sounding for my tastes. But I figured what the hell, even if the band sucked there was still a party going on.

I got to the Annex with some friends around midnight. We headed for the bar and got some drinks - of course they were out of the cheap shit. We hung out for about 20 minutes and then, while I was downstairs taking a piss, the band took the stage. I immediately noticed how these guys looked, not at all emo. They all looked like LES glam hipsters. The music itself was very indie dance rock, this was a much different band than what I heard.

I was very impressed by how tight the band was - sounds like they practice their asses off. Great stage presence too, lots of dancing around and interaction with the crowd. Speaking of the crowd they were going completely apeshit. Apparently these guys have a pretty loyal following. At one point the band started playing some "ape" song and were doing monkey moves on stage - funny shit. The singer's voice can get a bit annoying some times, he has a very high pitch voice and isn't afraid to show it. He has a Perry Ferrell thing going on, both in appearance and sound.

I had a great time seeing this band and I recommend catching them live. Hell, they played their last song with a bubble machine going. Bubbles was everywhere, so much cooler than those fucking lame ass smoke machines (you're old news smoke machine). This band was made for the downtown Fat Baby/Lit/Rififi scene.

Men Women & Children were lucky enough to tour with Gang Of Four on their big comeback tour. The band is from the NYC area and one of the members used to be in Glassjaw (I think). Which makes it even more odd that they play glam indie dance rock.

Last night was my first time at the Annex - I was expecting it to be much bigger. It's a cool place though and I dig the stage set up - small and tight. The crowd is forced to be right up there and it just makes for a better show. My only complaint with the place is that it's too narrow, moving from front to back is a major pain in the ass. Oh and the stage lights are fucking god-awful, they need to go. I guess that's two complaints, sorry for lying back there.

MW&C media player